Pol 130 Midterm Terms: War And Democracy

Front 1

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Back 1

German political philosopher who first proposed that democratic (or "republican" states) would be unlikely to wage war against each other.

Front 2

Democratic pacific union

Back 2

The separate peace that Immanuel Kant predicted would exist among democratic states. Many believe that this democratic peace has in fact emerged.

Front 3

Rational public thesis

Back 3

Idea that people are basically rational and do not want to engage in war (most people lose, not gain, from war). If institutions reflect will of people they will also reflect rational self-interest in peace.

Front 4

Institutional thesis

Back 4

A variant of democratic peace theory that sees the dispersion of power in democracies as the most important reason they are less likely to wage war, especially against each other.

Front 5

Cultural/normative thesis

Back 5

A variant of democratic peace theory that sees political and cultural norms or peaceful conflict resolution as the most important reason that democracies are less likely to wage war, especially against each other.