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Human Nature as the Foundation of Adam Smith’s International Theory

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British Modern International Thought in the Making

Part of the book series: International Political Theory ((IPoT))

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Abstract

In this chapter, Edwin van de Haar argues that Smith’s international theory offers a unified view of politics and economics, based on Smith’s views on human nature. Smith's political economy covers many topics, such as the nation, war, the balance of power, military organisation, empire, and of course free trade. Contrary to alleged academic wisdon, he did not see a relation between free trade and peace.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Following the convention among Smith scholars these main works will be referred to as TMS and WN respectively, and references are made by part/section/chapter/paragraph/page to the Glasgow edition to Smith’s work, also published by Liberty Fund. Other works by Smith are cited by year of publication and page number(s).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Independent Scholar, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Edwin van de Haar

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  1. Edwin van de Haar
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Correspondence to Edwin van de Haar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Catholic University of Lille, Lille, France

    Benjamin Bourcier

  2. University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Mikko Jakonen

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van de Haar, E. (2024). Human Nature as the Foundation of Adam Smith’s International Theory. In: Bourcier, B., Jakonen, M. (eds) British Modern International Thought in the Making. International Political Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45713-5_6

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