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Territorial Dimensions of Enduring Internal Rivalries

Department of Political Science, University of South Carolina, USA

Jaroslav Tir

Department of International Affairs, University of Georgia, USA

This paper explores the territorial dimensions of enduring internal rivalries (EIRs), which are defined as protracted domestic violent conflicts between governments and insurgent groups. It argues that the nature of domestic-level territorial conflicts, such as tactical advantages facing the rebels, allow the fighting to continue.Three specific hypotheses flow from this argument including that territorial disputes are likely to evolve into EIRs and that territorial EIRs are more likely to recur and produce shorter peace spells than other types of domestic conflict.We test these hypotheses by conducting statistical analyses of 220 internal armed conflicts and find robust and substantively strong empirical support.This article suggests that territorial issues should be studied from an enduring, protracted standpoint for their effect on domestic conflict to be fully appreciated. It also offers new insights into how territory matters and suggests that territorial issues are not simply reducible to the concerns of ethnicity and identity in explaining protracted civil wars, as much of the conventional wisdom suggests.

Key Words: civil war • enduring internal rivalries • separatist conflict • territorial disputes

Conflict Management and Peace Science, Vol. 26, No. 4, 307-329 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0738894209106478


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