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| The '''democratic peace theory''', '''theory of democratic peace''', or simply '''democratic peace''' (often '''DPT''') is a theory in ] and ] which states that ] almost never go to war with one another. A number of explanations have been put forth by scholars to explain this phenomenoa, and many believe that democracies tend to find alternatives to violent conflict (such as ] or ]). | The '''democratic peace theory''', '''theory of democratic peace''', or simply '''democratic peace''' (often '''DPT''' and sometimes '''democratic pacifism''') is a theory in ] and ] which states that ] almost never go to war with one another. A number of explanations have been put forth by scholars to explain this phenomenoa, and many believe that democracies tend to find alternatives to violent conflict (such as ] or ]). | ||
| The democratic peace theory was first positied by American historian and sociologist ], the ] of ] at the ]. Rummel wrote that democracy is a "method of ]." The term also refers to an ever-increasing state of ], to which Rummel credits democracy. The following propositions form the basis of Rummel's orginal theory: | The democratic peace theory was first positied by American historian and sociologist ], the ] of ] at the ]. Rummel wrote that democracy is a "method of ]." The term also refers to an ever-increasing state of ], to which Rummel credits democracy. The following propositions form the basis of Rummel's orginal theory: | ||
Revision as of 23:20, 19 November 2004
The democratic peace theory, theory of democratic peace, or simply democratic peace (often DPT and sometimes democratic pacifism) is a theory in political science and philosophy which states that democracies almost never go to war with one another. A number of explanations have been put forth by scholars to explain this phenomenoa, and many believe that democracies tend to find alternatives to violent conflict (such as negotiation or arbitration).
The democratic peace theory was first positied by American historian and sociologist R.J. Rummel, the Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii. Rummel wrote that democracy is a "method of nonviolence." The term also refers to an ever-increasing state of world peace, to which Rummel credits democracy. The following propositions form the basis of Rummel's orginal theory:
- Democracies do not make war on each other.
- The more two nations are democratic, the less their mutual violence.
- Democracies have the least foreign violence.
- Democracies have, by far, the least internal violence.
- Modern democracies have virtually no "democide" (genocide and mass murder)
A related but slightly different concept is Rummel's Law, which states that the less freedom a people have, the more likely their rulers are to murder them.
The Correlates of War Project has done studies to evaluate the historic merit of this theory. In some 2,000 cases of war or other armed conflicts, they could not find a single case where the theory did not hold. Their database started in 1816 and so for example excluded the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the United States; while neither country had universal suffrage in the modern sense, both regarded themselves as democracies with governments decided by elections.
As for pre-1816 examples, one must understand that the definition of democracy has substantially changed over times and what was then called democracy would not classify as one today. An interesting case is the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had many qualities of today's democracies and in which szlachta (the nobles), using Sejm (a parliament), blocked majority of monarchs attempts to declare a war on any other country.
One case of a democracy declaring war on another is the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Finland on December 6, 1941 as part of the Continuation War, when Finland allied with Germany in attacking the Soviet Union. However, the United Kingdom's only active contribution to the war happened prior to the declaration (an Royal Air Force raid on the port of Petsamo on July 31, 1941).
It should be noted that statistically, this is an association, and association does not establish causality. There is currently no definitive theory as to why the democratic peace theory is true.
Some democratic peace theorists hypothesize that this phenomena is explained by the fact that democratic countries tend to be capitalist states, whose trade relations with one another create interdependence among them. This interdependence, their theory argues, constrains the ability of democratic nations to go to war, due to the increased costs. This can prove detrimental not only to the nations involved, but also to their allies and neutral powers. Other scholars suggest that the citizens of democratic societies are less likely to view the citizens of other democracies as enemies, and since their support for the war is neccessary (due to the democratic system), war is less likely to be waged.
Critics of democratic peace theory usually center their arguments around the definition of the terms "democracy," "war" and "peace." Many point out that democracies have engaged covert conflict resulting in change of regime on the losing side. They point to the 1954 U.S.-backed coup d'etat in Guatemala led by Carlos Castillo Armas as a prime example of such an event.
The democratic peace theory is frequently cited as an argument in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
Sources and further reading
- Beck N, Tucker R; Democracy and Peace: General Law or Limited Phenomenon?, Midwest Political Science Association; April 1998
- Huth, Paul K., et al. The Democratic Peace and Territorial Conflict in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press: 2003. ISBN 0521805082.
- Lipson, Charles. Reliable Partners: How Democracies Have Made a Separate Peace. Princeton University Press: 2003. ISBN 0691113904.
- Ray, James Lee. Democracy and International Conflict: An Evaluation of the Democratic Peace Proposition. University of South Carolina Press: 1998. ISBN 1570032416.
- Rummel, R.J. Power Kills: Democracy As a Method of Nonviolence. Transaction Publishers: 2003. ISBN 0765805235.
- Russett, Bruce. Grasping the Democratic Peace. Princeton University Press: 1994. ISBN 0691001642.
- Schwartz, Thomas, and Kiron Skinner. "The Myth of Democratic Pacifism." The Wall Street Journal. January 7, 1999.
External links
- Democracy and Peace: General Law or Limited Phenomenon? online
- The Myth of Democratic Pacifism online