Overview

This volume provides the first examination of modern political partition and military conflict. Once touted as the most efficient geopolitical means for resolving ideological and ethnic strife, partition has too often served to deepen enmity and provoke further violence. The author argues that partition and its accompanying conflicts have their roots not in ancient hatreds but in the political realities of the 20th century. He reveals how the fate of these nations was dictated buy the dreams and machinations of more powerful states, particularly Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Shaeffer also examines the spread of terrorism and guerrilla warfare in the divided states, as well as the destructive legacy of partition on democracy, citizenship, and sovereignty.

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9780847693351

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Reviews

A decade ago Schaeffer published a brilliant comparative study of the partition of states. Shortly thereafter, the crumbling of the socialist bloc yielded new instances of secession in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Ethiopia, against which to test the generalizations of the earlier investigation. Schaeffer's new analysis, Severed States, provides a sober corrective to the optimism of all those who expect to solve their ethnic conflicts by splitting up their countries. Alternativesare proposed in the final chapter that seem more promising than separatism. The book's lucidity and its up-to-date coverage makes it a treat for specialists and a superb text for courses on nationalism...--Metta Spencer

Author Information

Robert K. Schaeffer is associate professor of sociology at San Jose State University and former managing editor of In These Times and Greenpeace. He is the author most recently of Understanding Globalization: The Social Consequences of Political, Economic, and Environmental Change (Rowman & Littlefield, 1997).

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