Export, for Love of Country! Nationalism and Trade Preferences

• In Event: Determinants of Trade Preferences

Abstract

What is the role of nationalism in terms of international trade? Scholars have been interested in how the recent rise of nationalism around the world would affect the liberal international economy. Though still controversial, many recent studies have demonstrated that nationalism can produce more protectionist trade attitudes, thereby serving as an obstacle to trade liberalization. However, nationalism can have different contents depending on its historical contexts. We provide a novel perspective on the relationship between nationalism and international trade, arguing that nationalism strengthens – not weakens – international economic exchange especially in countries that experienced state-led export-oriented national economic growth. Drawing from political socialization theory, we contend that both political elites and citizens in such countries are likely to believe that exporting domestic products is at the core of national sentiments. By employing a mixed-method approach that combines observational cross-national data, survey experiments, and in-depth interviews, we find supporting evidence for our argument that nationalism facilitates international trade in countries with the experience of export-oriented economic development. Our study contributes to identifying nationalist legacies in economic developmental history and their implications on the liberal economic order.

Authors

• Ha-Eun Choi, Michigan State University

• Gidong Kim, Stanford University