Unrecognized States in the International System

Caspersen, Nina; Stansfield, Gareth

doi:10.4324/9780203834510

Cited by 178 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…Unrecognized states also fall outside most treatments of state formation, because most unrecognized states never achieve recognition (or have not achieved it yet). 9 The first literature to address unrecognized states directly was grounded in comparative politics, and a robust area-studies literature exists around each of the current cases of unrecognized statehood. 10 More recent literature has addressed wider ranges of cases and made important conceptual progress identifying patterns and commonalities across cases (e.g.…”

Section: Unrecognized States In the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The model allows us to assess the conditions under which unrecognized statehood persists, and those under which war and negotiated settlement occur. It also allows us to evaluate various strategies available 9 For example, Roeder (2007) treats unrecognized states simply as failures to gain recognized statehood, not as outcomes to be analyzed in their own right. 10 Lynch (2004) Although we are not aware of any formal models of unrecognized statehood there is a growing economics literature that employs game theoretic models of conflict.…”

Section: Unrecognized States In the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Unrecognized States: A Theory of Self-Determination and Foreign Influence

2016

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Unrecognized states are characterized by stagnant or crumbling economies and political instability, often serve as havens for illicit trade, and challenge the territorial sovereignty of recognized states. Their persistence is both intellectually puzzling and normatively problematic, but unrecognized statehood can be a remarkably stable outcome, persisting for decades. Our four-player model reveals that unrecognized statehood emerges as an equilibrium outcome when a patron state is willing and able to persistently invest resources to sustain it. We assess options available to actors in the international community who seek to impose their preferred outcomes in these disputes and find that, although sanctions are the most frequently employed, they can often lead to renewed conflict instead of the intended resolution.

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Section: Unrecognized States In the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Unrecognized States In the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Unrecognized States: A Theory of Self-Determination and Foreign Influence

2016

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“…Until now, research on de facto states has been mostly conducted by political scientists or specialists in the field of security studies, international relations or area studies (Pegg, 1998;King, 2001;Lynch, 2002Lynch, , 2004Kolstø, 2006;Popescu, 2006Popescu, , 2007Berg, 2007;Kolstø and Blakkisrud, 2012;Caspersen, 2008aCaspersen, , 2009Caspersen, , 2011Caspersen, , 2012Protsyk, 2009;Caspersen and Stansfield, 2011;Simão, 2012;Pegg and Berg 2014). Contributions by political geographers deal with particular problems of de facto stateness.…”

Section: De Facto States In Political Geography and Political Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

De Facto States and Democracy: The Case of Abkhazia

Kopeček

Hoch

Baar

2016

Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series

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Abstract. De-facto states constitute an interesting and important anomaly in the international system of sovereign states. No matter how successful and efficient in the administration of their territories they are, they fail to achieve international recognition. In the past, their claims for independence were based primarily on the right to national self-determination, historical continuity and claim for a remedial right to secession, based on alleged human-rights violations. Since 2005, official representatives of several de facto states have repeatedly emphasised the importance of democracy promotion in their political entities. A possible explanation of this phenomenon dwells in the belief that those states which have demonstrated their economic viability and promote the organization of a democratic state should gain their sovereignty. This article demonstrates the so called "democracy-for-recognition strategy" in the case study of Abkhazia. On the basis of the field research in Abkhazia we identify factors that promote, as well as those that obstruct the democratisation process in the country.

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“…Thus, today's calls for recognition are grounded in claims of worthiness and acceptableness; Somaliland meets the standards of statehood and therefore 'deserves' to be a state. Worthiness is a common claim amongst unrecognised states (see Caspersen, 2012;Caspersen and Stansfield, 2011;Kolsto, 2006). However, the politics surrounding recognition and statehood are complex (see Daase et.…”

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confidence: 99%

Bringing the Outside In: Somaliland, Statebuilding and Dual Hybridity

Richards

2015

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

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Abstract:International norms of what it means to be a state dictate domestic policy within developing and unrecognised states but must co-exist with internal demands. With a mutual dependence between internal and external considerations and, indeed, legitimacy, at the fore of Somaliland's statebuilding project and its stability, it is a useful study in achieving 'success' in statebuilding and in what success can mean in bringing together internal and external demands. This article examines the impact of the hybrid inclusion of traditional authority in the central democratic government as the marriage between internal and external demands. This article argues that the Somaliland state is successful because it is a flexible process rather than a project; a process that reflects the demands and expectations of society, an aspect that is often absent in statebuilding projects. The 1991 failure and collapse of the state in Somalia ushered in what was to become a long-term and largely unsuccessful effort aimed at internationally driven post-conflict statebuilding. Despite persistent failures the international community and Somalia's neighbours continue their endeavours aimed at building a stable, unified and accountable Somalia. However, as Spears (2004, 179-80) notes, 'in a few cases [of state failure or collapse], the breakdown of large, arbitrary state units has given way to more coherent and viable (though not always more benevolent) political entities.' In Somalia, this breakdown was immediately apparent and it continues to take place. Although emerging political entities within Somalia are not always lasting or stable, pockets of locally created governance have emerged, providing social and physical stability and security to the people. In the northeast province of Puntland, a long-standing regional government offers basic services and security to the population. And in the northwest territory of Somaliland, the most organised and developed of these, a new 'state' that exhibits what has so far eluded the south is emerging, and an extraordinary project of domestically-led statebuilding is taking place within the larger failure of Somalia. Keywords 1Throughout the literature on failed states and that of statebuilding, the on-going project in Somalia is a frequent point of reference. Within these studies the existence of an independent Somaliland has 2 widely been seen as problematic for the long-standing goal of re-establishing a government able to exercise its power throughout the entirety of Somalia. Despite its 1991 declaration of independence, the insistence on the territorial integrity of Somalia coming from the West as well as strongly from the African Union ensures that Somaliland's stability remains in the context of stability in greater Somalia. Although Somaliland is gaining increasing academic attention, it still remains an underresearched area. In the realm of policy, despite increasing external engagement with the territory, much of this takes place under the guise of Somalia-wide projects. The cas...

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Unrecognized States in the International System

Cited by 178 publications

References 0 publications

Unrecognized States: A Theory of Self-Determination and Foreign Influence

Unrecognized States: A Theory of Self-Determination and Foreign Influence

De Facto States and Democracy: The Case of Abkhazia

Bringing the Outside In: Somaliland, Statebuilding and Dual Hybridity

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