{"product_id":"why-democracies-fight-dictators-paperback","title":"Why Democracies Fight Dictators - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMadison Schramm\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOver the course of the last century, there has been an outsized incidence of conflict between democracies and personalist regimes--political systems where a single individual has undisputed executive power and prominence. In most cases, it has been the \u003cem\u003edemocratic\u003c\/em\u003e side that has chosen to employ military force. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhy Democracies Fight Dictators\u003c\/em\u003e takes up the question of why liberal democracies are so inclined to engage in conflict with personalist dictators. Building on research in political science, history, sociology, and psychology and marshalling evidence from statistical analysis of conflict, multi-archival research of American and British perceptions during the Suez Crisis and Gulf War, and non-democracies' understanding of the threat from Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Madison V. Schramm offers a novel and nuanced explanation for patterns in escalation and hostility between liberal democracies and personalist regimes. When conflicts of interest arise between the two types of states, Schramm argues, cognitive biases and social narratives predispose leaders in liberal democracies to perceive personalist dictators as particularly threatening and to respond with anger--an emotional response that elicits more risk acceptance and aggressive behavior. She also locates this tendency in the escalatory dynamics that precede open military conflict: coercion, covert action, and crisis bargaining. At all of these stages, the tendency toward anger and risk acceptance contributes to explosive outcomes between democratic and personalist regimes.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMadison Schramm\u003c\/strong\u003e is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and a Non-resident Fellow in the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center. Schramm's research focuses on international security, the domestic politics of foreign policy, political psychology, and gender and foreign policy. She has completed works in the subjects of US covert foreign-imposed regime change (forthcoming in the \u003cem\u003eCambridge Elements Series in International Relations\u003c\/em\u003e), democratic constitutional systems and international security (in \u003cem\u003ePolitical Science Quarterly \u003c\/em\u003eand the \u003cem\u003eJournal of Global Security Studies\u003c\/em\u003e), gender and conflict initiation (\u003cem\u003eSecurity Studies\u003c\/em\u003e), corruption charges against women heads of government (forthcoming \u003cem\u003eCanadian Journal of Political Science\u003c\/em\u003e), and diversity and inclusion in post-conflict states (in \u003cem\u003eUntapped Power\u003c\/em\u003e, Oxford University Press 2022). Schramm's commentary and reviews have been published in \u003cem\u003eForeign Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePerspectives on Politics\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eTexas National Security Review\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eAtlantic\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/em\u003e, Inkstick, the Duck of Minerva, Stimson.org, and CFR.org.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 280\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.82 x 9.13 x 6.32 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 18, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47355684815097,"sku":"9780197807453","price":51.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/VtxVrIPQIN9780197807453.webp?v=1769854417","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/why-democracies-fight-dictators-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}