ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 provides important theoretical and empirical background on the democratic and economic peace literatures which provide the foundation for the space economic peace theory developed throughout the chapter. Growing as it did out of research into the democratic peace, economic peace theories posit a number of causal mechanisms through which increased economic ties can reduce the chance of conflict. Chapter 3 also contends with several major critiques of this research including the anomaly of World War I, the relationship between states and economic activity, and the possibility of increased ties increasing the chances for conflict.
