Sep 13 min read

Democracies Do Make War On Each Other!

By Matthew Clark

One of the most pervasive beliefs among liberal democracies, or rather nations which claim to be liberal democracies, is that countries with a democratically elected government will not make war on another jurisdiction sharing that same characteristic. This belief is titled the "Democratic Peace Theory." Political Scientist Jack Levy, of Rutgers University, refers to it as an empirical law of international relations. United States President Woodrow Wilson, who guided that nation through World War One, was a firm believer in "Democratic Peace Theory."

It is true that World War Two involved conflict between authoritarian run nations, known as the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and some smaller countries), and the Western Allies (United Kingdom, America, France, British Commonwealth nations, and West Europeans). It is also accurate that the greatest enemy to Nazi Germany was the totalitarian Soviet Union, located on the Fascist states Eastern Front. Eighty per cent of all German military casualties occurred on the Eastern Front ( think about that Russian haters). There is also the fact that the Cold War was a clash between the United States, a Republic with a democratically elected government, and her allies, many of them democracies, against the totalitarian communist (Peoples Republic) Soviet Union, as well as her fellow communist satellites. These two examples from history support the "Democratic Peace Theory."

Yet to claim that democracies never war on each other is to omit the case of the First World War! Fought between the years 1914-1918, the First Great (?) War was a blood bath which arguably created problems in geopolitical relations that still exist to the present! A model for this assertion is the turmoil within the Middle East, much of which was created by the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire upon that Domains defeat in 1918. In terms of human tragedy it is diificult to determine how many lives were lost in the Great War. Nevertheless historians do know the losses were enormous. Patrick J. Kiger in the History Channel webpage puts the number of deaths at 9.7 million military personnel, along with 6.8 million civillians. Wounded victims were many times greater than these catastrophic figures.

For "Democratic Peace Theory" to be valid at least one side participating in this conflict had to be lead politically by an authoritarian government. Yet this situation does not appear to be the state of affairs among the warring parties in 1914-1918. The Triple Entente, Britain, France, Russia, later joined by the United States and Italy, all enjoyed (?) elected legislatures. Great Britain had the 'House of Commons,' whose members were voted into office by universal male sufferage. France had two elected Chambers where members achieved their position by universal male sufferage. Russia had a Duma (Parliament) which was bicamel. One of the bodies was appointed whereas the other was filled by an election method employing adult males with a property qualification. Italy and the United States possessed government bodies that were legitimized by a country wide ballot exercised through adult males.

On the other side of the antagonists was an alliance entitled the Central Powers, chiefly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. In the German case, of utmost importance to the efficiency of the government was the German Reichstag. Comprised of 397 lawmakers, this legislature was enfranchised by male Germans over the age of 25 who had cast their ballots. The Reichstag signifigantly polled on the nationstates budget, issuing credits for military expenditures.

Austria-Hungary had a dual political legislative system with a Reichstat (Parliament in Vienna) and a Diet (Parliament in Budapest) Both of these institutions had their representatives selected by adult males who fulfilled a property requirement.

Ottoman Turkey, as a result of reforms demanded by the 'Young Turks' (an influential political group within the nation demanding what they believed was needed political change) had a (male) elected legislature within the structure of the regime.

Arguably one of the reasons liberal democratic nations are back on their heels in the geopolitical sphere is a perception among non liberal democratic peoples that liberals possess an undeserved moral superiority. "Democratic Peace Theory," it can be asserted, with a possible inaccurate view of history, is one example of that undeserved moral superiority.

References:

https;//www.bundestag.de

Deutscher Bundestag

The Empire (1871-1918) German Bundestag

New World Encyclopedia

https;//www.newworldencyclopedia.org

Austria-Hungary

History.com

https;//www.history.com

How Many People Died in World War 1?

Baj Patrick J. Kiger

April 19, 2023