| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
Structural Equivalence and International ConflictA Social Networks AnalysisDepartment of Political Science, University of California, Davis
Department of Industrial Relations, University of Haifa, Israel
Department of Political Science, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Department of Sociology, University of Haifa, Israel The concept of international affinityalbeit under different namescaptures a central place in international relations research. This study examines how different types of affinity affect the likelihood of conflict between states. The authors discuss different types of affinities as these appear in the realist and liberal paradigms. They offer a social networks conception of structural affinitythe concept of structural equivalencewhich reflects the similarity of international ties across a set of different networks. They test the hypotheses derived from these paradigms, using both existing measures of affinity and their own structural equivalence measures. Their findings suggest that (1) strategic affinity has a consistent dampening effect on the probability of dyadic conflict, (2) trade-related affinity does consistently affect the probability of dyadic conflict, and (3) intergovernmental organization-related affinity has a negative impact on conflict, mostly in the twentieth century.
Key Words: international affinity structural equivalence dyadic conflict international networks
Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 50, No. 5,
664-689 (2006) |
|||