Democracies at War

Reiter, Dan; Stam, Allan C.

ISBN 10: 0691089493 / ISBN 13: 9780691089492

Verlag: Princeton University Press (edition ), 2002

It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 0691089493-11-6

Inhaltsangabe:

Why do democracies win wars? This is a critical question in the study of international relations, as a traditional view-expressed most famously by Alexis de Tocqueville-has been that democracies are inferior in crafting foreign policy and fighting wars. In Democracies at War, the first major study of its kind, Dan Reiter and Allan Stam come to a very different conclusion. Democracies tend to win the wars they fight-specifically, about eighty percent of the time. Complementing their wide-ranging case-study analysis, the authors apply innovative statistical tests and new hypotheses. In unusually clear prose, they pinpoint two reasons for democracies' success at war. First, as elected leaders understand that losing a war can spell domestic political backlash, democracies start only those wars they are likely to win. Secondly, the emphasis on individuality within democratic societies means that their soldiers fight with greater initiative and superior leadership. Surprisingly, Reiter and Stam find that it is neither economic muscle nor bandwagoning between democratic powers that enables democracies to win wars. They also show that, given societal consent, democracies are willing to initiate wars of empire or genocide. On the whole, they find, democracies' dependence on public consent makes for more, rather than less, effective foreign policy. Taking a fresh approach to a question that has long merited such a study, this book yields crucial insights on security policy, the causes of war, and the interplay between domestic politics and international relations.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor: Dan Reiter & Allan C. Stam

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Democracies at War
Verlag: Princeton University Press (edition )
Erscheinungsdatum: 2002
Einband: Paperback
Zustand: Very Good