22 November 2011 - territory dispute

When two nations have a territorial dispute, why do we ask them to solve it by negotiation? Territory is emotional, so neither side ever makes a serious offer and the dispute can’t stop. Well, negotiation beats fighting, but surely there should be a formal mechanism. I propose that every claimant to territory controlled by another must deposit the territory’s selling price with the United Nations, or else the claim will not be acknowledged by other nations. If negotiations have not succeeded after fifteen years, all claimants lose their deposits and the UN renders the territory unusable by seeding it from the air with strontium-90.