A history of engagement without recognition of statehood

States emerge in international relations when they are recognised as legitimate territorial rulers, but conflict erupts when different sides claim the same territory, mostly during secession or decolonisation. International actors can recognise only one side of the conflict and, therefore, face the challenge of how to engage with the other side and de facto authorities they do not recognise, especially for conflict management. Scholars have explored ‘engagement without recognition’, that is, international actors’ atypical links with statehood claimants, mainly focusing on contemporary, secessionist cases in Europe and its neighbourhood. Instead, this article focuses on two historical (i.e. no longer existing) and more geographically diverse examples that also represent different types of statehood conflict: international responses to the Biafran secessionist conflict (1967–1970) and the East Timorese independence movement (1975–2002), representing a decolonisation-related case. The analysis shows that engagement without recognition has a longer history and wider geographical scope than commonly assumed. It also offers fresh findings on how drivers, normative frameworks and forms of engagement, actors involved and impacts on conflict vary across conflict types. The article advances our understanding of engagement in conflict-affected territories and contributes to studies of how, and by whom, sovereignty is practised in international relations.