The international system is built around states.
They are the fundamental unit of world politics.
But how do states acknowledge one another?
In this video, I'm going to explore the subject of recognition.
What exactly is it? How does it happen?
And as I'll show, there's actually a surprising number of ways that it can occur.
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Hello. My name is James Ker-Lindsay.
Welcome to Independent Thinking.
A channel dedicated to international relations, statehood, independence and the origins of countries.
Recognition lies at the heart of modern international relations.
Essentially, it's the way that states acknowledge particular actors in given situations.
In this regard, recognition actually comes in several different forms.
For example, the recognition of governments.
This is about whether a country accepts the administration of another territory
- such as after a democratic election or military coup.
For several reasons, this form of recognition is in fact rarely used these days.
I'll take a look at this in another video.
Then there is a recognition of insurgency or the recognition of belligerency.
These apply to the status, rights and responsibilities of actors in conflicts.
However, the main form of recognition in international politics is state recognition.
States represent the fundamental building block of the international system.
While there are now many different actors operating at the global level, such as international organisations
and major companies and corporations, we live in a world that is still built around
the concept of independent sovereign states.
This sovereignty means that, within their defined territory, these states are considered to have the right
to exclusive government authority over their populations and enter into relations with other states.
In other words, states exercise authority over their particular piece of the world map.
In this context, recognition is the way in which other states openly acknowledge one another's claims
to sovereignty over particular territory.
At this most basic level, it's therefore about acceptance and clarity.
It's the way that states tell each other and the world that they respect one another's boundaries
and regard each other as sovereign equals - if only notionally.
In this sense, recognition is a vital part of international politics.
And it is obviously especially important when a territory makes a claim to statehood.
Recognition is the way a new country begins to join the international community.
So, how does recognition occur?
In fact, there's a surprising number of ways that recognition can happen.
Broadly speaking, there are two main categories of recognition to bear in mind:
bilateral recognition and collective recognition.
Bilateral recognition refers to cases where one state recognises another state directly.
At its simplest, this can be done with just an announcement.
For example, a simple press release will do.
More usually, however, a message is sent to the foreign ministry of the state being recognised, either directly
or through a country's mission elsewhere - such as its representation at the United Nations.
Needless to say, these actions aren't mutually exclusive.
Indeed, governments may choose to adopt a number of simultaneous measures,
such as sending an email confirming recognition and holding a press conference announcing it.
Although a formal announcement of some sort is the most straightforward method of bilateral recognition,
there are several other ways in which a state can signal recognition.
For instance, a country could send an official delegation to an independence ceremony.
Alternatively, it could send an official reply signalling acceptance to a letter
from an official from the state requesting recognition.
Another method is through the conclusion of a bilateral treaty.
This, though, can be problematic.
In those cases where it really covers diplomatic or political relations,
it can be considered to amount to recognition.
However, it's been suggested that non-political treaties covering, for example business relations,
can't necessarily be read as recognition.
In truth, however, it's extremely unlikely that a state would sign a bilateral treaty of any sort
with a country that it doesn't recognise.
Finally, bilateral recognition can be signalled through the exchange of diplomatic representatives
or the establishment of diplomatic relations.
For example, a country could announce that it intends to establish an embassy;
or that it wishes to upgrade some other diplomatic representation, such as a consulate, into an embassy.
As can be seen, there isn't in fact a requirement for a state to formally announce its decision on recognition.
Recognition can be implied by actions, such as the signing of a treaty or the opening of an embassy.
The problem, of course, is that this lack of a formal announcement can cause confusion
in certain contentious cases.
For example, following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, most countries
chose to make formal announcements of recognition for the avoidance of any doubt.
However, the prime minister of New Zealand issued a statement saying that her country's policy
was not to recognise in such circumstances,
"we will neither recognise nor not recognise. Over time the way in which we deal with those who govern in the
territory will, I suppose, imply whether there is recognition,
but we're not intending to make a formal statement."
The problem was that everyone then kept speculating about whether any particular action
could be read as recognition or not.
In the end, New Zealand was eventually forced to make a statement announcing
that it had in fact recognized Kosovo.
While states often act alone when making a decision on whether or not to recognize one another,
there are certain instances when they choose to act together.
This is known as collective recognition.
Collective recognition has been a feature of international relations for the past two centuries.
In fact, Greece, Belgium and Albania all came about through processes of collective recognition
in the 19th and 20th century.
However, it has become more prevalent since 1945 with the growth of multilateral diplomacy.
States now tend to accept that recognition shouldn't be a unilateral decision,
taken regardless of wider consequences.
Again, this is especially the case in controversial cases.
Instead, a degree of consultation and coordination has emerged in recognition.
As with bilateral recognition, collective recognition can occur in several different ways.
In some cases, this may be relatively straightforward and informal.
A group of states may consult with one another before each of them recognises the new state bilaterally.
Sometimes, however, the decision on recognition may be more tightly organised
- even to the point of shaping the process of Independence itself.
Again, this was seen in the case of Kosovo.
There was a very high degree of consultation between the United States and key members
of the European Union before Pristina's declaration of independence.
At other times, collective recognition can be more formal.
For example, a group of countries may decide to issue a joint statement indicating recognition,
which may or may not then be followed by individual statements of recognition.
A good example of this was the European Union statement congratulating the people of South Sudan
on their independence, in July 2011.
Although, many individual members chose to issue formal statements of recognition of their own,
or sent representatives to the independence ceremony, the joint statement made this unnecessary.
It was evident that a decision on recognition had been made collectively
by all the members of the European Union.
Yet another method of collective recognition is through multilateral treaties.
In the past, some countries even came into existence through their intentional inclusion in treaties.
However, this model of recognition has essentially fallen out of favour.
More usually, a multilateral treaty could include a country that has not been recognised by other parties.
However, just as in the case of bilateral treaties, it is accepted this doesn't necessarily mean recognition.
The difference is that, unlike bilateral treaties, these sorts of situations can, and do, arise.
For instance, the United States insisted that East Germany's inclusion in the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
didn't mean that Washington recognised it.
Similarly, sometimes a multilateral conference may be convened specifically
in order to transfer sovereignty to a new state.
The Republic of Cyprus, which became independent in 1960, is an example of this
so-called 'recognition by conference'.
However, just as with treaties, merely attending a multilateral meeting with the territory
that isn't recognised shouldn't be read to imply recognition - although confusingly of course it may do.
In cases where different participants don't recognise each other, the organisers may take the decision
to avoid using flags and other formal symbols of statehood in order to avoid confusion.
Finally, collective recognition can occur when a territory is admitted into an organisation
that is composed solely of states.
This is sometimes termed 'indirect collective recognition'.
In such cases, admission into the organisation is necessarily viewed as recognition
of its statehood by the other members.
This method of recognition has become increasingly significant.
There are now a whole host of state-based regional and international organizations that a territory can aspire
to join - each of which can in turn confers legitimacy and thus help it to gain recognition more widely.
The United Nations is by far the most obvious example.
But, even here, there's room for confusion.
There are times when states have been admitted into organisations,
even though some members may not recognise them.
There are at least six UN members that aren't recognized by every other UN member.
So, recognition plays a vital role in shaping the international system.
In the case of state recognition, it is the way that countries accept and acknowledge
one another's sovereignty and territorial authority.
However, as I've tried to show, recognition comes in a bewildering variety of different forms.
While it's often done explicitly, requiring nothing more than a mere press release,
there's in fact no formal requirement for announcement of any sort.
Instead, it can be done through signing treaties, attending conferences,
exchanging letters or even opening embassies.
Moreover, while it can be done bilaterally - directly between individual countries -
collective recognition is an increasing significant form of recognition in its own right.
Naturally, all this gives rise to considerable room for confusion;
especially in controversial cases where the new state is not universally accepted.
So, despite its central importance in international relations, recognition is far from straightforward.
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I've also posted some more videos that you might enjoy.
Thanks so much for watching, and see you again soon.
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