Introduction
It is a fact that the fall of the Soviet Union led to various ethnic conflicts. Perhaps this can be described as the failure of effective international relation policies. On the other hand, ethnic conflicts have resulted in a greater vision of instilling democracy in the countries with poor human rights records. As much as the downfall of the Soviet Union led to subsequent problems, there are also solutions attached to the same.
Problems
According to Chaim Kaufmann, ethnic identities are used to validate ethnic conflicts (Jervis and Art 439). It is natural that members of opposing communities cannot support rival ethnic communities. Eventually, a group of hardliners is created making it difficult for peace treaties to take place. It is almost certain that loyalty to ethnic identities becomes essential during an escalated ethnic conflict.
In this regard, non-allegiance to such ethnic allegiance results in the formation of extremists. The extremist philosophies in relation to the ethnic loyalty and identity are a dangerous trend as it may cause genocide. Such a trend was evidenced during the Rwandese genocide in 1994.
The issue of the security dilemma is critical during the ethnic conflicts. The government inability to provide security to its citizens leads to anarchy. It is important to note that ethnic conflicts can cause either ethnic portioning or ethnic separation.
The separation of the ethnic groups is problematic since the groups would resume to war even after peace is achieved. In fact, separation is not a guarantee mechanism towards peace. This is opposed to partitioning, which does not require portioning of the ethnic groups.
The moral hazard of assuming an automatic humanitarian intervention contributes to the ethnic conflicts. This tactic of the ethnic groups, that prefer section from a state, has been used many times. Such strategies justify moral standing on the waged violence against other ethnic groups. In reality, humanitarian intervention has been a major cause of mass killings as evidenced in Kosovo.
The third parties to ethnic conflicts especially the international community have caused more problems for maintaining neutrality in situations that require international intervention. The principle of neutrality in the ethnic conflicts is immoral if the conflict leads to genocide.
Solutions
According to Chaim Kaufmann, there are solutions that can guarantee the ethnic peace (Jervis and Art 404). For example, the problem of the ethnic separation can be dealt with through reconstruction of the ethnic identities through partitioning (Jervis and Art 452).
This entails demographic partitioning of the ethnic groups in a manner that does not give the ethnic groups powers to suppress others using their population numbers. Using suppression to give a complete victory to one ethnic group can also be viable, if it leads to absolute peace.
The current trends in dealing with the ethnic conflicts have been power-sharing and state-building. The first trend ensures that the ethnic groups share power in government, resources and in major national decision making processes (Jervis and Art 442). State-building is encouraged in the states where the ethnic groups are a threat to their own existence.
In such situations, international community or neighboring countries have an obligation to help in running the country in terms of security and economy. This is done until the country is economically and politically stable for democracy to take shape.
In most cases, international governments are encouraged to maintain impartiality with an objective to ensure that ethnic conflicts end through the assistance of equal measures. This means that the third parties to an ethnic conflict cannot assist only one side of the conflicting parties.
Works Cited
Jervis, Robert and Robert J. Art, eds. International politics: enduring concepts and contemporary issues. Boston: Longman, 2003. Print.