Territorial dispute
A disagreement between states or other political entities over sovereignty, borders, or control of a geographic area.
Sovereignty: The authority of a political entity to govern itself and control its territory. Competing claims often turn on which entity holds authority over the disputed area.
Kashmir conflict: A protracted conflict over Kashmir involving India, Pakistan, and claims also made by China. It combines rival sovereignty claims, partition history, and changing lines of control.
Border dispute: A disagreement over the location or interpretation of a boundary between political territories. A border dispute concerns a boundary line, while territorial disputes can concern ownership of an entire area.
Armed conflict: Organized fighting between states or other armed parties. Unresolved claims can become a stated cause of fighting, though disputes do not inevitably produce war.
Self-determination: The principle that peoples may determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. It can conflict with a state's claim to preserve its existing territorial boundaries.
Territorial integrity: The principle that a state's territory and political independence should not be violated by force. It underpins objections to acquiring disputed territory through military coercion.
South China Sea disputes: Overlapping maritime and territorial claims among several states bordering the South China Sea. The disputes connect island sovereignty with maritime boundaries and access to resources.
Maritime boundary dispute: A disagreement over the division of maritime zones between states. Some territorial disputes concern land sovereignty; maritime boundary disputes concern sea zones and their limits.
Displacement: The forced movement of people from their homes by conflict, violence, or other coercive conditions. Military occupation and fighting around contested areas can force residents to flee.
Uti possidetis juris: A principle that newly independent states generally retain the administrative boundaries they had at independence. It can stabilize borders while preserving lines that local communities or neighboring states contest.