War and Conflict in Regime Transitioning States
Open Access
- Author:
- Velenchuk, Timofey
- Area of Honors:
- Political Science
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Douglas William Lemke, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Matthew Richard Golder, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- War
Regime change
regime transition
democratization
autocratization
democratization and war
autocratization and war
eastern europe
soviet union
former soviet union
cold war
post-cold war
post cold war
conflict
MIDs
mids
mid
militarized interstate disputes
militarized interstate dispute
Romanian revolution
Tajikistani civil war
bi-polar powers
major powers - Abstract:
- Humans have been plagued by war and conflict throughout all of history. This war and conflict arises from several factors such as territorial disputes, power struggles, and greed. This thesis explores war under the context of regime change. Specifically, the relationship between regime change and conflict is examined in the pre and post-Cold War period under the Eastern European and former Soviet Union states, the states which were directly impacted and related to the set-up of the world powers system during both periods. Two hypotheses are analyzed. The first: from 1955 to 1990, countries undergoing democratization will experience more wars relative to countries autocratizing or not transitioning at all. The second: from 1991 to 2010, countries transitioning to more autocratic forms of government will experience more wars. These hypotheses are supported by the data, with both displaying statistically significant results. Two cases studies are also examined: the Romanian Revolution and the Tajikistani Civil War. However, the examination of these case studies did not provide much support for the theory that the world power system during and after the Cold War (a bi-polar powers system during the Cold War and a major powers system after Cold War) had a casual effect on democratization leading to more war during the Cold War, and autocratization leading to more war after the Cold War.