The conservative peace: An institutional explanation of post-Cold War stability

In this article we argue that post-Cold War interstate peace in Eastern Europe can be explained by the presence of strongly institutionalized states which, by their very nature, tend to be risk-averse and thus avoid military conflict. Modern states, as rationalized bureaucratic structures, tend to be dominated by mechanisms and routines that view war as threatening to the status quo. In other words, it is the nature of the modern state, rather than regime type or a balance of power, which explains why nations go to war. We consider how the construction and maintenance of modern state structures in Eastern Europe before and after communism helped promote stability in the face of increased nationalist pressure. We specifically investigate the case of Hungarian-Romanian relations, often cited as having the greatest potential for interstate militarized conflict. © 2002 Kluwer Law International.