Canadian Nickel for Nazi Germany – How Government-Business Relationships Affected British Blockade Strategies in the 1930s

Abstract

This article presents a case study of the Canadian-based International Nickel Company (INCO) and its efforts to develop the German market in the 1930s, contributing to Nazi-German war preparations and hampering British blockade strategies. It examines government-business relations in blockade planning and argues that conflicts of interest and information asymmetries between state and business actors affect blockade preparations. In times of peace, trade flows are shaped mainly by private actors. They often have an information advantage, but are primarily pursuing their business interests, which can result in either alignment or conflicts of interest. Understanding the government-business relations in blockades is key to understanding blockades and economic warfare in general. Previous research has found evidence of alignment of interests, such as companies using state autarky policies in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to develop new markets. Similarly, companies employed the strategy of an independent British Empire in strategic raw materials to develop markets. However, government-business relations in the context of British blockade planning have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Drawing on private and public archival material from Britain and Germany, this case study examines the motives and strategies of INCO, British and German war planners.