Irredentism in European Politics - Argumentation, Compromise and Norms

Territorial disputes and irredentist disputes are very prone to escalation and very difficult to resolve. Since the end of the Second World War, however, European states have tended to resolve their irredentist disputes peacefully. Markus Kornprobst argues that this pattern has arisen due to the emergence of a territorial status quo norm in the region. A study of all territorial claims made in Europe since 1848 and in the world since 1945 provides the background for detailed examinations of German and Irish irredentism, through which the author traces the development of the territorial status quo norm based on argumentation and compromise. Developing new theoretical and methodological tools to study norm selection, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of international relations, nationalism and European studies. • The only book on the market that provides this breadth of research on irredentism • Familiarises the reader with ongoing debates in International Security and International Relations theory • Provides the reader with new theoretical and methodological tools to study norm selection

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Reviews:

'A gem; no other study provides such a creative, sophisticated and theoretically wide-range analysis of the near demise of irredentism in Europe after World War II … Markus Kornprobst not only sets a standard for explaining broad changes in international practices, but also suggests a synthesis between constructivism and rational choice that is likely to become a signpost for future research in International relations.' - Emmanuel Adler, University of Toronto 'Irredentism in European Politics makes an important contribution to the study of argumentation and normative change in politics. It develops an innovative three-stage norm selection mechanism and a useful way of conceptualizing arguments and their effects on norm development.' - Frank Schimmelfennig, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology 'International relations scholars owe thanks to Kornprobst for deepening our understanding of how creative agents draw from incipient and existing cultural resources to lay down the tracks of international action in more peaceful directions.' - Michael Barnett, University of Minnesota

1. Irredentism in Europe 2. Argumentation and compromise 3. Broadening a vision for Europe 4. Towards a new beginning 5. From exclusion to inclusion 6. Constitutional change