How did redrawn borders after wars affect ethnic relations?

Redrawn borders after wars often exacerbated ethnic tensions, leading to conflicts, forced migrations, and changes in national identities.

Redrawing borders after wars has been a common practice throughout history, often with the intention of establishing peace and stability. However, these changes often had significant impacts on ethnic relations, often exacerbating existing tensions and creating new ones. One of the main reasons for this is that the new borders often did not align with the ethnic, cultural, or linguistic boundaries of the populations living in those areas. This led to situations where ethnic groups found themselves either divided across different countries or grouped together with other ethnic groups with whom they had historical animosities.

For instance, the Treaty of Trianon after World War I significantly reduced Hungary's territory, leaving large Hungarian populations outside the new borders in countries like Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia. This led to significant tensions between Hungary and its neighbours, and between the Hungarian minorities and the majority populations in these countries. Similarly, the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 led to one of the largest forced migrations in history, with millions of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims moving across the new borders amidst widespread violence and conflict.

In some cases, redrawn borders also led to changes in national identities. For example, after World War II, the shifting of Poland's borders to the west led to the expulsion of millions of Germans from the newly Polish territories, and the integration of these areas into the Polish state led to a strengthening of Polish national identity. At the same time, the incorporation of large Ukrainian populations into the Soviet Union led to a process of 'Russification', with significant impacts on Ukrainian language, culture, and identity.

In conclusion, while the redrawing of borders after wars was often intended to establish peace and stability, it often had the opposite effect on ethnic relations. The new borders often did not align with ethnic, cultural, or linguistic boundaries, leading to conflicts, forced migrations, and changes in national identities.