Reliable Partners : How Democracies Have Made a Separate Peace

Rating:
Summary: A very incomplete, off-base and misleading view
Review: Although Lipson rightfully points out that democratic institutions are more easily observed, this in no way explains why they are reliable partners. A more profound question would be why don't democractic governments, once the government has changed, fully reverse policies of predecessors (whether foreign or domestic). For example, a woman's right to vote, income tax, social security, anti-trust laws, etc. The answer lies much more in the social character of democratic societies, as first explained in the profound work, Toqueville's Democracy in America. In general, the social character of democratic countries is one that leans towards social progress, equality, the rule of law, keeping your word, etc. Lipson entirely over-looks the character of democratic societies that make them reliable partners for both foreign countries and their own citizens.