The European Union’s practice of state recognition: Between norms and interests

This article explores the European Union’s (EU) practices of international state recognition in a transitional international order. It illustrates the difficulties that the EU has encountered in attempting to reach a collective position on sensitive cases of recognition – through a complex balance of internal and external considerations – at a time when the norms regarding recognition are increasingly under challenge. Whether the organisation takes a collective European position on recognition or allows its members to adopt individual national positions, acute inconsistencies and tensions have been exposed, with implications for the EU’s standing in the world. Through this, the article identifies a key tension between the EU’s normative commitments and its geopolitical interests. In conclusion, the article argues that while a uniform EU policy on recognition may not be feasible and case-by-case pragmatism will likely continue, a more coherent approach and greater understanding of the impact of the EU’s position on recognition are necessary. The article draws upon interview material and extensive analysis of official EU documentation in order to provide new insights into this complex challenge. By exploring the intricacies of recognition politics, the article also makes an empirical contribution to understanding the practice of international relations in this area

Census politics in deeply divided societies

Population censuses in societies that are deeply divided along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines can be sensitive affairs – particularly where political settlements seek to maintain peace through the proportional sharing of power between groups. This brief sets out some key findings from a research project investigating the relationship between census politics and the design of political institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Lebanon and Northern Ireland

Everyday legitimacy and international administration: global governance and local legitimacy in Kosovo

International administrations are a very specific form of statebuilding. This paper examines the limits illustrated by the experience in Kosovo. Here, the international administration faced the same requirements of any legitimate, Liberal government, but without the checks and balances normally associated with Liberal governance. Thus, the international administration was granted full authority and the power thereby associated, but without the legitimacy upon which the Liberal social contract rests. The state-building agenda put forth came to be seen as more exogenous, reinforcing the delegitimization process. This paper will specifically address the influence of the Weberian approach to legitimacy on the statebuilding literature, as well as its limits. It will then propose other possible avenues for statebuilding, more in line with a wider understanding of legitimacy and intervention

The Foreign Policy of State Recognition: Kosovo’s Diplomatic Strategy to Join International Society

This article explores the policies and activities undertaken by Kosovo as it seeks diplomatic recognition under conditions of contested statehood and transitional international order. Existing debates about diplomatic recognition—in particular, how independent sovereign statehood is achieved—generally rest upon systemic factors, normative institutions, and the preferences of great powers. In contrast, we argue that the experience of Kosovo presents a more complex and less predetermined process of international recognition, in which the agency of fledgling states, diplomatic skill, timing, and even chance may play a far more important role in mobilizing international support for recognition than is generally acknowledged. In building this argument, we explore Kosovo’s path to contested independence and examine the complex process of diplomatic recognition, as well as highlight the hybrid justifications for recognizing Kosovo’s statehood and independence. Without downplaying the importance of systemic factors, this article contributes to a critical rethinking of norms and processes related to state recognition in international affairs, which has implications for a broad range of cases

The Geopolitics of State Recognition in a Transitional International Order

This article explores how the geopolitical rivalries and tensions associated with multipolarity in a transitional international order, driven by shifts in great power influence, are shaping the international politics of state recognition. It considers the diplomatic discourse and practices of traditional great powers and resurgent states in relation to a number of controversial cases of territories seeking independent statehood and recognition. Although contested claims for sovereign statehood and recognition predate the current great power constellation, we find that contemporary state recognition practices offer dominant powers grounds for normative and geopolitical contestation with their rivals. Whilst this is a reflection of the historical continuities of great power politics, the article shows that the transitional international order, and the friction this generates, has further fragmented the norms and practices of state recognition. At the same time, there has not been a broad upheaval in the politics of state recognition because most states maintain a conservative attitude to state creation. The article contributes to contemporary debates on statehood and recognition by revealing how the political and normative friction associated with the changing international order make the possibility of a rigorous, rules-based regime for regulating international recognition more remote than ever

Contested States and their everyday quest for recognition

This chapter reviews most recent practices of transnational recognition and examines the everyday diplomatic practice of contested states. The chapter proposes the concept of transnational recognition to better explain the contemporary nature of state recognition by showing the hybridisation of domestic and international politics, as well as the role of state and non-state actors, and official and unofficial diplomacies that underpin the agency and practices of contested states for surviving in international system. The chapter explores the empirical potential of these concepts through two case studies, examining the diplomatic practices carried out by the representatives of Palestine and Western Sahara in Brussels