When you look at the map of the world either in a book, on a globe or on the internet, you see are different nations with their own territories. But something that is often, if not almost always overlooked, are nations that exist like any other but appear on no map, book or globe. They may have their own governments, flags, capital cities and armies, yet they cannot exist as a proper nation because of a lack of recognition. Such states are known as “unrecognized nations” and are the reason why geopolitics is such a difficult game to understand.

There are many notable cases in which a region is run and defended by a government that holds its own authority, but, for one of a number of reasons, they are not recognized as such by a handful of powerful nations. Palestine is the most well-known example of this as, even after decades of tension and conflict, the political future of the State of Palestine is very much uncertain. Nevertheless, small entities like Palestine and Kosovo do still have diplomatic relationships with various nations around the world having strategic reasons to support their existence.

Beyond this, many more entities are either only supported by a few countries, or in some cases not recognized by any nation at all. These are the regions of the world completely outside the United Nations, and the lack of diplomatic channels carries the potential for many more armed conflicts to erupt effectively at a moment’s notice. The most common place for such countries to exist is Eastern Europe, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union left behind many old and new political tensions that eventually boiled over into ethnic violence. Abkhazia, Transnistria and South Ossetia are three such countries that were formed in the 90s as a result of armed conflict — their status as countries still remains ambiguous. In addition, there are three more examples that are active stages for violence — the breakaway Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, which were annexed by Russia two years ago, as well as the Republic of Artsakh, that used to exist between Armenia and Azerbaijan and which ceased to exist entirely after a border clash in 2023, ending 30 years of war over the region. These are consequently some of the most dangerous and militarily active corners in the world. Artsakh continues to be a hotbed of ethnic violence and human rights violations despite the end of armed conflict for the foreseeable future, while Donetsk and Lugansk are the center stage for the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as battles continue to be fought between the opposing forces.

The category of unrecognized nations that causes the most complex issues are the ones born out of “frozen” wars. Countries such as Somaliland or Northern Cyprus were created during times of conflict that remain unresolved today due to the failure of diplomatic methods. However, the most notable case of an unrecognized nation causing immense political tension is the Republic of China, known simply as Taiwan. Though armed conflict between Nationalists and Communists ended 75 years ago, Taiwan is gaining more and more attention in international politics and against an emboldened government in Beijing.

There is one common point between all the listed examples here and the ones that couldn’t even fit into this article. Lack of diplomatic methods prevent sensible solutions to be found. Of course, with ethnic conflicts there are always complications, including the fact that any compromise along the process will leave opposing sides dissatisfied. Furthermore, in such cases there are those with more pragmatic attitudes, favoring the indefinite continuation of the status quo. But evident from both the events of Oct. 7 in the Middle East and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, these frozen conflicts can no longer remain as such and do inevitably result in new wars and more bloodshed.

International organizations like the United Nations (UN) fall short of providing actual solutions in such cases because these unrecognized governments have no way of being represented on the world stage as legitimate political entities. The structure of the Security Council and their veto powers give plenty of power to the five permanent members, yet also stifle and stagnate the process of resolving disputes and providing the much-needed diplomatic recognition. In the meantime, the unresolved status of unrecognized nations prevents human development and is the root cause of poverty and violence throughout all these regions. Beyond the need to reform itself to remain relevant, the UN must also now focus on building clear and enforceable principles to deal with unresolved political questions. Pretending that there is no problem or simply lending legitimacy to internationally represented nations declaring unrecognized regions occupied territories cannot bring any meaningful solution.

When it comes to finding working solutions, the UN on its own is naturally not powerful enough to dictate peaceful terms — public awareness is, however, a powerful enough tool to force governments to consider alternatives. The current situation in Ukraine predominantly persists thanks to the sheer level of attention it gets from the public. Nations, such as South Sudan and Bosnia, that are recognized as countries today also owe their status to the attention they got as struggling unrecognized states during their fight for independence in the past. For the future of international politics, it is therefore in our interest to pay more attention to the countries of the world, including the ones that don’t appear on maps. Regardless of politics, these ambiguous problems cause very clear dangers to human lives across the world.

Deniz Gulay is a freshman majoring in history.

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece which represents the views of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.