Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I What Are International Networks?
- Part II The Formation of International Networks: Theory and Evidence
- Part III The Implications of the Networked International Politics Theory
- 8 Democratic Networks: Resolving the Democratic Peace Paradox
- 9 Interdependence and International Conflict: The Consequences of Strategic and Economic Networks
- 10 Evolution and Change in the World System: A Structural Analysis of Dependence, Growth, and Conflict in a Class Society
- 11 An International System of Networks: How Networks Interact
- 12 The Network Analysis of International Politics: Insights and Evidence
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Author Index
- Subject Index
8 - Democratic Networks: Resolving the Democratic Peace Paradox
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I What Are International Networks?
- Part II The Formation of International Networks: Theory and Evidence
- Part III The Implications of the Networked International Politics Theory
- 8 Democratic Networks: Resolving the Democratic Peace Paradox
- 9 Interdependence and International Conflict: The Consequences of Strategic and Economic Networks
- 10 Evolution and Change in the World System: A Structural Analysis of Dependence, Growth, and Conflict in a Class Society
- 11 An International System of Networks: How Networks Interact
- 12 The Network Analysis of International Politics: Insights and Evidence
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Summary
Introduction
The popularity of the democratic peace research program is probably second to none in contemporary international relations research. Much of this popularity (and the program’s controversial nature) is due to the finding that democracies are unlikely to engage each other in short-of-war militarized disputes and almost never fight one another in full-scale wars. However, this result overshadows an important paradox that is summarized by the three following empirical statements:
Democracies are about as conflict prone as nondemocracies.
Democracies rarely clash with one another in militarized disputes and almost never fight one another in full-scale war.
The proportion of democracies in the international system is either unrelated, or positively related, to the amount of systemic conflict.
These empirical statements are supported by the analyses in Table 8.1.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Networks of NationsThe Evolution, Structure, and Impact of International Networks, 1816–2001, pp. 251 - 275Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010