A very important book on a timely subject by a well-known and rigorous scholar. The book addresses a subject that has been of great interest recently both to academics and in policy circles: whether democracies ever fight wars with each other; and if not, why not. -- Jack L. Snyder, Columbia University The best book yet written on the important question of why democracies appear not to fight wars with each other even though they do fight with non-democratic states... This is a highly original and provocative work that is bound to stimulate much discussion and debate. -- Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Hoover Insitution and University of Rochester This is a sophisticated and interesting book on what is undoubtedly the hot topic among students of international relations. Given the book's subject and its high quality, Grasping the Democratic Peace will be essential reading. -- Aaron Friedberg, Princeton University

By illuminating the conflict-resolving mechanisms inherent in the relationships between democracies, Bruce Russett explains one of the most promising developments of the modern international system: the striking fact that the democracies that it comprises have almost never fought each other.