Democracy and Conflict
- LAST REVIEWED: 30 August 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 30 August 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0183
- LAST REVIEWED: 30 August 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 30 August 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0183
Introduction
Contemporary research on democracy and conflict began with the observation that democracies are much less likely to fight each other than are other types of regimes. Empirical evidence of this relationship began in the 1970s. The relationship was occasionally stretched, though without a great deal of support, to that of a monadic “democratic peace,” in which democracies are less bellicose overall. The argument has expanded to include contentions that democracies perform better in wars and that the wars they fight are of shorter duration. Explanations offered for the relationship are several: normative models in which democracies have customs of cooperation leading to a tendency to negotiate; structural models that find that the complex mobilization process in democracies makes war unfeasible; and selectorate models that rely on the electoral incentives and constraints facing democratic leaders. The democratic peace has faced much criticism, though. Questions of economic development, peace antedating democracy, and, more recently, a territorial peace whereby peaceful border settlements leads to both peace and democracy.
Establishing a Finding
Studies of democracy and conflict during the early years revolve around the simple, yet curious empirical finding that democracies do not fight with other democracies. The original finding was at the dyadic level (the relationship between state pairs) with some suggestion that democracies may be less war prone overall (see Monadic Democratic Peace). The major finding of a democratic peace was first observed by the author of Babst 1964. It was enhanced by the authors of Small and Singer 1976, who find evidence of a dyadic democratic peace but did not find evidence that the peace was monadic—democracies were just as likely to be involved in conflict as other regime types. Weede 1984 contests the claims of a Democratic Peace, arguing that it was a function of the selected time period, which the author finds to be both exceptional and limited and also finds no significant negative relationship between mutual democracy and conflict. Bremer 1992 finds that territorial boundaries were the best predictor of war, but joint democracy was also peaceful and substantively important when compared to other predictors of conflict. Maoz and Abdolali 1989 finds evidence of both dyadic regime type and democratic systemic (see Systemic Democratic Peace) relationships when examining both conflict onset and escalation. Later models, such as in Maoz and Russett 1992, integrate controls for distance, economic variables, and stability, while Oneal, et al. 1996 focuses on controlling for trade and interdependence. Ray 1993 attempts to further specify the relationship between democracy and conflict by providing a cogent definition of democracy for future research.
Babst, Dean V. “Elective Governments: A Force for Peace.” Wisconsin Sociologist 3.1 (1964): 9–14.
The earliest modern quantitative observation of the democratic peace. Babst uses Quincy Wright’s A Study of War (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1942) to find that no elective governments have fought each other. Tests cases from the two world wars and finds the difference in proportions statistically significant.
Bremer, Stuart A. “Dangerous Dyads Conditions Affecting the Likelihood of Interstate War, 1816–1965.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 36.2 (1992): 309–341.
DOI: 10.1177/0022002792036002005
One of the first major empirical studies of dyadic relationships in war. Explores seven conditions influencing the likelihood of war and finds that contiguity is the best predictor of war onset while democracy still promotes peace. Also finds that advanced dyads are less likely to fight each other, and dyads that involve at least one major power, dyads without a large power difference, and dyads that are both militarized and allied are more likely to fight each other.
Maoz, Zeev, and Nasrin Abdolali. “Regime Types and International Conflict, 1816–1976.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 33.1 (1989): 3–35.
DOI: 10.1177/0022002789033001001
The authors find no evidence of a monadic democratic peace, but a significant negative relationship between dyadic regime type and the probability of conflict. Also discovers that the proportion of democratic dyads in a system has a negative effect on the frequency of war and how often disputes escalate.
Maoz, Zeev, and Bruce Russett. “Alliance, Contiguity, Wealth, and Political Stability: Is the Lack of Conflict among Democracies a Statistical Artifact?” International Interactions 17.3 (1992): 245–267.
DOI: 10.1080/03050629208434782
The authors find that, even when controlling for the independent effects that distance, wealth, economic growth, alliances, and political stability have on the probability on conflict, political regime type still has a statistically significant influence on decreased probability of conflict.
Oneal, John R., Frances H. Oneal, Zeev Maoz, and Bruce Russett. “The Liberal Peace: Interdependence, Democracy, and International Conflict, 1950–85.” Journal of Peace Research 33.1 (1996): 11–28.
DOI: 10.1177/0022343396033001002
Finds a more nuanced understanding of the democratic peace that includes variables for trade and economic interdependence relationships. However, the pacifying influence of democracy still remains when controlling for those variables.
Ray, James L. “Wars between Democracies: Rare, or Nonexistent?” International Interactions 18.3 (1993): 251–276.
DOI: 10.1080/03050629308434807
Provides a clear and concise definition for democracy for future understandings of the democratic peace. Asserts that, with this definition of democracy, the idea that democracies do not fight one another is defensible.
Small, Melvin, and J. David Singer. “The War-Proneness of Democratic Regimes, 1816–1965.” Jerusalem Journal of International Relations 1.4 (1976): 50–69.
One of the earliest findings of the democratic peace, arguing that bourgeois democracies do not fight one another. However, there is no finding of a monadic peace, as the authors assert there is no evidence that democracies are less war prone as a whole.
Weede, Erich. “Democracy and War Involvement.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 28.4 (1984): 649–664.
DOI: 10.1177/0022002784028004004
Offers a contrasting finding to the democratic peace theory, finding no statistically significant negative relationship between democracy and war involvement. Argues that previous findings have been due to the period of observation, and that any such period is temporary in duration.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Academic Theories of International Relations Since 1945
- Africa, The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in
- Alliances
- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
- Al-Shabaab
- Arab-Israeli Wars
- Arab-Israeli Wars, 1967-1973, The
- Armed Conflicts/Violence against Civilians Data Sets
- Arms Control
- Arms Races
- Arms Trade
- Asylum Policies
- Audience Costs and the Credibility of Commitments
- Authoritarian Regimes
- Balance of Power Theory
- Bargaining Theory of War
- Battle
- Boko Haram
- Brazilian Foreign Policy, The Politics of
- Canadian Foreign Policy
- Case Study Methods in International Relations
- Casualties and Politics
- Causation in International Relations
- Central Europe
- Challenge of Communism, The
- China and Japan
- China's Defense Policy
- China’s Foreign Policy
- Chinese Approaches to Strategy
- Cities and International Relations
- Civil Resistance
- Civil Society in the European Union
- Cold War, The
- Colonialism
- Comparative Foreign Policy Security Interests
- Comparative Regionalism
- Complex Systems Approaches to Global Politics
- Conflict Behavior and the Prevention of War
- Conflict Management
- Conflict Management in the Middle East
- Constructivism
- Contemporary Shia–Sunni Sectarian Violence
- Corruption
- Counterinsurgency
- Countermeasures in International Law
- Coups and Mutinies
- Criminal Law, International
- Critical Theory of International Relations
- Cuban Missile Crisis, The
- Cultural Diplomacy
- Cyber Security
- Cyber Warfare
- Decision-Making, Poliheuristic Theory of
- Demobilization, Post World War I
- Democracies and World Order
- Democracy and Conflict
- Democracy in World Politics
- Deterrence Theory
- Development
- Diasporas
- Digital Diplomacy
- Diplomacy
- Diplomacy, Gender and
- Diplomacy, History of
- Diplomacy in the ASEAN
- Diplomacy, Public
- Disaster Diplomacy
- Diversionary Theory of War
- Drone Warfare
- Eastern Front (World War I)
- Economic Coercion and Sanctions
- Economics, International
- Embedded Liberalism
- Emerging Powers and BRICS
- Emotions
- Empirical Testing of Formal Models
- Energy and International Security
- Environmental Peacebuilding
- Epidemic Diseases and their Effects on History
- Ethics and Morality in International Relations
- Ethnicity in International Relations
- European Migration Policy
- European Security and Defense Policy, The
- European Union as an International Actor
- European Union, International Relations of the
- Experiments
- Face-to-Face Diplomacy
- Fascism, The Challenge of
- Feminist Methodologies in International Relations
- Feminist Security Studies
- Food Security
- Forecasting in International Relations
- Foreign Aid and Assistance
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Foreign Policy Decision-Making
- Foreign Policy of Non-democratic Regimes
- Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia
- Foreign Policy, Theories of
- French Empire, 20th-Century
- From Club to Network Diplomacy
- Future of NATO
- Game Theory and Interstate Conflict
- Gender and Terrorism
- Genocide
- Genocide, Politicide, and Mass Atrocities Against Civilian...
- Genocides, 20th Century
- Geopolitics and Geostrategy
- Germany in World War II
- Global Citizenship
- Global Civil Society
- Global Constitutionalism
- Global Environmental Politics
- Global Ethic of Care
- Global Governance
- Global Justice, Western Perspectives
- Globalization
- Governance of the Arctic
- Grand Strategy
- Greater Middle East, The
- Greek Crisis
- Hague Conferences (1899, 1907)
- Hegemony
- Hezbollah
- Hierarchies in International Relations
- History and International Relations
- Human Nature in International Relations
- Human Rights
- Human Rights and Humanitarian Diplomacy
- Human Rights, Feminism and
- Human Rights Law
- Human Security
- Hybrid Warfare
- Ideal Diplomat, The
- Idealism
- Identity and Foreign Policy
- Ideology, Values, and Foreign Policy
- Illicit Trade and Smuggling
- Imperialism
- Indian Foreign Policy
- Indian Perspectives on International Relations, War, and C...
- Indigenous Rights
- Industrialization
- Intelligence
- Intelligence Oversight
- Internal Displacement
- International Conflict Settlements, The Durability of
- International Criminal Court, The
- International Economic Organizations (IMF and World Bank)
- International Health Governance
- International Justice, Theories of
- International Law
- International Law, Feminist Perspectives on
- International Monetary Relations, History of
- International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- International Nongovernmental Organizations
- International Norms for Cultural Preservation and Cooperat...
- International Organizations
- International Relations, Aesthetic Turn in
- International Relations as a Social Science
- International Relations, Practice Turn in
- International Relations, Research Ethics in
- International Relations Theory
- International Security
- International Society
- International Society, Theorizing
- International Support For Nonstate Armed Groups
- Internet Law
- Interstate Cooperation Theory and International Institutio...
- Intervention and Use of Force
- Interviews and Focus Groups
- Iran, Politics and Foreign Policy
- Iraq: Past and Present
- Japanese Foreign Policy
- Jihadism
- Just War Theory
- Korean War
- Kurdistan and Kurdish Politics
- Law of the Sea
- Laws of War
- Leadership in International Affairs
- Leadership Personality Characteristics and Foreign Policy
- League of Nations
- Lean Forward and Pull Back Options for US Grand Strategy
- Liberalism
- Marxism
- Mediation and Civil Wars
- Mediation in International Conflicts
- Mediation via International Organizations
- Memory and World Politics
- Mercantilism
- Middle East, The Contemporary
- Middle East, The Contemporary
- Middle Powers and Regional Powers
- Military Science
- Minorities in the Middle East
- Minority Rights
- Morality in Foreign Policy
- Multilateralism (1992–), Return to
- National Liberation, International Law and Wars of
- National Security Act of 1947, The
- Nation-Building
- Nations and Nationalism
- NATO
- NATO, Europe, and Russia: Security Issues and the Border R...
- Natural Resources, Energy Politics, and Environmental Cons...
- Neorealism
- New Multilateralism in the Early 21st Century
- Nigeria
- Nonproliferation and Counterproliferation
- Nonviolent Resistance Datasets
- Normative Aspects of International Peacekeeping
- Normative Power Beyond the Eurocentric Frame
- Nuclear Proliferation
- Peace Education in Post-Conflict Zones
- Peace of Utrecht
- Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict
- Peacekeeping
- Piracy
- Political Demography
- Political Economy of National Security
- Political Extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Political Learning and Socialization
- Political Psychology
- Politics and Islam in Turkey
- Politics and Nationalism in Cyprus
- Politics of Extraction: Theories and New Concepts for Crit...
- Politics of Resilience
- Popuism and Global Politics
- Popular Culture and International Relations
- Post-Civil War State
- Post-Conflict and Transitional Justice
- Post-Conflict Reconciliation in the Middle East and North ...
- Power Transition Theory
- Preventive War and Preemption
- Prisoners, Treatment of
- Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs)
- Process Tracing Methods
- Pro-Government Militias
- Proliferation
- Prospect Theory in International Relations
- Psychoanalysis in Global Politics and International Relati...
- Psychology and Foreign Policy
- Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
- Public Opinion and the European Union
- Quantum Social Science
- Race and International Relations
- Realism
- Rebel Governance
- Reconciliation
- Reflexivity and International Relations
- Religion and International Relations
- Religiously Motivated Violence
- Reputation in International Relations
- Responsibility to Protect
- Rising Powers in World Politics
- Role Theory in International Relations
- Russian Foreign Policy
- Russian Revolutions and Civil War, 1917–1921
- Sanctions
- Sanctions in International Law
- Science Diplomacy
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), The
- Secrecy and Diplomacy
- Securitization
- Self-Determination
- Shining Path
- Sinophone and Japanese International Relations Theory
- Small State Diplomacy
- Social Scientific Theories of Imperialism
- Sovereignty
- Soviet Union in World War II
- Space Strategy, Policy, and Power
- Spatial Dependencies and International Mediation
- State Theory in International Relations
- Statehood
- Status in International Relations
- Strategic Air Power
- Strategic and Net Assessments
- Sub-Saharan Africa, Conflict Formations in
- Sustainable Development
- Systems Theory
- Teaching International Relations
- Territorial Disputes
- Terrorism
- Terrorism and Poverty
- Terrorism, Geography of
- Terrorist Financing
- Terrorist Group Strategies
- The Changing Nature of Diplomacy
- The Politics and Diplomacy of Neutrality
- The Politics and Diplomacy of the First World War
- The Queer in/of International Relations
- the Twenty-First Century, Alliance Commitments in
- The Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relation...
- Theories of International Relations, Feminist
- Theory, Chinese International Relations
- Time Series Approaches to International Affairs
- Trade Law
- Transnational Actors
- Transnational Law
- Transnational Social Movements
- Tribunals, War Crimes and
- Trust and International Relations
- Turkey
- UN Security Council
- United Nations, The
- United States and Asia, The
- Uppsala Conflict Data Program
- US and Africa
- US–UK Special Relationship
- Voluntary International Migration
- War
- War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Western Balkans
- Western Front (World War I)
- Westphalia, Peace of (1648)
- Women and Peacemaking Peacekeeping
- World Economy 1919-1939
- World Polity School
- World War II Diplomacy and Political Relations
- World-System Theory