Constructing a “Democratic” Peace: Allied Peacebuilding Strategy in Germany and Japan

ABSTRACT Wheaton College, Department of Politics and International Relations A poor understanding of the causes of the “democratic peace” has contributed to poor policymaking, including attempts to impose democratic governments in order to establish interstate peace. This article explores how Allied policymakers sought to establish peace following World War II while imposing democratic regimes in Germany and Japan. Their strategy for permanently pacifying these countries relied on non-democratic mechanisms: imposing structural weaknesses and forbidding militaristic and hyper-nationalistic organizations and rhetoric. These remained central even following the contingencies of the Cold War. These findings further complicate the relationship between democratization and peacebuilding.