(Estimated Pub Date) the Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990S: Geographic Perspectives- October 1995

Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268
Turning to the importance of relative location for eth-
nic mobilization; groups living within areas that are
disadvantaged from a socioeconomic standpoint can
use that disadvantage to foster a sense of discrimina-
tion. This does not mean that ethnicity is simply a
product of socioeconomic differences, but comparative
standards of living often become points of contention
in ethnic conflicts (see, for instance, many of the
essays in Chisholm and Smith 1990). In former Yugo-
slavia, for example, Serbian resentment of Croats and
Slovenes was heightened by the disproportionate share
of tourism-related revenue that flowed into Croatia and
Slovenia. The Croats and Slovenes, in turn, resented
the central govemment’s efforts to redistribute some of
that revenue to other parts of Yugoslavia.
The capacity of a group to mobilize is also tied to its
location in relation to demographic and settlement
pattems. There is considerable evidence to suggest
that culturally distinct groups without a significant
urban base are unlikely to develop and sustain a seri-
ous ethnic movement (Murphy 1992). Most ethnic
movements begin among an intelligentsia with some
access to established lines of power and communica-
tion (Smith 1982). Such movements develop and grow
through the successful mobilization of people and
resources, which in tum requires the establishment of
an institutional base that is convenient to a significant
number of group members and that offers access to
channels of communication. Since these elements are
found primarily in cities, an urban base is almost a
prerequisite for ethnic mobilization. Thus, in Westem
Europe most successful ethnic challenges have come
from groups such as the Catalans and the Flemings
that have major cities within their territories. By con-
trast, efforts to challenge existing arrangements
among Saami activists in Norway or their Basque
counterparts in France have been frustrated by the
lack of a central place that could become the focus of
identity and nationalist activism.
'I‘uming to the significance of relative location for the
strategies employed by ethnic groups in situations of
overt conflict, it has long been understood that a
group’s position in relation to physical features, trans-
portation routes, -and settlement patterns affects the
tactics of conflict. As is discussed in more detail
below, ethnic conflicts often revolve around territorial
issues, and control over territory is a primary goal in
times of armed conflict. Assessing the strategies that
are likely to be employed in such conflicts requires an
understanding of a group's location in relation to
places of strategic or perceptual importance, the diffi-
culties of exerting control over those places, and the
advantages that can follow if control is successfully
asserted. In the case of recent Serbian initiatives, for
example, Ronald Wixman has argued that it is impos-
sible to understand the military objectives of the Serbs
without considering the geopolitical and strategic
advantages that will follow from a successful Serbian
attempt both to control the Krajina region of Croatia
and to connect it to Serbia (editorial, The Register
Guard, Eugene, Oregon, 6 June l993, section B, pp. 1
and 4).
A final important dimension of “relative location” is
the situation of a group in relation to similar or sympa-
thetic groups in other states. Social scientists and poli-
cymakers are so much in the habit of looking at issues
on a state-by-state basis that they often ignore cul-
tural/ethnic continuities across intemational bound-
aries. Yet Azerbaijanis live in Iran as well as
Azerbaijan, and Annenians are found in Turkey as
well as in Armenia. Focusing on the relationships
among the peoples living on either side of these
boundaries is of critical importance if we are to under-
stand the forces that will affect political stability in
Western and Central Asia in the years ahead. Indeed,
given the increasing permeability of international
boundaries, an awareness of cross-border cultural con-
tinuities and interaction pattems in many parts of the
world is going to be necessary if we are to compre-
hend the ways in which conflicts develop and their
likely ramifications.
Territory: At The Heart of Ethnicity and
Ethnic Conflict
A territory is generally understood to be a bounded
area that has some political character or meaning. As
the embodiment of a particular way of understanding
and using the earth’s surface, territory is at the heart of
geographical thinking about ethnicity and nationalism.
Geographers are concerned with the functional and
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Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268