Unrecognized states in the world. Unrecognized states on the world map The largest unrecognized state by area is

Unrecognized republics are scattered throughout the world. Most often, they are formed where the political and economic interests of modern powers come into contact, dictating either world or regional politics. Thus, Western countries, Russia and the growing China today in this political game are the main characters on whom it depends whether the newly created republic will be recognized or remain “persona non grata” in the eyes of most countries of the world.

Definition of the term

What are unrecognized republics? This term means state entities that independently announced their secession from another state and declared their independence. The difficulty arises in the fact that these newly-minted republics are not recognized from the point of view of diplomacy, that is, most countries in the world do not accept them as independent states, but consider them simply part of some other countries. However, from a political point of view, they have all the characteristics of independent republics.

Characteristics of independent states

Sovereign states must have at least five basic characteristics:

Name (officially enshrined in the regulations and laws of the self-proclaimed republic);

State symbols (coat of arms, flag, anthem, sometimes even the Constitution);

Population;

Government bodies, with all three branches of government - legislative, executive, judicial (often they are concentrated in the same hands);

State recognition process

The international legal basis for the relations of unrecognized states between themselves and the world community is being laid spontaneously. In this connection, as suggested by experts, the process of “recognition” of republics should be considered in a three-tier formula: de facto, de jure, diplomatic recognition. Most often, these are not just links, but steps that newly created states go through.

The first step - de facto - means that a particular country has declared its independence and meets all the characteristics of a state in international law.

The second step is de jure. In this regard, recognized powers may have bilateral relations with various states, and the other party may be unrecognized republics. Russia and other countries of the world are familiar with this phenomenon. For example, in the 20th century, the United States legalized relations with Taiwan unilaterally by issuing a special law.

The third step is the conclusion of official interstate relations through consulates and embassies. This is the highest degree of international recognition of created states.

Story

On the political map of the world, there have long been states that are not recognized by all countries in the world (from the point of view of diplomacy), but at the same time have all the signs of independence. An example of one of the first unrecognized diplomacy is Manchukuo, created by Japan in 1932 on Chinese territory.

After the end of World War II, republics began to emerge in all corners of the planet, unrecognized or partially recognized. These included the former colonial possessions of the metropolises, located mainly in Africa and Asia.

The largest growth in quantitative terms of unrecognized states began in the 90s of the 20th century. From now on, they can be called “unrecognized”, “de facto countries”, “seceded”, “self-proclaimed”, etc.

Methods of occurrence

The unrecognized republics of the world have different histories. But their education, as a rule, follows similar scenarios. Thus, if we study global political practice, we can name five main options for the development of events:

1. As a result of revolutions. The most striking example is the formation of republics after the October coup on the territory of the former Russian Empire.

2. As a result of the national liberation struggle. This includes self-proclaimed unrecognized republics that declared their independence as a result of declarations, laws or interstate treaties. Such self-proclaimed states include the USA, etc.

3. As a result of the post-war division. For example, after the Second World War, the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany were formed on German territory. As a result of the civil war, the DPRK and the Republic of Korea were formed on the Korean Peninsula. The peculiarity in this case is that initially two or more created states do not recognize each other’s independence.

4. As a result of the independence of the former colonial possessions of the metropolises. A striking example is the former colonies of the British Empire.

5. As a result of geopolitical games of recognized states. These are the so-called buffer zones or “puppet states” - the Independent State of Croatia, etc.

Typology

All unrecognized republics can be divided into types according to certain criteria. The determining factor in this case is the nature of control over the territory. As a result, we have 4 types of government entities:

1. Unrecognized states that have full control over their territory. These include Northern Cyprus and Transnistria.

2. States that partially control part of their territory and are unrecognized - Tamil Eelam, South Ossetia, etc.

3. States formed under the protectorate of the international community. For example, Kosovo, legally considered part of Serbia, but actually governed by the UN since 1999.

4. Quasi-states are ethnic groups that have not received the right to self-determination. One of the most prominent in modern world politics are the Kurds with their self-proclaimed Kurdistan, located on the territory of four states: Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran.

De facto and de jure

The entire list of unrecognized republics can be conditionally divided into 2 large categories - “de facto” and “de jure”.

De facto recognition is incomplete and expresses uncertainty about the longevity and viability of the government of such a country. In this case, consular relations may arise, but they will not be mandatory.

De jure recognition is final and is characterized by the establishment of equal international relations with all countries that are members of the UN. Typically accompanied by official statements and agreements.

It should be noted that currently in international law there is no full range of characteristics according to which a newly created state will be such de facto or de jure. In world diplomacy there are only separate rules for recognizing states.

The role of unrecognized states in international relations

Modern unrecognized republics not only have a place in the documentation of the founders themselves, but also maintain certain relationships with recognized states or other unrecognized entities.

In this regard, you need to understand that at the highest diplomatic level, some countries may be unrecognized, but at the same time, their governments may cooperate with other states. Economic trade relationships may also develop. An important point is cooperation in the field of education.

Absolutely all of these interstate relations are based on certain regulations, orders, decrees and agreements.

The list of unrecognized states is quite large; it contains more than 100 items. These republics are located in 60 countries of the world. The list includes partially recognized, unrecognized and partially unrecognized states.

The first are those whose independence is recognized by only a few powers. For example, Abkhazia, recognized by only six countries, or which was recognized only by Türkiye and Abkhazia.

The second group includes self-proclaimed countries that are not recognized by any state - Somaliland, Puntland, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and others.

A partially unrecognized state can be called one whose independence is recognized by most UN member states, but other countries do not take a similar step. For example, Armenia is not recognized by just one state - Pakistan, Cyprus - Turkey, and the Republic of Korea - North Korea.

The unrecognized republics of the CIS, or rather those located on the territory, continue to fight for their recognition, starting with the collapse of the USSR. Abkhazia can be cited as an example. After Georgia announced its secession from the Soviet Union, it participated in a referendum on joining the Commonwealth of Sovereign States (CCS), the formation of which was thwarted by the State Emergency Committee in August 1991, but to this day Abkhazia is a partially recognized state. In addition to her, one can also name

How many unrecognized republics are there in the world? More than a hundred! Whether there will be fewer of them in the near future is a very difficult question. Most likely no. Today, the problem of unrecognized states is one of the most acute, and disputes over the recognition and non-recognition of individual entities do not stop even for a day. The fact is that after the USSR was defeated during the Cold War, the West considered that only it had the right to act as a magistrate, including in relation to the recognition of states as such. However, modern economic and political realities show that the West is no longer the hegemon in resolving this issue, which is why the fact of Crimea’s entry into the Russian Federation and the announcement of the self-proclamation of the DPR and LPR were met so sharply in the Old World, and especially in the United States.

Today, the problem of unrecognized States is one of the most pressing within the framework of international law due to the fact that there are more than a hundred similar entities on the political map of the world.

In the doctrine, an unrecognized state is usually understood as a geopolitical entity that, although it has a number of features inherent exclusively to a state, does not have full or partial diplomatic recognition.

In recent years, international law has seen the phenomenon of so-called “partially recognized states”, which are recognized by at least one party that is a member of the UN. The existence of partially recognized states gives rise to significant contradictions between such principles of international law as “territorial integrity of the state” and “the right of peoples to self-determination,” which is due to the manifestation of political ambitions in a number of states.

The problem of the existence of unrecognized states arises due to the lack of legal continuity with the previous state formation.

At the present stage, there are various reasons for the emergence of unrecognized states.

Firstly, serious internal and external shocks, such as wars and revolutions, play an important role in creating the conditions for the formation of such states. For example, as a result of the Great October Revolution of 1917, more than one independent state was formed in the vastness of the former Russian Empire, which caused ambiguous attitudes among the international community.

Secondly, strategic trends that arise within a particular state are of no small importance in the process of formation of unrecognized states. For example, as a result of the declaration of independence in 1776, an independent state appeared on the political arena - the United States.

Thirdly, the post-war division of a previously unified country leads to the emergence of partially unrecognized states, as happened, for example, in the case of the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Fourthly, after the collapse of the colonial system, which began as a result of the Second World War, where dozens of countries around the globe gained independence.

Having examined the main reasons for the emergence of partially unrecognized states, let us turn to ways of recognizing them.

In international law, recognition of a state is carried out in two forms, de jure and de facto.

De facto recognition represents incomplete official recognition. De jure recognition is full recognition, presupposing the establishment of international relations between subjects of international law in full. A good example is the partially recognized republics like Abkhazia and South Ossetia, formed as a result of military actions by Georgia. The republic is officially recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru.

Finally, let us consider a situation where recognition of a new state is generally unacceptable in our time. If it is formed as a result of armed intervention of another state. Specifically, we are talking about the situation in Cyprus, where Turkey, with the help of its armed forces, created a puppet state on part of its territory, not recognized by anyone except Turkey itself. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where since 1974 Cyprus has been de facto divided between Greek and Turkish communities. A similar division arose after the military invasion of Turkey, which followed the coup d'etat carried out in Cyprus by supporters of the “black colonels” junta that ruled Greece. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which was not recognized by the world community, was proclaimed in the northern part of the island. A Turkish military contingent is stationed in the north of the island.

Negotiations to unite the island into a federal state are being conducted under the auspices of the UN; they were interrupted in the spring of 2012, after which they resumed only in February 2014. Officially recognized by Turkey.

After all, on different continents of the Earth there are many partially recognized and unrecognized states that control most of their territory. Among them are the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the Republika Srpska, the Republic of Kosovo and others.

Summarizing the above, it should be noted that the recognition of a new state itself entails important legal consequences, since this mediates the readiness of the recognizing state to establish diplomatic relations with the recognized entity and conduct international legal, mutually beneficial relations.

Bibliography

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2. RIA Novosti. 2013. September 24. [Electronic resource]. URL: http://www. ria.ru.

1. Ozhegov S.I., Shvedova N.Yu. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language / IRYa RAS. M.: Az, 1992 - “Self-proclaimed, -aya, -oe (official). About the state: proclaimed itself sovereign, but not recognized by the world community.”
2. In a broad sense, this term may also include those polities whose right the goal of independent statehood is widely recognized, but in fact is not realizable, restrained by “external powers” ​​(including due to the lack of control over the declared territory). , p. 25; see also . In a narrow sense - only partially recognized states.
3. This term, however, more often refers to states that are recognized, but have lost the actual characteristics of a state (, p.). See also failed state, virtual state
4. , p. .
5. , p. : “93. Pegg offers the following definition of a de facto state: “de facto state exists where there is an organized political leadership which has risen to power through some degree of indigenous capability; receives popular support; and has achieved sufficient capacity to provide governmental services to a given population in a defined territorial area, over which effective control is maintained for an extended period of time. The de facto state views itself as capable of entering into relations with other states and it seeks full constitutional independence and widespread international recognition as a sovereign state. It is, however, unable to achieve any degree of substantive recognition and therefore remains illegitimate in the eyes of international society.” Pegg, International Society and the De Facto State, p. 26. Others have essentially concurred with this assessment. As John McGarry has stated, “De facto states are a result of a strong secessionist bid, on the one hand, and the unwillingness of the international system to condone secession on the other.” They are regions which carry out the normal functions of the state on their territory, and which are generally supported by significant proportions of their population. They are not ‘de jure states’, because they are not sanctioned by the international order. Instead, other states and inter-state organizations, such as the mis-named United Nations, continue to recognize the authority of the state from which the secession occurred, even though its writ no longer runs in the breakaway region, and though its authority is rejected by the region's population." McGarry, "Foreword", p. x".
6. Inferior members of community // Kommersant
7. , p. .
8. Markedonov S. M. Lessons and consequences of the five-day war in South Ossetia (Lecture given at the Vladikavkaz Institute of Civilizations on October 7, 2008)
9. , p. : “4 What we refer to as ‘partial recognition’ includes what Geldenhuys (2009) has termed ‘paltry recognition’ and ‘patron recognition’. ‘Partial recognition’ is in Geldenhuys’ usage reserved for entities that have been recognized by a significant number of states. We appreciate the potential usefulness of more specific categories, but for the sake of simplicity we will stick to a single category."
10. About membership // UN website
11. , p. : “Although the United Nations cannot in itself confer recognition, UN membership has nevertheless emerged as the single most important symbol of general acceptance of statehood in the contemporary international system. Indeed, UN membership has come to be regarded as nothing less than the "gold standard" of international justice. 2 One could even argue that UN membership has now emerged as the primary objective for any contested state, surpassing recognition by any single country or group of states.”
12. , p. 22: “Requiring a substantive decision by the Security Council (meaning the approval of all five permanent members) plus a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, admission to full UN membership is tantamount to collective de jure recognition. 112 The community of states thereby signals its readiness to treat the new member as a full-fledged state with all the attendant rights, duties and responsibilities, both within the UN and beyond.”
13. , p. 22: “Although collective recognition is the hallmark of confirmed statehood, allowance should be made for states that choose to remain outside the UN, like Switzerland did until 2002, without compromising their full-fledged statehood.”
14. , p. ).
15. , p. : "Secondly, there are a small number of states, that are members of the UN, but are not recognized by all the other members."
16. , p. 29: “unilateral secession, which can be driven by factors wholly unrelated to the above offenses, is the single most common origin among our selection of contested states.”
17. , p. 38.
18. , p. 44.
19. , p. 36: “While secession is in most instances used as a mode of gaining independent statehood, some communities secede from one state in order to become part of another; consider the case of Transylvanians wishing to exit Romania to join Hungary. Such secessionist-irredentist claims fall outside our inquiry. Either way, secession involves a claim to territory but is not designed to overthrow an existing government. Instead, secessionists want to restrict the jurisdiction of the (original) state so that it does not extend to their group and the territory they occupy.³⁸".
20. , p. 39.
21. , p. 20.
22. , p. 43.
23. , p. 23.
24. , p. 9.
25. , p. 28: “While there is no argument over the condition that it should have a settled population, it is also accepted that the presence of a population in the territory concerned is not a sufficient condition in itself for statehood. Rather, it has come to be accepted that the political leadership of the new state should have come to power via some degree of 'indigenous capability' and that it 'receives popular support'.²⁰ Importantly, this stipulation does not presuppose that independence will be the wish of the entire population living on the territory. Nor does it require some form of democracy as a condition for statehood-although, as will be seen, this is now gaining currency as a condition in some quarters.”
26. , p. 23: “Third, the governments of many contested states may well comply with the criterion of effectiveness in terms of their control over territory and people and some even live up to democratic standards. The challenge facing the rulers of contested states is that their right to govern is widely disputed – a corollary of the rejection of these states’ right of independent existence. So even if it manifestly possesses empirical statehood, a contested state still lacks juridical statehood conferred from outside through de jure recognition.”
27. Statehood and the Law of Self-Determination
28. , p. 24.
29. , p. 28-29: “As for the demand that the state must have some sort of effective administration, this does not just mean that a state has an ability to control its own affairs.²² It must be in a position whereby it is actually doing so . In other words, recognition can be withheld if it is decided that the territory in question does not have real or actual independence. Most obviously, this applies to territories that have been created as a result of invasion and occupation, as was the case with Manchukuo. However, it can also apply when an entity may meet the general requirements for statehood but where it is considered that there is substantial external control and it can therefore be considered to be a 'puppet state'.²³ Similarly, recognition may be withheld in cases where a territory is granted purported, but not actual, independence; or where a colonial power continues to exert significant control.²⁴".
30. , p. 24: “Contested states in the fourth instance typically have the ability and desire to enter into the standard array of relations (diplomatic, economic, cultural and military) with full fledged states. Confirmed states, however, deny them the opportunity to engage in normal international interactions by refusing them de jure recognition.”
31. Odessa state appeal court. 
32. Resolution Archived July 15, 2012.
33. Russian Foreign Ministry.  On the instructions of the President of Russia to the Government of the Russian Federation regard Abkhazia and South Ossetia
34. Slovakia recognized the new Kosovo passports // Lenta.ru
35. , p. 39: “In addition to these contested states, it will also briefly highlight the cases of the three secessionist states that have not as yet been recognized by any UN members but are often widely regarded in the literature as meeting the criteria for statehood and may well be recognized in the future: Nagorny Karabakh, Transnistria and Somaliland."

, p. 8: “Moreover, new contested territories that could be described as de facto states have emerged, most notably the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republics in Ukraine. These two newest additions to the universe of de facto states have started to create some of the trappings of statehood, although the extent of “indigenous roots‟ is still debatable.”

Unrecognized states is a term used to describe regions that have independently declared sovereignty. At the same time, these countries are not recognized or partially recognized from the point of view of diplomacy. In turn, the majority of self-proclaimed states have all the characteristics of a separate country. These include:

• official name;
• attributes: flag, anthem, symbols;
• population;
• controls;
• army (usually armed forces);
• legislation.

Despite this, UN members do not consider such states to be separate countries and view them as sovereign regions under the control of one or more states that are members of the UN.

There are many reasons why self-proclaimed countries could have formed. Thus, some regions separated and declared their sovereignty as a result of military actions, revolutions, armed conflicts, and national liberation struggles.

Not so long ago, a large number of unrecognized countries appeared, the reason for the emergence of which was the separation from the metropolises, the states that previously owned the territory of the exploited country. This applies to former colonies. There are especially many of them on the African continent. Most states received sovereignty and diplomatic recognition. But some entities remained in the unrecognized category.

Another option for the emergence of such states is the foreign economic and foreign policy manipulations of various countries. Thus, some authors (participants in world politics) created so-called “puppet states” - this was an effective technique for creating a neutral zone between warring countries. Thanks to this, you can protect yourself from hostile armies. Such zones are often called “cordons sanitaires”

Satellites are also an excellent way to lobby the state. Many countries of the world have resorted to this method at different stages of their development. Thus, a formally independent state is formed on a specific territory. Moreover, it is a puppet and is completely controlled by another country, which thus dictates its political and economic interests.

Which modern countries are classified as unrecognized states?

At the moment, there are a number of unrecognized states that are located in different territories of the world. A lot of such regions are concentrated in Somalia. Here the following states declared their sovereignty: Himan and Heb, Somaliland, Puntland, Jubaland, Adaland, Azania.

In 2014, two unrecognized states were formed on the territory of Ukraine: . Both republics emerged as a result of a crisis that spread throughout the country. The Ukrainian authorities do not recognize the separation of these regions and their sovereignty.

Most of the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions are controlled by Ukraine. And in the government of the republics they are considered separatist terrorist organizations.

None of the fully recognized countries considers the Lugansk and Donetsk regions to be sovereign states.

Also interesting are those countries of the world that are not exactly states, but rather state-like entities. These include Sealand and the Order of Malta.

Sealand, also known as Sealandia, is a principality that is defined as a virtual state. It is located on the territory. The history of this principality is peculiar. Sealand's sovereignty was announced by Paddy Roy Bates. The former British army soldier independently appointed himself the monarch of Sealand, and named his family the ruling dynasty.

Afterwards, work began on the creation of state attributes. Surprisingly, the Batesom family has found followers who consider themselves subjects of the ruling dynasty and help in the formation of a separate state. At the moment, it is believed that Sealand's form of government is a constitutional monarchy. The country has a flag, anthem and other symbols.

The Order of Malta has greater rights than Sealand. Thus, this knightly religious order has observer status with the United Nations and is often considered a dwarf state. The country has developed diplomatic relations. It cooperates with 105 countries. The Order of Malta has its own currency - the Maltese scudo.

Citizens of the country receive passports. The Order of Malta carries stamps, has its own anthem, coat of arms and other state attributes. The official language here is Latin.

Partially recognized states and their features

There are also a number of countries in the world that other states have partially recognized. Among them are those that control their territory in whole or in part. The latter include the following:

1. Republic of China Taiwan. This self-proclaimed republic declared independence in 1911. The country's territory is located on other small islands. For some time this country had full powers, but after the events of 1949 it was deprived of diplomatic recognition. At the moment, the state is recognized by 22 countries, has its own embassies, and establishes diplomatic relations independently.
   
2. SADR. It was founded in 1976. It is now recognized by 60 countries that are members of the United Nations, and is also partially recognized by South Ossetia. The SADR is part of the African Union. Most of the territory of the republic is part of Morocco.
3. State of Palestine. It has one of the brightest stories, which is distinguished by a large number of controversial situations and military conflicts. The state was self-proclaimed in 1988. Today it is recognized by 137 countries of the world: 136 of which are internationally recognized, and 1 - partially. Palestine is an observer of the United Nations. The state is divided into two parts that are not connected to each other.
   The first part is the Gaza Strip. The territory is controlled by Hamas, which is an Islamic resistance movement and a political party at the same time. Hamas is recognized by many countries as a terrorist organization. The second part of Palestine is the West Bank. The territory is partially controlled by the Palestinian National Organization. The head of the PNA is the country's President Mahmoud Abbas. The war with Israel in 1948 was a turning point in the history of Palestine.

   It was then that the state underwent serious changes: both parts were occupied. And in 1980, the territory of Jerusalem was annexed to Israel. In 1993, the countries signed an agreement according to which the PNA was formed, designed to find a compromise solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The PNA was supposed to exercise control over both parts of the state. But in 2006 he left the Gaza Strip, after which the Hamas group seized power in this territory.

4. Republic of Kosovo. Since 2008, this territory of Serbia has been autonomous. The official name is the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. This administrative unit declared its independence, which was recognized by 109 UN members, as well as some countries with unrecognized or partially recognized status.

A geopolitical entity deprived of full or partial international diplomatic recognition, but possessing all other signs of statehood (population, control over territory, system of law and administration, actual sovereignty).

The term “unrecognized states” began to be actively used in the early 1990s. In some cases, the terms “de facto countries”, “disputed countries”, “seceded” or “self-proclaimed” states, etc. are also used.

Republic of South Ossetia

The republic arose after the armed Georgian-Ossetian conflict that began in December 1990 after the decision to abolish the South Ossetian Autonomous Region. The referendum held on January 19, 1992 almost unanimously supported the declaration of independence of South Ossetia. On May 29, 1992, the Supreme Council of the Republic of South Ossetia adopted the Act of State Independence, after which mixed Russian-Georgian-Ossetian peacekeeping forces entered South Ossetia.

The republic is also recognized by Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Nauru. Tuvalu recognized the independence of South Ossetia in September 2011, but withdrew its recognition in March 2014.

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Armenian self-name - Artsakh)

It began in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR.

On September 2, 1991, a joint session of the Nagorno-Karabakh Regional Council and the Council of People's Deputies of the Shahumyan region proclaimed the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) within the borders of the former NKAO and the Shahumyan region.

Official Baku recognized this act as illegal and abolished the autonomy of Karabakh. The armed conflict that followed lasted until May 12, 1994, when a ceasefire agreement came into force. As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and several surrounding areas. Since 1992, negotiations have been ongoing on a peaceful resolution of the conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France.

Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija

It has been under the control of the UN administration since the summer of 1999, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

The UN administration and international KFOR forces under NATO command were brought into the region after 78 days of bombing of Serbia by NATO aircraft. NATO intervened in the Kosovo conflict (1998-1999) on the side of local Albanians seeking independence from Serbia.

The Albanian authorities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, with the support of the United States and a number of EU countries, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia and the creation of the Republic of Kosovo. Independence was supported by individual countries of the world.

By December 2009, the self-proclaimed state was recognized by 63 countries. Serbia, as well as Russia, China, India and a number of other countries refused to recognize the independence of the region.

Also among the unrecognized states are often the Republic of Somaliland, Tamil Eelam (in Ceylon), and the Islamic State of Waziristan, whose independence was proclaimed in February 2006 on the territory of northwestern Pakistan. Occasionally, Kashmir, Western Sahara, Palestine, Kurdistan and some other territories (for example, exotic Sealand) are mentioned in the same context.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources