While previous studies of natural resources and territorial conflict have explored the role that specific resources play in conflict, few have examined the topic of natural resources more broadly and in great depth. This paper generates hypotheses regarding natural resource type, theorizing that the particular characteristic of resource renewability impacts conflict behavior over associated territory. Further, the role of economic development is considered. Utilizing the latest version of the Issue Correlates of War and Correlates of War datasets, these hypotheses are empirically tested. The results demonstrate the importance of renewability and the consistency of findings regarding resources and low-level conflict. Natural resources are found to, in general, discourage more severe forms of conflict, with important caveats. Less developed states are found to play an important role in driving more severe forms of conflict, as are disputes over sea related and oil resources. The paper concludes by outlining the implications for policymakers and scholars studying the topic of territorial conflict.

Territorial claims with an ethnic or identity component have been recognized as one of the most enduring and intractable sources of international conflict. Building on previous research which recognized the role of issue indivisibility in making compromise more difficult, this article focuses on the management of territorial claims with an identity or ethnic component. Utilizing the latest Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) dataset, the frequency, success, and qualitative content of negotiations over territorial claims are analyzed. The newest version of the ICOW dataset expands the spatial domain of Hensel and Mitchell's previous work that included the Americas and Western Europe, expanding this domain to include the entire world, and more closely examines the role of concessions in the negotiations process. The results support the contention that issue indivisibility hampers compromise behavior and negotiation success in identity-based territorial claims. Negotiations are less likely to occur, but surprisingly, more likely to succeed. Successful agreements are also more likely to see major concessions and territorial change. Identity-based claims are also less likely to end through compromise outcomes like negotiations, and more likely to terminate through unilateral action and violence. The results suggest that identity claims are punctuated by rare bouts of significant negotiations-much of which is driven by conquest, violence, and unilateral action. Related ArticlesAyelet, Harel-Shalev. 2009. "Lingual and Educational Policy toward 'Homeland Minorities' in Deeply Divided Societies: India and Israel as Case Studies." Politics & Policy 37(5): 951-70. .Hae, Kim. 2009. "The Complexities of Internal Conflict in the Third World: Beyond Ethnic and Religious Conflict." Politics & Policy 37(2): 395-414. .Tusalem, Rollin F. 2015. "Ethnic Minority Governments, Democracy, and Human Rights." Politics & Policy 43(4): 502-37. .

AbstractTerritorial claims with an ethnic or identity component have been recognized as one of the most enduring and intractable sources of international conflict. Building on previous research which recognized the role of issue indivisibility in making compromise more difficult, this article focuses on the management of territorial claims with an identity or ethnic component. Utilizing the latest Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) dataset, the frequency, success, and qualitative content of negotiations over territorial claims are analyzed. The newest version of the ICOW dataset expands the spatial domain of Hensel and Mitchell's previous work that included the Americas and Western Europe, expanding this domain to include the entire world, and more closely examines the role of concessions in the negotiations process. The results support the contention that issue indivisibility hampers compromise behavior and negotiation success in identity‐based territorial claims. Negotiations are less likely to occur, but surprisingly, more likely to succeed. Successful agreements are also more likely to see major concessions and territorial change. Identity‐based claims are also less likely to end through compromise outcomes like negotiations, and more likely to terminate through unilateral action and violence. The results suggest that identity claims are punctuated by rare bouts of significant negotiations—much of which is driven by conquest, violence, and unilateral action.Related ArticlesAyelet, Harel‐Shalev. 2009. “Lingual and Educational Policy toward ‘Homeland Minorities’ in Deeply Divided Societies: India and Israel as Case Studies.” Politics & Policy 37(5): 951–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00206.x.Hae, Kim. 2009. “The Complexities of Internal Conflict in the Third World: Beyond Ethnic and Religious Conflict.” Politics & Policy 37(2): 395–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00177.x.Tusalem, Rollin F. 2015. “Ethnic Minority Governments, Democracy, and Human Rights.” Politics & Policy 43(4): 502–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12125.

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This article describes the first complete release of the Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) Territorial Claims dataset, which covers all interstate territorial claims between 1816 and 2001. Territory can have substantial tangible and intangible value for states, and competing claims for control of territory represent one of the leading sources of interstate conflict. The dataset identifies 843 territorial claims and includes measures of the salience of the claimed territory, as well as details of the militarization and ending of each claim. Beyond a discussion of the structure and contents of the dataset and the coding procedures that were used to generate it, this article also presents descriptive analyses of the dataset. These analyses highlight important patterns across time and space, including changes in the prevalence, frequency of initiation, salience, militarization, and resolution of territorial claims. Notable patterns include recent declines in the frequency with which claims tend to become militarized and a lower prevalence of tangible salience measures such as natural resources. The regional distribution of claims has also shifted markedly over time, from a historical concentration in Europe towards Asia, where by 2001 claims were far more prevalent than in any other region. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

We examine the outbreak and militarization of territorial claims over ethnic groups that are shared between nation-states, emphasizing characteristics of the shared group and the strength of the global territorial integrity norm. We find that irredentist territorial claims are more likely to begin and to be militarized when the challenger state's leaders can gain politically: when the group makes up a majority of the population, soon after one or both states achieved independence, and when the group is disadvantaged politically in the target state (particularly soon after the group's status worsens). Irredentist claims are less likely to begin or to be militarized when the global territorial integrity norm is stronger. We conclude with suggestions for research to improve our understanding of the linkage between shared ethnic groups and interstate conflict.