The Democratic Peace Theory

The democratic peace theory postulates that liberal democracies are hesitant and unlikely to engage in armed conflict with other democracies. This idea dates back centuries to German philosopher Immanuel Kant and other 18th-century Enlightenment thinkers. By examining the political similarities, economic system, geographical location, and other factors of generic democracies, proponents of the democratic peace theory argue that democracies have a vested interest not to war with one another. However, other forms of government are exempt from these principles unique to democracies. Autocracies, a system of government which assigns one individual absolute power and control, violate all facets of the democratic peace theory. Autocracies lack the

Most democratic nations in the modern world have affluent economies, such as the United States, Spain, and England. Democratic leaders, who have been elected by the general population, have an interest to invest in the greater public and incentivize citizens to contribute to the financial system. Keeping the citizenry content through pecuniary means keeps a democratic leader in his position, as a leader is accountable and elected for and by the people. Autocratic rulers, however, only intend to please the select individuals who keep them in power, but not the overall population. Thus, democracies are prone to investing in the public and sustaining a profitable fiscal system. At best, engaging in war for these well off democracies would risk losing a large amount of wealth in building arms and actually conducting battle. At worst, citizens and leaders in a democracy could lose all of their wealth and proceed to suffer from a stagnant economy. Furthermore, a larger economy with more money to spend results in increased security and militarization, which is a defining characteristic of most modern democracies. With superior surveillance and military force, democracies have a greater tendency to cause largescale destruction. This capability also serves as a deterrent to other democracies which might have an interest

When dictators in autocracies continually oppress their citizens, disrespect their rights, and gain power through illegitimate means, citizens are motivated to act in a violent manner, join terrorist organizations, and support conflicts and wars. In Syria, for example, Sunni Muslims constitute almost three-quarters of the population. However, the current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite Muslim, has led several campaigns of mass killings, torture, and starvation against the majority. These series of actions incentivize Sunni Muslims, along with others, to take part in terrorist organization to fight against the state that oppresses them. Similarly, citizens in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Libya are persecuted and maltreated and, thus, contribute to the conflict. Seung-Wang Choi of the University of Illinois demystifies the effects of autocracies on terrorism, writing, “When authoritarian leaders use threats of punishment and violence through corrupt domestic legal authorities, ordinary citizens have more incentives to challenge the legitimacy of authoritarian rule” (Choi). Democracies, on the other end of the spectrum, are far less susceptible to this predicament. In fact, other forms of government prevent the spread of this ideological and physical conflict. Democratic polities discourage civilians from resorting to ideologically