Kurdistan beat Northern Cyprus earlier this month to claim victory in the 2012 VIVA World Cup, a soccer championship for unrecognized nations. In an email interview, Nina Caspersen a lecturer in politics at the Lancaster University and the author of “Unrecognized States: The Struggle for Sovereignty in the Modern International System,” discussed cooperation and coordination between unrecognized states.
WPR: What are the main forums unrecognized countries use to press their causes?
Nina Caspersen: Very few forums are open to unrecognized states. Their lack of recognition means that they are generally barred from membership of international organizations -- not just from the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other key forums, but also from organizations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA. The only exception is Taiwan, which has been allowed to join, or remain a member of, a few international organizations, under the name “Chinese Taipei.” Otherwise, even observer status is routinely denied to unrecognized entities.