POL 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Democratic Peace Theory, Preemptive War, International Criminal Court
Document Summary
Democratic peace theory: democracies rarely (if ever) go to war with other democracies. Several reasons: cooperation: democracies share norms of compromise and, democracies have transparent decision-making processes and face audience costs commitments to negotiated agreements can be more credible. Commercial peace theory: states that are more interdependent are less likely to go to war. War interrupts trade and blocks profits is costly. More trade/investment less likely to go to war. Institutions can foster interdependence between states peace. Unipolar = 1 big power (the hegemon : hegemonic stability theorists = unipolar most stable. Bipolar = 2 big powers: some balance of power theorists = bipolar most stable (when each balances against other) Multipolar 3 or more big powers: other balance of power theorists = multipolar most stable (when states follow norms of shifting alliances) Are independent actors that assist in solving collective action problems. Provide venues for individuals to join with other like-minded individuals in pursuit of common goals (ngos, especially)
