Never at War

by Weart, Spencer R.

• ISBN13: 9780300070170
• ISBN10: 0300070179
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-09-10
• Publisher: Yale Univ Pr

Summary

This lively survey of the history of conflict between democracies reveals a remarkable -- and tremendously important -- finding: fully democratic nations have never made war on other democracies. Furthermore, historian Spencer R. Weart concludes in this thought-provoking book, they probably never will. Building his argument on some forty case studies ranging through history from ancient Athens to Renaissance Italy to modern America, the author analyzes for the first time 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 new and unexpected finding of a still broader zone of peace among oligarchic republics, even though there arc 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 arc 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 arc recognized as fellow democrats. Weart identifies danger points for democracies, and he offers crucial, practical information to help safeguard peace in the future.

Author Biography

Spencer R. Weart is director of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Investigating the Puzzle of Democratic Peace	1	(23)
Ancient Greece: Definitions and a Pattern of Peace	24	(14)
Medieval Italy: Wars Without States	38	(18)
The Rise of Republican States, Ideals, and Alliances	56	(19)
The Political Culture of Peace	75	(19)
The Swiss Republics: Defining an Enemy	94	(19)
Oligarchy, Intervention, and Civil War	113	(22)
Republics Versus Autocracies	135	(11)
Well-Established Republics Versus Authoritarian Regimes	146	(18)
Well-Established Republics Versus Newborn Republics	164	(15)
Authoritarian Diplomacy	179	(22)
Republican Diplomacy	201	(19)
Imperialist Aggression by Democracies	220	(24)
Leagues of Republics	244	(26)
Crusading for Democracy	270	(27)
Appendix Military Confrontations Between Approximately Republican Regimes of the Same Kind	297	(22)
Notes	319	(94)
Index	413