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What is Intardapandanca?
The most common use of the term interdependence is in
an economic sense, referring to the interdependent nature of open markets and the idea of comparative advantage. In
^{1 Richard Rosecrance acknowledged the existence of non} governmental interactions, but felt that, because of their
permanency, governments should be the real focus of the concept of interdependence. See Richard Rosecrance, "International
Interdependence," in New Dimensions of World Politics, Geoffry Goodwin and Andrew Linklater, eds. (London: Croom-Helm, 1975), p. 21. He later said interdependence is "a state of affairs where what one actor does impinges directly upon other nations,"
emphasizing the notion of reciprocating governmental influences. See Richard Rosecrance, et al. "Whither Interdependence?"
International Organization 31, no. 3 (Summer 1977) :426.
2 Katsunori Mizukami points out that discussions of economic interdependence began as a look at the quantity and type of
"transactions" but later moved to the effects and results of those transactions. See Katsunori Mizukami. Economic
Interdependence and Cooperation in the European Community.
University of South Carolina Master's Thesis, 1990.
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groups will specialize in the production of the item[s] and/or services they can provide most efficiently, which forces interaction in order to obtain those items/services they do not have. The greater reliance there is on these other goods and services which cannot easily be produced, the more interdependent a group is considered.
In this sense, interdependence has both advantages and
disadvantages. One of the principal advantages is that those groups which are interdependent find they have something to gain (often monetarily) through the interdependent
relationship. In addition, some believe that interdependence leads to cooperation in other areas.3 The most visible
disadvantage is that the reciprocal relationship includes the notion of dependence, which means that each group
3 The literature on increasing transactions had some
origins in the theory on European integration with Karl Deutsch and Richard Cooper. For Deutsch, increasing
interdependence meant the formation of a community. See Karl Deutsch 'Power and Communication in International Society" in Ciba Foundation Symposium on Conflict in Society, A.V.S. de Reuek and Julie Knoght, eds., (London: A. Churchill,
1966) and Karl Deutsch. Nationalism and Social
Communication: An Inquiry into the Foundations of
Nationality (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1953); and Richard N. Cooper. The Economics of Interdependence: Economic Policy in the Atlantic Community. (New York: McGraw Hill, 1968). Bruce Russett says that increased ties and transactions promote trade, migration, tourism, and cultural and
education exchanges which encourage voluntary political and economic cooperation. See Bruce M. Russett. 'Interdependence and Capabilities for European Cooperation." Journal of
Common Market Studies 9 (December 1970):143-150.
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relinquishes some ability to completely control its own activities. In other words, sovereignty decreases. For
example, it could become more difficult to make foreign policy decisions by completely relying on one's own national interests. Other interests and groups outside national
boundaries may have an increasing influence on the foreign policy-making process.4 “The increase in importance of
international transactions and the growth of multinational institutions have weakened government's control over some of its most important policy instruments, while the increase in economic interdependence has increased the risks of
retaliation and adverse feedback."5
Theoretically, the concept of interdependence has been
utilized in both economics and political science.6 As an example, economic theory is ripe with discussions of trade balances and imbalances which contribute to an
interdependent world. Bilateral trade relations between the United States and Japan are often studied because mthe
economic performance of the United States and Japan and
4 See, for example, Robert O. Keohane, “International
Organization and the Crisis of Interdependence." International Organization 29 (Spring 1975):357-365.
5 Raymond Vernon, “Global Interdependence in a Historical
Perspective," in Interdependence and Co-operation In Tomorrow's World (Paris: OECD, 1987), p. 27.
6 Interdependence is also used in the psychology literature
to discuss why one person is dependent on another, but this is not relevant to this particular study.