Awards

• Winner of Jean Blondel PhD Prize 2019

Overview

On the brink of war, what influences decision-makers to attack another country? Using innovative theoretical angles, Femke Bakker explores whether the basic assumptions of democratic peace theory are indeed correct. She stresses the microfoundations of conflict, questioning the assumptions on which democratic peace theory relies. To find out whether decision-makers from liberal democracies really are influenced by their state's democratic institutions and liberal norms, Bakker argues, we should compare them with decision-makers in other regime types. Her ambitious mixed-methods design involves experiments with approximately 750 students in China, Russia, and the US; an analysis of data on liberal norms from the World Values Survey; and a case study on the Falklands conflict. Taking a micro-level, actor-based approach to empirically investigate the theoretical foundations of democratic peace, Bakker delivers a fascinating analysis that is likely to prove hugely influential in the field.

Full Product Details

Author:   Femke E. Bakker
Publisher:   ECPR Press
Imprint:   ECPR Press
ISBN:  

9781910259191

ISBN 10:   1910259195
Pages:   206
Publication Date:   17 April 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. v List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Not another research of the democratic peace?! ................................................................ 1 1.2 War or no war? That is the question. ................................................................................ 2 1.3 How is this research conducted? ....................................................................................... 3 1.4 Scientific and societal relevance ......................................................................................... 5 1.5 The chapters that follow ...................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 Individuals under Threat ......................................................... 9 2.1 At the roots of democratic peace theory ............................................................................ 9 2.2 What you believe is what you see ..................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Liberal and Constructivist explanations .................................................................... 11 2.2.2. Realist and other system-level explanations ............................................................ 27 2.3 Individuals matter ........................................................................................................... 30 2.3.1 Individual level explanations .................................................................................... 32 2.4 Individuals under threat ................................................................................................. 33 2.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3 Threat perception and war ..................................................... 38 3.1 Threat perception ............................................................................................................. 38 3.2 The interstate conflict ...................................................................................................... 40 3.3 Possible moderating factors ............................................................................................ 43 3.4 Concept of military action ................................................................................................ 53 3.5 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 55 3.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 4 Liberal Norms in the US, Russia & China ............................... 62 4.1 Liberal norms for democratic peace studies ................................................................... 62 4.2 Conceptualization of liberal norms ................................................................................. 62 4.3 Operationalization of liberal norms ................................................................................ 69 4.4 Results .............................................................................................................................. 73 4.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 79 Chapter 5 Leaders at war in the US, Russia and China ........................... 82 5.1 Research question and hypotheses .................................................................................. 82 5.2 The instrument ................................................................................................................ 84 5.3 Procedure and Data Collection ........................................................................................ 89 5.4 Results .............................................................................................................................. 94 5.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 102 Chapter 6 Beyond the Dichotomy of War & Peace ................................ 108 6.1 What lies between war and peace? ................................................................................ 108 6.2 Operationalization of policy options .............................................................................. 110 6.3 Results ............................................................................................................................ 112 6.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter 7 A Case Study: Thatcher the Hawk ......................................... 128 7.1 An interpretative case study ........................................................................................... 128 7.2 Tracing the mechanisms ................................................................................................. 129 7.3 Conceptualization ........................................................................................................... 130 7.4 Data ................................................................................................................................. 131 7.5 Operationalization & background information .............................................................. 132 7.6 Results ............................................................................................................................. 140 7.7 Possible challenges ......................................................................................................... 151 7.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 154 Chapter 8 What about the democratic peace? ...................................... 156 8.1 Another research into the democratic peace .................................................................. 156 8.2 Findings of this research ................................................................................................ 157 8.3 Understanding the findings ........................................................................................... 159 8.4 What about the democratic peace? ................................................................................ 167 8.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 171 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 175 Appendices .......................................................................................... 190

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Author Information

Femke E. Bakker studies politics and international relations from a political-psychological perspective. Her research interests include the microfoundations of democratic peace theory, political leadership, belief systems, stress-management for crisis decision-makers, and the impact of meditation on political behaviour. She teaches in the fields of political psychology, international relations and research methods.

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