The Boundaries of Self-Sacrifice

National borders are often determined in response to acts of self-sacrifice. Situations can arise when statesmen sacrifice their country's territory in response to demands made by neighboring states for the sake of preventing wars and bloodbaths. But do these acts achieve the desired results? An examination of three such cases from modern history indicates that self-sacrifice has sometimes succeeded in preventing wars whereas other acts of territorial renunciation have only delayed the confrontation, becoming detrimental to their cause and patently gratuitous.