They cited social science studies that show that democracies rarely go to war with each other. But, more carefully stated, what scholars show is that liberal democracies almost never go to war with each other, and it may be that a liberal constitutional culture is more important than the mere fact of elections.
克林顿和布什都频繁引证民主对安全的有益作用。他们援引社会科学研究的成果，称民主政体之间几乎不会开战。但是，更确切地说，学者们所言是 自由 民主政体之间几乎从不开战，这很可能是因为自由主义宪政文化比仅仅选举的事实更重要。