Abstract
The quest for self-determination on the basis of shared identities motivates many subnational conflicts worldwide, but our understanding of the linkages between identity, contested land, and strategies is incomplete. What role do symbolic territorial attachments play for strategy choice in self-determination demands? I argue that groups tend to escalate their demands if they can exploit mobilization advantages of symbolic territory, creating identity-based territorial focal points for mobilization. I present new data on strategy choice in self-determination demands worldwide between 2005 and 2015. Using multinomial logit estimations, I find that symbolic territory contributes to limited degrees of escalation, and discourages armed conflict.
Highlights
The literature on subnational conflicts has developed compelling arguments to account for extensive violence, such as civil war or large-scale terrorist attacks, ranging from inequalities and state capacity to territorial concentration.[1]
I state that groups resort to nonconventional strategies when they value their land for symbolic reasons, which provides groups with mobilization advantages stemming
I do not find a statistically significant effect: Groups with symbolic attachments to their land are not significantly more likely to engage in armed conflict compared to conventional strategies
Summary
The literature on subnational conflicts has developed compelling arguments to account for extensive violence, such as civil war or large-scale terrorist attacks, ranging from inequalities and state capacity to territorial concentration.[1]. Territorial characteristics are critical for mobilization and nation-building processes, which relate collective identities and national identification to territorial features.[2] While existing literature has addressed the linkage between identity and territory in the context of international and substate conflicts,[3] it has mostly focused on a single dimension of symbolic attachments, which does not reflect the complexity of intangible territorial value. I state that groups resort to nonconventional strategies when they value their land for symbolic reasons, which provides groups with mobilization advantages stemming ß 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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