Democracy and the Future of European Peace

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7770950
AutoresNils Petter Gleditsch (0000-0003-2393-9515, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and University of Trondheim, autor de correspondencia)
Año1995
Volumen1
Número4
Páginas539-571
Fecha de publicación1995-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEuropean Journal of International Relations (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1354-0661 • E-ISSN: 1460-3713
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1354066195001004007
OpenAlexW2168785167
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas60

No region equals Europe in the history of war and genocide. The question of war or peace in Europe is thus not just a regional but also a global concern. Since 1945, however, Europe has been comparatively peaceful. Several factors which have been invoked to explain `the long peace' in Europe are discussed here: bipolarity, nuclear deterrence, displacement of war, interdependence, de-learning of war, a common ideology, uniting in the face of a common enemy, and democracy. While the relevance of nuclear deterrence cannot be dismissed in the case of the East-West conflict, stable democracy would seem to provide the most solid foundation for peace in Europe in the future. The peace-building functions of the European Union are mainly relevant to the extent that they contribute to the consolidation of the democratic system in new and vulnerable democracies. Today, the prospects for a lasting democratic peace in Europe are better than ever, but it will be some time before they extend to the whole continent, and the possibility of major reversals cannot be ruled out completely. A temptation may arise for democratic norms to be enforced by military means. However, the case for spreading democracy by force rests on very uncertain foundations

Democracy · Democratic consolidation · Democratization · Development economics · Economics · European union · Ideology · International trade · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Temptation · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance