Unrecognised Statehood

A revelatory look at the predicament of unrecognised entities and their place in the modern world.

Taiwan is a fully independent state that controls its borders, maintains its own defence, is integrated into the international trading system, and holds free and regular elections within a multi-party framework.Notwithstanding these achievements, almost all national governments and international organisations worldwide do not recognise the Taiwanese state.

Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has consistently asserted its sovereignty over Taiwan, and there has been a notable escalation in Chinese military and diplomatic pressure on the island since the early 2020s. As a result, it is more important than ever to understand the origins of Taiwan’s unrecognised statehood, the methods by which it is denied, and its practical implications. How does the global system accommodate the exclusion of a sovereign state? And what means does the latter deploy to compensate for this exclusion?

Unrecognised Statehood combines vital historical background with up-to-date analysis, drawing on multi-site fieldwork as well as on primary sources from the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. It is essential reading for anyone interested in China and Taiwan, and in international relations, law and diplomacy more broadly.

Françoise Mengin is FNSP Research Professor at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, researching state formation in the Chinese world and Taiwanese politics. She is the author of Fragments of an Unfinished War: Taiwanese Entrepreneurs and the Partition of China (also published by Hurst); editor of Cyber China; and co-editor of Politics in China.