The spread of democracy re-enforces world peace
Albright 17, Madeleine, Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Albright was the first woman to hold that post, Liberal democracy and the path to peace and security, September, 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/liberal-democracy-and-the-path-to-peace-and-security/[AMoss]
The Community of Democracies has a new imperative: to demonstrate to itself and to the world that the core values of democracy and human rights are not only goods in and of themselves, but also the most promising path to peace and security in an increasingly turbulent world. The report the authors present here to their representatives and to all engaged citizens from civil society, parliaments, businesses, and youth seeks to show that the norms and practices of liberal democracy and human rights do in fact lead to better security outcomes over time and across multiple dimensions.
Based on a year-long research project gathering the empirical evidence on the relationship between democracy and security, and on accumulated experience with combating the scourge of extremist violence and terrorism, the authors can say with confidence that liberal democracy, when allowed to consolidate and flourish, is the best path toward achieving domestic and international peace and security. A series of policy briefs covering a range of security-related issues from civil war to digital technology were commissioned by the Community of Democracies’ Permanent Secretariat and prepared by the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program and the Institute for Security Studies.
This research, which was complemented by consultations with policymakers, academic experts, and civil society during workshops held in India, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Sweden, and the United States, examines these linkages in substantial detail.
The evidence affirms the standard observation that democracies do not go to war against one another. But the data also prove that democracies are less likely to spawn internal armed conflicts or experience deadly terrorism because they channel dissent through nonviolent means and manage violence through respect for the rule of law and human rights. Authoritarian and failed states, on the other hand, are more likely to experience intra- and interstate conflict, generate refugees, hinder women’s equality, and harbor violent extremists.