Frozen conflict
In international relations, a frozen conflict is a situation in which active armed conflict has been brought to an end, but no peace treaty or other political framework resolves the conflict to the satisfaction of the combatants. Therefore, legally the conflict can start again at any moment, creating an environment of insecurity and instability.
For the period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, see Cold War.
The term has been commonly used for post-Soviet conflicts, but it has also often been applied to other extended and unresolved territorial disputes.[1][2][3] The de facto situation that emerges may or may not match the official position asserted by either party to the conflict. For example, in the division of Korea both South Korea and North Korea officially assert claims to the entire peninsula; however, there exists a well-defined border between the two countries' areas of control.
Frozen conflicts sometimes result in partially recognized states. For example, the Republic of South Ossetia, a product of the frozen Georgian–Ossetian conflict, is recognized by eight other states, including five UN members; the other three of these entities are partially recognized states themselves.
Since aggressors are not defeated, frozen conflicts can be seen as appeasement and rewarding aggression.[4]
Former frozen conflicts[edit]
Nagorno-Karabakh[edit]
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was a frozen conflict with periods of full-scale escalations.[18] The dissolution of Republic of Artsakh following 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh can be seen as an end to this frozen conflict.