HOW AN ENTITY BECOMES A STATE: TIBET, TAIWAN, PALESTINE, AND THE QUEST FOR RECOGNITION by DaShanne Parker Stokes B.S., University of South Dakota, 2002 M.A., Boston University, 2005 M.A. Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2008 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Dietrich Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2016 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by DaShanne Parker Stokes It was defended on March 2, 2016 and approved by Kathy Blee, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research John Markoff, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Sociology Scott Morgenstern, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science Dissertation Advisor: Mohammed Bamyeh, Professor, Department of Sociology ii Copyright © by DaShanne Parker Stokes 2016 iii HOW AN ENTITY BECOMES A STATE: TIBET, TAIWAN, PALESTINE, AND THE QUEST FOR RECOGNITION DaShanne Stokes, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2016 The question, “Why are some entities politically recognized as states while others are not?” is central to the conflicts faced by the peoples of Tibet, Taiwan, and Palestine, and indeed the entire world. It is a question whose answer defines the contours of the international arena and helps to decide the rights, obligations, and fates of people everywhere. Despite the plethora of research on the state, however, little is known about how the political recognition of states may operate as part of a larger international recognition structure. Such unknowns raise questions about the outcomes faced by entities like Tibet, Taiwan, and Palestine. Why, for example, have Tibet, Taiwan, and Palestine achieved the varying levels of political recognition that they have? How and why did opportunities to politically recognize Tibet (1913), Taiwan (1971), and Palestine (1948, 1988, and 2012) as states emerge when they did? And is there any validity to claims that there have been “missed opportunities” for Tibet, Taiwan, and Palestine to have been politically recognized as states? I address these questions using original comparative-historical data to conceptualize the “opportunity structure for recognition” as an overarching framework by which to synthesize the theory and practice of recognizing states and would-be states. In this way, recognition or non- recognition are more than the outcome of the complex interactions between states, would-be iv states, the international system, and the sometimes-competing, sometimes-aligning interests and goals of each. I argue that “opportunities for recognition” tend to emerge during times when political opportunities and state interests are in strong alignment, favoring an entity’s political recognition as a state. The patronage of strong states can be a critical factor in the emergence and success of opportunities for recognition, but such patronage is not strictly necessary or sufficient to generate opportunities for recognition or for those opportunities to result in widespread recognition. Additionally, the study finds that claims about missed opportunities for recognizing Tibet, Taiwan, and Palestine are without merit. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: THE RECOGNITION OF STATES………….. ...................... 12 1.1 POLITICAL RECOGNITION......................................................................... 13 1.2 A PROLIFERATION OF TERMS .................................................................. 20 1.3 CONNECTING THE STATE, NATION, AND PEOPLE............................. 27 1.4 EXPLAINING POLITICAL RECOGNITION .............................................. 34 1.5 METHODS ......................................................................................................... 54 1.6 WHY TIBET, TAIWAN, AND PALESTINE? ............................................... 63 2.0 CHAPTER TWO: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES AND THE STRUCTURE OF RECOGNITION ......................................................................................................................... 74 2.1 THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE OF RECOGNITION ........................ 75 2.2 MISSED OPPPORTUNITIES FOR RECOGNITION .................................. 84 2.3 IDENTIFYING THE “STRUCTURE” OF THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE FOR RECOGNITION .............................................................................. 89 3.0 CHAPTER THREE: PRODUCING RECOGNITION OPPORTUNITIES IN TIBET, TAIWAN, AND PALESTINE ..................................................................................... 95 3.1 OPPORTUNITY FOR TIBET ......................................................................... 97 3.2 OPPORTUNITY FOR TAIWAN .................................................................. 110 vi 3.3 OPPORTUNITY FOR PALESTINE ............................................................. 131 3.3.1 1948: Palestine’s First Declaration of Independence ............................. 132 3.3.2 1988: Palestine’s Second Declaration of Independence ......................... 136 3.3.3 2012: Palestine’s Statehood at the United Nations ................................ 142 3.4 COMPARISON OF CASES ........................................................................... 150 3.5 MONGOLIA AND XINJIANG AS EXTERNAL COMPARISONS ......... 171 3.5.1 Mongolian Recognition ............................................................................. 172 3.5.2 Xinjiang ...................................................................................................... 175 3.6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 181 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR: DISPELLING THE LEGEND OF “MISSED OPPORTUNITIES”………….. ............................................................................................... 183 4.1 IDENTIFYING MISSED OPPORTUNITIES .............................................. 190 4.2 WAS THERE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR TIBET? ........................ 196 4.3 WAS THERE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR TAIWAN? ................... 201 4.4 WAS THERE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR PALESTINE? ............. 205 4.5 DUBIOUS CLAIMS ........................................................................................ 213 4.5.1 Tibet ........................................................................................................... 213 4.5.2 Taiwan ........................................................................................................ 215 4.5.3 Palestine ..................................................................................................... 217 4.6 RETHINKING MISSED OPPORTUNITIES .............................................. 218 5.0 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION………….. ................... 223 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 229 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Opportunity Structure for Recognition (OSR) Table of Concepts ................................. 17 Table 2. Table of Concepts of Entities.......................................................................................... 26 Table 3. Simplified Comparative Exmaples of Autonomy, Sovereignty, and Independence ...... 29 Table 4. Examples of States Emerging from Political Collapse ................................................... 37 Table 5. Simplified Theoretical View on Origins of Recognition ................................................ 40 Table 6. Types of Recognition ...................................................................................................... 47 Table 7. Types of Recognition (Formal vs. Informal) .................................................................. 48 Table 8. Types of Recognition (Timing) ...................................................................................... 50 Table 9. Factors Helping Explain Production of Opportunities for Recognition ....................... 158 Table 10. Comparative Summary ............................................................................................... 169 Table 11. Criteria of Opportunities for Recognition (ORs) vs. Missed Opportunities for Recognition (MORs) ................................................................................................................... 192 Table 12. Typology of Missed Opportunities for Recognition (MORs) .................................... 194 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Simplified Flowchart Showing the Relationship Between the Independent Variables and Dependent Variables Used in the Study................................................................................... 4 Figure 2. Flowchart of Actors Influencing Recognition Decisions and Outcomes .................... 15 Figure 3. Number of States Created Per Five-Year Period ........................................................... 37 Figure 4. Number of Governments Recognizing Entities as States Over Time ........................... 65 Figure 5. U.N. Applications and Membership Growth, 1946-2011 ............................................. 66 Figure 6. A Simplified Representation of the Opportunity Structure for Recognition ................. 79 Figure 7. Trend in Taiwan De-recognitions, 1971-1979 ............................................................ 122 Figure 8. Recognition