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

Abstract

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.

Distributed Skills in Camel Herding. Cooperation in a Human-Animal Relationship in Somaliland

“…But despite the territory's lack of international recognition and its fragile political status in the region, it is consolidating and expanding its area of control and domains of influence within its self-proclaimed borders with Ethiopia, Djibouti and the Puntland State of Somalia 5 . Concurrently with this political stabilization 6 , economy and life in the "de facto state" (Pegg 2017) are changing at a fast pace. It is experiencing new migratory trends, most importantly youth emigration, diaspora returnees and internal rural-to-urban migration.…”

Strategies to Gain International Recognition: Iraqi Kurdistan's September 2017 Referendum for Independence

“…The changes that occurred in recognition and legitimation practices in the 1990s and the 2000s made democratisation a central element in de facto states' arguments for statehood (Broers, 2013;Pegg, 2017). The 'standards before status' policy for Kosovo's recognition created a perception among the leaders of de facto states that by creating democratic and effecting entities along international normative standards of statehood, they could gain international recognition.…”

The diplomacy of post-Soviet de facto states: ontological security under stigma

“…The lack of formal international status prompted the unrecognized but autonomously operating states to focus on internal legitimacy-building through democratic institutions and popular approval. 29 Internal legitimacy denotes the governed 'people's acceptance and loyalty to the ruling authority' through domestic democratic institutions, 30 while external legitimacy, on the other hand, means a polity's acceptability against reasonable standards from the viewpoint of the polity's social surroundings. 31 The literature has paid great attention to the domestic side of the de facto states' politics while blinding out their foreign ties in the assumption that the absence of recognized sovereignty means an absence of an international scope of action.…”