Territorial dispute refers to any dispute about the delineation of borders or control over a particular piece of land. A territorial dispute can lead to war, if it is not resolved through international mediation and negotiations. Territorial disputes often involve a variety of issues and are difficult to resolve due to the lack of clear rules, the interests of powerful nations, and deep historical grievances. Territorial disputes can be a significant source of violence and international conflict, yet they have been the subject of very little systematic research in the literature of conflict studies. This article reviews the existing literature on territorial disputes and identifies four problems that need to be addressed for future scholarship on this issue to make progress.
First, there is a tendency to conflate all disputes about territory with conflicts that are militarized. This is a serious problem because territorial disputes are often recurrent and persistent and can be a leading cause of violent conflict. Second, a number of definitions of territorial disputes are too narrow. These definitions tend to exclude disputes that have a non-territorial component from consideration, and they also overlook conflicts over maritime territories. Third, a number of the most prominent theories of territorial disputes fail to explain why some of these disputes become militarized. They seem to assume that territorial disputes inevitably arise because of poorly drawn boundaries, which is not a very helpful explanation.
Finally, the most prevalent theory of territorial disputes tries to justify territorial rights through Locke’s argument that ownership of land derives from one’s attachment and investment in it. This is a problematic argument because it accords ownership rights retrospectively, after a group or agent has successfully gained political power. This is unacceptable for a normative theory of territory that ought to be able to adjudicate cases where multiple groups have competing claims.