A Universal Proposition? Region, Conflict, War, and the Robustness of the Kantian Peace

European Journal of International Relations 12: 533-563

41 Pages Posted: 3 May 2015

See all articles by Benjamin E. Goldsmith

Benjamin E. Goldsmith

School of Politics & International Relations - Australian National University

Date Written: December 2006

Abstract

This article assesses the robustness of the liberal or ‘Kantian’ peace propositions by challenging two common practices: pooling data for different geographic regions, and using conflict at any level as a proxy for interstate war. The findings indicate that there are substantial differences between regions in the effects of democracy, economic interdependence, and international organizations. Conflict (all MIDs) and war have considerably different relationships to these key variables, and to each other, across regions. While I do not argue that these results undermine the general Kantian peace propositions, they do represent powerful qualifications that provide insight into theoretical foundations and raise related questions of specification error. They also point to the continuing importance of concepts such as security communities and norms as liberal factors distinct from the Kantian variables.

Keywords: democracy, global regions, interstate war, international organizations, interdependence, Kantian peace, Liberal theory

Suggested Citation

Goldsmith, Benjamin E., A Universal Proposition? Region, Conflict, War, and the Robustness of the Kantian Peace (December 2006). European Journal of International Relations 12: 533-563, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2601716

Benjamin E. Goldsmith (Contact Author)

School of Politics & International Relations - Australian National University ( email )

Canberra
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/goldsmith-b

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