Conflict and the Impact of Collective Recognition

Abstract

This chapter presents a set of theoretical claims that explain how collective recognition shapes international organisations’ approaches towards contested statehood claims. I argue that the ease of engagement with claimants aligns with a hierarchy of recognition: engaging with those whose right to statehood is titularly recognised is generally more difficult than engaging with recognised states, but still easier than engaging with those met with non-recognition. Building on the typology of collective recognition, an explanatory typology is developed that links different collective recognition positions to four approaches international organisations adopt towards statehood claimants who are not generally recognised: opposition, inaction, engagement without recognition, and state-building. By integrating themes of collective recognition, conflict, and state-building, this study enhances our understanding of these processes and their interrelations. Finally, analysis highlights how variation in recognition might interplay with variation in other sovereignty-associated conditions, particularly the state-like capacity to rule territories and populations.