Schultz Kenneth A. Democracy and Coercive Diplomacy

Cambridge University Press, 2004. — 324 p.Kenneth Schultz explores the effects of democratic politics on the use and success of coercive diplomacy. He argues that open political competition between the government and opposition parties influences the decision to use threats in international crises, how rival states interpret those threats, and whether or not crises can be settled short of war. The relative transparency of their political processes means that, while democratic governments cannot easily conceal domestic constraints against using force, they can credibly demonstrate resolve when their threats enjoy strong domestic support. As a result, compared to their nondemocratic counterparts, democracies are more selective about making threats, but those they do make are more likely to be successful – that is, to gain a favorable outcome without resort to war. Schultz develops his argument through a series of game–theoretic models and tests the resulting hypotheses using both statistical analyses and historical case studies.
Kenneth Schultz is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at the Department of Politics and Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. He has published articles in such journals as the American Political Science Review, International Organization, and the British Journal of Political Science.