De Facto States and the International System

2021 ◽  
pp. 20-48
Author(s):  
Sebastian Klich
Keyword(s):  
International System ◽  
De Facto States

scholarly journals De Facto States and Democracy: The Case of Abkhazia

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (32) ◽  
pp. 85-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenc Kopeček ◽  
Tomáš Hoch ◽  
Vladimír Baar
Keyword(s):  
International System ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Democracy Promotion ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
The Right

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.

scholarly journals Do International Rules and Norms Apply to Nonstate Actors?

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Lemke
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Nonstate Actors ◽  
World War ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
De Facto States

Abstract The nonstate actors of interest in this article are territorial contenders: political entities that control populated territory, function like sovereign states but are not recognized as sovereign states by other members of the international system. Sometimes they are de facto states, sometimes they are rebel groups, sometimes they are neither of these, instead existing in control of territory with neither conflict against the sovereign state within whose borders they exist nor claims to a state of their own. New data about territorial contenders permit me to evaluate arguments about changing rules and norms in the international system. I find support for claims about the consequences of changing rules about which actors are recognized as sovereign states but not for claims about a norm against conquest after World War II. In the discussion section, I consider implications of these findings for future research.

Many Secessionist Movements, One International System

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Ryan D. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
International System ◽  
International Community ◽  
Theoretical Treatment ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
System P ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
Advanced Democracies

This chapter focuses on the strategy and tactics of secessionist movements, and the game they play with states and the international community to win their sovereignty. The chapter provides a conceptual theoretical treatment of the sovereignty game. It assesses six identifiable kinds of movements: democratized, indigenous legal, weak combative, strong combative, decolonial, and de facto, through an analysis of all contemporary movements. The chapter brings together three research areas that are usually treated separately: the work on de facto states, the scholarship on secessionist political parties in advanced democracies, and the study of secessionist conflict. Ultimately, the chapter clarifies the behavior of diverse secessionist movements and accurately predicts the tactics they adopt. It focuses on what they do to achieve independence, which is a neglected area of research, and a vital one given that secessionist behavior is destabilizing and sometimes violent.

scholarly journals Twenty Years of de facto State Studies: Progress, Problems, and Prospects

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Pegg
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
International System ◽  
Original Data ◽  
State Building ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Parent State ◽  
External Relations ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Initial Focus

It has been almost 20 years since the publication of International Society and the De Facto State by Scott Pegg in 1998, the first book-length substantive theoretical attempt to investigate the phenomenon of de facto states—secessionist entities that control territory, provide governance, receive popular support, persist over time, and seek widespread recognition of their proclaimed sovereignty and yet fail to receive it. Even though most de facto states are relatively small and fragile actors, in the intervening years the study of de facto or contested or unrecognized statehood has expanded dramatically. The de facto state literature has contributed significantly to the growing recognition that the international system is far more variegated than is commonly perceived. An initial focus on the external relations of de facto states has increasingly given way to a newer focus on their internal dynamics and domestic state-building processes and on how a lack of sovereign recognition conditions but does not prohibit their democratic, institutional, and political development. Perhaps most notably, there has been an explosion in detailed empirical research based on original data, which has greatly enriched our understanding of these entities. Alas, the subfield of de facto state studies is also characterized by recurrent problems. There has been an extensive proliferation of different terms used to describe these entities, and much fighting has erupted over precise definitions, resulting in limited scholarly progress. Fundamentally, there remains a continued failure to reach agreement on the number of these entities that exist or have existed since 1945. The nuanced and empirically rich academic literature has also largely failed to advance journalists or policymakers’ understanding of de facto states. Yet, the prospects for de facto state studies remain bright. More diverse comparative work, renewed attention to how engagement without recognition might facilitate the participation of unrecognized entities in international politics, a renewed focus on parent state strategies, and increased attention to de facto states and conflict resolution are areas deserving of greater scholarly attention.

Secession and Recognition in Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Ker-Lindsay
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
International System ◽  
International Community ◽  
New States ◽  
The Subject ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
International Interaction

There are few questions more interesting and more important for the international community than the issue of how new states are created and accepted into the wider global system through the process of recognition. While there are thousands of ethnic groups around the world, there are just 193 member states of the United Nations. And yet, for many years, the foreign policy aspects of secession and the recognition of seceding territories have received relatively little attention by scholars in the field of politics and international relations. This was largely because the subject was seen to be a marginal interest. Few territories managed to stage a credible attempt at secession. Almost none managed to gain widespread acceptance. However, over the past decade, there has been a significant growth in the attention given to secession and recognition in international relations. This has been particularly apparent since Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia, in 2008, and because of heightened secessionist tensions in the former Soviet Union. To date, the question of de facto states—territories that are unrecognized or partially recognized—has been at the heart of studies into secession and recognition in the field of politics and international relations. Attention in this area has tended to focus on the nature, structure, and international interaction of unrecognized territories. However, the scope of research is now widening. As well as interest in the historical development of attitudes towards secession and recognition practices, scholars are now looking at the way in which parent states—as the territories they have broken away from are generally known—attempt to prevent de facto states from being recognized or otherwise legitimized by the international community. Meanwhile, increasing attention is also being given to the role of external parties, such as great powers, as well as to the efforts of secessionist territories themselves to find ways to encourage recognition, or at least to participate more widely in the international system. Therefore, while the community of scholars working in the field of secession and recognition is still relatively small, the subject itself is undergoing rapid growth.

Legitimization of Statehood and its Impact on Foreign Policy in De Facto States: A Case Study of Abkhazia

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-407
Author(s):  
Tomáš Hoch
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
International System ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
The Church

In many respects, de facto states play a highly specific role as actors within the international system of sovereign states. The lack of international recognition has tangible political and economic impacts on the functioning of such states, and so the attempt to persuade domestic actors and the international community of the legitimacy of their claims to independence ranks among the most important components of these states’ policy—not only in foreign policy, but also in domestic policy. The aim of this text is to contribute to our understanding of how internal legitimization strategies for Abkhazian statehood are constructed and how they impact upon the foreign policy of this de facto state. Field research was carried out via interviews with important official state representatives of Abkhazia and important non-state actors—including journalists and representatives of nonprofit organizations, universities, the Church and other key institutions, which influence public opinion within and beyond this de facto state.

Dimensions of plane and solid angles and their units in the International System of Units (SI)

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
M. I. Kalinin ◽  
L. K. Isaev ◽  
F. V. Bulygin
Keyword(s):  
Solid Angle ◽  
International System ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Plane Angle ◽  
Arc Length ◽  
Weights And Measures ◽  
International System Of Units ◽  
System Of Units ◽  
In Series ◽  
Solid Angles

The situation that has developed in the International System of Units (SI) as a result of adopting the recommendation of the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) in 1980, which proposed to consider plane and solid angles as dimensionless derived quantities, is analyzed. It is shown that the basis for such a solution was a misunderstanding of the mathematical formula relating the arc length of a circle with its radius and corresponding central angle, as well as of the expansions of trigonometric functions in series. From the analysis presented in the article, it follows that a plane angle does not depend on any of the SI quantities and should be assigned to the base quantities, and its unit, the radian, should be added to the base SI units. A solid angle, in this case, turns out to be a derived quantity of a plane angle. Its unit, the steradian, is a coherent derived unit equal to the square radian.

The Cold War and After

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Trachtenberg
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
Book Deal ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Historical Issues ◽  
Shed Light

What makes for war or for a stable international system? Are there general principles that should govern foreign policy? This book explores how historical work can throw light on these questions. The essays in this book deal with specific problems—with such matters as nuclear strategy and U.S.–European relations. But the book's main goal is to show how in practice a certain type of scholarly work can be done. The book demonstrates how, in studying international politics, the conceptual and empirical sides of the analysis can be made to connect with each other, and how historical, theoretical, and even policy issues can be tied together in an intellectually respectable way. These essays address a wide variety of topics, from theoretical and policy issues, such as the question of preventive war and the problem of international order, to more historical subjects—for example, American policy on Eastern Europe in 1945 and Franco-American relations during the Nixon–Pompidou period. But in each case, the aim is to show how a theoretical perspective can be brought to bear on the analysis of historical issues, and how historical analysis can shed light on basic conceptual problems.

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