Documents / FOIA release

1995-10-01a- CIA Conference Report: THE CHALLENGE OF ETHNIC CONFLICT TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORDER IN THE 1990S GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES 01-Oct-95

Central Intelligence Agency · 205 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Central Intelligence Agency conference report, dated October 1995, contains the proceedings of a conference on ethnic conflict held 30 September to 1 October 1993. The CIA's Geographic Resources Division sponsored it. Academic geographers, anthropologists and US Government officials presented papers on ethnic and territorial conflict in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and South Asia. They also discussed what these conflicts mean for US policy. The document contains no UFO material.

  • p. 120 C00123268 Until now, most China scholars have dismissed the Anderson (1983), it is the feeling of…
  • p. 121 …In Ben Anderson's terms, Dr. Sun was engaged in "stretching the short, tight skin of…
  • p. 126 C00123268 References Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflec- Friedman, Edward 1993. "China's North-South Split tions…
  • p. 133 …the ruins of ancient civilizations (Anderson; 1991). The same passions that inflamed modern European Understanding the…
  • p. 135 C00123268 References Anderson, Benedict 1991. Imagined Communities: Hickey, Gerald 1982. Sons of the Mountains, Yale Reflections…
  • p. 182 …House, eds., London: Croom Helm, 1984, J. Anderson, "Nationalist ideology and territory," in pp. 168-190…
C00123268
mortality, are good indicators of a particular ethnic agenda over the long term. Concentrating on Europe
group's well-being. He also looks at how youth and the former Soviet Union, he questions what type
bulges-when the 15 to 24 age cohort exceeds 20 per- of state structure can best protect ethnic groups in the
cent of a given population-affect stability within region. He concludes by suggesting that the problem
ethnic groups. of ethnic conflict in Europe could be addressed
through a united, decentralized Continent governed by
Dr Martin Kenzer, Associate Professor of Geography mutually accepted rules of behavior.
at Florida Atlantic University, provides a review of
post-World War II ethnically driven refugee move- Mr. Wade Hinkle, Department of Defense, reiterates
ments and assesses the current refugee picture. then Secretary of Defense Les Aspin's view that eth-
nic/national conflict is one of the main dangers to
Dr. Lee Schwartz, Office of the Geographer, Depart- US national security in the post-Cold War era. He
ment of State, examines the linkage between forced then summarizes the key points of US national secu-
migration and ethnicity. He presents a typology of rity strategy: remaining engaged in international
forced movements of people and a geography of the affairs, preventing the effects of ethnic conflict, and
ethnic composition of such migration. forming partnerships with like-minded democratic
countries.
States, Nations, and Ethnic Conflict
Dr. Thomas Poulsen looks at how overlapping pat-
terns of states (sovereign countries) and nations Conclusions: Implications for the United States
(groupings of peoples with common identities) affect and the International Community-Problems
current affairs. He then examines factors that aggra- and Prospects
vate or ameliorate ethnic conflicts, especially where
nations and states do not correspond, and presents Dr.Stanley Brunn, Professor of Geography at the Uni-
some political-geographic truisms that the United versity of Kentucky, examines the state of the world
States should consider in dealing with ethnic conflict political map and itemizes six factors that will affect
abroad. global politics over the next 20 years: environment,
religion, secularization, sports, territoriality, and com-
Patterns, 'Tends, and Regional Comparisons munications.
Dr Marvin Mikesell suggests that some countries-
such as Finland-have done a good job accommodat- In the discussion, Dr Rex Honey calls for understand-
ing minority populations and that neighboring coun- ing that oppressed ethnic groups have legitimate
tries could learn from this. grievances and for support of human rights globally.
In her discussion, Dr. Mildred Berman relays the Dr. Harm J. de Blij, the concluding discussant, points
importance of examining population trends. out that ethnic strife may be related to deteriorating
environmental conditions in parts of the world.
Ethnic Conflict and US Policy
Dr Jon Gundersen, Department of State, presents his
view that US foreign policy must take into account
ethnic conflict, which will be on the international
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 205 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.