It's become a mantra, ritually invoked by researchers to justify further elaborations of this
finding. There's plenty of literature on this topic to fill a syllabus, but an exhaustive perusal of this
empirical literature would soon fall victim to the ubiquitous phenomena of diminishing marginal
returns. Instead, we will examine some of the major works of empirical research and then step
back to consider broader, more fundamental questions raised by connections between two of the
most central concepts of domestic and international politics: democracy and war. Doing so also
necessitates consideration of connections between each of these concepts and the economic and
technological changes associated with capitalism. As a consequence, this seminar deals with
research materials that cross the standard sub-disciplinary boundaries of conflict, foreign policy,
political economy, comparative politics, and political theory.
Week 1 (Jan. 15) Introduction to Course
Background Reading:
Levy, Jack. 1989. "Societal Level Theories," pp. 262-274 of "The Causes of War: A Review of Theories and Evidence," pp. 209-333, in Philip E. Tetlock, et al., eds. Behavior, Society, and Nuclear War, Volume 1. Oxford University Press.
Week 2 (Jan. 22) Basic Arguments and Analyses
Doyle, Michael W. "Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs," reprinted in Brown, et al., pp. 3-57 [originally published Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1983 12:205-35, 323-353]
Russett, Bruce, "The Fact of Democratic Peace" and "Why Democratic Peace?" reprinted in Brown, et al., pp. 58-115 [originally chapters 1-2 from Grasping the Democratic Peace, Princeton University Press, 1993]
Morgan, T. Clifton, and Sally Howard Campbell. 1991. "Domestic Structure, Decisional Constraints, and War: So Why Kant Democracies Fight?", Journal of Conflict Resolution, 35: 187-211.
Russett, Bruce. 1993. "The Democratic Peace Since World War II," (with Zeev Maoz) in Grasping the Democratic Peace, chapter 4, pp. 72-88. [nearly identical version published as Zeev Maoz and Bruce Russett, "Normative and Structural Causes of Democratic Peace, 1946-1986," American Political Science Review, Sept. 1993, 87: 624-638]
Week 3 (Jan. 29) Elaborations and Critiques of the Democratic Peace Argument
Ray, James Lee. 1993. "Wars Between Democracies: Rare, or Nonexistent?" International Interactions, 18: 251-276. [note especially his discussion of the U.S. Civil War]
Oren, Ido, "The Subjectivity of the 'Democratic' Peace: Changing U.S. Perceptions of Imperial Germany," in Brown, et al., pp. 263-300. [originally published International Security, Fall 1995]
Owen, John M. "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace," in Brown, et al., pp. 116-154. [originally published International Security, Fall 1994]
*Thompson, William R. 1996. "Democracy and Peace: Putting the Cart Before the Horse? International Organization 50:
Week 4 (Feb. 5) Continuing Controversies
*Layne, Christopher, "Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace," in Brown et al., pp. 157-201. [originally published International Security, Spring 1995]
Brown, et al., Part III, pp. 337-373, except for the section by Spiro. [also IS, Spring 1995]
*Farber, Henry S., and Joanne Gowa, "Polities and Peace," in Brown et al., pp. 239-262. [originally published International Security, Fall, 1995]
*Mansfield, Edward D., and Jack Snyder, "Democratization and the Danger of War," in Brown et al., pp. 301-334. [originally published International Security, Summer 1995]*Wolf, Reinhard, Erich Weede, Andrew J. Enterline, Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder. 1996. "Correspondence: Democratization and the Danger of War," International Security, 20 (4), 176-207.
*Thompson William R. and Richard M. Tucker, 1997. "a Tale of Two Democratic Peace Critiques: The Hypothesized Bellicosity of Democratic Dyads and Newly Democratizing States," Journal of Conflict Resolution, forthcoming.
Week 5 (Feb. 12) Alternative Conceptualizations of Democracy
Bollen, Kenneth A. 1991. "Political Democracy: Conceptual and Measurement Traps," in Alex Inkeles, ed., On Measuring Democracy, Transaction Books, pp. 3-20. [skim]
Sabine, George H. 1962. "The Two Democratic Traditions," Philosophical Review, 61: 451-474. [skim]
Almond, Gabriel A. 1991. "Capitalism and Democracy," PS, 24 (Sept.), 467-474.
Dryzek, John S. 1996. "Democracy Versus the International System," in Democracy in Capitalist Times, New York: Oxford University Press, chapter 4, pp. 71-91.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism. San Francisco: Freeman, chapters 1, 9, 10, pp. 1-19, 213-253.
Gaubatz, Kurt Taylor. 1995. "Intervention and Intransitivity: Public Opinion, Social Choice, and the Use of Military Force Abroad," World Politics, 47: 534-554.
Supplemental Reading:Hanson, Russell L. 1989. "Democracy," in Terence Ball, James Farr, and Russell L. Hanson, editors, Political Innovation and Conceptual Change, Cambridge University Press, pp. 68-89.
Week 6 (Feb. 19) Models of Domestic Institutions and Regime Types
Putnam, Robert D. 1988. "Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games," International Organization, 42, 427-460.
Cowhey, Peter F. 1993. "Domestic Institutions and the Credibility of International Commitments: Japan and the United States," International Organization, 47: 299-326.
*Lake, David A. 1992. "Powerful Pacifists: Democratic States and War," American Political Science Review, 86: 24-37.
*Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, and Randolph M. Siverson. 1995. "War and the Survival of Political Leaders: A Comparative Study of Regime Types and Political Accountability," American Political Science Review, 89: 841-855.
Supplemental Readings:McGinnis, Michael D., and John T. Williams. 1993. "Policy Uncertainty and Two-Level Games: Examples of Correlated Equilibria," International Studies Quarterly, 37:29-54.
Levi, Margaret. 1981."The Predatory Theory of Rule," Politics and Society, 10: 431-465.
Olson, Mancur. 1993. "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," American Political Science Review, 87: 567-576.
Kiser, Edgar, Kriss A. Drass, and William Brustein. 1995. "Ruler Autonomy and War in Early Modern Europe," International Studies Quarterly, 39: 109-138.
Week 7 (Feb. 26) Recent Empirical Analyses
*Eyerman, Joe, and Robert A. Hart, Jr. 1996. "An Empirical Test of the Audience Cost Proposition: Democracy Speaks Louder Than Words," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Dec. 1996, 40: 596-616.
*Simon, Michael W., and Erik Gartzke. 1996. "Political System Similarity and the Choice of Allies: Do Democracies Flock Together or Do Opposites Attract?" Journal of Conflict Resolution, Dec. 1996, 40: 617-635.*Benoit, Kenneth. 1996. "Democracies Really Are More Pacific (In General): Reexamining Regime Type and War Involvement," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Dec . 1996, 40: 636-657.
*Rousseau, David L., Christopher Gelpi, Dan Reiter, and Paul K. Huth. 1996. "Assessing the Dyadic Nature of the Democratic Peace, 1918-88," American Political Science Review, Sept. 1996, 90: 512-533.
Week 8 (March 5) Challenges for Future Research
Hermann, Margaret G., and Charles W. Kegley, Jr. 1995., "Rethinking Democracy and International Peace: Perspectives From Political Psychology," International Studies Quarterly, 39: 511-533.
Huntley, Wade L. 1996. "Kant's Third Image: Systemic Sources of the Liberal Peace," International Studies Quarterly, 40: 45-76.
Supplemental Readings:Kant, Immanuel. "Idea for a Universal History With a Cosmopolitan Purpose" and "Perpetual Peace," in Kant: Political Writings, 2nd edition, edited by Hans Reiss, translated by H.B. Nisbet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 41-53, 93-115.
Week 9 (March 12) Revisiting a Classic Synthesizer
Carr, Edward H. 1964 [1939] The Twenty Years' Crisis 1919-1939. [entire book]
Spring Break
Week 10 (March 26) Contrasting Interpretations of the U.S. Experience
Ruggie, John Gerard. 1982. "International Regimes, Transactions, and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order," International Organization, 36: 379-415. [reprinted in Stephen Krasner, ed. International Regimes, 1983, MIT Press]
Burley, Anne-Marie. 1993. "Regulating the World: Multilateralism, International Law, and the Projection of the New Deal Regulatory State," in John G. Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters, New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 125-156.
Peceny, Mark. 1995. "Two Paths to the Promotion of Democracy During U.S. Military Interventions," International Studies Quarterly, 39: 371-401.
Doty, Roxanne Lynn. 1993. "Foreign Policy as Social Construction: A Post-Positivist Analysis of U.S. Counterinsurgency Policy in the Philippines," International Studies Quarterly, 37: 297-320.
Supplemental Reading:Smith, Tony. 1994. America's Mission: The United States and the Worldwide Struggle for Democracy in the Twentieth Century, Princeton University Press
Week 11 (April 2) Democracy and Trade Policy: Alternative Models
Rogowski, Ronald. 1989. Commerce and Coalitions: How Trade Affects Domestic Political Alignments. Princeton U. Press. Chap. 1. [or Rogowski, Ronald. 1987. "Political Cleavages and Changing Exposure to Trade," American Political Science Review, 81: 1121-1137.]
Verdier, Daniel. 1994. Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France, and the United States, 1860-1990, Introduction and chapters 1-6, pp. xv-68.
Background Reading:Gourevitch, Peter. 1978. "The Second Image Reversed: The International Sources of Domestic Politics," International Organization, 32:881-912.
Snyder, Jack. 1991. Myths of Empire: Domestic Politics and International Ambition. Cornell University Press. Chapters 1-2, pp. 1-65.
Week 12 (April 9) Democracy and Trade Policy: Case Studies
Verdier, Daniel. 1994. Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France, and the United States, 1860-1990, chapters 7-13, pp. 69-294.
Week 13 (April 16) Institutions, Governance, and Reform
Lake, David A. 1996. "Anarchy, Hierarchy, and the Variety of International Relations," International Organization, 50: 1-33.
Nadelmann, Ethan A. 1990. "Global Prohibition Regimes: The Evolution of Norms in International Society," International Organization, 44: 479-526.
Cortell, Andrew P., and James W. Davis, Jr. 1996. "How Do International Institutions Matter? The Domestic Impact of International Rules and Norms," International Studies Quarterly, 40: 451-478.
McGinnis, Michael. 1997. "Collective Action and the Provision of Market Governance: a Framework for Analysis," working paper.
Background Reading:Bull, Hedley. 1977. The Anarchical Society. New York: Columbia University Press, chapters 1-3, pp. 3-76.
Mueller, John. 1990. Retreat From Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War, New York: Basic, Introduction and chapters 1-2, pp. 3-52.
Weeks 14-15 (April 23, 30) Student Presentations
Assignments and Student Responsibilities
Students are expected to complete an original research paper by the end of this semester.
Each student should submit what amounts to a first (or later) draft of a research paper that has the
potential to be publishable, in the sense that it presents original theoretical conceptualizations
and/or empirical findings that can be said to constitute a contribution to scholarly knowledge. It
may sound like a lot, but that's precisely what graduate school is supposed to train future scholars
to do. My expectations for this assignment cannot be met by submitting mere literature reviews
or sketchy research designs. However, some allowance will be made for students at different
stages of their graduate training, in the sense that first-year students will not be expected to
provide as complete an analysis as more senior students. But even then more than a research
design is needed. This paper is due by the beginning of class on Week 14 (April 23). That class
session and the following one will be devoted to short (10-15 minute) presentations of student
papers, with a total time of some 30-40 minutes devoted to each student's paper.
Late papers will not be accepted without prior approval. Incompletes are strongly
discouraged, and will be approved only in extreme circumstances. Getting an early start on this
project is essential, so students will be encouraged (and/or required) to discuss their projects with
the instructor early in the semester.
Students are expected to complete each week's reading assignments and to participate
fully in class discussions. One-third of the course grade will be based on the quality of a student's
class participation, a second third on the student's paper and presentation, and the remaining third
will be based on writing assignments designed to enhance the quality of our class discussions.
Students will be required to submit a total of three one-page summary memos of
selected readings. An example of what I have in mind will be distributed during our second class
session. The point of these summary memos is to help students identify and highlight the most
important aspects of the analysis included in that article. Memos should be ready to be distributed
to all class participants by the start of the class period during which that reading will be discussed.
The first two memos deal with statistical analyses of various types, and students should
pay particular attention to details of the operationalizations and hypotheses used by the author or
authors. These memos should also include a brief critique of some important aspect of the article
as well as a short positive statement summarizing the original contribution made by this particular
article. This exercise should give students good practice in comprehension of the basic structure
of sophisticated statistical analyses, even if the student is not familiar with the details of the
particular statistical technique employed by the author or authors.
It is also important to learn how to avoid getting lost in the details of case studies. The
third memo will deal with one of the time periods covered in the comparative case study section
of Verdier's book, to be discussed on April 9 (week 12). For this memo students should highlight
the most important events in each of the countries discussed, the author's explanation of these
events, and important comparisons between the lessons of each case (in that time period).
Assignment of memo topics will be made later, by some combination of preference
revelation and random assignment (if necessary). Each student will select or be assigned two of
the empirical articles covered in weeks 3-7 that are listed with an asterisk (*) in the reading list.
The first memo will deal with readings in weeks 3-4 and the second from weeks 6-7. Allocation of
the five major case study chapters (7, 8, 10, 11, 12) from Verdier's book will be made in a similar
fashion. In each case a student will be expected to lead discussions on their chosen/assigned
article/chapter. Collectively these three memos will account for 1/6 of the overall course grade.
When, as so often happens, one becomes too caught up in the current research literature,
then it is a good idea to read or re-read classic works that have stood the test of time. Such works
are often dismissed with the use of facile labels (like realist), but I have found that a careful
reading of a classic book can have many rewards, including a fresh perspective on contemporary
research. For the week of March 12 we will consider a classic book by E.H. Carr which includes a
very critical evaluation of the effect of democracy on world politics as well as other arguments
directly relevant to contemporary controversies. At the beginning of that class period students will
be required to submit a 4-6 page essay on what lessons this book can bring to bear on the
contemporary research literature. Students are expected to make explicit connections between
particular aspects of the Carr book and specific course readings. This exercise is intended to
simulate the type of question that might be asked on a preliminary examination. Needless to say,
students should be prepared to discuss and defend their evaluations during class discussion. This
essay will count towards 1/6 of the overall course grade.
In summary, course grades will be based on the following distribution: research paper
(1/3), class participation (1/3), three summary memos (1/6 total), and essay on Carr's book (1/6).
In effect, then, 2/3 of the course grade is based on various aspects of class participation.
Here is an overview of the schedule of course assignments:
Copies of all required readings will be placed on reserve, either in the Undergraduate Section of the Main Library or in the Political Science Research Collection, Woodburn 200. (The Research Collection has copies of such journals as APSR and ISQ on its shelves.) The following paperback texts are available for purchase at local bookstores.
Carr, Edward H. 1964 [1939]. The Twenty Years' Crisis 1919-1939. New York: Harper Collins, paperback text edition.
Brown, Michael E., Sean M. Lynn-Jones, and Steven E. Miller, eds. 1996. Debating the Democratic Peace, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Verdier, Daniel. 1994. Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France, and the United States, 1860-1990, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
The schedule includes some supplemental and background readings. The
supplemental readings cover certain topics in further depth. Most of you should already be
familiar with the material covered in the background readings, or at least you should endeavor to
do so before the time comes to take prelims.