The capitalist peace, or capitalist peace theory, or commercial peace, posits that market openness contributes to more peaceful behavior among states, and that developed market-oriented economies are less likely to engage in conflict with one another.[1] Along with the democratic peace theory and institutionalist arguments for peace, the commercial peace forms part of the Kantian tripod for peace.[2] Prominent mechanisms for the commercial peace revolve around how capitalism, trade interdependence, and capital interdependence raise the costs of warfare, incentivize groups to lobby against war, make it harder for leaders to go to war, and reduce the economic benefits of conquest.[3]
Scholars have debated the empirical and theoretical validity of the commercial peace thesis, as well as the mechanisms behind the theory.[4][5][6] According to one review of existing research, the evidence on the relationship between economic interdependence and conflict is inconclusive.[7]
^Mousseau, Michael (2019). "The End of War: How a Robust Marketplace and Liberal Hegemony Are Leading to Perpetual World Peace". International Security. 44 (1): 160–196. doi:10.1162/isec_a_00352. ISSN0162-2889. S2CID198952369.