12-02-2010
The CIDCM is an interdisciplinary research center at the University of Maryland in the USA, seeking to prevent and transform conflict and understanding it. A recurring feature of Peace and Conflict has been an inventory of movements that aim at secession or self-determination. According to the CIDCM there are over 1,000 distinct ethnic groups in the world, any and all of which might seek a disruptive break from existing states. Of these groups, 132 minorities organizations claiming now seek self-determination, but only some use either protest (99 groups) or violent means (18 groups). “It is true that independence-minded groups are more likely to fight wars than groups with other objective,” says the CIDCM. The CIDCM concludes that the protagonists of the six most deadly wars were the Chechens in Russia, Kashmiris in India, Kurds in Turkey, Tamils in Sri Lanka, and Karens and Shans in Burma. But it notes that the international trend has been toward settling such disputes with autonomy and power-sharing agreements rather than with protracted secessionist wars.
