Democracies are extremely unlikely to wage war against other democracies this main proposition of the Democratic Peace theory constitutes the starting point for this volume. Chapters authored by experts from different parts of the world explore the concept of Democratic Peace in greater depth in relation to selected issue areas and in comparison to other concepts such as security communities or concerts of powers. The role and significance of international organizations and gender equality, for instance, are discussed and assessed in this context. The objective guiding this exercise is to give an answer to the question as to whether Democratic Peace and the other two concepts i.e. security communities and concerts of powers can provide a solution to todays security challenges and constitute a guide to peaceful co-existence and conflict settlement. So, the chapters discuss intellectual frameworks at some length, at the same time, reflecting on potential inferences for the outside world and highlighting associated challenges, limits, or even possible adverse implications.

Heinz Gärtner is academic director of the Austrian Institute for International Affairs and senior scientist at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Vienna.Jan Willem Honig is senior lecturer in the Department of War Studies, Kings College London.Hakan Akbulut is researcher with the Austrian Institute for International Affairs and a lecturer in political science at the University of Vienna.

1Democracy and the Quest for Peace and SecurityIntroductionHeinz Gärtner& Hakan Akbulut2What Is the Democratic Peace?Bruce Russett3Security CommunitiesAdrian Hyde-Price4What Use Is Democratic Peace in the Present Period of Rapid Power Change?Harald Müller5Peace and Peace Orders: Augustinian Foundations in Hobbesian and Kantian ReceptionsAndrej Zwitter6Democratization, Great Power Cooperation, and International Organizations: The OSCE and the Democratic PeaceP. Terrence Hopmann7Challenging the European Unions Liberal Peace Model in the MediterraneanCengiz Günay8Gender, Democracy and Peace: An Ambivalent Triangle?Simone Wisotzki9The Wars Militaries Fight for DemocracyJan Willem Honig10Reaching Out for Perpetual, Just, and Comprehensive PeaceConclusionHeinz Gärtner& Hakan Akbulut