Even if a democracy were more likely to pursue free trade than an autocracy, the simultaneous spread of democracy in the workld would not necessarily yield a reduction in protection, but might in fact cause an increase. The reason for this paradoxical outcome is the fact that democratic...

The paper raises the question of whether democracies are more likely to pursue free trade than nondemocracies. The paper argues that democratization in response to a surge in political contestation is likely to cause an increase in protection in a nondemocracy, but a reduction in a democracy....