What if you follow the traffic signs but never reach the place due to “foreign” presence, which has lasted already for decades? Get as close as possible, take a spy-glass, climb up to the watch tower and have a look at what is beyond the “no-man’s-land”, behind the barbwire fences and mental barriers. If you are lucky, you might see some anomalous and deviant cases routinely operating on the other side. Furthermore, a constant struggle for survival and recognition do not remain unnoticed to your investigative eyes. Welcome to the world of de facto states!
In our view, de facto states are entities that fulfill the Montevideo criteria for statehood, but lack international recognition. We exclude Palestine and Western Sahara, because they do not have full control over their territories. Although Republika Srpska and Iraqi Kurdistan function as de facto independent states, these entities do not explicitly claim to be independent and therefore are left out as well. South Ossetia may have full control over its territory and even some international recognition, but its governance is outsourced and left in the hands of occupying forces.
Why study these places that legally speaking “do not exist”? Due to their geographical location and the stakes involved, these territories hold considerable power as custodians of geopolitical fault lines and they have the potential to disrupt the strategic balance of the entire region and even the international system. One shouldn’t expect to see de facto states disappearing. Quite to the contrary, blurred international norms create favourable conditions for politically inspired interpretations of what is a state and how to become a state. De Facto States Research Unit provides expertise about places that, legally speaking, “do not exist”.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) represents one of the longest-running examples of non-recognition in contemporary international politics. Since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1983, it has been diplomatically isolated, recognized only by Turkey, …
March 27th just passed, marking 108 years since the 1918 Union of Bessarabia with Romania, a celebrated day on both sides of the Prut River. This year, however, the anniversary carried added significance, making it worth recalling the event on …
In 2025, de facto states worldwide largely maintained their precarious status quo, resisting transformational breakthroughs or peace agreements amid entrenched stability versus stagnation. Great power rivalries among the US, Russia, and China continue to shape patronage and …
