Review: A Stability-Seeking Power US Foreign Policy and Secessionist Conflicts

Abstract

A STABILITY-SEEKING POWER US Foreign Policy and Secessionist Conflicts Jonathan Paquin McGiIl- Queen' s University Press, 2010. 230 pp, $27.95 PaPer ISBN 978-0773537378Today the world is witnessing attempts to change international boundaries in northern Iraq, southern Sudan, the Basque region in Spain, and Kashmir. In each case, domestic conflicts, which often reflect underlying ethnic tensions, spill over existing frontiers as secessionists attempt to create independent states. The United States often becomes involved in these conflicts and must decide whether to recognize the statehood of breakaway groups or the legitimacy of redrawn frontiers. The American role in these controversies is significant as US policy can influence the chances of a breakaway region gaining UN membership, World Bank funding, and global visibility.In his new book, Jonathan Paquin addresses this pressing but underdiscussed topic of US foreign policy. He correctly points out that the United States's post-Cold War record in this area demonstrates puzzling variation and apparent inconsistency. Why did the US accept declarations of statehood by Macedonia, Kosovo, and Eritrea but reject those by Chechnya, Somaliland, and others? Paquin's object is find the unifying rationale that underlies these apparently contradictory decisions.Paquin turns to the principles of defensive realism to solve the puzzle. On this basis, he presents a two-pronged theory. First, he asserts that the US will support whichever party is able to ensure the stability of international borders. If the extant central government can provide this guarantee, Washington will not recognize the secessionist claims. However, if the government cannot do so but the secessionists can, the US will side with the latter.In order to test this thesis, Paquin examines Croatia and Slovenia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Eritrea, and Somaliland. To his credit, he also considers two rival theses. The first focuses on the influence of diasporic lobby groups within the United States and the second on business interests. Paquin's research is laid out clearly and follows a straightforward logic. His case studies are well-documented and his use of elite interviews lends gravitas to the analysis. Despite occasional logical jumps in which he appears to have inaccurately extrapolated his observations (87), the depth ofthe case studies is refreshing.Given the book's realist lens, one might expect the author to pay little attention to either the internal dynamics of the US policy process or the domestic politics of states facing secessionist claims. But Paquin's coverage of these very issues situates each case in its own unique context. He clearly opens the black box. He also resists realism's conceptual trappings and explores US interagency conflict quite effectively. …