Sources of democratic military aggression -- Cost distribution and grand strategy -- Analyses of public opinion -- Analyses of arming and war -- British electoral reform and imperial overstretch -- Vietnam and the American way of small war -- Contemporary Israel -- Conclusion : strategy wears a dollar sign.
Summary:
"Why are democracies pursuing more military conflicts, but achieving worse results? Democratic Militarism shows that a combination of economic inequality and military technical change enables an average voter to pay very little of the costs of large militaries and armed conflict, in terms of both death and taxes. Jonathan Caverley provides an original statistical analysis of public opinion and international aggression, combined with historical evidence from the late Victorian British Empire, the US Vietnam War effort, and Israel's Second Lebanon War. This book undermines conventional wisdom regarding democracy's exceptional foreign policy characteristics, and challenges elite-centered explanations for poor foreign policy. This accessible and wide ranging book offers a new account of democratic warfare, and will help readers to understand the implications of the revolution in military affairs"--Provided by publisher.
Series:
Cambridge studies in international relations ; 131
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.