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March 28, 2006
Again--Incomplete Democratization DOES NOT Risk War
Perhaps you have come across this argument about promoting democracy: "Yes, maybe once countries achieve a liberal (mature, well-established) democracy, they don't make war on each other, BUT in the process of democratization, they make more war than do other nations, even more than dictators against each other." Therefore, it is sometimes concluded, fostering democracy is a dangerous project. And this argument is used against our involvement in Iraq.
A major source for this assertion is the published research by Jack Snyder and Edward Mansfield in their book, Electing To Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go To War (2005). I'm increasingly finding that academics, commentators, and journalist critical of Bush's promotion of democratic freedom are supporting their arguments with quotations and "findings" from this book. But, their research is often misconstrued and anyway, their research does not support the claims made about it. For a most recent example of this misuse, see "Democracy and Violence."
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Posted by Rudy at March 28, 2006 9:06 PM
