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Inside the Politics of Self-Determination. By Cunningham Kathleen Gallagher . New York : Oxford University Press , 2014. 304p. $105.00 cloth, $31.95 paper.
Book Reviews: International Relations
There are currently 193 recognized states, close to three-dozen statelike polities, and more than one hundred autonomous areas and groups aspiring for some degree of self-determination. Among the latter, many groups will be accommodated, others will engage in civil war with their governments, while some will succumb to fratricidal violence. How can we explain this variation in self-determination (SD) outcomes? This is a vexing question that has given rise to a substantial body of literature written from diverse epistemological and methodological traditions. Among the large body of works addressing the topic, Inside the Politics of Self-Determination stands out for offering one of the most comprehensive accounts of SD challenges. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham is to be commended for weaving together multiple research programs into a coherent framework where various conflict processes are logically entwined. The book is foundational for the community of scholars exploring the dynamic nature of civil warfare.
The study addresses four inter-linked questions, which illustrates the sheer complexity of the undertaking. Two questions pertain to the interaction between self-determination groups and the government: When are states more likely to accommodate SD groups? When is the interaction between SD groups and governments more likely to escalate to civil war? The other two questions unpack the internal dynamics of self-determination movements and of the states confronted with demands for some type of self-rule from (usually, but not always) minority groups: Which SD groups are likely to succumb to internecine violence? How do accommodation and conflict affect the internal structure of SD groups and governments over time? To answer these questions, Cunningham adopts a rationalist approach according to which the varying outcomes observed across SD struggles are a by-product of strategic bargaining between the actors involved in the dispute. By investigating the dynamic interactions between actors involved in self-determination struggles, the author makes a landmark contribution to existing bargaining explanations for internal conflict. Cunningham argues that conventional bargaining models abstract too much away from the micro-dynamics of actor behavior and interaction. In particular, traditional bargaining models tend to view the parties involved in the conflict as unitary, and, hence,...