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These lists of historical unrecognized or partially recognized ''states'' or ''governments'' give an overview of extinct
geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
entities that wished to be recognized as
sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...
s, but did not enjoy worldwide
diplomatic recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accorde ...
. The entries listed here had ''de facto'' control over their claimed territory and were self-governing with a desire for full independence; or if they lacked such control over their territory, they were recognized by at least one other recognized nation.


Criteria for inclusion

The criteria for inclusion in this list are similar to those of the
list of states with limited recognition A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of thei ...
. To be included here, a polity must have claimed
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
, has not had recognition by at least one widely accepted state for a significant portion of its ''de facto'' existence, and either: * had a population and an organized government with a capacity to enter into relations with other states; or * had ''de facto'' control over a territory or a significant portion of the territory of an otherwise-recognized sovereign state


Historic unrecognized or partially recognized states with de facto control over their territory


Africa

The total number of countries in the African continent varies due to the instability throughout the region. See the
List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes both fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-African states. It lists 56 sovereign state ...
article for a current list. Great instability was created by graft under leaders in
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
. Many leaders marginalised ethnic groups and fanned ethnic conflicts (some of which had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule) for political gain. In many countries, the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. During the period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts. A variety of other causes have been blamed for Africa's political instability, including
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
conflicts between the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, over-reliance on foreign aid, as well as the policies of the International Monetary Fund. When a country became independent for the first time, it would often align itself with one of the two superpowers in order to get support. Many countries in
Northern Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
received Soviet military aid, while many in
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
were supported by the United States, France or both. The 1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
and
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, and the West and South Africa sought to contain Soviet influence by funding insurgency movements. There was a major famine in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, when hundreds of thousands of people starved. Some claimed that Marxist/Soviet policies made the situation worse. The most devastating military conflict in modern independent Africa has been the Second Congo War; this conflict and its aftermath have killed an estimated 5.5 million people. Since 2003 there has been an ongoing conflict in Darfur which has become a humanitarian disaster. Another notable tragic event is the 1994
Rwandan Genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
in which an estimated 800,000 people were murdered.
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
in post-colonial Africa has also been a prevalent issue. In the 21st century, however, the number of armed conflicts in Africa has steadily declined. For instance, the civil war in Angola came to an end in 2002 after nearly 30 years. The improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China, which has spurred quick economic growth in many countries, seemingly ending decades of stagnation and decline. Several African economies were among the world's fastest growing as of 2011 and that growth continues through 2019. A significant part of this growth can also be attributed to the facilitated diffusion of information technologies and specifically the mobile phone.


Antiquity to 19th century


20th and 21st centuries


Americas


15th through 19th centuries


20th century


Asia


Antiquity to 19th century


20th and 21st centuries


Europe


Antiquity to 19th century


20th and 21st centuries


Oceania


19th century


20th century


Antarctica


20th century


See also

*
List of former sovereign states A historical sovereign state is a Sovereign state, state that once existed, but has since been dissolved due to conflict, war, rebellion, annexation, or uprising. This page lists sovereign states, country, countries, nations, or empires that have c ...
*
List of historical separatist movements This is a list of historical separatist movements around the world. Separatism includes autonomism and secessionism. Most separatist movements do not succeed in their goal, therefore only notable ones are listed here; however, not all listed her ...
*
List of micronations Micronations, sometimes also referred to as ''model countries'' and ''new country projects'', are small, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states but which are not acknowledged as such by any recognised sovereign st ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:historical unrecognized states and dependencies, List of * Historical unrecognized countries, list of * Historical