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9780801888014 Add to Cart Academic Inspection Copy

Power and Military Effectiveness:

The Fallacy of Democratic Triumphalism
  • ISBN-13: 9780801888014
  • Publisher: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
    Imprint: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
  • By Michael C. Desch
  • Price: AUD $109.00
  • Stock: 0 in stock
  • Availability: This book is temporarily out of stock, order will be despatched as soon as fresh stock is received.
  • Local release date: 14/06/2008
  • Format: Hardback 248 pages Weight: 0g
  • Categories: Politics & government [JP]
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Since 1815 democratic states have emerged victorious from most wars, leading many scholars to conclude that democracies are better- equipped to triumph in armed conflict with autocratic and other non-representative governments. Political scientist Michael C. Desch argues that the evidence and logic of that supposition, which he terms “democratic triumphalism, are as flawed as the arguments for the opposite belief that democracies are inherently disadvantaged in international relations. He finds that the problems that persist in prosecuting wars—from building up and maintaining public support to holding the military and foreign policy elites in check—remain constant regardless of any given state's form of government. In assessing the record, he finds that military effectiveness is almost wholly reliant on the material assets that a state possesses and is able to mobilize.

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Democracy and Victory: Why Democracy Is Not a Liability2. Democracy and Victory: Why Regime Type Hardly Matters3. Democracy and the Russo-Polish War4. Democracy and Israel's Military Effectiveness5. Democracy and Britain's Victory in the Falklands War6. If Not Democracy, Then What?NotesIndex

""The novel contribution of the book lies in its qualitative critique of democratic triumphalism.""

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