earticle

영어

This paper evaluates the relationship between economic integration and states’ foreign policy preferences, which are gauged by their voting behavior in the United Nations over the time period, 1946-2002. By examining the impact of economic integration on preference differences between trading states, this research explores the mechanism through which economic integration affects states’ behavior. The empirical results of this paper show that states’ preferences converge over diverse voting issues as their economic ties become stronger. Joint membership in trade blocs has a converging effect on states’ preferences only when the level of trade is high. This paper also finds that regime similarity is relevant to states’ preference convergence, showing that states’ preferences do not merely reflect power politics. Finally, the findings of this paper imply that studies of international politics can be misguided by ignoring the endogenous nature of states’ preferences.