Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-tnzpk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-09-12T16:18:54.632Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français
Get access

Abstract

Preferences for conflict and cooperation are systematically different for men and women: across a variety of contexts, women generally prefer more peaceful options and are less supportive of making threats and initiating conflict. But how do these preferences affect states’ decisions for war and patterns of conflict at the international level, such as the democratic peace? Women have increasingly participated in political decision making over the last century because of suffragist movements. But although there is a large body of research on the democratic peace, the role of women's suffrage has gone unexplored. Drawing on theory, a meta-analysis of survey experiments in international relations, and analysis of crossnational conflict data, we show how features of women's preferences about the use of force translate into specific patterns of international conflict. When empowered by democratic institutions and suffrage, women's more pacific preferences generate a dyadic democratic peace (i.e., between democracies), as well as a monadic peace. Our analysis supports the view that the enfranchisement of women is essential for the democratic peace.

Keywords

Democratic peacegenderconflictuse of forcepublic opinionsuffrage

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
International Organization , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , Fall 2020 , pp. 633 - 670
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abrams, Burton A., and Settle, Russell F.. 1999. Women's Suffrage and the Growth of the Welfare State. Public Choice 100 (3–4):289–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John H., Gelpi, Christopher, Feaver, Peter D., Reifler, Jason, and Sharp, Kristin Thompson. 2006. Foreign Policy and the Electoral Connection. Annual Review of Political Science 9:477–502.Google Scholar
Aristophanes. 1925. Lysistrata. Floating Press.Google Scholar
Baum, Matthew A., and Potter, Philip B.K.. 2015. War and Democratic Constraint: How the Public Influences Foreign Policy. Princeton University press.Google Scholar
Berinsky, Adam J. 2009. In Time of War: Understanding American Public Opinion from World War II to Iraq. University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, Deborah Jordan, and Valentino, Benjamin A.. 2011. A War of One's Own: Understanding the Gender Gap in Support for War. Public Opinion Quarterly 75 (2):270–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, Morrow, James D., Siverson, Randolph M., and Smith, Alastair. 1999. An Institutional Explanation of the Democratic Peace. American Political Science Review 93 (4):791–807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caprioli, Mary. 2000. Gendered Conflict. Journal of Peace Research 37 (1):51–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caprioli, Mary, and Boyer, Mark A.. 2001. Gender, Violence, and International Crisis. Journal of Conflict Resolution 45 (4):503–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Dara Kay. 2013. Female Combatants and the Perpetration of Violence: Wartime Rape in the Sierra Leone Civil War. World Politics 65 (3):383–415.Google Scholar
Cohen, Dara Kay, and Jung, Danielle F.. 2018. Who Supports War and Why? Exploring Sources of the Gender Gap. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the ISA.Google Scholar
Conover, Pamela Johnston, and Sapiro, Virginia. 1993. Gender, Feminist Consciousness, and War. American Journal of Political Science 37 (4):1079–99.Google Scholar
Coppedge, Michael, Gerring, John, Lindberg, Staffan I., Skaaning, Svend-Erik, and Teorell, Jan. 2016. V-Dem Codebook v6. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corder, J. Kevin, and Wolbrecht, Christina. 2016. Counting Women's Ballots: Female Voters from Suffrage Through the New Deal. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croco, Sarah E., and Gartner, Scott Sigmund. 2014. Flip-Flops and High Heels: An Experimental Analysis of Elite Position Change and Gender on Wartime Public Support. International Interactions 40 (1):1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dafoe, Allan. 2011. Statistical Critiques of the Democratic Peace: Caveat Emptor. American Journal of Political Science 55 (2):247–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dafoe, Allan. 2018. Nonparametric Identification of Causal Effects under Temporal Dependence. Sociological Methods and Research 47 (2):136–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dafoe, Allan, Oneal, John R., and Russett, Bruce. 2013. The Democratic Peace: Weighing the Evidence and Cautious Inference. International Studies Quarterly 57 (1):201–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Debs, Alexandre, and Goemans, Hein E.. 2010. Regime Type, the Fate of Leaders, and War. American Political Science Review 104 (3):430–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dube, Oeindrila, and Harish, S.P.. 2017. Queens. NBER Working Paper No. 23337.Google Scholar
Eichenberg, Richard C. 2016. Gender Difference in American Public Opinion on the Use of Military Force, 1982–2013. International Studies Quarterly 60 (1):138–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichenberg, Richard C. 2019. Gender, War and World Order: A Study of Public Opinion. Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Eichenberg, Richard C., and Stoll, Richard J.. 2012. Gender Difference or Parallel Publics? The Dynamics of Defense Spending Opinions in the United States, 1965–2007. Journal of Conflict Resolution 56 (2):331–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fearon, James D. 1994. Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes. American Political Science Review 88 (3):577–92.Google Scholar
Fearon, James D. 1995. Rationalist Explanations for War. International Organization 49 (3):379–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flores-Macías, Gustavo A., and Kreps, Sarah E.. 2017. Borrowing Support for War: The Effect of War Finance on Public Attitudes Toward Conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution 61 (5):997–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibler, Douglas M. 2012. The Territorial Peace: Borders, State Development, and International Conflict. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gibler, Douglas M., Miller, Steven V., and Little, Erin K.. 2016. An Analysis of the Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) Dataset, 1816–2001. International Studies Quarterly 60 (4):719–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, Joshua S. 2003. War and Gender. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottfried, Matthew S., and Trager, Robert F.. 2016. A Preference for War: How Fairness and Rhetoric Influence Leadership Incentives in Crises. International Studies Quarterly 60 (2):243–57.Google Scholar
Grieco, Joseph M., Gelpi, Christopher, Reifler, Jason, and Feaver, Peter D.. 2011. Let's Get a Second Opinion: International Institutions and American Public Support for War. International Studies Quarterly 55 (2):563–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., Haggard, Stephan, Lake, David A., and Victor, David G.. 2017. The Behavioral Revolution and the Study of International Relations. International Organization 71 (S1):S1–S31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hainmueller, Jens, Mummolo, Jonathan, and Xu, Yiqing. 2019. How Much Should We Trust Estimates from Multiplicative Interaction Models? Simple Tools to Improve Empirical Practice. Political Analysis 27 (2):163–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatemi, Peter K., McDermott, Rose, Michael Bailey, J., and Martin, Nicholas G.. 2012. The Different Effects of Gender and Sex on Vote Choice. Political Research Quarterly 65 (1):76–92.Google Scholar
Horowitz, Michael C., Stam, Allan C., and Ellis, Cali M.. 2015. Why Leaders Fight. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, Leonie, Feldman, Stanley, Taber, Charles, and Lahav, Gallya. 2005. Threat, Anxiety, and Support of Antiterrorism Policies. American Journal of Political Science 49 (3):593–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hudson, Valerie M., Ballif-Spanvill, Bonnie, Caprioli, Mary, and Emmett, Chad F.. 2012. Sex and World Peace. Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Hyde, Janet S. 1984. How Large Are Gender Differences in Aggression? A Developmental Meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology 20 (4):722–36.Google Scholar
Ikeda, Maki, and Tago, Atsushi. 2014. Winning Over Foreign Domestic Support for Use of Force: Power of Diplomatic and Operational Multilateralism. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 14 (2):303–24.Google Scholar
Johns, Robert, and Davies, Graeme A.M.. 2012. Democratic Peace or Clash of Civilizations? Target States and Support for War in Britain and The United States. Journal of Politics 74 (4):1038–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kertzer, Joshua D., and Brutger, Ryan. 2016. Decomposing Audience Costs: Bringing the Audience Back into Audience Cost Theory. American Journal of Political Science 60 (1):234–49.Google Scholar
Klein, Emily. 2014. Sex and War on the American Stage: Lysistrata in Performance 1930–2012. Routledge.Google Scholar
Levendusky, Matthew S., and Horowitz, Michael C.. 2012. When Backing Down is the Right Decision: Partisanship, New Information, and Audience Costs. The Journal of Politics 74 (2):323–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lott, John R. Jr, and Kenny, Lawrence W.. 1999. Did Women's Suffrage Change the Size and Scope of Government? Journal of Political Economy 107 (6):1163–98.Google Scholar
Mansfield, Edward D., and Snyder, Jack. 1995. Democratization and the Danger of War. International Security 20 (1):5–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Monty G., Jaggers, Keith, and Gurr, Ted Robert. 2011. Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions 1800–2010 Dataset Users’ Manual.Google Scholar
McConnaughy, Corrine M. 2013. The Woman Suffrage Movement in America: A Reassessment. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCrillis, Neal Robert. 1998. The British Conservative Party in the Age of Universal Suffrage: Popular Conservatism, 1918–1929. Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
McDermott, Rose. 2015. Sex and Death: Gender Differences in Aggression and Motivations for Violence. International Organization 69 (3):753–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, Rose, and Hatemi, Peter K.. 2011. Distinguishing Sex and Gender. PS: Political Science and Politics 44 (1):89–92.Google Scholar
Morgan, Kimberly J. 2013. Path Shifting of the Welfare State: Electoral Competition and the Expansion of Work-Family Policies in Western Europe. World Politics 65 (1):73–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrow, James D. 1999. How Could Trade Affect Conflict? Journal of Peace Research 36 (4):481–89.Google Scholar
Oneal, John R., and Russett, Bruce M.. 1999. The Kantian Peace: The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885–1992. World Politics 52 (1):1–37.Google Scholar
Oneal, John R., and Russett, Bruce M.. 2001. Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations. Norton.Google Scholar
Paxton, Pamela. 2000. Women's Suffrage in the Measurement of Democracy: Problems of Operationalization. Studies in Comparative International Development 35 (3):92–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polachek, Solomon, and Xiang, Jun. 2010. How Opportunity Costs Decrease the Probability of War in an Incomplete Information Game. International Organization 64 (1):133–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Press, Daryl G., Sagan, Scott D., and Valentino, Benjamin A.. 2013. Atomic Aversion: Experimental Evidence on Taboos, Traditions, and the Non-use of Nuclear Weapons. American Political Science Review 107 (1):188–206.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam. 2009. Conquered or Granted? A History of Suffrage Extensions. British Journal of Political Science 39 (2):291–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regan, Patrick M., and Paskeviciute, Aida. 2003. Women's Access to Politics and Peaceful States. Journal of Peace Research 40 (3):287–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reiter, Dan. 2015. The Positivist Study of Gender and International Relations. Journal of Conflict Resolution 59 (7):1301–26.Google Scholar
Reiter, Dan, and Stam, Allan C.. 2002. Democracies at War. Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Risse-Kappen, Thomas. 1995. Democratic Peace—Warlike Democracies? A Social Constructivist Interpretation of the Liberal Argument. European Journal of International Relations 1 (4):491–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosato, Sebastian. 2003. The Flawed Logic of Democratic Peace Theory. American Political Science Review 97 (4):585–602.Google Scholar
Rousseau, David L., Gelpi, Christopher, Reiter, Dan, and Huth, Paul K.. 1996. Assessing the Dyadic Nature of the Democratic Peace, 1918–88. American Political Science Review 90 (3):512–33.Google Scholar
Russett, Bruce M. 1990. Controlling the Sword: The Democratic Governance of National Security. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sagan, Scott D., and Valentino, Benjamin A.. 2017. Revisiting Hiroshima in Iran: What Americans Really Think About Using Nuclear Weapons and Killing Noncombatants. International Security 42 (1):41–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, Elizabeth N. 2015. War and the Inner Circle: Democratic Elites and the Politics of Using Force. Security Studies 24 (3):466–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schramm, Madison, and Stark, Alexandra. 2020. Peacemakers or Iron Ladies? A Cross-National Study of Gender and International Conflict. Security Studies 29 (3):515–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, Kenneth A. 1999. Do Democratic Institutions Constrain or Inform? Contrasting Two Institutional Perspectives on Democracy and War. International Organization 53 (2):233–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, Kenneth A. 2005. The Politics of Risking Peace: Do Hawks or Doves Deliver the Olive Branch? International Organization 59 (1):1–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, Joshua A., and Blair, Christopher W.. 2020. Do Women Make More Credible Threats? Gender Stereotypes, Audience Costs, and Crisis Bargaining. International Organization 72 (3):693–724.Google Scholar
Sjoberg, Laura. 2013. Gendering Global Conflict: Toward a Feminist Theory of War. Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Spaniel, William. 2019. The Uncertainty Tradeoff: Re-Examining Opportunity Costs and War. International Studies Quarterly 63 (4):1025–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tago, Atsushi, and Ikeda, Maki. 2015. An “A” For Effort: Experimental Evidence on UN Security Council Engagement and Support for US Military Action in Japan. British Journal of Political Science 45 (2):391–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tapper, Katy, and Boulton, Michael J.. 2004. Sex Differences in Levels of Physical, Verbal, and Indirect Aggression Amongst Primary School Children and Their Associations with Beliefs About Aggression. Aggressive Behavior 30 (2):123–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teele, Dawn Langan. 2014. Ordinary Democratization: The Electoral Strategy that Won British Women the Vote. Politics and Society 42 (4):537–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tessler, Mark, and Warriner, Ina. 1997. Gender, Feminism, and Attitudes Toward International Conflict: Exploring Relationships with Survey Data from the Middle East. World Politics 49 (2):250–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Jakana L., and Bond, Kanisha D.. 2015. Women's Participation in Violent Political Organizations. American Political Science Review 109 (3):488–506.Google Scholar
Ticchi, David, and Vindigni, Andrea. 2006. On Wars and Political Development: The Role of International Conflicts in the Democratization of the West. Center for Institutions and Governance Working Papers Series.Google Scholar
Tickner, J. Ann, and True, Jacqui. 2018. A Century of International Relations Feminism: From World War I Women's Peace Pragmatism to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. International Studies Quarterly 62 (2):221–33.Google Scholar
Tomz, Michael. 2007. Domestic Audience Costs in International Relations: An Experimental Approach. International Organization 61 (4):821–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomz, Michael R., and Weeks, Jessica L.P.. 2013. Public Opinion and the Democratic Peace. American Political Science Review 107 (4):849–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trager, Robert F., and Vavreck, Lynn. 2011. The Political Costs of Crisis Bargaining: Presidential Rhetoric and the Role of Party. American Journal Political Science 55 (3):526–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiting, Beatrice Blyth, and Whiting, John W.M.. 1975. Children of Six Cultures: A Psychocultural Analysis. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Barnhart et al. Supplementary Materials

Barnhart et al. Supplementary Materials

Download Barnhart et al. Supplementary Materials(PDF)
PDF 3.9 MB
Supplementary material: Link

Barnhart et al. Dataset

Dataset

https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/U6ZBWT
Link