Legal Saturation and Duration Without Settlement
The map visualises how long conflicts and disputes remain without a comprehensive settlement, and how consistently international legal frameworks are referenced over time. It focuses on duration and legal framing, not conflict intensity or attribution of responsibility.
Hover over a country to see the number of years without settlement and the associated level of legal reference density.
Legal density reflects how intensively international law is used. Countries without unresolved conflicts may still show low or medium legal density because law is engaged only episodically. High legal density indicates sustained legal engagement around unresolved situations, not higher compliance.
Analytical and educational use permitted with attribution.
Typical patterns: No conflict with episodic legal engagement → Low or Medium. Prolonged unresolved conflict → Medium or High. Long-running disputes with multiple instruments → High.
Legal density reflects how intensively international law is invoked in relation to a situation. Countries without unresolved conflicts may still display low or medium legal density because international law is engaged only episodically. High legal density indicates sustained legal engagement around unresolved situations, such as repeated references to the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, or adjudicative mechanisms. It does not imply higher compliance, legitimacy, or fault.
Understanding the Legal Saturation and Duration Indicators
This visualisation combines two analytical dimensions. The first is the length of time a conflict or dispute has remained without a comprehensive settlement. The second is the consistency with which international legal frameworks are referenced in relation to that situation.
📅 Duration Without Settlement
Duration refers to the number of years since a conflict, occupation, or territorial dispute began without a final settlement framework being agreed or implemented. Categories range from none or short, to long and very long, reflecting multi decade situations.
⚖️ Legal Reference Density
Legal reference density reflects how frequently and consistently international legal instruments are invoked in resolutions, agreements, or formal positions related to each case. These instruments include the United Nations Charter, International Court of Justice jurisprudence, and international humanitarian law.
A higher legal density does not imply resolution or compliance. It indicates that law remains present in the formal framing of the situation. Lower density suggests thinning or inconsistent legal language over time.
🎯 Analytical Purpose
The map is intended as a structural and comparative tool. It does not assign blame, measure harm, or rank moral standing. Its purpose is to make visible where prolonged unresolved situations coincide with sustained legal framing, and where duration persists alongside erosion or absence of legal reference.
© 2025 The Geneva Charter, Switzerland. Use permitted for research, education, and policy analysis with attribution. Commercial use requires prior permission.