Global Insider: With Little International Support, Unrecognized States Turn to Each Other

Global Insider: With Little International Support, Unrecognized States Turn to Each Other

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.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review