This new handbook provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary overview of the theoretical and empirical aspects of state recognition in international politics. Although the recognition of states plays a central role in shaping global politics, it remains an under-researched and widely dispersed subject. Coherently and innovatively structured, the handbook brings together a group of international scholars who examine the most important theoretical and comparative perspectives on state recognition, including debates about pathways to secession and self-determination, the broad range of actors and strategies that shape the recognition of states and a significant number of contemporary case studies.
The handbook is organised into four key sections: 1) Theoretical and normative perspectives; 2) Pathways to independent statehood; 3) Actors, forms and the process of state recognition; and 4) Case studies of contemporary state recognition. This handbook will be of great interest to students of foreign policy, international relations, international law, comparative politics and area studies.