Democratic Peace Theorem Flashcards
Who are the Democratic Peace theorists we studied?
Maoz and Russett
What event ‘proved’ the democratic peace theorem?
end of the cold war showed that democracy was superior, former communist countries became democracies
What happens if enough states become democracies?
there is a possibility of reconstructing the norms and rules of the international system to reflect those of democracies
realism says democratic peace theorem is _______
“utopian”
What are the two parts to the democratic peace theorem according to Maoz and Russett?
- Democracies are as likely as anyone else to go to war
- Over the last two centuries, democracies have rarely fought one another and have virtually never fought one another in a full-scale war
What are the two assumptions of the normative model?
- democracies will behave in the world because as they do at home; used solving issues through democratic principles; live and let live; compromise instead of eliminating an opponent
- democratic norms leave you vulnerable in the international system
in non-democracies struggles tend to be ______
zero-sum
in democracies, there is an opportunity for a _____ sum game
positive
in the international system democracies are forced to play by what kind of rules?
dog-eat-dog rules
The normative model argues that if states can _______, then we can change the world
learn behaviour
Norms adopted domestically are also reflected in ________
foreign policy
“live and let live”
If the norms model is true, it would be possible to move towards _________
greater global harmony
Why can’t democracy go to war as easily as authoritarians?
- it needs support of public opinion, legislature, bureaucracies, interest groups and in their eyes there are few justifications for war (usually a matter of national survival)
- authoritarians don’t need domestic population’s support
What other factor stops democracies from going to war?
it takes democracies more time to prepare for war, allowing more time to solve the problem by diplomacy
How are nondemocracies able to go to war relatively easily?
- can launch war with the little regard for public opinion or due political process
- elites in a democracy may benefit from war, they might choose it as a strategy
Maoz and Russett are that global democratization may _______ that arise out of ________
carry long-term prospects of international stability that arises out of popular control of governments and of norms of peaceful resolution of political conflicts associated with democratic political systems
In what way does democratic peace reinforce liberalism?
-bottom-up
major features of the international system are influenced by smaller players
as democracy spreads so could their ______ at the international level
norms
What is the ‘base criteria’ for democracies?
- relatively free and fair elections every 4-6 years
- two relatively free and fair elections in a row
describe global order post WW2
- former axis powers West Germany and Japan became key military allies and trading partners for Western democracies
- this is an example of states changing behavior and becoming democratic
- NATO gathered Western countries into strategic alliance; founded 1949
- Wester and central european countries, including former enemies, formed an economic alliance, the European Economic Community (EEC) founded 1957
In what two periods was democracy spread/ “on the march”?
after WW2 and again after the Cold war
What was founded after WW1 to increase global democratization and why?
league of nations by Woodrow Wilson
- US perceived itself to be important and wanted to become more influential internationally
- to prevent future wars
democracy as _________ of communism during cold war
antithesis (because democracy was seen as superior)
Other than to contain communism, what is an example of democracy being used to counteract an ideology?
post 9/11 as solution to extremism
democracy as an “antidote”
Describe Condoleeza Rice and her influence in the Iraq invasion
- Secretary of state for George W Bush’s government
- thought democracy in Iraq would lead to more democracy in the region
- wanted to invade Iraq, make it a democracy, gain an ally, which would lead to spread of democracy
- on the idea that Middle East has no history of democracy: “If every action required a precedent, there would be no firsts”
- said democracy in Iraq would succeed because “the basic human longing for liberty and democratic rights has transformed”
What excuse did US use to invade Iraq?
nuclear weapons
Why did US invade Iraq? (possible explanations)
-partially for oil
ongoing nature of empire finding new ways to assert itself (imperialism)
-removing Suddam Hussein and adding democracy would be good for foreign policy
What events served as “vindication” of US invasion of Iraq
elections in 2005 and 2009 that were relatively free and fair with little corruption and women being able to vote
Was the US “implementation” of democracy through force in Iraq successful?
No, there is still violence and persecution of Christians and women, the region is not more stable, the sectarian divisions are stronger
What has happened with the new wave of democratization after the Cold War?
- many of the newer “democracies” have slid back into authoritarianism
- “grey zone” of democratization where the state isn’t authoritarian but it isn’t completely democratic either?
- spectrum of democracy
Do democratic peace theorists think we can escape the “grey zone” of democratization?
Yes
Which scholars discuss the development of authoritarian tendencies?
hetherington and Suhay
What are some authoritarian characteristics described by Hetherington and Suhay?
-submission to authority, conformity to conventional norms, aggression towards outgroups
Authoritarian tendencies correlate with opposition to _________ and support for __________
opposition to illegal immigration and foreign aid
support for warrantless wiretapping
When do “less authoritarian” people become more willing to restrict civil liberties?
when they perceive a terrorist threat
do pro-authoritarians views on civil liberties change when their is a terrorist threat?
no
average americans who perceive a terrorist threat are prone to _______
authoritarian thinking
perceived threat can cause what?
anti-democratic tendencies
Is the media biased in terms of terror-related events?
yes
Politicians realized what about threats? What can this explain?
They can benefit from exaggerating threats/fear-mongering
-might explain why “the percentage of Americans who express the worry that they will be personally affected by terrorism has only declined slightly since 9/11”
The DPT takes for granted that advanced industrialized democracies are ______, which might begin to enter phases of ________
assumed to be very stable, might enter into phases of extreme instability
Why have rules of the democratic game recently come under attack and by who?
politicians competing for partisan advantage
