ABSTRACT
A pattern of increasingly cooperative during the 1985-1988 period appears to reflect the auspicious influence of the democratic peace. Democratic security framework shaped Argentine foreign policy in this period for two reasons. First, a very small and homogenous group. Second, their framework proved compelling because they used effective means to promote it. Transitions to civilian democratic rule, Argentina and Brazil embarked upon a rapid process of nuclear confidence and regime building. This process of regime building was largely driven by Argentine initiatives that were accepted by Brazil. This chapter explores the creation of a democratic peace by design, the deliberate evocation of shared expectations of non-violent conflict resolution. A key element in this design was the establishment of a bilateral regime to govern these states nuclear relations. It is important to recognize that positive change in Argentine-Brazilian nuclear relations was not a necessary product of democratic rule, of transitions to democracy, or of the democratization process itself.
