Settling Ethno-Territorial Conflict

As there exists virtually no country in the world that has achieved complete congruency between the nation and the state, each is to some extent faced with a more or less pronounced desire for national self-assertion or even self-determination among segments of its population. This demand has been addressed through various models meant to settle these conflicts (cf. Chap. 13). However, the further such rights are extended, the stronger becomes the fundamental contradiction that, while minority protections or autonomy arrangements may be able to regulate ethno-territorial conflicts without altering international borders, they are often taken to constitute preliminary phases and carte blanche for secession.