United States Mexican War and Theories of International Conflict ExplanationThe United States and Mexico went to war between 1846 and 1848. The war was an essential event for both sides participating in the war, as Mexico lost nearly half of its territory to the United States, and the United States became a political superpower. Two theories will be analyzed and applied to this specific case to determine whether or not they can be used to explain the conflict known as the US-Mexico War. Economic interdependence theory and deterrence theory and their assumptions will be the two theories examined in this article. This war between Mexico and the United States is a great example to study because many theories that explain the causes of the conflict can be applied to this specific case. However, only two theories will be applied in this article. The theory of economic interdependence branches off from a broader theory, the theory of interdependence. In this theory, interdependence refers to the mutual dependence between countries. Mutual dependence requires countries to be highly sensitive and vulnerable to each other, where Keohane and Nye (1977) define sensitivity as the degree to which countries are affected by the actions of others, and vulnerability as the degree to which countries can protect themselves from events that occur elsewhere and could be potentially costly. (Keohane and Nye). This theory states that relationships between countries built on interdependence are costly to disrupt and therefore interdependence causes a decrease in international conflict. Liberalism is often used to link interdependence theory to conflict. Liberalism explains how cooperation can develop and continue. In this article... half of the article... University Press.Hirschman, Albert O., (1977) The Passions and the Interests. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Hirschman, Albert O., (1982) Rival Interpretations of Market Society; Civilizing, destructive or weak? Journal of economic literature. 20:1463-1484. Keohane, Robert O. and Joseph S. Nye (1977) Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition. Boston: Little Brown.McMillan, Susan M., (1997) Interdependence and Conflict. Mershon International Studies Review. 40: 33-58.Pletcher, David M. James K. Polk. PBS. 21 April 2014. .Quackenbush, Stephen L., (2011) Deterrence Theory: Where Are We? Review of international studies. 37:741-762.Salvucci, Linda K., Trade routes. PBS. Network. April 21. 2014. .

Topic > United States Mexican War and Theories of International Conflict ExplanationThe United States and Mexico went to war between 1846 and 1848. The war was an essential event for both sides participating in the war, as Mexico lost nearly half of its territory to the United States, and the United States became a political superpower. Two theories will be analyzed and applied to this specific case to determine whether or not they can be used to explain the conflict known as the US-Mexico War. Economic interdependence theory and deterrence theory and their assumptions will be the two theories examined in this article. This war between Mexico and the United States is a great example to study because many theories that explain the causes of the conflict can be applied to this specific case. However, only two theories will be applied in this article. The theory of economic interdependence branches off from a broader theory, the theory of interdependence. In this theory, interdependence refers to the mutual dependence between countries. Mutual dependence requires countries to be highly sensitive and vulnerable to each other, where Keohane and Nye (1977) define sensitivity as the degree to which countries are affected by the actions of others, and vulnerability as the degree to which countries can protect themselves from events that occur elsewhere and could be potentially costly. (Keohane and Nye). This theory states that relationships between countries built on interdependence are costly to disrupt and therefore interdependence causes a decrease in international conflict. Liberalism is often used to link interdependence theory to conflict. Liberalism explains how cooperation can develop and continue. In this article... half of the article... University Press.Hirschman, Albert O., (1977) The Passions and the Interests. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Hirschman, Albert O., (1982) Rival Interpretations of Market Society; Civilizing, destructive or weak? Journal of economic literature. 20:1463-1484. Keohane, Robert O. and Joseph S. Nye (1977) Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition. Boston: Little Brown.McMillan, Susan M., (1997) Interdependence and Conflict. Mershon International Studies Review. 40: 33-58.Pletcher, David M. James K. Polk. PBS. 21 April 2014. .Quackenbush, Stephen L., (2011) Deterrence Theory: Where Are We? Review of international studies. 37:741-762.Salvucci, Linda K., Trade routes. PBS. Network. April 21. 2014. .