STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION AS A MECHANISM FOR MANAGING INTERNATIONAL TRADE CONFLICTS

Abstract

This paper conceptually explored how strategic communication serves a mechanism for managing and resolving international trade disputes and navigating complex regulatory negotiations. This paper synthesizes Nigerian and international scholarship from the past decade alongside illustrative global case studies to define and interrelate key constructs, including trade, export trade, and strategic communication. It critically examines cross-border challenges such as intercultural differences, regulatory heterogeneity, infrastructure deficits, institutional coordination gaps, limited crisis communication capacity, political influence, and resource constraints, and demonstrates how deliberate, research-informed communication can mitigate these challenges, prevent dispute escalation, enhance stakeholder trust, and facilitate equitable resolution. Literature was able to establish that strategic communication transcends a peripheral support function, serving instead as a foundational tool embedded within diplomatic engagements, negotiation processes, and dispute settlement mechanisms in global commerce. Examples from the literature, including the EU–US Airbus/Boeing dispute, Ghana–Nigeria trade tensions, and arbitration cases involving Nigerian exporters, illustrate how narrative framing, digital diplomacy, consultation, and alignment between legal and communication strategies influence dispute trajectories and outcomes. The study concludes with actionable recommendations for institutionalizing strategic communication within Nigeria’s trade governance structures, fostering policy coherence, and strengthening dispute resilience through dialogue, transparency, and media-savvy messaging. By positioning communication as a strategic resource, this research highlights its centrality in sustaining economic competitiveness, diplomatic effectiveness, and cross-cultural negotiation success in contemporary international trade, while acknowledging structural and operational limitations that may constrain its effectiveness.