The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the influence of an internationalizing coalition on political leaders is a key mediating variable in the relationship between trade interdependence and international conflict. In the literature, scholars have contradicting theories and empirical conclusions about whether trade interdependence promotes peace or conflict. In this article, I argue that, dyadically, the pacifying effect of trade interdependence is conditional upon the influence of an internationalizing coalition on both political leaders.