Is Pandora's Box Half-Empty or Half-Full? The Limited Virulence of Secessionism and the Domestic Sources of Disintegration

Author

Stephen M. Saideman

Content Type

Working Paper

Institution

University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)

Abstract

Is secession contagious? If so, can it be contained or quarantined to limit its spread? These two questions must be addressed to understand the challenges posed by ethnic divisions within and between states today. The end of ideological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union has not ushered in an era of global peace, but instead a period characterized by ethnic conflicts within many states. The coincidence of the disintegrations of the Soviet, Yugoslav, and Czechoslovak federations suggests that secession does spread with potentially nasty consequences.

Topic

Security, Ethnic Conflict, Nationalism, Politics, Sovereignty

Political Geography

United States, Eastern Europe