Party Politics and International Trade: Mainstream Parties, Niche Parties, and Trade Openness1

Abstract

Camyar, Isa. (2012) Party Politics and International Trade: Mainstream Parties, Niche Parties, and Trade Openness. International Studies Quarterly, doi: 10.1111/j.1468‐2478.2011.00714.x © 2012 International Studies Association How does party politics influence trade outcomes? Previous studies offer a limited understanding of the role of political parties in trade policymaking due to their restrictive assumptions that downplay the distinct organizational identity of political parties and the competitive logic of their interactions. This paper develops a theoretical argument that emphasizes the competitive forces of party politics as a key determinant of party preference for trade and hence of trade outcomes. This theoretical argument is illustrated and tested in analysis of the trade implications of strategic interactions between mainstream parties and niche parties. The empirical analyses confirm that party strategic factors need to be assigned a substantial analytical weight in explaining trade outcomes.

International Capital and Subnational Politics: Partisanship and Foreign Direct Investment in Mexican States

“…First, it takes a deeper look at the relationships between partisan politics and international capital. In spite of recent research (Camyar 2012; Hwang and Lee 2014; Leblang and Mukherjee 2005; Pinto 2013), some scholarship on capital flows still relies on the assumption that the right is pro-business and pro-capital, and thus, the left should deter investment. The analysis presented here suggests that investors’ partisan preferences may differ for the national and subnational levels because of the kinds of policies enacted at different levels of governance.…”