Never at War

This survey of the history of conflict between democracies reveals an important finding: fully democratic nations have never made war on other democracies. Furthermore, historian Spencer R. Weart concludes in this book, they probably never will. Building his argument on some 40 case studies ranging through history from ancient Athens to Renaissance Italy to modern America, the author analyzes every instance in which democracies or regimes like democracies have confronted each other with military force. Weart draws on an array of international sources to demonstrate the absence of war among states of a particular democratic type. His survey also reveals the finding of a still broader zone of peace among oligarchic republics, even though there are more of such minority-controlled governments than democracies in history. In addition, Weart discovers that peaceful leagues and confederations - the converse of war - endure only when member states are democracies or oligarchies.
With the help of related findings in political science, anthropology, and social psychology, the author explores how the political culture of democratic leaders prevents them from warring against others who are recognized as fellow democrats. Weart identifies danger points for democracies, and he offers practical information to help safeguard peace in the future.