Democratic Peace

Democratic Peace Democratic peace is presently a theory that has come under fire from

many individuals due to the complex nature in which it is applied to

nations and their handling of foreign affairs. There are currently two

accepted arguments: (1) Democracies do not fight one another because

they are self-organizing systems and are therefore fundamentally

distinct from other states, and (2) they are as prone to conflict with

no democracies or quasi-democracies as no democracies are with one

another. These views on democratic peace are one of a “… dyadic

effect, which implies that democracies are only more peaceful with one

another, and not a monadic effect, which would mean that democracies

are more peaceful in their relations with all countries” (Rousseau

512).

The argument that democracies do not fight one another is a relatively

easy, while at the same time complex concept to argue. Many

researchers try to argue that democratic peace is reliable based

solely on liberal and democratic norms. It is not that norms are not

unimportant; it is just that they are alone unable to explain why

peace continues between democratic nations. The concept behind the

statement democracies do not fight one another is supported by the

fact that when two democracies confront one another in conflicts of

interest, they are able to effectively apply democratic bargaining in

their interaction, which then prevents most conflicts from escalating

to a military conflict. “In a conflict between democracies, by the

time the two states are militarily ready for war, dipl...

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...me when attempting to

mobilize military forces to intervene in an international situation is

deterrence for the leaders of these governments, but this obstacle can

be overcome when the leader believes it is in the best interest of the

nation.

Works Cited

Rousseau, David L. . “Assessing the Dyadic Nature of the Democratic

Peace,

1918- 1988.” American Political Science Review 90 (1996): 512-526

Gartzke, Erik. “Kant We All Just Get Along? Opportunity, Willingness,

and the Origins

Of the Democratic Peace.” American Journal of Political Science 42

(1998): 1-26

diZerega, Gus. “Democracies and Peace: The Self-organizing Foundation

for the

Democratic Peace.” Review of Politics 57 (1995): 279-308

International Security Policy

Democratic Peace Theory: Why it Works and Why it is Broken