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

C00123268
The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict
to National and International
Order in the 1990s: Geographic
Perspectives
Overview Part 1: Regional Manifestations
Since the end of the Cold War, ethnic conflicts have Eastern Europe
been of increasing importance-posing a threat to Dn.Ronald Wixman, Professor of Geography, Univer-
international order and demanding the attention of sity of Oregon, identifies some potentially serious
US policymakers. The aim of this conference report is ethnoterritorial conflicts that may arise in Eastern
to highlight geographic concepts and factors that con- Europe as well as others that have implications
tribute to our understanding of these conflicts and to beyond the region. He also discusses the impact of
identify sources of potential ethnic strife. Following Western nonaction in Bosnia and Herzegovina and
the order of the conference, this report is divided into presents a worst case scenario for the situation in the
three parts: Balkans.
- The conference's conceptualframework.An exami- Drn Thomas Poulsen, the respondent, is Professor of
nation of the geographic approach to the study of Geography at Oregon State University. He under-
ethnic conflict. scores some of the key elements that affect the Bosnia
situation.
e Regional manifestations.Current and potential eth-
nic conflicts by region. Western Europe and Canada
Dn. Colin Williams, Research Professor at the Univer-
- Implications.Looking at ethnic conflicts from a sity of Wales, College of Cardiff, examines ethnic
comparative basis and viewing consequences for the issues in Western Europe, highlighting the most press-
United States and the international community. ing and drawing out the implications for multiethnic
accommodation to a changing world order. He empha-
sizes the significance of the spatial perspective at
Part I: Framing the Discussion urban, regional, and continental scales.
Dr: Alexander Murphy, Associate Professor in the Dr.Alexander Murphy's response provides further
Department of Geography at the University of Oregon, observations on ethnic dynamics in the region and on
establishes the groundwork in his keynote address. He the impact of Western Europe's changing political
examines the geographer's unique approach to analyz- geography on ethnic conflict.
ing ethnic tensions and discusses how the geographic
perspective can aid in understanding these tensions, in Former Soviet Union
identifying destabilizing ethnic conflicts, and in devel- Dr.Robert Kaiser,Professor of Geography at the
oping effective policy responses. His discussion University of Missouri-Columbia, explores the fac-
focuses on the core concepts of location, territory, and tors underlying the regional variations in the ethnoter-
environment. ritorial conflicts in the former Soviet Union. Among
these factors are the degree of national consciousness,
Drn David Knight, Dean of Social Sciences at the Uni- the strength of attachment to place, the nature of
versity of Guelph, provides additional insights on the ethnodemographic trends, and the social mobility and
geographic perspective, exploring the linked concepts relative deprivation of the ethnic group. He also dis-
of identity, territory, territoriality, and self-determina- cusses how various groups have reacted to rising terri-
tion as well as numerous territorial processes that torial nationalism.
function within the nation-state system.
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