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    STUDIA EUROPAEA - Issue no. 2 / 2007  
         
  Article:   CONSTRUCTING A BETTER DEMOCRATIC PEACE THEORY.

Authors:  ZOLTÁN I. BÚZÁS. 		 
       
         
  Abstract:  At the risk of oversimplification we can distinguish between pessimist and optimist research programs on European security. In the present paper I focus on the optimistic democratic peace theory, since the empirical evidence seems more supportive of it. After reviewing the democratic peace literature, I find that the normative/cultural strand provides most of the explanatory power of this research program. I suggest that constructivism has the potential to improve this component because it is specialized to deal with norms. Finally, I draw hypotheses based on this social constructivist interpretation of the normative/cultural strand, and specify a test for it regarding European enlargement. As a caveat, the paper is a first draft and as such a work in progress, and thus it certainly needs further work to overcome its present limitations.  
         
     
         
         
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