Secessionist Conflicts Research Articles

Ethnicity, Secessionist Conflict and the International Society: Towards Normative Paradigm Shift

Abstract. This article addresses the challenge of ethnicity and particularly of secessionist conflict by trying to outline an international normative framework more conducive to conflict settlement. The working hypothesis is that accommodation through dialogue, in spite of its risks, offers the only way forward in situations of politicised ethnicity. The existing international nonnative regime (with its ban on secession and no opening for autonomy) is insufficient for managing and resolving such conflicts, while its revolutionary antipode, ‘national’ self‐determination, is a frightening prospect. Three alternatives are explored: partial recasting with emphasis on devolution; a secessionist option for some federations; and secessionist self‐ determination for tormented minorities within well‐defined criteria. The advantages as well as the drawbacks of unilateral (secessionist) self‐detennination are explored in detail.

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:Maurizio Viroli, For Love of Country: An Essay on Patriotism and Nationalism.Victor A. Shnirelman, Who Gets the Past? Competition for Ancestors Among Non‐Russian Intellectuals in Russia.Christopher Looby, Voicing America: Language, Literary Form, and the Origins of the United States.Kathryn A. Manzo, Creating Boundaries: The Politics of Race and Nation.Gurutz Jauregui Bereciartu, Decline of the Nation‐State.William Pfaff, The Wrath of Nations: Civilization and the Furies of Nationalism.John Fitzmaurice, The Politics of Belgium. A Unique Federalism.James Mitchell, Strategies for Self‐Government.Sudhir Kakar, The Colours of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion and Conflict.Will Kymlicka, The Rights of Minority Cultures.Abeysinghe M. Navaratna‐Bandara, The Management of Ethnic Secessionist Conflict: The Big Neighbour Syndrome.

Explaining the International Relations of Secessionist Conflicts: Vulnerability Versus Ethnic Ties

With the end of the Cold War, many observers expected that international conflict would be less likely to occur and easier to manage. Given the successful resolution of the Gulf War and the European Community's (EC) efforts to develop a common foreign policy, observers expected international cooperation to manage the few conflicts that might break out. Instead, the disintegration of Yugoslavia contradicted these expectations. Rather than developing a common foreign policy, European states were divided over how to deal with Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia. Germany pushed for relatively quick recognition of Croatia and Slovenia, whereas other members of the EC wanted to go slower. Some observers expected Russia to fall in line with the West because of its need for investment and trade, but instead it supported Serbia. It is puzzling that Europe failed to cooperate regardless of whether greater international cooperation could have managed this conflict. How can we make sense of the international relations of Yugoslavia's demise? Since secession is not a new phenomenon, we should study previous secessionist conflicts to determine if they share certain dynamics, and we should consider applying to Yugoslavia the arguments developed to understand such conflicts.

The management of ethnic secessionist conflict: the big neighbour syndrome

The conceptual universe of the study the roots of the big neighbour involvement big neighbour response in secessionist situations the role of the big neighbour the reception of a devolutionary settlement.

Negotiating the Settlement of Secessionist Conflicts

Negotiating the Settlement of Secessionist Conflicts

Peoples Against States: Ethnopolitical Conflict and the Changing World System: 1994 Presidential Address

The post—Cold War surge in so-called tribal conflict is shown here to be the continuation of a trend that began in the 1960s. The main issue of the fifty most serious current ethnopolitical conflicts is contention for state power among communal groups in the immediate aftermath of state formation, revolution, and efforts to democratize autocratic regimes. The end of the Cold War contributed to the long-term trend mainly by increasing the number of states with such power transitions. Communal conflicts across fault lines between civilizations and religious traditions are more intense than others but have not increased in relative frequency or severity since the end of the Cold War. Nor is there a strong global force leading toward the further fragmentation of the state system: since 1989 no serious new secessionist conflicts have begun outside the Soviet and Yugoslav successor states, and in 1993–94 the regional trend is toward accommodation. The most protracted and deadly ethnopolitical conflicts are likely to occur in poor, weak, heterogenous states like those of Africa. They will continue to pose severe humanitarian problems but are foreseeable and, in principle, are capable of being contained and transformed through constructive regional and international action. Six general international strategies to restrain emerging ethnopolitical conflicts are identified.

Biafra and Bangladesh: The Political Economy of Secessionist Conflict

Biafra and Bangladesh: The Political Economy of Secessionist Conflict