ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the relationship between communal conflicts and the nation state system from two perspectives: devising plural political systems in the existing states and external intervention. Reference to communal affiliations in the administration should be avoided as much as possible, contrary to the practice of "political confessionalism". A transformation from warfare to a welfare culture is possible in Lebanon and Bosnia, given the popularity of ideas of individual progress and lucrative international trade. Policies of accommodation of political and economic interests must be followed cautiously, through a creative combination of territorial and non-territorial autonomy, pluralism, power sharing, and integration with neighbouring countries and regions. The theory of consociational democracy in plural societies is based on the principle of political equality of several communities, which constitute part of one society. External intervention is often regarded as the only way to re-establish peace and re-build the state institutions in complex communal conflicts.
