Does Democratic Peace Theory Apply to Small Powers? A Case Study of Turkey and Israel

This thesis hypothesizes that shared democratic values and institutional constraints, proposed as explanations by Democratic Peace Theory (DPT), should in theory prevent small powers from engaging in physical conflict. However, because these democracies are small and developing, these constraints may not influence outcomes in the same way as they do in larger and more developed powers. To test this hypothesis, a dyadic case study was conducted of the relationship between Turkey and Israel. Specific focus was given to two related events, both of which could have resulted in a physical conflict between the two countries: the May 2010 Flotilla incident and the release of the United Nations Palmer Report. The study concluded that DPT can be said to have limited applicability to small democratic powers, as issues such as balance of power, self-interest and country size appear to play a larger role in determining outcomes even when two states share some democratic norms.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

International Relations

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Lattin, Robert

• Turkey
• Israel
• Democratica Peace
• International Relations

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/100

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:cc_etds_theses-1099