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.
Sabella Ogbobode Abidde is professor of political science and a member of the graduate faculty at Alabama State University.
Part I: Nationalism and Nation-States in Recent Times Chapter 1: International Law and the Politics of Recognition: A Comparative Study of the Palestinian, Western Saharan, And Taiwanese Struggle for Statehood - Priye S. Torulagha Chapter 2: The Undercurrents of Political Economy of Nationalism - Gbensuglo Alidu Bukari Chapter 3: U.S. Recognition of the Illegal Israel and Moroccan Annexations of Occupied Territories - Stephen Zunes Chapter 4: Comparing Hamas and Irgun in the Struggles for Independence: A Continuation of the Same Terrorist Strategy by Different Actors? - Lawrence Mhandara Part II: Modern Palestine and the Struggle for Independence Chapter 5: The State of Palestine as a Sovereign Actor in the International Community: Implications for Its Legal Status - Konstantinos Magliveras and Gino Naldi Chapter 6: The State of Palestine: Between Abstraction and Reality - Federica Stagni Chapter 7: Towards A Global Agenda: Resolving the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict - Idowu Adetayo Johnson Part III: Taiwan's Nationalism and Sovereignty Chapter 8: Kurdayeti and Taiwan: Identity and Nation Building in Under-Recognized States - Dean Karalekas Chapter 9: Taiwan in United States Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy Agenda -- Felix Kumah-Abiwu Part IV: Western Sahara and the Decolonization Process Chapter 10: Will Western Sahara Statehood Remain Unfinished Business? - Gino Naldi and Cristiano d'Orsi Chapter 11: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: The Case for Independence - J.J.P. Smith Chapter 12: Western Sahara Peace Process, 1975-2008: An Overview - Meriem Naili
"This volume, edited by Dr. Sabella Abidde, provides a thorough discussion on the issues of statehood and its complexity for Palestine, Taiwan, and Western Sahara, which have been in the process of pursuing it in the international system. This is a must-read for scholars focused on these nations and on the intersection of state-building and state recognition." -- Dr. Yao-Yuan Yeh, University of St. Thomas
