Democracies and War

That democracies do not wage war against each other is now a well-documented pattern in international politics. However, our theoretical understanding of what accounts for this so-called democratic peace is limited. What is so special about democracies that keeps them from fighting fellow democracies, even though they fight wars against (perceived) non-democracies? Knupling contributes to the debate by classifying and synthesising different theoretical explanations for democratic peace at the analytical levels of the state and the international system. He digs deep into the workings of the democratic political system and the orientations of its foreign policy-leaders that culminate in collective action in the international arena. A central theme is that processes of integration -- taking place both within as well as among democracies -- lead to the formation of a common identity. Democracies construct "friends" and "foes", basing their judgment on the way other states resolve their domestic conflicts. Knupling supports his argument with a discussion of conceptual, methodological and epistemological problems of democratic peace.