Ethnic conflict has created a world of "generalized chaos" and poses a constant risk of genocide, Dillon Professor of the Civilization of France Stanley Hoffmann said last night in a speech in Boylston Hall.

Hoffmann's speech, "Ethnic Conflicts and Their Resolution," was the keynote address for an international conference hosted by Harvard this weekend titled "Cyprus & Its People: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives." About 150 turned out for the speech.

Although the main theme of the conference is relations in Cyprus, Hoffmann addressed the issue of ethnic relations in general.

The "new world disorder" in which we are living is caused largely by ethnic conflict, he said.

Hoffmann said organizations like the U.N. are not addressing the roots of ethnic conflict around the world. They are freezing the conflicts instead of actually solving the problems, he said.

In Bosnia, the U.S. just "feeds people so they can then be killed by the snipers," Hoffmann said. "But when it comes to dealing with the snipers, we are still waiting."

Many factors can contribute to ethnic conflict, he said. For example, when large empires such as the former Soviet Union break down, once-hidden problems begin to surface as new states form.

"What crawls out of the wood-work are all of the old forces of discontent," Hoffmann said.

He also said elites often try to create ethnic conflict because it is a "splendid instrument of staying in or coming to power."

Ethnic conflict can eventually become a parasite on any other established ideologies, Hoffmann said.

In a democratic state, "parties form on ethnic lines and will want to have entities on their own," he said.

At the conclusion of last night's lecture, Hoffmann was asked how he foresees the world in 20 years.

It will look "pretty much the way it looks today," Hoffmann said. "We are in a protracted period in which the ground shakes."

Hoffmann said he hopes that one day "people can be taught that what they have in common is more important then what separates them."

The address was the ninth Nicholas E. Christopher Memorial Lecture.

The conference, presented by the Seferis Chair of Modern Greek Studies, will continue through Saturday. Scholars and writers from across the country and throughout Europe were invited to attend.

As of last night, 100 people were registered for the conference, and about 50 more are expected to register on Saturday, according to Evangelos Calotychos, lecturer on modern Greek, who has spent 14 months organizing the conference.

The documentary film "Our Wall," a highly acclaimed depiction of the political situation in Cyprus, is one of the weekend's highlighted events.

The film will be shown tonight at 7:30 in Science Center D. Admission is $4 for the general public and free for conference participants.