Self-Determination, Territorial Integrity, and the Falkland Islands
Territorial conflicts often flare up where they are least expected. Who would have deemed it probable in early 1982 that Great Britain would send the better part of its navy to recover a faraway colony? There are almost as many conflicting territorial claims as there are borders. ' Most of them are known only to a small circle of experts and specialists in international law until one side "runs out of patience" (the motivation being purely domestic more often than not) and the dispute is continued with weapons. Islands play a particularly important role in this respect. In the era of classical imperialism the big powers had to possess as many islands as possible, so as to control the great shipping lanes and the supply routes of their fleets.2 It is not at all a coincidence that a very important naval battle of World War I was fought in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands.3