Determinism in the mountains: The ongoing belief in the bellicosity of 'mountain people'

Authors

  • Steve Pickering

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.6.2.21

Abstract

It has long been argued that mountains have an effect on wars. While some research understands this chiefly in physical terms, other research looks at the effect that mountains have on human nature. This article looks at the two thousand year history of the term 'mountain people.' It explores how the belief has emerged that living in mountainous regions changes people to the degree that it makes them more likely to engage in conflict. It also explores how mountain people can be seen in a more positive light, but this perspective is often ignored by both popular media and conflict research. It makes the case that the foundations upon which perceptions of 'mountain people' are based are rather shaky and somewhat misleading for empirical conflict research.

References

Aron, R. 1966. Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations. (Trans. R. Howard and A. Baker Fox). London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Blimes, R.J. 2005. “The Indirect Effect of Ethnic Heterogeneity on the Likelihood of Civil War Onset.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 536-547.

Bodin, J. 1977 [1583a]. Les six Livres de la République. Darmstadt: Scientia Verlag Aalen. (Deuxième réimpression de l'édition de Paris 1583).

Bodin, J. 1964 [1583b] Six Books of the Commonwealth. (Trans. and abridged by M.J. Tooley). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Brancati, D. 2007. “Political Aftershocks: The Impact of Earthquakes on Intrastate Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 51, No. 5, pp. 715 - 743.

Carey, S.C.2007. “Rebellion in Africa: Disaggregating the Effect of Political Regimes.” Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 47-64.

Collier, P. and A. Hoeffler. 2004. “Greed and Grievance in Civil War.” Oxford Economic Papers. Vol. 56, pp. 563-595.

Collier, P., A. Hoeffler, and D. Rohner. 2009. “Beyond Greed and Grievance: Feasibility and Civil War.” Oxford Economic Papers. Vol. 61, pp. 1 - 27.

Darwin, C. 1874. The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. London: John Murray

Demolins, E. 1901. Les Grande Routes des Peuples: Essai de Géographie sociale— Comment la route crée le type social—les Routes de l'Antiquité. Vol. I, Paris: Librairie de Paris.

Farer, T.J. 1979. War Clouds on the Horn of Africa: The Widening Storm. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Fearon, J.D. and D.D. Laitin. 2003. “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War.” The American Political Science Review. Vol. 97, No. 1, pp. 75-90.

Febvre, L. 1932. A Geographical Introduction to History. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.

Fjelde, H. 2009. “Buying Peace? Oil Wealth, Corruption and Civil War, 1985-99.” Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 199-218.

Gerrard, A.J.W. 2000. “What is a Mountain?” Mimeo. DECRG. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Goldenberg, S. 1994. Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-Soviet Disorder. London: Zed Books.

Griffin, N. 2003. Caucasus: Mountain Men and Holy Wars. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Hegre, H. and N. Sambanis. 2006. “Sensitivity Analysis of Empirical Results on Civil War Onset.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 508-535.

Hommaire de Hell, X. 1947. Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, The Crimea, The Caucasus, &c. London: Chapman and Hall.

von Humboldt, A. 1849. Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe. (Trans. E.C. Otté). Vol. I. London: Henry G. Bohn.

Johnston, H. 2008. “Ritual, Strategy, and Deep Culture in the Chechen National Movement.” Critical Studies on Terrorism. Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 321-342.

Khan, Md. S., ed. 1972. Flora of Bangladesh. Dacca: Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council.

Lacina, B. 2006. “Explaining the Severity of Civil War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 276-289.

Lincoln, Y.S. 2002. “Grief in an Appalachian Register.” Qualitative Inquiry. Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 146-149.

Lunn, Sir A. 1963. The Swiss and their Mountains: A Study of the Influence of Mountains on Man. London: George Allen & Unwin.

Montesquieu, Baron de. 1949 [1748]. The Spirit of the Laws. (Trans. T. Nugent). New York: Hafner Press.

Olsen, V., with J. Lockerbie. 1996. Daktar. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Omrani, B. 2009. “The Durand Line: History and Problems of the Afghan-Pakistan Border.” Asian Affairs. Vol. XL, No. II, pp. 177-195.

Ó Tuathail, G. 2001. “The Bosnian War and the American Securing of`Europe,” pp. 797-812 in M. Antonsich, V. Kolossov, and M.P. Pagnini, eds. On the Century of Ratzel’s Politische Geographie: Europe Between Political Geography and Geopolitics. Vol. II. Rome: Società Geografica Italiana.

Radvanyi, J. and S.S. Muduyev. 2007. “Challenges Facing the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus.” Eurasian Geography and Economics. Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 157-177.

Rashid, H. 1999. The Diary of a Diplomat. Dhaka: Ekushey Publications.

Reclus, E. 1876. La terre: description des phénomènes de la vie du globe. Paris: Librairie Hachette.

Ripley, W.Z.. 1899. The Races of Europe: A Sociological Study. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Trübner.

Rouen, K.R. de, Jr. and D. Sobek. 2004. “The Dynamics of Civil War Duration and Outcome.” Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 303-320.

Rousseau, J-J. 1966 [1781] Essay on the Origin of Languages which treats of Melody and Musical Imitation. (Trans. J.H. Moran). New York: Frederick Ungar.

Russell, J. 2007. Chechnya: Russia's “War on Terror”. London: Routledge.

Van Schendel, W., W. Mey, and A. Kumar Dewan. 2000. The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Living in a Borderland. Bangkok: White Lotus.

Semple, E.C. 1901. “The Anglo-Saxons of the Kentucky Mountains: A Study in Antrhopogeography.” The Geographic Journal. Vol. 17, No. 6. pp. 588-623.

Semple, E.C. 1923 [1911]. Influences of Geographic Environment on the Basis of Ratzel’s System of Anthropo-Geography. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Snyder, R. and R. Bhavnani. 2005. “Diamonds, Blood, and Taxes: A Revenue-Centered Framework for Explaining Political Order.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 563-597.

Speckhard, A., N. Tarabrina, V. Krasnov, and N. Mufel. 2005. “Stockholm Effects and Psychological Responses to Captivity in Hostages Held by Suicide Terrorists.” Traumatology. Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 121-140.

Sprout, H. and M. Sprout. 1957. “Environmental Factors in the Study of International Politics.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 309-328.

Spykman, N.J. 1938. “Geography and Foreign Policy, I.” The American Political Science Review. Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 28-50.

Strabo. 1960. The Geography of Strabo. (Trans. H.L. Jones). London: William Heinemann.

UN FAO website, http://www.fao.org/mnts/imd-archive/imd-2004/en/ [accessed 20 May 2011].

von Thielmann, Lieut. Baron Max. 1875. Journey in the Caucasus, Persia, and Turkey in Asia. Vol. I. London: John Murray.

von Treitschke, H. 1963. Politics. Edited and abridged by H. Kohn. NewYork: Harbinger.

Wordsworth, W. 1984. The Oxford Authors: William Wordsworth. S. Gill, ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

World Mountain People Association website, http://www.mountainpeople. org/en/pays/problematiques.php [accessed 20 May 2011].

Ziring, L. `2009. “Unravelling the Afghanistan-Pakistan Riddle.” Asian Affairs: An American Review. Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 59-78.

Zürcher, C. 2007. The Post-Soviet Wars: Rebellion, Ethnic Conflict and Nationhood in the Caucasus. New York: New York University Press.

Downloads

Published

2011-07-15

How to Cite

Pickering, S. (2011). Determinism in the mountains: The ongoing belief in the bellicosity of ’mountain people’. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.6.2.21

Issue

Section

Articles