No More States?

This provocative and compelling book contends that the explosive growth of new political states is finally coming to an end. Examining the forces that determine the emergence of new nation-states the distinguished contributors consider a rich array of specific cases from the Middle East Asia North America Europe and Russia where pressures for new states are intense. They argue that unbalanced globalization the disadvantages of terrorism as a tactic and the rewards of dependent status will strongly limit further state formation. Despite these limits there has been no sign of successful military or imperial expansion by established countries toward consolidation into fewer larger national units. Neither aggression by regional states_such as the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 nor intervention_such as the U.S. occupation of Iraq in 2003 is likely to succeed. On balance the book concludes discontented national movements will have to find ways to exist within current geopolitical boundaries.