Democracy's War Problem

What has happened to democracies at war?

Democratic nations used to avoid wars - but when they did engage, as in the two world wars and the Cold War, they usually emerged victorious. Now, however, democracies are mixed up in wars everywhere, and they will win few of them. Democracy is the problem, and the problem is getting worse.

Historically, when democracies decided to fight, they would bring more allies and larger economies. Thus, they fought fewer wars but won more often.

Those rules no longer hold true. Today, most democracies are militarily engaged against one threat or another almost all the time. Democracies have embraced many types of war outside of their borders: peacekeeping, military assistance, counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency and even pre-emptive wars. Within their own borders, democracies face significant terrorism, insurgency or separatism threats and have militarized their domestic security in uncomfortable ways.