Nowadays, you can read and listen on boundary disputes, dozen of them every day. And they are mostly among small countries, like a territorial dispute between Croatia and Slovenia or between Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. However, a quick history browsing reveals that boundary dis- putes are not a privilege of small countries.

The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and Canada (then a British Dominion with its foreign affairs controlled from London). It was resolved by arbi- tration in 1903. The dispute had been going on between the Russian and British Empires since 1821, and was inherited by the United States as a consequence of the Alaska Purchase in 1867. The final resolution favored the American position, and Canada did not get an all-Canada outlet from the Yukon gold fields to the sea. The disappointment and anger in Canada was directed less at the United States, and more at the British government for betraying Canadian interests in pursuit of a friendly relationship between Britain and the United States.