Getting Along or Getting Ahead? The Domestic Roots of Status-Seeking in International Relations

Abstract

The interplay between domestic conditions and international relations is a crucial topic in understanding geopolitics. This paper provides new insights on this relationship by examining the domestic economic roots of international status-seeking behavior. We generate a novel, temporally granular data set quantifying the nature and frequency of inter-government interactions, over the years 2001-2019. Exploiting the variation in natural resource wealth as a proxy for domestic economic conditions, we find that countries become more internationally dominant when they experience a positive resource price shock. This dominance is primarily manifested in the form of verbal aggression towards other countries, particularly at non-major trade partners, suggesting its use as a low-cost, low-risk strategy to enhance geopolitical influence, without jeopardizing significant economic relationships. Improved economic conditions reduce domestic public discontent, which may embolden governments to be more assertive on the international stage. Effects are stronger in middle and low-income countries, who leverage the temporary economic boost to assert dominance, and in democracies and anocracies, where electoral accountability matters. These findings provide important policy implications on the domestic roots of international relations and their implications for global peace and security.