Recognition of states and colonialism in the twenty-first century: Western Sahara and Palestine in Sweden’s recognition practice

Abstract

This article recalls the recognition–colonialism conjuncture to examine how prior normative rights to self-determination, independence and decolonisation influence current recognition practice, and asks how they compete with contingent factors. The interrogation of this interpretive process provides insights into how recognition of states operates. This reveals how state recognition in current colonial conflicts is qualified based on an assessment of contingent factors such as the international consensus and level of involvement. For this purpose, Sweden’s recognition practice towards Palestine and Western Sahara present apposite empirical cases. This article argues that the practice of recognition is a hermeneutic and evolving process, which is contingent on the interpretation of different situational and political aspects. This has far-reaching implications for international recognition and order, as colonised/occupied peoples’ prior normative right to self-determination and independence ends up being qualified, contested and adjudicated in connection with contingent political factors.

Keywords:

• State recognition
• practice theory
• settler-colonialism
• Palestine
• Western Sahara

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the editors of Third World Quarterly and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback on the original submission.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Swedish Democrats opposed the recognition of Palestine

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emile Badarin

Emile Badarin is a Research Fellow in the European Neighbourhood Policy Chair at the College of Europe, Natolin. He holds a PhD in Middle East politics from the University of Exeter. His research cuts across the fields of international relations and foreign policy, Middle East politics and settler colonialism. He is the author of Palestinian Political Discourse: Between Exile and Occupation (Routledge 2016).