Persistent Nonviolent Conflict With No Reconciliation: The Flemish and Walloons in Belgium

Mnookin and Verbeke describe the nonviolent but very serious conflict in Belgium between the Flemish (Dutch) of the North and the Walloons (French) of the South. The Flemish economy is more prosperous than the Walloon economy, and the Flemish constitute a majority of the Belgian population. Nevertheless, the Walloons enjoy a financial subsidy from the Flemish and share equally in the political power of the nation due to antimajoritarian restrictions built into the government structure. Even though significant and persistent, this conflict remains nonviolent due to several factors, including largely separate geography, language and social structure; a low-stakes conflict; relatively small wealth disparities; a federal system largely enabling separate political systems; and a pragmatic tradition. Mnookin and Verbeke argue that the disputants can continue to coexist with a civilized separation short of divorce. They further point out that the very factors that help keep this conflict nonviolent also serve to provide little incentive to work toward a more cooperative relationship

Divorce Bargaining: The Limits on Private Ordering

In an article published in the Yale Law Journal, I suggested an alternative perspective for family law scholars concerned with divorce. It emphasized negotiation, not adjudication; private ordering, not regulation. This change in emphasis seemed timely, if not overdue. Available evidence has long shown that the overwhelming majority of divorcing couples resolve the distributional questions concerning marital property, alimony, child support, and custody without bringing any contested issue to court for adjudication. Therefore, the primary impact of the legal system falls not on the small number of contested cases, but instead on the far greater number of divorcing couples outside the courtroom who bargain in the shadow of the law. Thus, my emphasis is on negotiation not adjudication

Discord behind the Table: The Internal Conflict among Israeli Jews concerning the Future of Settlements in the West Bank and Gaza

Our exclusive focus is on one of these conflicts-the profound internal rift among Israeli Jews over the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. We are especially interested in the role of the national religious settlers and the Israeli government\u27s response to them. These settlers lead the movement and are dominant actors in the internal conflict. The current controversies within Israel regarding Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\u27s unilateral initiative, which was not the product of a negotiation with Palestinians, demonstrate the importance of understanding the internal conflict within Israel and the dominant role of the leaders of the settlement movemen