Domestic Politics and International Conflict
分析政党竞争带来的选举不确定性如何降低国家军事支出，进而减少国际冲突，并指出民主制度可作为减少冲突的预先承诺机制。
This paper explores the interactions between domestic politics and international conflict. The analysis shows that electoral uncertainty associated with competition between political parties, each representing a specific group of the electorate, imparts a negative 'bias' on the nation's military spending, given military spending by other nations. In turn, electoral uncertainty lowers other nations' incentive to arm as well. In this context, democratic institutions can be thought of as a possible 'precommitment' mechanism that reduces the severity of conflict between nations and, thereby, increases the amount of resources available globally for consumption. Copyright 1994 by American Economic Association.