Unrecognized states as a factor in world politics

Abstract

The Law Institute of recognition of a State is one of the most difficult, controversial, and dynamically
developing institute of the national and the international law. However, at present there are many states that are
not officially recognized by most other states, which since the beginning of the 1990s began to be designated by
the term “unrecognized states”, “de facto countries”, “self-proclaimed states”, etc. The presence of unrecognized
states is a complex problem in the theory and practice of international relations, since, possessing all other
signs of statehood, they do not have international diplomatic recognition and cannot be members of the UN.
Today there are about 120 unrecognized states in the political map of the world, which are recognized by the
territory of 60 countries. The problem of unrecognized states is also relevant for the post-Soviet space, since
after the collapse of the USSR, several territorial entities arose, the status of which has not been recognized at the
international level so far. In the proposed article, the authors tried to find out the reasons for the emergence of
unrecognized states, identified the main features of such territorial entities and possible options for their further
fate as countries that do not have the status of a generally recognized state. The protracted legal uncertainty of
the status of the unrecognized states aggravates the problem of further international cooperation of the world
community from the point of view of global security and the possible threat of conflicts that could cause a world
political crisis.