State and Stateness: Contemporary Geopolitical and International Legal Threats

Modern doctrinal approaches to the definition of the concepts of “state” and “statehood” are debatable and sometimes controversial, which necessitates their clarification in view of the existing global and local trends. It is suggested that “statehood” is broader than the concept of “state”. The former is associated with independence, state sovereignty, the existence of state and municipal authorities, a system of legal norms and their international recognition. The main characteristics of statehood include the national selfidentity of the population of the State, the embodiment of the interests of the national community in the State’s independence, recognition of such a State on the world stage and its participation in international relations. The author clarifies that the concept of “statehood” is not identical to “state”. It is determined that the geopolitical and international legal threats that have a direct impact on the sovereignty and independence of the State include: external and internal armed conflicts, uncontrolled migration, global extremism and terrorism; non-linear methods of warfare, creation of new “zones of tension”, energy revolution, growing social and economic inequality, civil conflicts, strengthening of the role of nation-states, cross-border conflicts, etc. It is noted that these factors also have an indirect impact on statehood through the “blurring” of the self-identity of the state’s population, questioning of its sovereignty, and as a result, the loss of legal personality on the world stage. The author emphasizes that the negative consequences of these influences on statehood may lead to the disappearance of the state itself in the historical perspective. That is why timely countermeasures should be taken to counter such geopolitical and international legal threats.