Deadly internal conflicts threaten dozens of countries and major regions around the world. One of the most critical issues in contemporary international security, it is examined in this book by twenty experts of the Project on Internal Conflict at Harvard University's Center for Science and International Affairs. The first part of the book examines the sources of internal conflicts and the ways these may spill over or draw in neighboring states and the international community. Region by region, the book discusses the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans, East-central Europe, Russia and the former Soviet Union, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and South America. The second part examines specific problems, policy instruments, and key actors including: the control of aggressive nationalism, the prevention of secessionist violence, and the resolution of civil wars; the roles of the media and nongovernmental organizations; arms limitations and economic sanctions; military challenges; the policies of the United States and the United Nations; and the prospects for collective action. The book recommends specific approaches to help prevent and moderate internal conflict and to limit its spread when it arises.
Contributors
Rachel Bronson, Mark Chernick, Ivo Daalder, Matthew Evangelista, Richard Falkenrath, Trevor Findlay, Sumit Ganguly, Alicia Levine, Dan Lindley, John Matthews, Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, Elizabeth Rogers, Colin Scott, Joanna Spear, Stephen Stedman, Katherine Tucker, Milada Vachudova, Barbara Walter, Thomas Weiss
