The Legacy of Empire in International Relations
Date
1993
Authors
Katz, Mark N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Abstract
In the aftermath of the cold war, not only have many nationalist
disputes persisted, but many more have erupted, especially in and around the
former Soviet Union. Is this nationalist conflict a temporary phenomenon that is
likely to disappear, or is it a deep-seated problem that will persist and possibly
grow worse? The working hypothesis that this study will examine is that, aside
from continued fighting, there are only three alternative outcomes to ethnic
conflict occurring within nations: (1) the development of peaceful, multiethnic
societies within existing nations, in which ethnic distinctions become
unimportant; (2) mainJenance of the status quo by force, in which dissatisfied
groups are unable to achieve their goals; and (3) the breakdown of existing
nations and the proliferation of small, more ethnically homogenous states.
This study will argue that unless governments can bring ahout the first
outcome (development of a peaceful multiethnic society), it will be extremely
difficult in the post-cold war era for them to achieve the second outcome
(maintenance of the status quo by force). Achieving the first outcome will also be difficult; although many regimes have the stated goal of building a society in
which ethnic distinctions become unimportant, they act to preserve exist in
patterns of ethnic dominance. The third outcome (the proliferation of small,
ethnically homogenous states is often regarded as the most difficult to achieve,
but it may be the most likely outcome if larger nations cannot be held together on
either a voluntary or involuntary basis.
Description
The definitive version of this document can be found here: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=g782384295~db=all This document was created using OCR technology, and may contain minor discrepancies from the published document.
Keywords
Cold War, Soviet Union, International relations, Nationalism