Democracy and Military Force [Paperback]

The relationship between democracy and foreign policy has always been controversial. Whether good or bad, the influence of public opinion - a central factor in all democracies - on political decisionmaking in matters of war and peace is more important than ever. How has the end of the Cold War affected popular attitudes in Western Europe and the USA? Is the public no longer willing to tolerate military casualties, or is that a myth that serves as a welcome alibi for hesitant politicians?List of Tables and Figures Preface Democracy at War Two Opposing Views A Recent Example and the Need to Ask New Questions Theory Formation and Empirical Knowledge The Software of Defence Conversion: A Paradigm Shift? Support for War: The Gulf War, 1990-1991 Innocence Lost: The Yugoslav Conflict War Without Bloodshed: The Conflict over Kosovo The Casualty Hypothesis Some Conclusions Bibliography IndexPHILIP EVERTS is Director of the Institute for International Studies, Leiden University and also serves on the Government Advisory Council on International Affairs. He is author of Public Opinion, the Churches and Foreign Policy (1983), and editor of Controversies at Home (1985), The Politics of Persuasion (with G.Walraven, 1989) and Public Opinion and the International Use of Force (with P. Isernia, 2001).