Document Type

Dissertation

First Faculty Advisor

Kim, Jongsung

Keywords

Economics; International Conflict; Globalization; Thomas Friedman

Publisher

Bryant University

Rights Management

All Rights Retained by Lucas Hahn and Bryant University

Abstract

Over the past several decades the entire world has experienced both the positive and negative effects of globalization. The question that this report will address is whether or not global economic expansion has led to a decline in the prevalence of militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) and what factors influence the prevalence of MIDs. This report will take an in-depth look at Thomas Friedman’s “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention”. It also includes a quantitative analysis in which regression techniques were used to see how different economic factors influence the prevalence of MIDs, while also introducing a previously unused independent variable that reflects how the presence of multinational corporations within a nation’s economy influences the prevalence of violent conflicts. Results indicate that variables representing contiguity, the lower trade share, and FDI have significant effects on the prevalence of conflict. Furthermore, while the theoretical underpinnings behind Friedman’s theory appear to be partially correct, empirical analysis of the influence of multinational corporations on the prevalence of conflict yielded no significant conclusions.

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