Take two democracies and call me in the morning: A prescription for peace?

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Abstract
Many have argued that the spread of democracy will lead to a more peaceful international environment; however, the empirical record on this point is mixed. It appears that democracies fight as often as do other types of states, but they seldom, if ever, fight one another. Two main arguments have been offered as explanations for these empirical findings. The political culture argument contends that the interaction of state leaders’ culturally determined expectations regarding appropriate methods of conflict resolution determines whether or not international disputes escalate to war. The political structure argument emphasizes the effects of constraints inherent in certain institutional arrangements upon each leader's (independent) decisions to escalate. These arguments have significantly different implications for the likelihood of peace in a world populated by democracies. In this paper, critical tests are conducted in an effort to determine which of these competing arguments is best supported empirically. The results, though not definitive, tend to support the political structure argument.

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