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Playing the Recognition Game: External Actors and De Facto States.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>12/2009
<mark>Journal</mark>The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs
Issue number4
Volume44
Number of pages14
Pages (from-to)47-60
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

It is impossible to understand the creation and continued survival of de facto states without reference to external actors. External patrons provide vital support and the international system constrains and shapes these aspiring states. The relationship is, however, not one-sided, and these entities are not merely puppets. In fact external dependence creates significant dilemmas for de facto states: it undercuts their de facto independence and contradicts their strategy for gaining international recognition, thereby undermining their long-term sustainability. The dilemmas facing de facto states have been accentuated by the recent recognition of Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.