Democracies more prone to start wars – except when they're not
Thursday, July 19, 2018 - 06:40
in Psychology & Sociology
Research shows public pressure pushes democratically elected leaders to be more aggressive in international conflicts than their autocratic counterparts but finds some exceptions. What kind of political leader is most likely to start a war—an invective-spewing dictator or the elected head of a democratic nation? Surprisingly, science says it's probably not the autocrat.