World news:
Unrecognized Countries: The World That Isn’t on the Map
Part 1: Western Sahara
By Jacob Dickey

Here in the United States, one often hears stories in the news of Russia invading Ukraine, or Israel and Palestine fighting for territory, but what if there were countries that weren’t even on the map? What if there were places with their own peoples, traditions, and histories whom are by many definitions independent nation-states, but who for one reason or another simply aren’t recognized by the international community. If you haven’t already guessed, there absolutely are. Across the globe there are dozens of states which struggle to form a national identity despite an international community that, for various reasons, are hesitant to recognize their sovereignty. This Series will spotlight three unrecognized countries, and the interesting ways of which they came to be.

One breakaway state fighting hard for its independence is the Sahrawi Arab Democratic republic in Western Sahara. The region of western Sahara has historically been claimed by Spain, Mauritania, and Morocco. The indigenous Saharawi people had been fighting for independence throughout the region’s colonial history until finally a ceasefire was signed between Sahrawi leaders and the Moroccan government (the sole remaining claimant of the territory in the modern era) in 1991 on the condition that a referendum be drafted to decide the fate of the region. The referendum was supposed to take place within 6 months of the signing of the ceasefire, but due to many political actions and appeals to international courts by the Moroccan government, it has still not taken place today.

Today the Sahrawi people control about 20% of the region of Western Sahara with the rest under the control of the Moroccan government. The Moroccan Government controls all of the industrial, trading, and population centers of the region while the Sahrawi land is almost entirely uninhabitable desert. Today 45 of what was once 84 UN member states recognize the Sahrawi Democratic Republic as the legitimate government of all of Western Sahara, but all 39 UN member states that withdrew their recognition have stated that they did so for the purpose of awaiting the outcome of the now 24 years postponed Western Sahara independence referendum. No UN member states recognize Morocco as the legitimate government of Western Sahara, but many countries (including the United States) support a plan of the region becoming an autonomous province region under Moroccan rule.