Re-imagin(in)g Territorial Conflict

Territorial disputes continue to fuel both armed conflicts and security threats around the world despite norms against the violent resolution of territorial conflict. The pervasiveness of territorial conflict presents a puzzle since the value of territory has allegedly decreased in an age of globalization and interdependence, and many territorial conflicts involve territory with little tangible value. Our inquiry begins not with states, but with groups and rules of group membership. Changing the unit of analysis to the group and its membership rules exposes the bases for territorial disputes both historically and in current world politics. We show that under different rules of group membership, territory has different meanings. Different rules directly affect which territory will be contested. Conflict is particularly likely and especially difficult to resolve when groups with different rules of membership lay claim to the same territory.