Islands of Agreement: Managing Enduring Armed Rivalries

Extract

Islands of Agreement: Managing Enduring Armed Rivalries. By Gabriella Blum. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. 355p. $49.95.

Gabriella Blum's book is built on the assertion that some conflicts cannot be resolved. She argues that since some conflicts will always be inescapable, the academic approach should move away from conflict prevention and resolution to the broader and more accurate notion of conflict “management.” Blum argues that considering conflicts as one whole phenomenon, or as a total relationship, leads scholars to search for one big (and often simplistic) solution for their resolution. She maintains that interstate relations are multidimensional and that conflicts should be seen as only one aspect of interstate relations. She asserts that “by concentrating our efforts … on conflict resolution only, we often neglect the potential of reinforcing those elements that fall outside the conflict yet inside the relationship” (p. 5).