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What is an unrecognised state?
Unrecognised states are the places that do not exist in international relations; they have achieved de facto independence - often through warfare - but have failed to gain international recognition, or they are recognised by only a few states. They insist on their right to self-determination, but are faced with the stronger principle of territorial integrity.
Examples in the current international system include:
Nagorno Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Georgia) Somaliland (Somalia), Northern Cyprus (Cyprus) and Transnistria (Moldova).
There are also a number of historical examples, which have now either gained independence or, more frequently, been defeated militarily and re-integrated into their ‘parent states’. These include: Biafra (Nigeria, 1967-70), Chechnya (Russia, 1996-9), Republika Srpska Krajina (Croatia, 1991-5), Eritrea (Ethiopia, 1991-3) and Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka, 1986-2009).
More specifically, unrecognised states meet the following criteria:
- They have achieved de facto independence, including territorial control, and have managed to maintain this for at least two years
- They have not gained international recognition, or have at the most been recognised by a few states
- They have demonstrated an aspiration for full, de jure, independence, either through a formal declaration of independence or through the holding of a referendum on independence
This sets them apart from other anomalies in the international system such as ungoverned territories and states-within-states.
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