Liberalism and Economic Nationalism in International Trade Regime and Process of Economic Development

Abstract

Despite a consensus on the benefits of liberal international economic
regimes, there are important di!erences in the perspectives of different
actors. This article deals with two ideal types of perspectives on
international trade liberalization. The first of them is the liberal perspective,
and the second is the perspective of economic nationalism. Differences can
be found in a number of aspects. We discuss the perception of comparative
advantage, economic growth and its determinants, the logic of absolute or
relative gains from the global economy, the causal relationship between the
level of economic development and free trade, the issue of competitiveness
in the global economy and the problem of existence, and the role of
strategic sectors of the economy. If there exist important di!erences in
presumptions, interests and policy preferences between actors, what are
the conditions and limits for the perceived compatibility of the defined
perspectives? Under which conditions will an individual actor support the
progress in the liberalization of world trade and what are the most
important risks? How can the past successes in building the liberal
economic regimes be interpreted and what are the prospects for the
future? This article also attempts to contribute to the discussion of
paradigmatic perspectives in the international political economy. Therefore
the text confronts the liberal perspective and economic nationalism and
discusses some important aspects of these theories.