EDITORIALS & ARTICLES

Democracies are more peaceful in their foreign relations. Comment (150 Words - 10 Marks)

Democratic peace is the kantian proposition that democracies are more peaceful in their foreign relations. Democratic peace theory is perhaps the strongest contribution liberalism  makes to IR theory. It asserts that democratic states are highly unlikely to go  to war with one another. There is a two-part explanation for this phenomenon.  

  1. Firstly, democratic states are characterised by internal restraints on power. Democracies have a much lower rate of conflict with one another compared to non-democracies. Hence democracies may be more inclined to seek peaceful resolution of conflicts and less likely to resort to military force.
  2. Secondly, democracies tend to see each other as legitimate  and unthreatening and therefore have a higher capacity for cooperation with  each other than they do with non-democracies. Statistical analysis and  historical case studies provide strong support for democratic peace theory.

However several issues continue to be debated.

Concerns

  1. Firstly, democracy is a relatively  recent development in human history. This means there are few cases of  democracies having the opportunity to fight one another.
  2. Secondly, we cannot  be sure whether it is truly a ‘democratic’ peace or whether some other factors  correlated with democracy are the source of peace – such as power,  alliances, culture, economics and so on.
  3. Thirdly while  democracies are unlikely to go to war with one another, some scholarship  suggests that they are likely to be aggressive toward non-democracies –  such as when the United States went to war with Iraq in 2003.

Despite the  debate, the possibility of a democratic peace gradually replacing a world of  constant war – as described by realists – is an enduring and important facet  of liberalism.







POSTED ON 17-04-2023 BY ADMIN
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