The contemporary international community is unique in many ways. One of its characteristics is the abundance of sovereign states; currently, 193 of them are members of the UN. These states enjoy worldwide recognition, but nothing guarantees them such a status indefinitely. As Chinese international lawyer Chen Tiqiang wrote, ‘Whenever there is an outbreak of civil war, a change of government or a transfer of territory or other important changes, the question of recognition is immediately involved’ (Chen, 1951: 13). Of course, a newly independent state wants to be fully integrated into the international community. It wants to be able to communicate with other states and actors without interruptions. It wants to be considered not just as a subject of International Relations, but also as a legal person, with rights and obligations according to international law.

However, the process of recognition of a new state, and its admittance to the international community, is not an easy one. In international law, two main theories address the nature of the recognition of states: constitutive and declaratory. The first one argues that only fully recognized states can engage in international communication, whereas the second one asserts that the act of recognition is of a declaratory nature; a state becomes a state when it fulfils conditions for statehood, not because of formal recognition (Turk, 2007: 90). The constitutive view on recognition is, according to Chen, Eurocentric. ‘The historical fact that international law originated among the States of Europe has made this notion of a “closed club” a constant feature in the theories of international law’ (Chen, 1951: 35). Entering such a club is not easy, but that does not mean that one should be oblivious to the fact that states which lack formal recognition and, consequently, face limited access to the international community, nevertheless do exist.