TRADE NETWORKS, TRADE BLOCS, AND HEGEMONIC CONFLICT

Most structural analyses of the world system have focused on distingui shing the core from the periphery and semiperiphery. This article exte nds the structural approach by identifying blocs and groupings in the world market. A network analysis of trade among the 102 countries with 1990 trade of U.S. $2 billion or more finds that the United States, J apan, and Germany are by far the most important countries in the trade network. The U.S. and Japanese trade blocs are highly overlapped, whi le the German trade bloc is largely separate. The 1990 trade patterns suggest the potential for, and possible shape of, increased trade conf lict between rival world powers.