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Conflict and the Environment

Conflict and the Environment. Betts, pages 483-507. Overview. Territorial conflicts Other resource conflicts (e.g. water). The Importance of Territory. Territory is an essential characteristic of a nation-state. Territory is important for the national economy.

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Conflict and the Environment

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  1. Conflict and the Environment Betts, pages 483-507

  2. Overview • Territorial conflicts • Other resource conflicts (e.g. water)

  3. The Importance of Territory • Territory is an essential characteristic of a nation-state. • Territory is important for the national economy. • Territory is important for defense. • Territory can be linked to a particular ethnic or religious group. • Psychological importance

  4. Contiguity and War • Question: are contiguous states (with shared borders) more likely to fight each other? • John Vasquez examines this question in his research. • Between 1816-1980, 88% of interstate wars (59 of 67) and 86% (24 of 28) of all rivalries have been between neighbors.

  5. Competing Explanations for the Contiguity-War Relationship Proximity • Neighbors fight because they can reach each other (loss of strength with distance) • Problem: contiguity remains fairly constant, but war is infrequent • Technology alters military reach over time

  6. Competing Explanations for the Contiguity-War Relationship Interaction • Borders provide more opportunity for conflict • Problem: we cannot account for cooperation in some contiguous dyads and conflict in others

  7. Competing Explanations for the Contiguity-War Relationship Territoriality (Vasquez) • Wars arise from specific territorial disputes • Proximity provides the opportunity for war, while a territorial dispute provides the willingness for war • Humans have an inherited tendency towards territoriality, the tendency to occupy and defend territory • Learned behavior: the use of force to resolve territorial disputes

  8. Empirical Evidence • The most common issue at stake in war and in militarized disputes is territory. • Holsti (1991): 80-90% of the wars from 1648-1989 involved contests over territory • MID data (1816-1992): over ¼ of all disputes involve territory • Territorial claims (ICOW): All major borders in the Americas have been disputed at some point since 1816.

  9. Empirical Evidence • Militarized response and war is much more likely in territorial disputes (Hensel) • Territorial disputes produce recurrent conflict (Huth, Hensel); 72% of MIDs involving territorial issues are followed by another MID, versus 58% for nonterritorial disputes

  10. Policy Prescriptions • The greatest threat to peace today stems from nationalist claims for new states (Vasquez) • Such claims create the potential for new territorial disputes and conflict • Once boundary issues are resolved, the chances for war are small

  11. Other Resource Conflicts • Cross-border rivers (In the Americas, 8.6% of rivers crossing state boundaries have been the subject of a claim) • Maritime zones (In the Americas, 43% of adjoining maritime zones have been the subject of a claim) Source: Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) Project (Hensel and Mitchell)

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