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

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Concluding Comments: Implications for the map reflects constant dynamism in name changes-
United States and the International Community: border adjustments, political realignments, as well as
Problems and Prospects flashpoints and conflict. There are a wide variety of
states with varying degrees of stability and instability.
It is important to keep in mind that world order and
Stanley D. Arunn disorder can be viewed in a variety of contexts. While
Professor of Geography the term new political order may be in vogue this year,
University of Kentucky there is not just one order, but many. At various times
and places on the world map, order or disorder can be
During the past two days we lave heard a number of observed at local, regional, and macroregional levels.
formal presentations about ethnic conflict and national-
ism in various world regions. These examinations of We Live in Shared/Divided Spaces
ethnic and cultural compositio'n and conflict, as well as All humans live to some degree in "bounded spaces.
the panel discussions, illustrate the ways geographers Some of those may be spaces defined by majority pop-
look at the world and how they envision contemporary ulations, others defined by outside powers. Within
and future worlds. In summarizing the conference, I those bounded spaces, we often find people of varying
would like to make the following observations: ethnic, religious, linguistic, racial, or other heritages.
The distribution of various groups often overlap.
- We live in two different worlds. First, I would like to Those groups may live in harmony-sharing the same
thank those individuals for organizing a conference work, play, worship, and family spaces or they may be
devoted specifically to ethnic conflict, nationalism, divided.
and changing world order and for inviting academic
geographers to share with members of the Intelli- We Live in Local and Global Worlds
gence Community what they know-and do not The world political map is much more complicated
know-about the current political world. I see this than the standard reference maps that depict close to
conference as serving many useful purposes, one 200 political states. There are many scales at which
being that while "we live in two different houses," groups and communities interact. Some interactions
we share much in common, especially our interests are local, others are global. It is important that those of
in being able to understand what is happening around us who analyze political development acknowledge
the world-whether in regard to ethnic conflict, these complexities.
nationalism, or emerging democracies. It is impor-
tant that the avenues of communication and informa- Are We "Prisoners" of Our Maps?
tion sharing between those in the university and In listening to the presenters the past several days and
government intelligence communities remain open. in the discussions among panel members and the audi-
ence, it seems that we may, in fact, be "prisoners" of
e How do we look at the world? How we look at the our maps, especially the familiar political map of the
world reflects our backgrounds as well as our day- world-which simplifies political space and rein-
by-day work experiences and assignments. These forces the status quo. Do we still use time-honored
experiences are of utmost importance in helping us Mercator projections, which distort the spaces in the
and others see how we look at our culture vis-a-vis high latitudes? Are the maps we use Europe centered,
others. as if subtly conveying the notion that Europe is the
most important region of the world? How do we look
at polar areas, with maps that have such areas at the
The Dynamic Political World "top" and "bottom"? How do we look at the Pacific
Rim countries, with maps splitting the Pacific Ocean
What Is the State of the World Political Map?
At any time it is useful to remember the state of the
world, or, better stated, the world political map. That
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