book chapter

Ethnopolitical Conflict and Separatist Violence

by Ted Robert Gurr and Anne Pitsch

In Wilhelm Heitmeyer and John Hagan (eds.), Handbook of Research on Violence. This chapter has three objectives. The first is to review some conceptual and theoretical issues in social science explanations of separatist conflicts. Second, it examines the strategies used by 154 separatist groups in the 1990s and assesses the effects of three general factors on whether those groups chose violent or nonviolent strategies: discriminatory treatment, state repression, and the impact of democratization. Finally, it looks at evidence on the prospects for peaceful settlement of separatist conflicts. The conclusion identifies issues for further research. Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Justice and Peace, 2002.