State Legitimacy and the Criteria for Statehood: Diplomacy

Defining a 'State' and the Criterion for 'Statehood' found ambiguous due to legitimacy issues. State as a subject of international law enabled with certain rights and duties obliged to perform. While the political relevance of the recognition of states is beyond doubt, the rules of law which apply to this aspect remain uncertain. The establishment of the modern state system in the world roots back to the Westphalian treaties. Montevideo Convention of 1933, initially identified qualifications for a state and subsequently accepted by many states, regional and international institutes with codification. Declaratory and Constitutive theories on the criterion for statehood debated on relevance of 'international recognition' over the other factual qualifications of; population, territory, government and the capacity to entire into relations with other States. Admission as a member to the UNO recognizes a new state as a part of the globally organized community by way of co-optation. The globalization and related changes along with humanitarian considerations have created various types of status for states. International recognition for a state expressed through diplomatic relations and the influence of UNSC, found to be prominent aspects over the other domestic settings for statehood except the 'effective control' over its territory. This paper meant to clarify ambiguities on the legitimacy of a state and the criteria for statehood with reference to sources of international law, cases and secondary data analysis methods..