1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910816175203321

Autore

Gowa Joanne S

Titolo

Ballots and bullets : the elusive democratic peace / / Joanne Gowa

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, N.J. : , : Princeton University Press, , 1999

©1999

ISBN

9786613310385

1-4008-2298-X

1-283-31038-4

1-4008-1182-1

Edizione

[First paperback print.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 136 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

327.1/01

Soggetti

Peace

Democracy

United States Foreign relations 1993-2001

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"Published under the auspices of the Center of International Studies"--t.p. verso.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-128) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- Acknowledgments / Gowa, Joanne -- CHAPTER 1. Introduction -- CHAPTER 2. Analytic Foundations of the Democratic Peace -- CHAPTER 3. Legislators, Voters, and the Use of Force Abroad -- CHAPTER 4. Reinterpreting the Democratic Peace / Farber, Henry -- CHAPTER 5. Interests and Alliances: Comparing Two International Systems -- CHAPTER 6. Explaining Relative Dispute-Rate Patterns -- CHAPTER 7. Conclusion -- References -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

There is a widespread belief, among both political scientists and government policymakers, that "democracies don't fight each other." Here Joanne Gowa challenges that belief. In a thorough, systematic critique, she shows that, while democracies were less likely than other states to engage each other in armed conflicts between 1945 and 1980, they were just as likely to do so as were other states before 1914. Thus, no reason exists to believe that a democratic peace will survive the end of the Cold War. Since U.S. foreign policy is currently directed toward promoting democracy abroad, Gowa's findings are



especially timely and worrisome. Those who assert that a democratic peace exists typically examine the 1815-1980 period as a whole. In doing so, they conflate two very different historical periods: the pre-World War I and post-World War II years. Examining these periods separately, Gowa shows that a democratic peace prevailed only during the later period. Given the collapse of the Cold War world, her research calls into question both the conclusions of previous researchers and the wisdom of present U.S. foreign policy initiatives. By re-examining the arguments and data that have been used to support beliefs about a democratic peace, Joanne Gowa has produced a thought-provoking book that is sure to be controversial.