Palestine, Taiwan, and Western Sahara : Statehood, Sovereignty, and the International System

An examination of the undercurrents of statehood and sovereign integrity vis-à-vis the State of Palestine, Taiwan, and Western Sahara; and examines why the international system is convoluted and often powerless in effecting the principles of self-determination. This denial of collective aspiration continues to be a source of regional and global insight.

To have a State, four distinct conditions must be met. First, there must be a community of people, and it matters not whether they belong to the same color, faith, or ethnicity. Second, there must be a geographical space, a settlement that this community of people calls a home. Third, there must be governing authority. And finally, the government must be sovereign – sovereign in the sense that it is self-governing and independent of any domestic or international body. Palestine, Taiwan, and Western Sahara have met all the forestated conditions -- except for broad international support and recognition and membership of the United Nations. However, this has not been the case with Palestine, Taiwan, and Western Sahara. This edited volume examines some of the endogenous and exogenous factors that have contributed to the ambiguous and contested nature of these political entities and argued that the undermined nature of these entities contributes to regional instability and global insecurity. And finally, the continued denial of statehood is a violation of their collective human rights.