Protectionism and World Politics
Strange, Susan. “Protectionism and World Politics.” International Organisation 39, no. 2 (1985): 233-259.
In discussing the question of protectionism Strange contends that her structural understanding of the international political economy - with four structures; security, production, finance, knowledge - shows that concerns about trade ‘inefficiencies’ as a disruptive element within the international system miss the real problem. She argues that trade is only a ‘secondary structure’ which is influenced and shaped by the primary structures. The disruption in the international system and trade relations is in fact a symptom of disruptions within the primary structures, and especially the financial structure. This article represents a forceful precursor to States and Markets (1988) and is the first time that Strange lays out in its fullest form her structural approach to power within the international political economy, including primary and secondary structures.
Reprinted in: Authority and Markets: Susan Strange’s Writings on International Political Economy, edited by Roger Tooze and Christopher May. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
Keywords: Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; Trade; General Framework