In his article “Capitalism, Commitment, and Peace” published in the journal International Interactions, Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Pat McDonald writes about the likelihood of conflict between states based on the amount of public property a government holds in its possession.

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In his article “Capitalism, Commitment, and Peace” published in the journal International Interactions, Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Pat McDonald writes about the likelihood of conflict between states based on the amount of public property a government holds in its possession. McDonald examines the mechanisms through which large holdings of public property, an institutional indicator of capitalism, lead to a greater chance of conflict between states. He conducts a series of statistical tests that provide empirical support to the theory of capitalist peace, and in particular support the claim that states with large public property holdings are more likely to be targets of a military dispute. He proposes two explanations for the link between public property and the likelihood of a state being involved in a war or other militarized dispute. His analysis leads him to the conclusion that capitalism plays a greater role in limiting military conflict between states than democracy does. Finally, McDonald explores the theoretical and empirical implications of his findings for the democratic peace debate.