Shedding light on Entities affected by derecognition of their statehood – first insights into the DeRS dataset

The understudied phenomenon of their statehood’s derecognition affects various entities like Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, the Republic of China – Taiwan or Western Sahara to a considerable extent. While potentially threatening such an entity’s existence as a state, it also affects its sovereignty and influences conflict settings. Nevertheless, such acts of derecognition are often overlooked. Therefore, this contribution focuses on this particular diplomatic phenomenon. By providing first insights into a new dataset built on existing and novel data, it not only discusses the phenomenon of derecognition and its empirical reality but provides insights covering the period 1945 to 2022. For this purpose, various sources are considered, including original material like press releases and agreements, combined with a diverse set of secondary sources. In doing so, the dataset broadens the view beyond the post-Soviet space that is often in focus when it comes to entities affected by this phenomenon. In addition, it provides insights into different factors contributing to derecognition and presents descriptive statistics. Therefore, it offers insights into the totality of the initially apparently singular practices of derecognition while contributing on a conceptual level.