The Militant Face of Democracy
Liberal Forces for Good
1st Edition
Published on 27. September 2013
978-1-107-43993-1 (ISBN)
Description
Democratic peace theory - the argument that democracies very rarely go to war with each other - has come under attack recently for being too naive and for neglecting the vast amount of wars fought by democracies, especially since the end of the Cold War. This volume offers a fresh perspective by arguing that the same norms that are responsible for the democratic peace can be argued to be responsible for democratic war-proneness. The authors show that democratic norms, which are usually understood to cause peaceful behaviour, are heavily contested when dealing with a non-democratic other. The book thus integrates democratic peace and democratic war into one consistent theoretical perspective, emphasising the impact of national identity. The book concludes by arguing that all democracies have a 'weak spot' where they would be willing to engage militarily.
Reviews / Votes
'Focusing on the dark side of the democratic peace, this book inquires into the ambivalences that have arisen when democracies fight non-democracies. Focusing on different types of war since the end of the Cold War, this theoretically self-conscious, well-designed, data-rich, methodologically sophisticated, tightly argued and morally nuanced book opens up a new avenue for research that both enriches and unsettles the conventional wisdom. Its conclusions pose important intellectual challenges that will influence international relations research and graduate instructions for years to come.' Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr Professor of International Studies, Cornell University 'Liberal democracies may not fight one another but they go to war more frequently than other regime types. Contributors to this volume find that they do so more for humanitarian reasons than to bring about regime change or uphold regional and international order. They find a deep ambivalence about conflict and war in democracies. Exemplary case studies of multiple democracies inform these conclusions. Substantively and theoretically, this is the most impressive study to date of a critically important subject.' Richard Ned Lebow, King's College LondonMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
47 Tables, black and white; 11 Line drawings, black and white
File size
4,84 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-107-43993-1 (9781107439931)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2013
Cambridge University Press
€139.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Anna Geis is Professor of International Relations at the University of Magdeburg, Germany. Harald Mueller is Executive Director of the Peace Research Institute, Frankfurt (PRIF) and Professor of International Relations at Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany. Niklas Schoernig is a Senior Research Fellow at the Peace Research Institute, Frankfurt (PRIF).
Content
Part I. Introduction: 1. Investigating 'democratic wars' as the flipside of 'democratic peace' Anna Geis and Harald Mueller; 2. The empirical study of 'democratic wars': methodology and methods Niklas Schoernig, Harald Mueller and Anna Geis; Part II. Opting In, Opting Out: Liberal Democracies and War: 3. The United States: the American way of leading the world into democratic wars Stephanie Sohnius; 4. 'The right thing to do'? British interventionism after the Cold War Marco Fey; 5. 'O ally, stand by me': Australia's ongoing balancing act between geography and history Niklas Schoernig; 6. Canada: standing on guard for international law and human security? Una Becker-Jakob; 7. French ambiguities: of civilising, diplomatic and military missions Johanna Eckert; 8. Burdens of the past, shadows of the future: the use of military force as a challenge for the German 'civilian power' Anna Geis; 9. Moving beyond neutrality: Sweden's changing attitude towards the military use of force Carmen Wunderlich; Part III. Conclusion: 10. Liberal democracies as militant 'forces for good': a comparative perspective Anna Geis, Harald Mueller and Niklas Schoernig; 11. The appropriateness of the liberal use of force: 'democratic wars' under US hegemony Anna Geis and Harald Mueller; Appendix: methodology.
