Executive summary
Generally, many scholars have put forward different literatures on this topic of Democratic peace. The theory dates back the days of Immanuel Kant in his perpetual peace work.. From the earlier works, it is evident that democracies cannot go into war against each other though there may lack an empirical evidence on the future of the theory. The most influencing thing when predicting the future of the Democratic Peace theory is the behaviors of the different proponents of groups. According to Kant, the international peace is based on the interaction between the states and the Republican government as noted in al his works.
When discussing this topic of democratic peace, the following should be put into considerations; the structural explanation where all elected leaders is not expected to lose in any war for sake their voters. The normative explanation states that democracies will exhibit the norms of their respective domestic democracies and they will have an expectation that others will follow them. Finally, there is the power transition theory explanation, which states that there do not exist fights between and among democracies about territories.
Historical Background on Democratic Peace Theory
Different authors of the democratic peace theory reviews back to the work of Kant that was put in his 1795 essay on perpetual peace. Every scholar basis their work on that essay and then tries to look for any correlation between governance and decision making under the democratic rule. Doyle, for example puts into place the peaceful co-existence theorem between and among democracies. There also exists war against non-liberal and democratic relations among states. During the early times of wars, the democratic peace theorem was never upheld by the fighting nations. Different scholars have advocated for the separation of power so as to bring harmony in this theorem.
The Evolution of Democratic Peace Theory
Other scholars have showed that the peace level in liberal states dictates their interrelationship with the outside world. For example, in his work, R.J. Rummel, a pioneer in the field of democracy came up with a number of ideas- the violence between states can only happen if one of the states is non-libertarian. It is therefore; evident that the theorem of democratic peace is not static rather it evolves over time.
Breakthroughs in the Theory
Democratic peace structure existing in democratic societies is a trait attributed to the growth of this theorem. Russet, for instance puts forth these democratic peace structures as the key of powers in a government system. This division is the control parameter for the existences of balances in the government system (Hensel et al, 1180). Another scholar, John M. Owen actualizes that the structures exist for the betterment of the individuals and also in harmonizing the ruling system. All these are aimed at ensuring freedom for all individuals so as to make them feel incorporated in the system of governance.
Arguments/ Debates on Democratic Peace Theory
The major question of many scholars is whether there is anything like international peace? And whether there is a correlation of this with democratic peace theorem. These two major questions act as the basis of the different milestones in the field of democracy. Christopher Layne, for example argues that there is no explanation of the democratic peace from the institutional constraints. For democracy to exist Layne states that there should be a correlation between democratic public opinions and democratic peace and this is not affected by whether a state is democratic or not. Also, another argument is that if there was no war, democracies would still have threatened each other (Hensel et al, 1182). The external effect is of great importance in discussing this theorem.
Critical Evaluation on the Democratic Peace Theory
Evaluation of the Research
Every research has lessons to be learnt and this was not an exception. Through- out the entire work as a researcher I gained a lot especially in matters of democracies and the way states interact. This research has opened me to the international world and diplomatic relations which is an interesting and dynamic topic. I have learned a lot from the different scholars and all these is not to waste rather to empower me in my future career as an international diplomat.
The main challenge in the research is the many materials concerning the topic some of which are contradicting or holding different views. I have eliminated this challenge by have an in-depth reading and consultations from peers.
Works cited
Hensel, Paul R., Gary Goertz, And Paul F. Diehl. "The Democratic Peace and Rivalries." The
Journl of Politics (2000): 62.4.1173-1188
Joshua, S. Goldstien and Pevehouse C, Jon. International Relations. New York: Prentice Hall,
2012
Robinso, Eric. "“Reading and Misreading the Ancient Evidence for Democratic." Journal of
Peace Research 38.5 (2001): 593-608
