Chipping Away at the Issues Piecemeal Dispute Resolution and Territorial Conflict

Disputants might resolve their disagreements in a piecemeal fashion, addressing a subset of the issues at a time. How viable is such a strategy? I argue that partial settlements signal the desire to resolve disagreements and can lay the foundation for additional cooperation by building trust and/or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of conflict resolution Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 94 - 118
Main Author Mattes, Michaela
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01.01.2018
SAGE Publications
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Claims
Conflict
Conflict resolution
Cooperation
Diplomacy
Disputes
Intellectuals
Settlements & damages
Territorial issues
conflict resolution
conflict management
peace agreement
dyadic conflict
diplomacy
international treaties
rivalry
cooperation
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Summary:Disputants might resolve their disagreements in a piecemeal fashion, addressing a subset of the issues at a time. How viable is such a strategy? I argue that partial settlements signal the desire to resolve disagreements and can lay the foundation for additional cooperation by building trust and/or demonstrating the benefits of dispute resolution. As a result, partial settlements should be associated with the resolution of remaining disagreements. Yet, scholars have questioned whether pursuing a piecemeal approach may be more harmful than helpful, and a systematic empirical test of these competing predictions is necessary. Using data from worldwide territorial claims between 1919 and 2001, I find a strong positive correlation between partial settlements and comprehensive dispute resolution. In the shorter run, partial settlements are also associated with an increased likelihood for peaceful negotiations, but there is only limited evidence that they reduce conflict before all aspects of the claim are resolved.
ISSN:0022-0027
1552-8766
DOI:10.1177/0022002716640899