 |
Disputed Territoriality and Ethnohistorical Claims: Understanding Intractable Territorial Conflict in Israel, Serbia, and Armenia
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
Zellman 1
Disputed Territoriality and Ethnohistorical Claims:
Understanding Intractable Territorial Conflict in Israel, Serbia, and Armenia
Abstract: In an era of increasingly credible international commitments to the inviolability of existing borders and markedly decreasing material and strategic returns to territorial conquest, the objective costs of engaging in territorial revisionism are, in many respects, at an all-time high. While the initial wartime acquisition of territory can be explained by any number of factors, the real puzzle is why some states remain resistant to withdrawal. Often facing threats of international isolation or even military intervention and active resistance to rule by preexisting populations, instrumentally rationalist explanations cannot readily account for instances of ―foreign‖ occupation in the contemporary international environment. Examining the cases of Israel, Serbia, and Armenia, this paper asserts that where a territory is seen as being imbued with culturally-informed historical meanings, conflict is significantly more likely to be intractable. Claims of this nature assign meaning to territory neither dependent on nor perfectly substituted by ―more conventional‖ concerns of security, economic growth, strategic political positioning, or regime survival. The value-laden nature of these spaces further contributes to the sense that they are integral to the identity of the state and nation making the prospect of withdrawal increasingly unlikely.
Ariel Zellman, M.A.
International Studies Association 50
th
Annual Convention
―Exploring the Past, Anticipating the Future‖
New York City, New York: February 15-18, 2009
*** Draft Paper: Please do not cite without permission from the author ***
|
| |
| |
|
|
Zellman 1
Disputed Territoriality and Ethnohistorical Claims:
Understanding Intractable Territorial Conflict in Israel, Serbia, and Armenia
Abstract:
In an era of increasingly credible international commitments to the inviolability of existing borders and
markedly decreasing material and strategic returns to territorial conquest, the objective costs of engaging in
territorial revisionism are, in many respects, at an all-time high. While the initial wartime acquisition of
territory can be explained by any number of factors, the real puzzle is why some states remain resistant to
withdrawal. Often facing threats of international isolation or even military intervention and active
resistance to rule by preexisting populations, instrumentally rationalist explanations cannot readily account
for instances of ―foreign‖ occupation in the contemporary international environment. Examining the cases
of Israel, Serbia, and Armenia, this paper asserts that where a territory is seen as being imbued with
culturally-informed historical meanings, conflict is significantly more likely to be intractable. Claims of
this nature assign meaning to territory neither dependent on nor perfectly substituted by ―more
conventional‖ concerns of security, economic growth, strategic political positioning, or regime survival.
The value-laden nature of these spaces further contributes to the sense that they are integral to the identity
of the state and nation making the prospect of withdrawal increasingly unlikely.
Ariel Zellman, M.A.
International Studies Association 50
th
Annual Convention
―Exploring the Past, Anticipating the Future‖
New York City, New York: February 15-18, 2009
*** Draft Paper: Please do not cite without permission from the author ***
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention can solve the abstract management needs for any association's annual meeting. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Page 1 of 47 
