Does Democracy Promotion Also Promote Peace - 2222 Words

Does Democracy Promotion Also Promote Peace? Introduction: That democratic nations are more peaceful than any other regime type has been a topic of debate for many years. From Kant to Clinton, political thinkers and statesmen have hailed democracy as a weapon of peace. In this essay, I will discuss the definitions of democracy and peace, the democratic peace theory, and the reasons why democracies are more peaceful and thus how promoting democracy is a means to promoting peace. What is Democracy? There are multiple definitions of democracy, yet some of the common aspects of democracy are considered to be universal adult franchise, right to personal freedoms and liberties, and leaders of the executive competing against each other in an†¦show more content†¦Russett (1996) defines democracy for modern states ‘democracy is usually identified with voting franchise for a substantial fraction of citizens, a government brought to power in contested elections, an executive either popularly elected or responsible to an elected legislature, often with civil liberties such as free speech. Democracy has its roots in liberalism and these two words often go together. Most democracies are to some degree, liberal. In a liberal democracy, the public have individual rights and freedoms, everyone is viewed as equal and has equal opportunities for growth and development. Individual freedom and equality of all people are the basic foundations on which a democracy is built Freedom of speech and the ability to elect popular leaders keep the state healthy. A liberal democracy, with central characteristics of individual freedom, universal adult franchise and involvement in decision making through representatives needs to be encouraged to promote peace. How do you define Peace? To start with, two compatible definitions of peace: †¢ Peace is absence /reduction of violence of all kinds †¢ Peace is non-violent and creative conflict transformation For both