Power kills Democracy as a method of nonviolence

264 Pages·1997·25.449 MB·English

by  R. J. Rummel

DEMOCRACY AS
A METHOD
OF
HOHVIOLEHCE
Political Science
History
Power
Kills
Democracy as a
Method of Nonviolence
Rummel
R. J.
This volume is the most recent of a
comprehensive effort by R. J. Rummel
to understcmd and place in historical
perspective the entire subject of geno-
cide and mass murder, or what he calls
democide. It is the fifth in a series of
volumes in which he offers a detailed
analysis ofthe 120,000,000peoplekilled
as a result of government action or
direct intervention. In Power Kills,
Rummel offers a realistic and practical
solution to war, democide, and other
collective violence. As he states “The
it,
solution...is to foster democratic free-
dom and to democratize coercive power
and force. That is, mass killing and LIBRABY
mass murder carried out by govern-
Square
ment is a result ofindiscriminate, irre-
sponsible Power at the center.”
Rummel
observes that well-estab-
PUBLIC
lished democracies do not make war on
and rarely commit lesser violence
against each other. The more demo-
Copley
cratic two nations are, the less likely is
war or smaller-scale violence between BOSTON
them. The more democratic a nation
is,
the less severe its overall foreign vio-
lence, the less likely it will have domes-
tic collective violence, and the less its
democide. Rummel argues that the evi-
dence supports overwhelmingly the
most importantfactofour time: democ-
racy is a method of nonviolence.
Tlie extent of mass killing in war,
internal collective violence, and
democide in our lifetime and through-
out history is profoundly depressing.
Eliminating it seems hopeless. To those
with an appreciation ofhistory, all that
seems possible is to moderate and per-
haps in some cases avoid a particular
war. It is Rummel’s burden in this book
to show that these realists are wrong
with regard to war, violence, genocide,
and mass murder. Power Kills will be a
compelling read for historians, political
scientists, and scholars interested in
the study of war and violence.
(Continued on back flap)
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'^v
Rummel
J.
ff.
Power
Kills
DEMOCRACYAS
A METHOD OF
HOHVIOLEMCE
Transaction Publishers
New Brunswick (U.SJt.) and London (U.K.)
JC423
.R794
1997
©
Copyright 1997 by Transaction Publishers,
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conven-
tions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing
from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Transaction Publishers,
—
Rutgers The State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903.
This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National
Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 96^5040
ISBN: 1-56000-297-2
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rummel, R. J. (Rudolph J.), 1932-
Power kills democracy as a method of nonviolence / R.J. Rummel.
:
cm.
p.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56000-297-2 (cloth alk. paper)
:
1. Democracy. 2. Nonviolence. 3. Peace. I. Title.
JC423.R794 1997
321.8—dc21 96-45040
CIP
Contents
Figures and Tables
vii
Preface ix
1. Introduction 1
Part I: The Most Important Fact of Our Time
Introduction to Part I 23
2. No War between Democracies 25
3. Democracy Limits Bilateral Violence 51
4. Democracies are Least Warlike 63
5. Democracies are Most Internally Peaceful 85
6. Democracies Don’t Murder Their Citizens 91
Why
Part II: are Democracies Nonviolent?
Introduction to Part II 101
A New
7. Fact? 103
8. What is to be Explained? 117
9. First-Level Explanation: The People’s Will 129
10. Second-Level Explanation: Cross-Pressures, Exchange
Culture, and In-Group Perception 137
1 1. Third-Level Explanation I: Social Field and Freedom 153
12. Third-Level Explanation II: Antifield and Power 191
13. Power Kills 203
References 213
Name Index 231
Subject Index 237