Despots, Democrats and the Determinants of International Conflict

ISBN-13: 9781349261116 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 230 str.

Dr Martin Sherman

Opis

An unequivocal endorsement of an assertive and resolute approach to foreign policy by democracies in their dealings with dictatorships. Drawing on the political writings of Kant, the rationale of Churchill's anti-appeasement policy, and the most up-to-date empirical research in international relations, the author forges a rigorous decision-theoretic model to account for the international interactions between despotic and democratic regimes. The model's validity is illustrated across a broad range of historical examples, while its policy-oriented implications, are shown to have far-reaching consequences for conventional perceptions of democratic deterrence posture and the security dilemma.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements - Introduction - An Overview - PART 1: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY - The Nature and Function of Scientific Theory - Theory in the Social Sciences - Theoretical Endeavour in the Field of Linkage Politics - Setting Out the Conceptual Foundations - Specifying the 'Ideal-types' and Assembling the Models - Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy - A Review of the Theoretical Findings - PART 2: THE EMPIRICAL TESTING - The Coupling of the Theoretical Findings with Empirical Observations: The Methodological Rationale - The Justification Program - The Falsification Program - PART 3: THE POLICY IMPLICATIONS - The Conceptual Frame of Reference - The Rational Model: Criticism and Vindication - Political Structure and the Variance of Rational Choice Behaviour - Domestic Political Structure and Risk Preference: The Implications for Rational Choice and Foreign Policy Formulation - Domestic Political Structure and Decision Criteria: The Implications for Rational Choice and Foreign Policy Formulation - Some Operational Implications - Summary - Bibliography - Index