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Ballots, a Barrier against the Use of Bullets and Bombs

Author

Listed:
  • Margaret G. Hermann

    (The Mershon Center, The Ohio State University)

  • Charles W. Kegley Jr.

    (Department of Government and International Studies, University of South Carolina)

Abstract

Numerous empirical investigations have demonstrated that democracies are prone to cooperate with one another and that they almost never wage war against one another. Such research has inspired hope that so-called democratic peace might be achieved in the post-cold-war era, especially in light of the rapid diffusion of democracy worldwide since the mid-1970s. This article collates two streams of previously unexamined evidence that speak to the promise of this hope. Looking cross-nationally at the incidence of overt military intervention between 1975 and 1991, the study discovers that democracies were unlikely to be the targets of this form of coercive diplomacy. Both democracies and nondemocracies intervened in the internal affairs of democracies less than would be expected by chance. After exploring several contending explanations for this finding, this article advances some hypotheses about why being a democracy may shelter such states from foreign attack and considers the contribution democratization can make to national security.

Suggested Citation

  • Margaret G. Hermann & Charles W. Kegley Jr., 1996. "Ballots, a Barrier against the Use of Bullets and Bombs," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 40(3), pages 436-459, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:40:y:1996:i:3:p:436-459
    DOI: 10.1177/0022002796040003003
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gurr, Ted Robert, 1974. "Persistence and Change in Political Systems, 1800–1971," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 1482-1504, December.
    2. Ostrom, Charles W. & Job, Brian L., 1986. "The President and the Political Use of Force," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(2), pages 541-566, June.
    3. Charles Kegley & Margaret Hermann, 1995. "Military intervention and the democratic peace," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 1-21.
    4. Dixon, William J., 1994. "Democracy and the Peaceful Settlement of International Conflict," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(1), pages 14-32, March.
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