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It Takes Two: An Explanation of the Democratic Peace

Gilat Levy
London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Economics

Ronny Razin
Leonard N. Stern School of Business - Department of Economics

June 2003

CEPR Discussion Paper No. 3947

Abstract:
In this paper, we provide an explanation of the democratic peace hypothesis, i.e., the observation that democracies rarely fight one another. We show that in the presence of information asymmetries and strategic complements, the strategic interaction between two democracies differs from any other dyad. In our model, two democracies induce the highest probability of peaceful resolution of conflicts. But it takes two for peace; one democracy involved in a conflict does not necessarily increase the probability of a peaceful resolution compared to a conflict between two non-democratic regimes.

Keywords: Democratic peace, cheap talk

JEL Classifications: D82

Working Paper Series

Date posted: August 19, 2003 ; Last revised: August 22, 2003

Suggested Citation

Levy, Gilat and Razin, Ronny, It Takes Two: An Explanation of the Democratic Peace (June 2003). CEPR Discussion Paper No. 3947. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=433844

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Contact Information

Gilat Levy (Contact Author) London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Economics ( email ) Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE United Kingdom +44 20 7955 6652 (Phone)
Ronny Razin Leonard N. Stern School of Business - Department of Economics ( email ) 269 Mercer Street New York, NY 10003 United States 212-998-8904 (Phone) 212-995-3932 (Fax)