The trading regime, power, and interdependence: A case study of Pettis County, Missouri

This study examines the two most predominant theories of international relations that have influenced United State foreign policy since World War II. A case study of Pettis County, Missouri is used to explore the tenants of realism/neorealism and Wilsonian liberalism/neoliberalism. The conclusion points to the fact that both theories have validity: some strengths, and some weaknesses. A critical point of examination is the concept of power: what is power and how does power affect the international system?; Throughout the Cold War Era, the concept of power centered on military strength. Firepower served as the basis of analysis when assessing the comparative power of the United States and the Soviet Union. However, as the conflict ground on, the concept of economic power became increasingly important to this analysis.; Before the Cold War erupted, American foreign policy held an element of bolstering economic power. The administration of Franklin Roosevelt forwarded the liberal notion of free trade throughout World War II (often to the chagrin of the British). Diplomat George Kennan stressed the need to offer a positive economic policy to counter the myopic future of capitalism as prophesied through communism. American foreign policy established the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to promote the development of an international system of free trade: this case study illustrates how economic power, as created through the trading regime, bolstered wealth and political stability in the community.; During the 1960s, as the United States faced difficulties in sustaining the trading regime, the dynamism of the regime refurbished the American economy and helped to ensure its political survival. This case study illustrates this crucial development in the Cold War and offers a basis for further study in the concepts of economic power and interdependence, and their relationship to political power.