That the world is rapidly changing, perhaps, everyone saw. Even Jen Psaki, the unchanging "shout" of the White House, does not deny that something like this is "hanging over the planet." In this regard, the question becomes quite relevant: how many countries have the status of independent states? It is not as simple as it seems at first glance. After analyzing, for example, the UN vote on the Crimean resolution, one can come to very disappointing conclusions. But let's talk about everything in order.
What is an independent state?
Before moving on to the main topic, let's figure out what we will consider. This is a very specific question.
It is impossible to understand how many countries have the status of independent states without giving this concept a definition. As it turns out, there are many territories on the planet. States are not all. It is best to understand, starting from the UN Charter. The organization is famous, having the most respected status in the world. It is clear that its members will not be easy there with some obscure entities. After all, only its main members can accept a state into the UN. And they do this only by recognizing the independent status of their colleague and neighbor. Today, the UN has a total of one hundred and ninety-five members. Two more states are observers. This is the Vatican and Palestine. However, when they try to find out how many countries have the status of independent states, the last country is not taken into account. The fact is that Palestine is not recognized by all members of the world community. Yes, and many more such territories exist, but over time, more and more appear.
How many states are there in the world
Even more interesting when you start counting countries. For many, even quite large and stable, their status is defined, frankly, so that independence is out of the question. For example, everyone considers Canada a completely independent country.
However, it is not such. Officially, she is ruled by the
Queen of Great Britain. That is, Canada is actually a colony! And there are still a lot of such legal surprises in the world. Is it possible to consider a colony independent? No, most likely. So try to determine how many countries have the status of independent states. It turns out that without very deep knowledge in the field of international law and history, nothing will come of it. Or take Germany.
This country is considered the leader of the European Union. Nevertheless, it has recently been revealed that she and the United States have secret relationships that differ little from the colonial ones. So, they say that each newly elected Chancellor of Germany (a person who determines the country's foreign policy) signs a special Act with the United States, which greatly limits his powers. What independence and independence under such conditions can we talk about?
Five examples of independent states
Anyone will immediately call several countries, in his opinion, completely independent. We would not be mistaken. Probably the best place to start is from our homeland. Russia is truly independent. This is now noticeable in foreign policy. You can still safely talk about China. They try to reckon with this state, fearing its power and huge population.
But from the USA you can get your finger in the sky. Let this state be considered the sole hegemon in the world. But it is also connected with Great Britain by the same relations as Canada. Some experts are not even shy about calling the States the satellite of England. Let's leave it to their conscience. The Western world is generally interestingly arranged. At the UN, countries are represented quite independently. And if you get into the documents, it turns out that the British queen rules everything. Surely, no one will deny that the UK is an independent state, since it secretly rules half of the world. And the last example is France. Although this state has to reckon with partners, it is completely independent.
Unrecognized countries
A very big problem for the world community are the territories that have proclaimed their sovereignty. A lot of them. The examples closest to our borders are in the south (Abkhazia and North Ossetia) and in the west (Transnistria, the DNI, and the LPR). All of them strive to become independent states. The problem is recognition. For example, Russia recognized Abkhazia, and the rest of the world decided that this was a piece of Georgia.
There are many such countries in Africa. And Europe is no exception. On its territory there are also unrecognized countries. Northern Cyprus, for example. They do not want to accept this territory into the club of “independent countries”, although it has been living and developing quietly for several decades.
Why are new countries appearing?
The world, as it turns out, is unstable. Let the UN try to protect the state integrity of its members, however, the tendency to change borders is becoming more frequent. The process is objective. People strive to live their community, not obeying those who are considered tyrants. Such self-proclaimed countries are trying to obtain the status of independent states. Republics that arose in eastern Ukraine, for example. Only business is not fast.
It is not enough to have the support of the population and all the attributes of statehood. It is also necessary to obtain the recognition of neighbors on the planet. And each of them does not think about people, but about their own political interests. So it turns out that countries and territories that are real independent states remain unrecognized in the world.