PSCI-1102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Autocracy, Bandwagoning
21 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
There are few, if any, clear cases of war between established democratic states. Overall participation in war by democracies is roughly the same as that of nondemocratic states. Citizens in a democracy can punish or reward leaders for their decisions. If citizens believe the costs of war are too high, they can punish leaders electorally. Democratic leaders only fight wars they expect to win. If they do not expect to win, they try to avoid fighting, fearing public policy failure. Two democracies know that in a war, each side will devote a large number of resources into winning and thus they prefer to negotiate. Transparency and open discourse in democratic states - free press. Audience costs for leaders that choose to back down, making actions credible. Some maintain that once at war, democracies fight more effectively. Others suggest that democracies are more peaceful because of their shared norms.
