Questão 29 do ITA 2023

Since the early 1990s, an interesting phenomenon has emerged in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus – some states that, despite having their own government and state apparatus, lack international recognition. Even today, the struggle of these unrecognised states remains widely unknown. While these states have been the focus of much academic study, their very existence is often neglected by both the international community and societies in the West. In parallel, there exist in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus distinct peoples who have neither acquired recognised statehood nor any significant representation within their own countries – they are the so-called unrepresented peoples.

Today, the territory of the former Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus is somewhat unique for its relatively high concentration of unrecognised states and unrepresented peoples. Each of them has varying degrees of independence and autonomy. Some have de facto statehood, whereas others are distinct peoples with little to no representation or territorial autonomy. Although different, these peoples seem to have one common goal – self-determination.

The benefits of recognised statehood are numerous and often taken for granted – countries have access to various forms of international funding, for example from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF); their citizens can travel, assured that their passports will be accepted in another country; and they have a voice at international forums like the United Nations (UN), which can be an opportunity to influence international outcomes in their favour. Unrecognised states, on the other hand, are isolated internationally and can be forced to rely upon a patron state which offers them all kinds of help in exchange for their allegiance. This dependency on a patron-client relationship can lead to the client state being used as a political tool by its patron.

One key issue facing most unrecognised states is the restriction on movement imposed on their people. Because their de facto nationality is not recognised internationally, their locally-issued passports or travel documents are not considered valid for travel or entry into another country. The only way for them to travel abroad is to receive a passport from a neighbouring country, or to travel to the few countries that do recognise them. It happens that some people living in de facto states are entitled to other citizenships. In addition to unrecognised states, there also exists a number of unrepresented peoples – that is, distinct ethnic and linguistic groups that enjoy little or no representation both internationally and domestically. These peoples struggle even more for self-determination since they do not have their own autonomous territory. They find themselves even more vulnerable and are often at best ignored, or worse persecuted.