Democratic Peace A theoretical discussion on Democratic Peace Theory and Historical Context Dependency

Abstract: In this dissertation I take a closer look upon the theory of Democratic Peace. In what theoretical context is Democratic Peace analyzed and what kind of explanations are in use when democratic peace is being discussed? From this starting point, the mechanism that produces stable peace between liberal democracies is primarily concluded as an important feature in the analysis. This mechanism is discussed as a perception of a common liberal identity between democracies, which demands an identity formation within the dichotomy of non-democracy/democracy and liberal/non-liberal. Further on, conclusions are drawn upon this mechanism from a constructivistic perspective, since this approaches facilitates the treatment of concepts within perception mechanism from a point view where historical context dependency is of importance. In this context I have concluded that there are metavalues involved in defining state identity and the legitimate ground of statehood. In this light, I have argued that these metavalues which are dependent of historical contexts and defining for the international society of states, are valuable to the explanatory force of Democratic Peace theory.