Is NK a state?
In my international law class this week, we’ve been discussing how a state becomes a state. It got me thinking…
Usually, you have to meet everything stated in the Montevideo Convention: The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states. [source]
What d means is that you’re not a puppet state and no other state is above you in the law. Is NK really independent enough to meet requirement d? What currency is used in NK? What passports do NK citizens travel under? Who dictates what happens in NK institutions?
And, also in Montevideo is this: Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention states, “The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by other states.” NK isn’t recognized!
The link from the Public International Law and Policy Group report says that NK meets everything in Montevideo:
Nagorno Karabagh now meets all of the traditional requirements for statehood set forth by the Montevideo Convention.[58] It has control over a defined territory, which encompasses over 5,000 sq. kilometers. Its permanent population of 150,000, is greater than that of other States that have been admitted into the United Nations since 1990, including Andorra (66,000), Liechtenstein (32,000), Marshall Islands (66,000), The Federated States of Micronesia (132,000), Monaco (32,000), Nauru (11,000), Palau (18,000), and San Marino (25,000).[59] Nagorno Karabagh has its own democratically elected president and legislature. Its government commands the armed forces, and engages in discussions with foreign states. Through its government institutions, Karabagh has the capacity to conduct international relations and has represented the people of the region at international peace negotiations under the mediation of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as established representative offices in the United States, France, Russia, Lebanon, Australia, and Armenia.[60]
Why do I ask? Well, if NK doesn’t become part of Armenia and ends up being independent, it will act as a solo state. It’ll need to have legitimate currency, set up systems and institutions more than it has today… thoughts? Is NK a state? Could it be a state? If it isn’t a state, what would it have to do to be a state? No battles here, but positive discussion…
PS, ever looked at the talk section for NK on wikipedia? Crazy!
It’s a de-facto state but the territory that it’s on is disputed by another state so I guess unless the dispute is resolved, it does not meet the territory test.
Comment by nazarian — 11/17/2005 @ 8:03 pm
most of the arab world disputes the territory of Israel, does this mean it’s not a state?!
most of EU countries dont have independent currency, does this mean they are not states?!
since people would say that EU has a somewhat different status now which urges redefinition of statehood, I should mention that there are other examples of states without independent currencies (Nauru being one of them).
as far as my understanding of Montevideo Convention and the definition of statehood goes, NK is a state allright!
Though a proper constitution unambigiously defining citizenship, thus giving a go to official passport introduction, with working Judiciary and enforcement systems in place, will certainly strengthen the argument of self-determination (and the legitimacy of the government). But as far as I can see, such a constitution is close to impossible before a final resolution of conflict accord, since there are still non-finalised questions, such as return of refugees and displaced persons (should the displaced azerbaijanis qualify for citizenship?!), minority rights, etc.
Though grossly outdated, the blueprint of resolutions on the RA Foreign Ministry web page gives some idea for the list of things to be considered in such legetimisation.
Comment by v — 11/17/2005 @ 9:12 pm
Good point.
Comment by nazarian — 11/17/2005 @ 9:50 pm
I think that Karbakh has understood that it has to prove to the world that it can be a state, and has actually been quite succesful in doing so. In the areas where it fails to meet certain criteria, it’s only because it’s status has not been resolved. Even Armenia does not officially recognize it, although that’s for international consumption, of course.
Interestingly, if a new referendum is held in Karabakh, we still don’t know what questions will be asked. For example, there might be just one, to officially be recognized independent of Azerbaijan. They could also ask if they want to be joined with Armenia, but I don’t think it matters.
Basically, once Karabakh is independent, it can decide whatever it wants in the future — including joining Armenia.
Comment by Onnik Krikorian — 11/17/2005 @ 10:30 pm
territory is what is disputed, not borders- you just need a bit of land that people acknowledge that you legitimately have claims to - even if its borders are in dispute.
Comment by Katy — 11/18/2005 @ 2:14 am
again, in the example of Israel not only borders, but the entire territory and the claims of Israelis to the land are disputed. I, for one, dont think that jews have even equal to palestianians’ right to the land Israel is on (no antisemitism, just my personal interpretation of the history of the region). But Israel is recognised by the UN and the majority of other states and I applaud them on the achievement… The name of the game is flexible diplomacy and international politics.
But to even have grounds for such a game, you need to at least partially sattisfy the black-and-white definitions of international covnentions on the matter, which in my oppinion NK certainly does.
Comment by v — 11/18/2005 @ 3:20 am
currency is not an issue. 7 Latin American states use U.S. dollar as a currency or parallel currency. Kosovo uses euro.
I don’t think independence for NK is seriously considered by anyone, least of all in NK. It has been a great and very useful diplomatic technique. However, the long term plan is unification with Armenia of course.
One reason Armenia has not recognized is diplomacy. There are solid legal grounds as well. The Law on Unification of Armenian SSR and Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous District of December 1, 1989 has never been repealed. Moreover, it’s an integral part of the Declaration of Independence, and as such, an integral part of the Armenian Constitution. So technically, as far as the law in Armenia is concerned, Karabakh is part of Armenia.
Comment by Hovakim — 11/18/2005 @ 5:24 am
Not the electoral law. I don’t see Armenians from NK voting in Armenia or vice-versa. During the NK elections, candidates from Armenia were prevented from running because they were not considered citizens of that state, and so on.
(of course, the reason was political, but it seems that NK is unofficially part of Armenia when it suits some people, and not when it doesn’t).
Anyway, I think it’s all these little grey areas that show why the status of NK needs to be recognized internationally.
Interesting about the declaration of independence (http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/htms/doi.html), however.
Comment by Onnik Krikorian — 11/18/2005 @ 10:38 am
I think the main point has been missed here. The creation of a new state (regardless of territory) is largely a function of Super Power backing. Some examples for your thoughts are Taiwan and East Timor. If the Baku oilfields were located a little further to the west, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
Comment by Alan Haroutunian — 11/19/2005 @ 4:55 am
This reminds me about famous story of metal spoon and paper one. We, Armenians committed this error once, demanding our state on a piece of paper, recognized by other states. We got the paper but lost the state. Its time to comprehend that the most important thing is that we have the control of the territory and can hold on it. Everything else can be arranged/negotiated/ignored/forced/etc.
Comment by Գագիկ — 11/19/2005 @ 5:55 am
I agree with comment 10. If you have doubts please read Sun Tzu the art of war. One cannot negotiate state (territory) for anything and given our neighbours inclinations I can’t see any reason why we would give anything up.
Comment by Alan Haroutunian — 11/19/2005 @ 4:27 pm
Alan, unfortunately we learned this the hard way.
Comment by Nazarian — 11/20/2005 @ 8:46 pm
Is Nagorno Karabagh a state?
Over at Blogrel, Katy has sparked a debate about whether Nagorno Karabagh is really a state or not:
Why do I ask? Well, if NK doesn’t become part of Armenia and ends up being independent, it will act as a solo state. It’ll need to have legitimate…
Trackback by siberianlight.net — 11/25/2005 @ 7:48 pm
I don’t have much to add to the discussion on NK specifically (I haven’t taken International Law yet - next semester!), but I did recently see an article - http://www.regnum.ru/english/548254.html - in which a Russian politician proposed applying a solution similar to the one that’s apparently been reached for Kosovo for Transnistria. I know that the frozen conflicts in NK and Transnistria have different roots and may therefore have different solutions, but it seems like the outcome/resolution of any one of the frozen conflict or pseudo-state situations will be relevant for developments in the others.
Transnistria, it could be argued, would seem to meet all of the requirements you mentioned in a pro forma way. With respect to (d), the presence of a contingent of Russian troops might suggest there would be a “puppet state” situation if the PMR (Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika - as the government of Transnistria calls the territory) were to be recognized as an independent country. In addition, the Transnistrians have their own military, their own (hyperinflated) currency, and even their own license plates (with a little Transnistrian flag on them).
To be honest, the prospect that a Kosovo-type solution will actually be applied to the situation in Transnistria is disturbing to me. The current government of Transnistria allows all kinds of criminal activity (arms/drug/human trafficking, principally) to take place on the territory it controls, and I can’t see why the international community would want to promote that. At the risk of saying something controversial, I find it interesting that the Russians weren’t amenable to similar solutions for Chechnya before the 2nd Chechen War, but they’re happy to take away Moldova’s turf under the guise of self-determination.
On a more relevant note, someone named Tim Potier wrote a book about 5 years ago titled “Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal.” I’ve checked it out of the library to read over break, although it’s probably no longer the most current thing around. I haven’t done more than read the preface yet, so I don’t know whether it’s worth reading or not. There are probably better materials available in Russian or (regarding NK) in Armenian).
Anyway, this is a really interesting topic and discussion, thanks for bringing it up. My only other thought is that Comment 9 above is definitely onto something. Sorry that I went a bit off-topic there, but it seems like it’s at least tangentially relevant.
Comment by Lyndon — 11/28/2005 @ 7:44 am
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