The question of Territory has always been central to the international legal system. It constitutes the core of the definition of the State, and as such it is tied to the issue of jurisdiction and the extent of the power exercisable by the State. It is also central to the organisation of the international order, for a State-based world community requires rules by which to determine how Territory may be allocated to States and the sanctions that may be applied for violation of territorial integrity. Further, as States appear, disappear and re-emerge in a different guise, principles as to the determination of boundaries become critical.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on Territory. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library’s classification index code 68. Territory: General Works and subject heading (keyword) Territory are instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
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Les décisions arbitrales et judiciaires relatives aux différends territoriaux terrestres et maritimes sont marquées par une tendance transactionnelle. Elles consacrent des tracés frontaliers situés entre les revendications respectives des parties et assurent plus globalement un équitable partage des espaces et des ressources. Ce phénomène de compromis s’exprime symptomatiquement dans la jurisprudence relative aux différends territoriaux en raison de la nature de ces litiges et de leurs enjeux géostratégique, économique et émotionnel. Il est aussi dû à la particulière flexibilité des règles et des principes applicables. Cette étude témoigne de l’instrumentalisation qui est faite du contenu des décisions juridictionnelles au profit de solutions équilibrées et démontre que le juge international est avant tout tourné vers la mission pacificatrice de son office.
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The concept of ‘territorial sovereignty’ provides the legal basis for today’s global world, that is, the existence and recognition of separate sovereignties in one international society. The Island of Palmas case, a leading case of territorial dispute, reads, ‘[S]overeignty in the relations between States signifies independence. Independence in regard to a portion of the globe is the right to exercise therein, to the exclusion of any other State, the functions of a State’. Recognising the independence and mutual exclusivity of the territorial sovereignty of other States allows them to coexist in an international society. Traditionally, international lawyers have dealt with this concept by regulating the acquisition and loss of territorial sovereignty. The traditional analytical tool for dealing with the conveyance of territorial sovereignty is ‘title to territory’, which is the theme of this book.
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There is continued discussion in International Relations surrounding the existence (or not) of the ‘democratic peace’ – the idea that democracies do not fight each other. This book argues that threats to homeland territories force centralization within the state, for three reasons. First, territorial threats are highly salient to individuals, and leaders must respond by promoting the security of the state. Second, threatened territories must be defended by large, standing land armies and these armies can then be used as forces for repression during times of peace. Finally, domestic political bargaining is dramatically altered during times of territorial threat, with government opponents joining the leader in promoting the security of the state. Leaders therefore have a favorable environment in which to institutionalize greater executive power. These forces explain why conflicts are associated with centralized states, and in turn why peace is associated with democracy.
Historical injustice and global inequality are basic problems embedded in territorial rights. We ask questions such as: How can the descendants of colonists claim territory that isn’t really ‘theirs’? Are the immense, exclusive oil claims of Canada or Saudi Arabia justified in the face of severe global poverty? Wouldn’t the world be more just if rights over natural resources were shared with the world’s poorest? These concerns are central to territorial rights theory and at the same time they are relatively unexplored. In fact, while there is a sizable debate focused on particular territorial disputes, there is little sustained attention given to providing a general standard for territorial entitlement. This widespread omission is disastrous. If we don’t understand why territorial rights are justified in a general, principled form, then how do we know they can be justified in any particular solution to a dispute? As part of an effort to remedy this omission, in this book Cara Nine advances a general theory of territorial rights. Nine puts forward a theory of territorial rights that starts with the idea that territorial rights affect everybody. Territorial rights, she asserts, must be universally justified. She adapts a theoretical framework from natural law theory to ground all territorial claims. In this framework, particular territorial rights are claimable by the collectives that establish legitimate, minimal conditions for justice within a geographical region. A consequence of this theoretical approach to territorial rights is that exclusive resource entitlements are justified, even if they maintain global inequality.
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Politics and political relationships underpin the world we live in. From the division of the earth’s surface into separate states to the placement of ‘keep out’ signs, territorial strategies to control geographic space can be used to assert, maintain or resist power and as a force for oppression or liberation. Forms of exclusion can be consolidated and reinforced through territorial practices, yet they can also be resisted through similar means. Territoriality can be seen as the spatial expression of power, with borders dividing those inside from those outside. The extensively revised and updated second edition continues to provide an introduction to theories of territoriality and the outcomes of territorial control and resistance. It explores the construction of territories and the conflicts which often result using a range of examples drawn from various spatial scales and from many different countries. It ranges in coverage from conflicts over national territory (such as Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, South Ossetia) to divisions of space based around class, gender and race. While retaining the key elements of the first edition, this new edition covers contemporary debates on nationalism, territorialization, globalization and borders. It updates the factual content to explore the territorial consequences of ‘9/11’, the ‘war on terror’ and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also examines migration, refugees, the territorial expansion of the European Union, and territorial divisions in the home and workplace. The book emphasizes the underlying processes associated with territorial strategies and raises important questions relating to place, culture and identity. Key questions emerge concerning geographic space, who is ‘allowed’ to be in particular spaces and who is barred, discouraged or excluded. Written from a geographical perspective, the book is inter-disciplinary, drawing on ideas and material from a range of academic disciplines including, history, political science, sociology, international relations, cultural studies. Each chapter contains boxed case studies, illustrations and guides to further reading.
This book presents a collection of new and updated essays on what has come to be known as the territorial explanation of war. The book argues that a key both to peace and to war lies in understanding the role territory plays as a source of conflict and inter-group violence. Of all the issues that spark conflict, territorial disputes have the highest probability of escalating to war. War, however, is hardly inevitable; much depends on how territorial issues are handled. More importantly, settling territorial disputes and establishing mutually recognized boundaries can produce long periods of peace between neighbors, even if other salient issues arise. While territory is not the only cause of war and wars arise from other issues, territory is one of the main causes of war, and learning how to manage it, can, in principle, eliminate an entire class of wars. This book will be of great interest to all students of war and conflict studies, causes of war and peace, international security and strategic studies.
View this title in our link resolver PlinkletDespite losing its maritime coast, the so-called Littoral Department, after the War of the Pacific, Bolivia has historically maintained, as a state policy, a maritime claim to Chile. The claim asks for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean and its maritime space. The Political Constitution of 2009 established that Bolivia declares its right to access to the sea, and that its objective is to solve the problem peacefully. Therefore, on 24 April 2013, Bolivia instituted proceedings against Chile before the International Court of Justice. A guest blog by Elizabeth Santalla Vargas.
Read moreMonday 12 March 2013 was marked as the final day of a two-day referendum on the disputed Falkland Islands. The question to the voters was: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?” The Residents of the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly to remain a British Overseas Territory. More than 99% of voters said yes, just three people voted no. Turnout was 92%. The referendum was held in an effort to fend off aggressive Argentinian claims over the South Atlantic islands.
Read moreThe Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute has been close to the boil for months. The Japanese prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, took the decision to buy the islands to head off a more destabilising but popular proposal not only to acquire them but also to begin their active development.
Read moreCompared with other regions on the planet, the Arctic is warming faster. More of the Arctic is free of ice for longer periods. The possibilities for exploitation of natural resources and for control over Northern shipping lanes have prompted countries’ renewed interest in their competing claims to the region. Recently, Denmark (for Greenland) and Canada have clashed over their claims to a small, barren rock known as Hans Island.
Read moreSudan has a history of protracted conflict between the predominately Muslim north and the largely Christian south. On 9-15 January 2011, the citizens of Southern Sudan took part in a referendum to determine if they wish to become an independent state. Although South Sudan has been an autonomous region since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) [...]
Read moreThere is no prospect of resolving the decades-old conflict between Morocco and the Sahrawi independence movement Polisario on the future of Western Sahara. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, came to this conclusion in a gloomy report, dated 6 April 2010, to the Security Council. Ban Ki-moon reported that “it is clear [...]
Read moreThe Hague, 29 July 2009. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced that it will hold public hearings starting on 1 December 2009 on the question of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence early last year. The United Nations and individual Member States will be able to present oral statements and comments at the ICJ’s headquarters [...]
Read moreOn Tuesday 3 February 2009 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rendered its Judgment in the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine). A public sitting took place at 10 a.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which the President of the Court, Judge Rosalyn Higgins, read the Court’s [...]
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Gibler, D.M., The Territorial Peace: Borders, State Development, and International Conflict, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Giraudeau, G., Les différends territoriaux devant le juge international: entre droit et transaction, Leiden, Nijhoff, 2013.
Vasquez, J.A. and M.T. Henehan, Territory, War and Peace, London, Routledge, 2011.
Sookyeon Huh, The Acquisition of Territory in International Law: The Effectiveness and Legitimacy of Territorial Control, Tokyo, Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 2012.
Storey, D., Territories: the Claiming of Space, New York, NY, Routledge, 2012.
Nine, C., Global Justice and Territory, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012.
