Democracy and Deterrence

The causes of armed conflict have historically been viewed in primarily sociological terms, with political, religious, economic, and military factors sharing primacy. Few have examined the causes of warfare in the context of a deterrence model or, specifically, the deterrence factors inherent in the checks and balances of a democratic state and the absence of such factors in the nondemocratic state. More significantly, none before Prof. John Norton Moore has argued the value of democratic principles in deterrence and conflict avoidance. In this important book, Dr. Gary Sharp analyzes the concepts in Moore's seminal work The War Puzzle (2005), which describes Moore's incentive theory of war avoidance. Sharp carefully dissects Moore's deterrence model and examines those incentives that discourage nondemocratic governments from pursuing violent conflicts. Arguing that existing democracies must make an active effort to foster the political environment in which new democracies can develop, Sharp discusses the elements critical to promoting democratization and thus strengthening systemwide deterrence at the state and international levels. Sharp also examines the incentives for conflict avoidance (internal checks and balances) inherent in the democratic state and their relationship to war avoidance. In examining current democracies and comparing them statistically to nondemocratic states, Sharp calculates an aggregated index value of democracy based upon respected databases that rank the jurisdictions of the world on political rights, civil liberties, media independence, religious freedom, economic freedom, and human development. Demonstrating through his analysis that democracies are inherently more peaceful because of the internal checks and balances on the aggressive use of force, Sharp similarly demonstrates how nondemocracies require external checks and balances to preclude aggression. Sharp's analysis and validation of Moore's incentive theory of war avoidance is critical to an understanding of those foreign policy strategies that the United States and other democratic nations must embrace as they attempt to reverse a course of history in which 38.5 million war deaths were recorded in the twentieth century alone. By demonstrating how democracy, economic freedom, and the rule of law provide essential mechanisms to deter leaders from precipitous decisions concerning the use of force, Sharp has provided an invaluable service to the statesman and international lawyer alike.