Regime type and conquest: Are democratic leaders more likely to acquire distant lands?

摘要

The historical record of territorial conquest provides evidence that democratic nations not only become imperialistic, but also excel in empire building. Using Gary Goertz and Paul Diehl's territorial changes database, this paper shows significant evidence linking democratic nations to non-contiguous territorial gains. This relationship casts doubt on the democratic "norms" argument for explaining the democratic peace. Instead, this paper supports the Bueno de Mesquita et al. (1999) institutional explanation for the democratic peace, and attempts to expand this proposition by explaining why democratic nations are significantly more likely to acquire distant territories.