The Political Economy of Alignment: Great Britain's Commitments to Europe, 1905-39

Overview

Kevin Narizny, a 2002–03 fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, argues that the economic interests of domestic political coalitions play a vital role in shaping states' strategic behavior.  To test this claim, Narizny traces British governments' alignment decisions in Europe before World Wars I and II.  He finds that Britain's political parties consistently took opposing positions over their country's diplomatic alignments with the European great powers, even under high levels of threat.  The reason, explains Narizny, is that Conservatives represented constituencies that had an overwhelming interest in the defense of the British Empire, whereas the Liberals' and Labourites' electoral coalition had a critical stake in the maintenance of a stable, cooperative international order in Europe.