Custom «The Myth of Democratic Space» Essay Paper Sample

Lyle (1994) in his article the Myth of democratic space drives criticism towards the logic that lies behind the Democratic peace theory. He also makes comparisons between the Democratic peace theory with the predictive power that is vested in realism.

In the Myth of democratic spaces, the author brings to light the problem of the causal link in the Democratic peace theory by identifying the two strands of the theory which he thoroughly criticizes. The article centers on the failure of the institutional constraints in providing enough persuasion and thus does not form the basis of the Democratic peace theory.

Lyle (1994) main idea is based on the fact that an institutional constraint works only between democracies. However, he regards the institutional constraints to have failed in making states stay at peace with one another (Layne, 1994). As presented in paper, Lyle (1994) believes that the Democratic peace theory depends on the democratic norms and culture which exists between different countries. To support his argument, Lyle(1994), cite the case of the Trent affair which was experienced between the United States and United kingdom. During this incidence, the American captured two Britons causing tension which almost led to war.

Lyle (1994) believes that the war was avoided by the norms and culture that was exhibited in the behavior of the Britons.

After reading the article, I tend to agree with Lyle over his argument. Given that Lyle has criticized the pillar of the Democratic peace, I find his argument correct to this extent. With several democracies being in place around the 1815 and 1945, I agree with Lyle that institutional constraints could not have caused the war.

However, his evidence about the Trent affair does not look remarkably credible. This is because there is little to prove that norms and culture stopped the occurrence of a potential war between the United Kingdom and the United States. However, it is true that the two countries engaged in strategic considerations, which curtailed a potential war.