Taiwan in the Caribbean: a case study in state de-recognition

ABSTRACT

The rich and complex recent International Political Sociology (IPS) literature on state recognition has completely ignored the process of de-recognition. The present article uses the case study of Taiwan’s efforts to preserve its ‘diplomatic allies’ in the Caribbean in order to fill this gap. Taking advantage of the IPS development of the constitutive theory of recognition, it introduces and analyses the concept of state de-recognition while emphasizing the deep contradiction between present international law principles and the political reality of national identity building as well as the de-linking of political science and international law understandings of recognition made possible by the progress of the constitutive theory. De-recognition is perceived as resulting in a hierarchical relationship between recognized and de-recognized political entities that is arbitrary and ethically questionable as it ultimately reflects the denial of the right to self-determination of peoples.

KEYWORDS:

• Taiwan
• Caribbean
• De-recognition
• State Recognition
• International Political Sociology
• International Law

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Ms. Amanda Ramlogan and to an anonymous reviewer for their useful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Theodor Tudoroiu is a senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science of the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine. He holds an MA from the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium, and a PhD from Université de Montréal. His work covers mainly post-communist and Middle Eastern international relations. He is the author of The Revolutionary Totalitarian Personality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).