Self-proclaimed State Research Articles

Политический процесс и формирование государственности в Донецкой Народной Республике

The article analyzes the political process and formation of statehood in the DPR in the context of international law and historical background. It examines the issues of balancing the principle of territorial integrity and the right to self-determination, the evolution of representative bodies in the DPR, and the institutionalization process of the results of the independence referendum. Special attention is paid to historical, cultural, and political factors that have contributed to the region's desire for autonomy. The reasons for the escalation of ethno-political conflict and the role of state-building in protecting the rights of the population of Donbass are explored. The article emphasizes the complexity of assessing the legality of self-proclaimed states and the need to develop a balanced approach in international law to such situations.

Сравнительно-правовой анализ элементов конституционно-правового статуса жителей Донбасса

The article introduces some legal theories and normative acts behind the constitutional and legal status of people who live in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic. The author conducted a comparative analysis of the theoretical, constitutional, and legal foundations that define the personal legal status, rights, freedoms, and obligations stipulated by the Constitutions of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, and the Russian Federation. The research relied on general scientific methods of cognition, i.e., analysis and synthesis, and specific scientific methods, i.e., retrospective, comparative legal, and formal legal analyses. The resulting comprehensive assessment covered the constitutional and legal status of Donbass citizens and highlighted the transformation of their personal legal status, rights, freedoms, and obligations. The results can be used in further scientific research, teaching legal disciplines, and law-making activities connected with the status of Donbass population. Their constitutional and legal status has undergone significant changes in a short period of time. Initially based on the legislation of Ukraine, it was transformed when the self-proclaimed states of Donbass and Lugansk joined the Russian Federation. New approaches, different from the current legal habits, have to be introduces with extreme carefulness: if the transition does not run smooth, Donbass and Lugansk citizens may unintentionally violate the law or even reject the new legal realities.

Implementation of Non-Recognition Policy in the Post-Soviet Space: Cases of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova

The author analyzes the policy of non-recognition implemented by Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova in relation to the separatist con fl ict territories. The policy of non-recognition designates both the refusal to recognize de facto existing political entities, and other measures that accompany it and are associated with the need to build relations with self-proclaimed states. Comparative analysis of the three depicted models shows that, despite the permanent essence of the non- recognition policy, there are signi fi cant di ff erences in its practical implementation. Although the policy of non-recognition does not bring the parent states closer to resolving the con fl ict, in its various manifestations it can both contribute to the gradual disappearance of enmity and intensify existing contradictions. Factors that in fl uence non-recognition politics include political narratives surrounding the con fl ict, dominant state-building patterns, patron state policies, perceived identity threats, experience of historical trauma and war.

Modern conflicts regarding the political status of territories: typological differences, features of spread and prospects for resolution

All international conflicts regarding issues of contention about the political status of territories are united by the lack of legitimate power in various places on Earth or the desire to establish such power. A classification of conflicts regarding issues of contention about the political status of territories is proposed in the article. It is shown that the main territorial and political conflicts of modernity are: issues of self-proclaimed states; issues of control over dependent countries; border conflicts over the status of individual islands; and conflicts due to incomplete and disordered decolonization processes. Resolving international conflicts over issues of the contended political status of territories is currently an important task that requires modernization and reformation of the UN Security Council and international law, and confirms the relevance of the research topic addressed in the article.

PROBLEMS OF UNREGULATED POLITICAL STATUS OF TERRITORIES AS A FACTOR OF DEEPENING CONTRADICTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

All international conflicts regarding unregulated political status of territories, despite the variety of their types, can be united by the lack of legitimate power in different parts of the earth's surface or the desire to establish such power. In order to differentiate all the conflicts regarding international legal unregulated political status of the territories according to their origin the following types can be proposed: 1) conflicts that arose as a result of the forcible annexation of territories, the incorporation of which is not recognized by the international community; 2) conflicts that arose due to the creation of the self-proclaimed states in the territories controlled by the occupation regimes; 3) conflicts that arose due to the creation of the self-proclaimed states as the result of domestic crisis reasons, but with the participation of foreign policy factors; 4) conflicts over disputable border areas and islands; 5) conflicts regarding political claims to dependent countries under the control of other states; 6) latent conflicts over claims on land and water areas, which according to international conventions should not be extended to the sovereignty of any state; 7) the Middle East conflict due to non-compliance with the decision of the UN General Assembly of 1947 on the establishment of a sovereign Arab state. The conflict over the legal status of Palestine and the there solution of the so-called self-proclaimed states are the main issues of geopolitical controversy among the various types of conflicts. The conflict-generating potential regarding disputes over control independent countries is much smaller today. Interstate border disputes mostly concern the status of individual islands. In order to avoid new conflicts, the UN needs to strengthen the status of Antarctica and the areas adjacent to the North Pole, making them as a neutral demilitarized territory, which can not be extended to the sovereignty of individual states. The greatest concentration of conflicts regarding the international legal unregulated political status of the territories is connected with the contradictions in the collapse of the USSR and in thein completeness and disorder of decolonization.
 Thus, the resolution of territorial and political conflicts requires the UN Security Council and international law modernization and reform, paying much attention to the conditions and circumstances of state and political self-determination, as well as the realization of effective sanctions in the case of annexation of territories.
 Among the various types of conflicts related to the international legal unresolved political status of territories, the main nodes of geopolitical controversy are Russia's occupation of Crimea and part of Donetsk and the conflict over the state status of Palestine and resolving the problems of so-called self-proclaimed states. its influence in the post-Soviet space.
 Key words: territorial-political conflict, types of conflicts concerning international legal unregulated status of territories, self-proclaimed states, border conflicts, status of Antarctica and Arctic.

Azawad As a Self-proclaimed Tuareg State

The author was set to find out the fundamental reasons for the separatism of the Tuareg community in the Republic of Mali. The article examines the evolution of the political identity of the Tuaregs and the consolidation of scatted nomadic tribes into a community, which aims for sovereignty within their own state. It is known that the desire for state self-determination of nomads within the self-proclaimed state of Azavad is a factor that has a serious impact on the internal political situation in the country throughout its history, starting from the time of gaining independence in the early of 60s years of last century and to the present. The study showed that the confrontation between the black majority of the population of the country and in comparison with small number of “white people of the desert” (Tuaregs, Moors, Arabs) is primarily due to the parallel existence of various “life necessities cultures” in the territory of Sahel. Relatively peaceful farmers, fishermen and hunters coexist here with the warlike nomadic cattle herders. The lands cultivated by some are considered by others to be their original pasture - lands. The author substantiates the conclusion that all acute conflict situations arising in the northern territories of Mali are ultimately conditioned by the influence of this determining factor. This determines the essence of the discriminatory policy against the Tuaregs on the part of the authorities protecting the interests of the majority, Bamako’s mistakes associated with attempts to accelerate the modernization of archaic nomadic communities. The author comes to the conclusion that the situation is complicated by the reluctance of the Elysee Palace to abandon political and economic preferences in Mali and withdraw its troops from the territory of this sovereign state, from the territory that the Tuaregs consider their ancestral lands. In his opinion, in the conditions of an acute political crisis in this country, the Tuareg’s desire for state self-determination will grow.

DEVELOPMENT OF GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION IN THE BLACK SEA REGION AFTER 1991

This article is devoted to the explanation of the reasons that led to the development of the geopolitical situation in the Black Sea region after the end of the Cold War, the collapse of world communism and the disintegration of the USSR. The author notes that during this period, it did not improve, but on the contrary become more confrontational. The main reason for the intensification of this confrontation is the policy of Russia, which has undergone two main stages in its development: conservative (under President Yeltsin) and revanchist (under Putin’s rule). At the first stage, Russia, trying to maintain its control over the post-Soviet space, adhered to tactics of the secret support of separatist movements. This led to the emergence of Transnistrian, Abkhazian and South Ossetian military-political conflicts, in which Russian military formations were directly involved. The result of these conflicts was the creation of three self-proclaimed state entities in the territory of Moldova and Georgia, which, although not recognized by Russia, were fully controlled by it. On the territory of Ukraine during this period, Russia succeeded only in subjugating its naval base in Sevastopol, including most of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the former USSR. At the second stage, Russia moved from a policy of preserving its presence in the territories of Moldova, Georgia (under the pretext of the need to deploy “peacekeeping forces” there) and Ukraine (due to the creation of a naval base in Sevastopol) to direct military aggressions. It is noted that changes in foreign policy were conditioned by the transformation of the Russian political regime – from a “Delegative Democracy” (under Yeltsin) to Neo-totalitarianism (under Putin).

Identity Construction Through Discourse: A Case Study of ISIS’s No Respite Video

This article investigates the motivations driving the production of ISIS’s distinctive 2015 video, No Respite, released in response to the UN Security Council’s condemnation of the terrorist organization’s spate of violence. The article embraces a unique methodological framework that examines both the relationship between identity, discourse, and critical geopolitics and ISIS’s specific organized persuasive communication strategies. The framework is used to explain ISIS’s use of statistics as well as competitive and masculine discourse to bolster its legitimacy as a self-proclaimed state. The analysis is conducted through the lens of ISIS’s goal to be seen as a legitimate statehood project in lieu of a violent non-state actor.

From literary concept to self-proclaimed state: three generations of Anglophone-Cameroonians at war

In 1985, Barrister Gorji Dinka forged the concept “Ambazonia” in an open letter to President Paul Biya. The appointed president had just modified the Constitution and reverted to La République du Cameroun [LRC], a name French Cameroon adopted upon accession to Independence on January 1, 1960. It was constitutionally another arbitrary act of pro-French Cameroonians who had persistently undermined the drive for “Reunification” struck at the Foumban Conference in 1961. As a direct consequence, Gorji Dinka posited the need for “Ambazonia” as a revolutionary trend. I argue that the concept turned out to be neither portentous nor empty rhetoric. It crystalizes the struggles of three generations of Anglophones. If the first generation opted for a democratic and genuine discussion for a Federal State, the second generation, frustrated by the hypocrisy, cruelty, and inhumanity of regimes in place since 1961 has persistently called for either the return to Federalism or to separation. The third generation, all born during the thirty-six years of Biya’s brutal reign, embraced revolution. It is fondly called, “The Coffin Revolution.” The tune changed in 2016 and the third generation has thus been constrained to take up arms in place of pens. Whether in exile or at home, on firm ground or online, they have forced the attention of the world by proclaiming the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. I contend that they have earned their place at the table of renegotiation to turn Cameroon into a new federate or confederate state.

Непризнанные государства как фактор мировой политики

The Law Institute of recognition of a State is one of the most difficult, controversial, and dynamically developing institute of the national and the international law. However, at present there are many states that are not officially recognized by most other states, which since the beginning of the 1990s began to be designated by the term “unrecognized states”, “de facto countries”, “self-proclaimed states”, etc. The presence of unrecognized states is a complex problem in the theory and practice of international relations, since, possessing all other signs of statehood, they do not have international diplomatic recognition and cannot be members of the UN. Today there are about 120 unrecognized states in the political map of the world, which are recognized by the territory of 60 countries. The problem of unrecognized states is also relevant for the post-Soviet space, since after the collapse of the USSR, several territorial entities arose, the status of which has not been recognized at the international level so far. In the proposed article, the authors tried to find out the reasons for the emergence of unrecognized states, identified the main features of such territorial entities and possible options for their further fate as countries that do not have the status of a generally recognized state. The protracted legal uncertainty of the status of the unrecognized states aggravates the problem of further international cooperation of the world community from the point of view of global security and the possible threat of conflicts that could cause a world political crisis.

The ideology of 'Greater Kosovo' in the vision of Albanian narco-terrorist clans

The paper reviews the evolution of the ideology and the path of creating the Albanian state in the Balkans, from the moment when it did not exist at all (during the Ottoman Empire) until today, when Albanians live in an internationally recognized state (the Republic of Albania) and in one self-proclaimed state (the so-called "Republic of Kosovo"). In that regard, this paper is based on two theses. According to the first, the focus of the original so-called state-building ideology about the need for all Albanians to live in one state, "Greater Albania", today is radically changed and diametrically opposed: "Kosovo Albanians" now do not want to join the Republic of Albania, but want an independent state - the so-called "Greater Kosovo", which would include parts of the territories of central Serbia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Greece where Albanians live. The reason for the essential change of ideology is that the drug bosses of Albanian criminal clans that control the territory of Kosmet, and who were previously commanders of Albanian terrorist organizations, want their own "drug state", in which they would control all social flows and enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution. The second thesis on which this paper is based is that the attack on the Albanian mafia is at the same time a blow to the so-called quasi-statehood of the so-called Republic of Kosovo, i.e. on the levers of financial power, which is the backing for political power and international support for the so-called Republic of Kosovo.

Азербайджанская демократическая республика и ее политика в отношении Терека и Дагестана (вторая половина 1919 – начало 1920 г.)

The article examines the little-studied and complex issue of relations between the new Caucasian state entities during the collapse of the Russian Empire and the following Civil War. The Revolution of 1917 led to the appearance on the political map of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia of a number of new state entities that fought for the recognition of their sovereignty. However, the political and military chaos in the region hindered both the internal process of consolidation of the self-proclaimed states, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Mountainous Republic of the North Caucasus in particular, and their entry into the international community. The civil war in Russia and the confrontation between the Red and the White forces instigated even more contradictions. Transcaucasian countries, primarily Azerbaijan and Georgia, support both the insurrectionary movement in the Terek-Dagestan region and the leaders of the overthrown Mountainous Republic who stayed in their territory. However, any attempts to create stable allied military, political and economic relations, undertaken by the leaders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Mountainous Republic, were not successful.

Formation of public administration and public service systems in the unrecognized states of Donbas Region

Introduction. In this article we aim to identify common patterns and specifications of the state institutions development in the self-proclaimed states in the South-East of Ukraine named Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (the DPR, the LPR). Materials and methods. For the first time we described the models of public administration and bureaucracy in the DPR and the LPR, and then we compared them with the systems of Russia and the Ukraine using the case study method, classification, comparative legal analysis and best practices identi­fication. Results of the study. We proved that state-building in the unrecognized states of Donbas moves towards democratization: the role of the armed forces is reduced as well as the concentration of power, and democratic freedoms are expanded. The organization of the public authorities in the self-proclaimed re­publics is similar to the system of the Ukraine (e.g.: unicameral parliament and unitary system), but the public service is built according the Russian model. Discussion and conclusions. The DPR and the LPR passed legal acts and adopted the system of executive bodies, which are not yet available in Russia. The LPR’s experience in using annual reports of civil servants for their certification, control, analysis of the distribution of official duties, and performance improvement is of significant interest. The service ethics in the LPR is formalized in the Code of Civil Servants’ Conduct which has a higher legal status than the General Principles of Service Conduct that exists in the civil service of Russia.

Europeanization in Cypriot Borderscapes: Experiencing the Green Line in Everyday Life

ABSTRACT Despite the EU accession of the Republic of Cyprus in 2004, the “Green Line” dividing Cyprus that was added as a border in 1974 remains an external EU-border between the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a self-proclaimed state internationally recognized exclusively by Turkey. Pro- and con European attitudes on Cyprus are therefore not recent phenomena, but date back to the start of EU accession negotiations in 1998 and the Annan-Plan for reunification in 2004. These aspects, however, refer to the Turkish-Greek antagonism on the island and the ongoing national tensions that have resulted in violent conflicts since independence in 1960, the establishment of a demilitarized UN Buffer Zone in 1964 and the division of the island in 1974, also cutting through the island’s capital Nikosia/Lefkoşa. Drawing on fieldwork from 2004/2005 and 2014/2015 regarding the border’s shifting meanings and pointing to the border as a place where pro- and con-EU-articulations converge, emphasis is placed on the borderscape in Nikosia/Lefkoşa that impedes and increases the movement of people and goods. After all, the border is a dividing line that both shapes and exhibits identities. Moreover, it serves as an individual economic resource whilst border-crossings likewise offer benefits. Nevertheless, the border also stands as painful emotional remembrances for people on both sides. The pro- and con-EU attitudes that were dominant when the RoC joined the EU in 2004 have thus been blurred on both sides of the Green Line. The empirical research for this paper has been framed by the question of how this blurring is intertwined with the division of Cyprus and how people are affected by the Green Line as a socio-material and symbolic artefact on the micro-scale of personal feelings, identities and practices.

Recognition in international law: The case of Kosovo and Metohija

Recognition is an instrument of the public international law founded in the classical international law. Still, it preserves its main characteristics formed in the period when states dominated as the only legal persons in international community. Nevertheless, the instrument of recognition is today as vibrant as ever. As long as it does not have a uniform legal definition and means of application, it leaves room to be applied to very specific cases. In this paper, the instrument of recognition is elaborated from two aspects - theoretical and practical. First (theoretical) part of the paper presents main characteristics of the notion of recognition, as presented in main international law theories - declaratory and constitutive theory. Other part of the paper is focused on the recognition in the case of Kosovo. Within this part, main constitutive elements of state are elaborated, with special attention to Kosovo as self-proclaimed state. Conclusion is that Kosovo does not fulfill main constitutive elements of state. It is not an independent and sovereign state. It is in the status of internationalized entity, with four international missions on the field with competencies in the major fields of state authority - police, judiciary system, prosecution system, army, human rights, etc. Main normative framework for the status of Kosovo is still the UN Resolution 1244. It is also the legal ground for international missions, confirming non-independent status of Kosovo. States that recognized Kosovo despite this deficiency promote the constitutive theory of recognition, while states not recognizing Kosovo promote declaratory theory. Brussels Agreement, signed by representatives of Serbia and Kosovo under the auspices of the EU, has also been elaborated through the notion of recognition - (1) whether it represents recognition; (2) from the perspective of consequences it provokes in relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Official position of Serbian Government is clear - Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state. On the other hand, subject matter of Brussels Agreement creates new means of improvement for Kosovo authorities in the north part of Kosovo. Thus, Serbian position regarding the recognition is twofold - it does not recognize Kosovo in foro externo, and it completes its competences in foro domestico. What has been underlined through the paper and confirmed in the conclusion is that there is not a recognition which has the power to create a state and there is not a non-recognition which has the power to annul a state.

The African Union, Responsible Sovereignty and Contested States

Post-colonial Africa has experienced relatively few contested states, defined as entities whose purported statehood is widely challenged by existing states. During the 1960s and 1970s the self-proclaimed states of Katanga, Biafra and Rhodesia encountered serious deficits in international recognition. The same fate befell the independent Bantustans created by South Africa. Today only the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Somaliland fall in this category. The pair’s remarkable longevity shows that they cannot be wished away. Nor can Africa ignore the conflict potential attached to the very existence of the two disputed states. The African Union’s endorsement of the notion of sovereignty as responsibility provides moral obligations, pragmatic incentives and R2P-associated tools for dealing with the challenges posed by current and future contested states. The African Union could, however, consider two adaptations to R2P procedures. The first is the designation of established contested states as ‘territories of concern’ to highlight the necessity of collective R2P-type initiatives to resolve these situations. The second calls for the introduction of a ‘secessionism alert’ as part of the au’s early-warning system to try to prevent violent secession and the likely birth of contested states.

Russian foreign policy and the Balkans in the 1990s…

In the initial phase after the collapse of the USSR, Russian diplomacy lacked vision and initiative, generally following the West's lead, including its policy towards the Yugoslav crisis (1991-95). It was only from about 1994 and as a result of the decision to expand NATO into Eastern Europe, that it sought to become more synchronized with the prevailing mood in Russian society, increasingly disillusioned with Western policies. There was a change in the phrasing of official statements, but the Russian Foreign Ministry in fact continued to follow the West and supported the severe anti-Serbian sanctions regime. Russia played merely a supporting role in the Bosnian crisis, which led to the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers. The only Russian initiative in the period was Putin's proposal to hold a Balkan conference to discuss the inviolability of borders and human rights, but it was left out in the open. Recently, however, Russia has become more active in connection with the Kosovo status talks, as a result of her aspiration to translate her newly-gained economic strength into political power, but also of the fact that there are in the post-Soviet territory some unrecognized self-proclaimed states, moreover, for the most part pro-Russian. What is vital for Russia is that she is now seeking to develop a conceptual framework for past events and to prevent any breach of international law in the future. Hence the emphasis on the necessity of laying down 'universal principles' applicable in any situation, not just in the case of Kosovo. Furthermore, a de facto independence for Kosovo, as envisaged by the Martti Ahtisaari plan, cannot resolve the problem of Serbo-Albanian conflict in a sustainable way, and remains a dangerous precedent both regionally and globally.

Notice of Other Recent Documents

The fourth in the 1994 series of reports and papers released by the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), the 36-page Evolving United Nations: Principles and Realities, by Johan Kaufmann, examines concepts enshrined in the United Nations Charter — conflict and peace-related activities, international economic and social cooperation, and human rights and humanitarian activities — and discusses them in terms of the realities and developments of the post-Cold War era. The author concludes that, while the UN must still be treated as an organization of states, the automaticity with which self-proclaimed states, with minimum international support, can become UN members must be challenged.