When was the last time two genuinely democratic countries went to war?

[Peter]

I guess the War of 1812 counts, if no one has said that yet.

Wasn't Britain still largely controlled more than the monarchy than any democratic leaders then?

No, Britain can be claimed as a genuine demcoracy since 1689 with the Glorious Revolution which signified the move to a Constitutional Monarchy. The King still had a place in policy making, but certainly needed a Parliamentary mandate to do things.

[Tory]

There was no threat from a comunist Vietnam, as we see ther ewas no spread throught SE Asia.

Cambodia, Laos?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There was no threat from a comunist Vietnam, as we see ther ewas no spread throught SE Asia.

Cambodia, Laos?

The communist takeover in Laos was largely due to the instability in the region created by US bombing, and it's not like Laos is any threat to the US.

That is also true of Cambodia, but using that as an example is fairly ridiculous considering it was actually the new unifed communist Vietnam that ousted the communist government.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

One could make a case for the American Civil War, since the Confederacy had a Constitution set up for a democratic system of government.

However by today's standards the Confederacy was not democratic due to the enslavement of a large portion of the population. But of course the Union wasn't truly democratic back then either.

[A18]

The Union and Confederacy were both completely democratic in every way. However, the Confederacy was not a country.

[KEmperor]

The US and the UK against the Finns back in WWII.

[Erc]

Of course, we never actually fought the Finns in battle...and if we had ever been in the position to do so, they would have defected to our side immediately (they were always truly inclined to the Western Allies, but stuck between Hitler and Stalin, what else could they do?)

War of 1812 / War of the Third(?) Coalition / our undeclared naval war against France are the three that come closest, assuming you count the UK (pre-Reform) and late First Republic France as "genuinely democratic"

[MaC]

US government helped overthrow the Chilean government in the 70s.  Nixon decided to because the leader was of the Communist party, but he was democratically elected.  More a military action than an all out war, but in my book, just about every military action counts as a war.

[??????????]

US government helped overthrow the Chilean government in the 70s.  Nixon decided to because the leader was of the Communist party, but he was democratically elected.  More a military action than an all out war, but in my book, just about every military action counts as a war.

Getting Allende out was a good move.

[M]

The U.S. actually did NOT declare war on Finland, for which the Finns are still grateful. The British and Commonwealth did but launched exactly one strike on Petsamo, targeting German and not Finnish military.

Other than that, Britain was most certainly not a democracy under George III, especially in the North years. But it wasn't until at least the 1830s and probably more like the 1870s-90s that Britain reached the level of republicanism present in the United States from 1789.

Some people try to make the case that the Boers or Wilhelmentine Germany or Nasserite Egypt or modern Iran were/are democracies. Utter and dangerous bunk. Especially since elected bodies in these countries had/have zero control over military, forieign policy, and intelligence (and who do you think wages war, pension plans?)

Examples are exceedingly rare in history. Did trade wars between Venice and Genoa count? But the most cited example is the conflict between Athens and Syracuse during the Peloponessian Wars.

Regardless, the mere fact that people comb the annals of history for exceptions to this rule, like exceptions to the one that stable democracies do not backslide, only show the overwhelming success of these phenomena in history. The obvious conclusion: a globe covered in stable democracies=permanent world peace.

[Kevinstat]

I think you mean the conflict between Athens and Sparta during the Peloponessian Wars.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Here's one I thought of: The Arostook War, although that was actually fought between a US state and Canadian province, Maine vs. New Brunswick. Of course no one died.

How about that war in Central America that started over a soccer game?

[WMS]

Here's one I thought of: The Arostook War, although that was actually fought between a US state and Canadian province, Maine vs. New Brunswick. Of course no one died.

How about that war in Central America that started over a soccer game?

It is questionable whether either El Salvador or Honduras were democratic countries in 1969, although the odds are better for Honduras being one than El Salvador being one...

[Beet]

How about the Napoleonic wars in America? (aka the "war of 1812"?)

Oh, Pbrunsel and Erc already said it. Good work PB, Erc.

[??????????]

How about the Napoleonic wars in America? (aka the "war of 1812"?)

Oh, Pbrunsel and Erc already said it. Good work PB, Erc.

England wasn't really democratic at that time in history.

[Beet]

How about the Napoleonic wars in America? (aka the "war of 1812"?)

Oh, Pbrunsel and Erc already said it. Good work PB, Erc.

England wasn't really democratic at that time in history.

It was ruled by an elected parliament, right?

[??????????]

How about the Napoleonic wars in America? (aka the "war of 1812"?)

Oh, Pbrunsel and Erc already said it. Good work PB, Erc.

England wasn't really democratic at that time in history.

It was ruled by an elected parliament, right?

Maybe so, but they were still much more repressed then by US standards at the time.