This book provides the first comprehensive examination of modern political partition and military conflict. Once touted as the most efficient geopolitical means for resolving ideological and ethnic strife, partition has too often served to deepen enmity and provoke further violence. Robert K. Schaeffer argues that partition and its accompanying conflicts have their roots not in ancient hatreds but in the political realities of the twentieth century. In a keen and lucid analysis, he reveals how the fate of these nations was dictated by the dreams and machinations of more powerful states, particularly Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Schaeffer also examines the spread of terrorism and guerrilla warfare in the divided states, as well as the destructive legacy of partition on democracy, citizenship, and sovereignty.