Peace and war in territorial disputes

Description

"Why do sovereign states sometimes fail to settle territorial disputes peacefully? Also, why do even peaceful settlements of territorial disputes rarely call for the resulting border to be unfortified? This paper explores a class of answers to these questions that is based on the following premise: States can settle a territorial dispute peacefully only if (1) their payoffs from a peaceful settlement are larger than their expected payoffs from a default to war, and (2) their promises not to attack are credible. This premise directs the analysis to such factors as the advantage of attacking over both defending and counterattacking, the divisibility of the contested territory, the possibility of recurring war, the depreciation or obsolescence of fortifications, and inequality in the effectiveness of mobilized resources"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.

Subjects

Series Statement

• NBER working paper series -- no. 10601.
• Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) -- working paper no. 10601.

Links

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Other Editions

• Peace and war in territorial disputesNational Bureau of Economic Research2004-01-01
• Peace and war in territorial disputesElectronic resourceNational Bureau of Economic Research2004-01-01