Replication data for: Democratization and International Border Agreements

Does the removal of salient external threats foster democratization? Recent research proposes an affirmative answer but either fails to examine democratization at the monadic level, to consider small-scale democratization, or to account for factors known to influence the democratization process. The current study addresses this deficit by (re)examining democratization during the period 1919–2006. The findings suggest a strong relationship between border settlement and democratization. A state that settles all of its interstate borders democratizes; any outstanding unsettled borders, however, prevent significant democratization. Furthermore, although border settlement contributes to democratization, it does not significantly affect democratic regime change. This empirical evidence cumulatively specifies a more precise relationship between external threat and democratization than previous work and thereby contributes directly to the recent debate between the territorial and democratic peace theories. It also suggests that democratization may proceed more readily if states address unsettled borders first.移除突出的外部威胁是否会促进民主化？近期研究给出了肯定答案，但要么未在单国家层面（monadic）考察民主化进程，要么未纳入小规模民主化案例，抑或是未考虑已知会影响民主化进程的各类因素。本研究旨在弥补这一研究缺口，通过对1919年至2006年期间的民主化进程进行（重新）考察。研究结果显示，边界定界（border settlement）与民主化之间存在显著关联：一个解决了全部国家间边界争端的国家将实现民主化；然而，任何尚存的未决边界问题都会阻碍其实质性民主化进程。此外，尽管边界定界有助于推动民主化，但它并不会对民主政权更迭产生显著影响。相较于既往研究，本实证结果更为精准地阐明了外部威胁与民主化之间的关联，因此直接为当前领土和平理论与民主和平理论之间的学术辩论贡献了新的研究成果。研究同时表明，若各国优先解决悬而未决的边界问题，民主化进程或将更为顺畅地推进。