Unrecognized States and Secession in the 21st Century

Martin Riegl is an assistant professor at the Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. He is a coordinator of the Geopolitical Studies and International Economic and Political Studies Master´s programmes and one of heads of the Geopolitical Studies Research Centre. His area of expertise comprises issues of state failure, unrecognized states, state recognition, and secession as well as general geopolitics with focus on sub-Saharan Africa.Bohumil Doboš is a PhD student at the Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. He is also a coordinator of the Geopolitical Studies Research Centre. His main areas of expertise are neomedieval geopolitics, territoriality of non-state actors, and astropolitics.

• Introduction: Secession and Recognition in the 21st Century.- Theoretical Perspectives: Making Peace with De Facto States.- Unrecognized States and National Identity.- Ontological Security of the Post-Soviet de Facto States.- Contemporary Referendum of Independence and Linguistic Aspects of an Intelligible Referendum Question.- (Super)power Rule: Comparative Analysis of Parent States.- Case Studies: Political Institutions in the Post-Soviet de Facto States in Comparison: Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh.- Iran's Problem with Territorial Non-State Actors: A Case Study of Sistan and Balochistan.- Kurdistan Region's Quest for Independent Statehood: Trapped in Internal and Geopolitical Rivalries.- Bougainville - From Conflict to Independence Under the Law?- The Right to Self-Determination or Inviolability of Borders in the Horn of Africa? An African Union Approach.- Long Way to Recognition: Challenges Facing the European "Newborn" from the 2015 Perspective.- Conclusion: Future of International Recognition?.