Diplomats have long seen that territory is a persistent source of conflict, but what has not been known is that once neighbors settle their territorial disputes, they can have long periods of peace and prosperity, even if new salient issues arise.

In this way, territory is a key both to war and to peace. This chapter will review the major findings on territory within the international relations field and discuss its implications for conflict resolution. Emphasis is placed on interstate war because this is where most of the research has occurred. Although there are implications for intrastate and civil war, more research in this area is needed before the conclusions here could be confidently applied to that area.

More on the topic Diplomats have long seen that territory is a persistent source of conflict, but what has not been known is that once neighbors settle their territorial disputes, they can have long periods of peace and prosperity, even if new salient issues arise.: