The Flag Follows Trade: Salt, Gold, Slaves and West Africa

Abstract

I argue that international politics - and globalization in particular - must be understood by tracing their historical development. Many of the present phenomena of 'globalization' have their roots in the expansion of the European state system. Consequently, I undertake a structured, comparative case study analysis of four regions (the Northwest coast of America, the Asante Kingdom of West Africa, Abyssinia, and Japan) and examine how they were absorbed into the expanding European-centered state system. I trace the process of incorporation, and develop a refined model of incorporation, including the development of a 'zone of ignorance' beyond the ‘known’ world which serves as an enabling mechanism for actors promoting incorporating behavior (i.e., exploration, colonization, conquest). In addition to textual analysis, I also use historically contemporary maps to 'operationalize' the stages of systemic expansion. This allows cross-temporal comparison of event-contexts with regard to the incorporation process, without having to 'anchor' the time-frame across cases; one can focus on process rather than era. I argue that significant socio-cultural, political, and economic change occurs upon contact between civilizations, and that these early changes have been largely overlooked in current international relations literature. Quite simply, the rules of the game and the agenda for negotiations are solidified rather early, well before most scholars examine the processes associated with globalization. This case study illustrates that information, myth and misinformation act as mechanisms for systemic expansion. First, this is facilitated precisely because there is a 'zone of ignorance' where possibilities exist for desires to be realized, independent of objective reality; if one thinks there are cities of gold, then that may be enough to undertake the wildest of ventures. Second, high-risk high-return behavior drives early contact. This early contact is often undertaken by actors far from the organizing influence of 'states', and allows otherwise 'irrational' action to proceed. Third, significant state-building occurs prior to incorporation. In fact, states or simulacra thereof often arise precisely because of the incentive-shift, or systemic disturbance, associated with initial contact. Fourth, relative systemic status is a continuously mediated process. Actors in external arenas being incorporated generally have more negotiating leverage early, which declines over time. Finally, traditional views of international systems need revision; a refined world-systems approach offers a more elegant and nuanced means of doing so. Societies, cultures, and civilizations have been clashing for centuries, and an historical context is crucial for understanding present dynamics within the international system. I introduce the notion of 'protoglobalization' as a means of accomplishing this.