The Ties that Bind: Aid, Trade, and Political Compliance in Soviet-Third World Relations

Abstract

The theory of Soviet-centered dependence argues that Soviet economic and military aid to Third World states increases the recipient's trade dependence on the Soviet Union. This dependence, in turn, induces political compliance with the Soviet Union. The present study tests the key hypotheses of this theory. It finds that trade dependence on the Soviet Union provides a significant source of political compliance with the Soviet Union. It finds that the trade dependence effect of Soviet military assistance declined from the 1960s to the 1970s, but that military aid increased in importance as a direct instrument of influence. It also finds that the trade dependence effect of Soviet economic assistance has increased even as economic aid has failed to prove to be an important instrument of direct influence.