Approaches to the Resolution of Ethnic Conflict: The Strategy of Non-territorial Autonomy

Given the essentially territorial nature of the state, it has sometimes been assumed that attempts to resolve ethnic conflict by devolving power to ethnic groups must follow territorial lines. The present article assesses an alternative, "non-territorial," approach that has had some limited success as a device for the resolution of ethnic conflict. The origins of this approach may be traced back to the traditions of certain pre-modern states. A more systematic scheme of non-territorial autonomy appropriate to the modern state was elaborated in Austria-Hungary during its last years, and some instances of its attempted application may be seen immediately before and after the First World War. In the contemporary world, elements of this approach have been present in efforts to resolve the problems of indigenous minorities and in systems of consociational government.