State, but not Entirely State: How the Phenomenon of Unrecognized States Became a Sustainable Part of International Relations
Abstract
This paper deals with the phenomenon of unrecognized states. In international relations in general a state holds a significantly important position as a unit of world order. Most of the theoretical approaches deal with the state as a given or constructed item, and the definition of the state is rather clear in comparison to an unrecognized state. Unrecognized states are a subdivision of entities dealing with problematic statehood (often called quasi-states, de facto or failed states). That is, they are part of entities that are not fully internationally recognized states in accordance with the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.
This phenomenon has come to the forefront of interest in political science quite recently and is associated with ethnic violence, armed conflicts, and separatist movements. On the other hand, these entities as Transnistria, Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia etc. have shown a significant persistence of maintaining permanent structures and state roles that they stepped out of the shadow of being mere criminal entities. This contribution will address the genesis of the phenomenon of unrecognized states and how scholarly approaches to this discipline have changed. It will present unrecognized states as a separate analytical category with distinctions between a state and a 'non-state'.