Free Trade, Freedom, the Rule of Law, and Democracy Belong Together

Paul Welfens

Chapter Chapter 14 in Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, 2022, pp 271-289 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war, a larger debate has emerged in the West and especially in Germany as to whether the idea of the 1970s to seek to achieve political rapprochement with, and change within, the Soviet Union and other Eastern European socialist countries through deeper economic relations was reasonable. Following Ricardo’s historical arguments on the importance of free trade and the (reduced) probability of war, there are indeed important arguments to support this approach. However, more trade is only a necessary condition for peace. The West has apparently failed to develop politically stable relations with Russia in the three decades since the fall of the Soviet Union. Moreover, it can be shown that free trade, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law go together when it comes to peaceful and efficient international relations. Russia’s shortcomings in the areas of democracy and the rule of law were difficult to overlook during the Putin years; the younger generation in Russia—with access to digital media—has had little political influence under his rule.

Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-19138-1_14

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-19138-1_14

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