Since the 1990s, scholars have paid increasing attention to the importance of territorial conflict as a predictor of war. More accurately, territorial disputes and disagreements are likely the key factor that explains both war and peace. There are currently 71 ongoing territorial disputes, and many of them seem to defy settlement. Enduring Territorial Disputes makes an important contribution to this literature since it is one of the few books to cover the settlement of territorial disputes exclusively.
The strength of this work is its comprehensive nature, accessibility for students, and theoretical breakthrough in focusing on issue linkages. Krista Wiegand provides detailed case studies of the major ongoing territorial disputes and also surveys all territorial settlements. This work is impressive in that it is a suitable introduction to the field of territorial conflict management. The case studies provide a comprehensive overview of the major enduring conflicts and are excellent examples of structured and focused qualitative investigations.
In regards to theory, Wiegand makes a conceptual breakthrough by proposing an issue-linkage theory that might explain why some disputes defy territorial settlement. In short, some states will allow ongoing disputes to endure and never seriously attempt settlement in an effort to use them as leverage in other disputes. It is in the interest of the state to let the dispute fester and endure even, when valid settlement opportunities are presented. Each case study Wiegand examined makes extensive use of this theory and applies evidence that this perspective can explain why some territorial disputes endure and are never really part of the bargaining process.
To challenge the issue-linkage theory, the author presents a theory of territorial value and one of domestic accountability. The value-of-territory theory holds that either the symbolic or tangible elements of the territorial disputes will explain which disputes are settled and which endure. Territories with strategic or economic value might defy settlement since the issues are so important to the reputation of the state. The domestic-accountability theory maintains that leaders use territorial disputes to mobilize the public and that these disputes could then be costly to settle since the leader has raised the stakes. Neither theory gains much support in this work.
The only factor that seems to have been left out to account for the settlement of territorial disputes is the power of international institutions to push for settlement. However, this perspective might not have provided much additional content since institutions seem ineffective overall in motivating states to agree to settlements unless the initiative is with the state. Wiegand makes it clear that for a state to accept settlement, it often has to be willing to settle the issue without outside intervention. Forced settlement, even if forced by the opposing side through maximum military force, tends not to terminate the dispute inasmuch as these issues could reignite at a later time as the state recovers from being forced to accept a position.
One flaw of the book is that theories centering on territorial value and domestic accountability are presented as alternatives to the issue-linkage theory. Likely, as with most social theories, the issue-linkage theory works hand in hand with other perspectives. Some disputes might endure because of the economic value of the territory and also because the issue is linked to other issues, like the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute among China, Taiwan, and Japan. In such a three-headed theoretical test, some of important findings related to the value of the territory and the domestic audience costs might be lost. Another flaw is the lack of attention paid by the author to ethnic territorial questions that might prevent settlement; questions of ethnic kin might make territorial settlements even more difficult to attain.
An advantage of this study is its ability to connect territoriality to nonstate-actor groups, such as Hezbollah in the Shebaa Farms dispute, a link missed by many scholars. This factor will become more important as time goes on, and the Israel-Syria-Lebanon chapter is an important contribution for this reason.
Unfortunately, this study is lacking a statistical analysis of the data provided in Chapter 4. Although there may not be a sufficient number of cases to undertake a normal statistical investigation, there was likely enough data to use some sort of method to give us confidence that the results and case studies presented here are not random, as well as to pinpoint the magnitude of the effect of issue linkages in making territorial disputes endure. It is useful that the author does list all of the ongoing territorial disputes and codes them according to type: uninhabited island disputes, border disputes, and disputes over inhabited tracts of land. It is to be hoped that others who follow this researcher can provide added empirical evidence that the issue-linkage theory is correct.
Overall, Enduring Territorial Disputes is a strong piece of scholarship that advances knowledge in the field. One reason disputes endure (likely all disputes, not just territorial ones) is that they become linked to other ongoing issues and provide leverage for the states involved. The issue-based approach to world politics is clearly gaining in prominence, and it is hoped that other scholars will undertake research of the issues at stake for conflict. It is also hoped that other scholars will examine how certain issues are linked together. Sometimes issues cannot be delinked and must be approached from a holistic point of view. It is these disputes that tend to defy settlement and become major obstacles to peace in the international system.
