POLSCI 160 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Brezhnev Doctrine

• School: U of M
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLSCI 160
• Professor: James Morrow

Document Summary

Democracies are very unlikely to fight one another, even though democracies fight as often as other types of states. Open political opposition leads to more effective signals and so peaceful resolution. The greater risk of removal leads democratic leaders to choose their wars carefully. Democracies are not nice, however; they are willing to use force against weaker states if necessary. Democracies resolve territorial conflicts of interest with one another. Describe the two regularities that form the puzzle of the democratic peace. Outline four possible explanations of the democratic peace. However, democracies fight wars about as often as other types of states do. Promotion of democracy as goal of us foreign policy. During the cold war, most democracies aligned with the united states. Common interests account for peace among democracies during the cold war. No difference in dispute rates before 1945 or after 1991. Lack of democratic wars before 1945 is a fluke because of few democratic dyads then.