Liberal peace, liberal war
Subtitle: American politics and international security
By: John M. Owen IV.
Series: Cornell studies in security affairs
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Ithaca, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 246
Subjects: Crisis management in government -- United States -- History -- 19th century -- Case studies; Liberalism -- United States -- History -- 19th century; United States -- Foreign relations -- 1783-1865 -- Case studies; United States -- Foreign relations -- 1865-1898 -- Case studies
Description: This book explores the chain of events linking peace with democracies. Owen emphasizes that peace is constructed by democratic ideas, and should be understood as a strong tendency built upon historically contingent perceptions and institutions. He tests his theory against ten cases drawn from over a century of U.S. diplomatic history, beginning with the Jay Treaty in 1794 and ending with the Spanish-American War in 1898. A world full of liberal democracies would not necessarily be peaceful.

Were illiberal states to disappear, Owen asserts, liberal states would have difficulty identifying one another, and would have less reason to remain at peace.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.