UT Dallas study highlights settling border disputes as key to peace between rival states

UT Dallas study highlights settling border disputes as key to peace between rival states
UT Dallas study highlights settling border disputes as key to peace between rival states
Political scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently published a study on the relations of rival nations, finding that resolving border disputes is the best way to move the nations towards peace.
 
“We looked at how you move from a situation where states are rivals with each other and very hostile, ideally to where they’re friends,” UT Dallas Ashbel Smith Professor of Political Science Dr. Paul Diehl, one of the lead authors of the study, said. “Or, even if they’re not friends, how do you get to the point where they’re not enemies?”
 
Published online in Conflict Management and Peace Science, the study contends that rival nations who settle border conflicts are 122 percent more likely to move from rival status to no military conflict, or negative peace. Additionally, ending military hostilities has a preventative effect.
 
“Most countries are not fighting a war, but there are ways to improve relations that don’t get a lot of attention,” Diehl said. “Avoiding war is good, but it shouldn’t be the end point. We’re looking at how you can move in a more peaceful direction. If you move away from being enemies, you open up some possibilities to ultimately being friends.”