A sovereign state is a state that has the supreme sovereignty or ultimate authority over a territory . It is commonly understood that a sovereign state is independent . When referring to a specific polity , the term " country " may also refer to a constituent country, or a dependent territory .
142-479: The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic ( TDFR ; 22 April – 28 May 1918) was a short-lived state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of the present-day Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia , as well as parts of Russia and Turkey. The state lasted only for a month before Georgia declared independence , followed shortly after by Armenia and Azerbaijan . The region that formed
284-756: A dual power system was established, the Ozakom competing with soviets . With little support from the government in Petrograd, the Ozakom had trouble establishing its authority over the soviets, most prominently the Tiflis Soviet. News of the October Revolution , which brought the Bolsheviks to power in Petrograd on 7 November 1917 [ O.S. 25 October], reached the Caucasus
426-719: A government not under another, and the capacity to interact with other sovereign states . In actual practice, recognition or non-recognition by other states plays an important role in determining the status of a country. Unrecognized states often have difficulty engaging in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states. Since the end of the 19th century, almost the entire globe has been divided into sections (countries) with more or less defined borders assigned to different states. Previously, quite large plots of land were either unclaimed or deserted, or inhabited by nomadic peoples that were not organized into states. However, even in modern states, there are large remote areas, such as
568-639: A Georgian Menshevik, was named the chairman. Ultimately the Seim comprised ten different parties. Three dominated, each representing one major ethnic group: the Georgian Mensheviks and Azerbaijani Musavat party each had 30 members, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) had 27 members. The Bolsheviks boycotted the Seim, asserting that the only legitimate government for Russia (including Transcaucasia)
710-659: A Transcaucasian legislative body had been discussed since November 1917, though it had not been acted on at that time. With the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in January, it became apparent to the leaders of the Commissariat that ties with Russia had been all but severed. With no desire to follow the lead of the Bolsheviks, the Commissariat agreed to establish their own legislative body so that
852-471: A delegation to Trabzon to negotiate peace, and that as the Seim no longer recognized Russian authority they would not acknowledge the provisions of Brest-Litovsk. On 11 March the Ottoman army began their attack on Erzurum and with little hope for success, the mostly Armenian defenders evacuated less than twenty-four hours later. The Trabzon Peace Conference opened on 14 March. At the first session,
994-484: A fact independent of recognition or whether recognition is one of the facts necessary to bring states into being. No definition is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. Some argue that the criteria are mainly political, not legal. L.C. Green cited the recognition of the unborn Polish and Czechoslovak states in World War I and explained that "since recognition of statehood
1136-437: A group of States that have established rules, procedures and institutions for the implementation of relations. Thus, the foundation for international law , diplomacy between officially recognized sovereign states, their organizations and formal regimes has been laid. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of nation-state sovereignty based on territoriality and the absence of a role for external agents in domestic structures. It
1278-732: A jihad against the Allies . In 1915, Ottoman forces successfully fended off an Allied invasion at Gallipoli and captured a large British garrison at Kut . During that year, the CUP initiated the Armenian genocide against the Sultan's wishes, though his private disapproval over his governments' actions was inconsequential. By Mehmed V's death on 3 July 1918, defeat loomed on the Macedonian , Palestinian , and Western fronts . With military collapse in
1420-556: A legal basis in domestic law for the purposes of the Convention". On 9 October 2014, the US's Federal Court stated that "the TRNC purportedly operates as a democratic republic with a president, prime minister, legislature and judiciary". On 2 September 2015, ECtHR decided that "...the court system set up in the "TRNC" was to be considered to have been "established by law" with reference to
1562-402: A limited legacy, and the historical scholarship on the topic is limited. Historians Adrian Brisku and Timothy K. Blauvelt have noted that it "seemed both to the actors at the time and to later scholars of the region to be unique, contingent, and certainly unrepeatable." Stephen F. Jones stated it was "the first and last attempt at an independent Transcaucasian union", while Hovannisian noted that
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#17327935338121704-423: A more or less clear separation between religion and state, and recognized the right of princes "to confessionalize" the state, that is, to determine the religious affiliation of their kingdoms on the pragmatic principle of cuius regio eius religio [ whose realm, his religion ]." Before 1900, sovereign states enjoyed absolute immunity from the judicial process, derived from the concepts of sovereignty and
1846-491: A more powerful neighbour; Belarus, in its relationship with Russia, has been proposed as a contemporary example of a semi-sovereign state. In a somewhat different sense, the term semi-sovereign was famously applied to West Germany by political scientist Peter Katzenstein in his 1987 book Policy and Politics in West Germany: The Growth of a Semi-sovereign State, due to having a political system in which
1988-410: A new entity, but other states do not. Hersch Lauterpacht, one of the theory's main proponents, suggested that a state must grant recognition as a possible solution. However, a state may use any criteria when judging if they should give recognition and they have no obligation to use such criteria. Many states may only recognise another state if it is to their advantage. In 1912, L. F. L. Oppenheim said
2130-602: A new temporary authority, the Special Transcaucasian Committee (known by its Russian abbreviation, Ozakom) on 22 March 1917 [ O.S. 9 March]. It was composed of Caucasian representatives to the Duma (Russian legislature) and other local leaders, it was meant to serve as a "collective viceroyalty", and had representatives from the ethnic groups of the region. Much like in Petrograd ,
2272-873: A potential path to attack British India and access to raw materials in the region, both of which could be blocked by the Ottomans. With the Armenians fighting the Ottoman forces and the Azerbaijanis having their own issues with Bolsheviks controlling Baku , the Georgians concluded that they had no future in the TDFR. On 14 May Jordania went to Batum to request German assistance to help secure Georgian independence. He returned to Tiflis on 21 May and expressed confidence that Georgia could become independent. The Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian representatives from
2414-599: A renewed Ottoman offensive in May ;1918, Georgian delegates in the Seim announced that the TDFR was unable to continue, and declared the Democratic Republic of Georgia independent on 26 May. With the Georgians no longer part of the TDFR, the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan Democratic Republic each declared themselves independent on 28 May, ending the federation. Owing to its short existence,
2556-608: A right-wing faction, primarily in the upper echelons of the CUP-dominated government, would go on to commit genocide against the Armenians . Despite his preference that the country stayed out of further conflict, Mehmed V's most significant political act was to formally declare jihad against the Entente Powers on 14 November 1914, following the Ottoman government's decision to join the First World War on
2698-496: A state as a person of international law if, and only if, it is recognised as sovereign by at least one other state. This theory of recognition was developed in the 19th century. Under it, a state was sovereign if another sovereign state recognised it as such. Because of this, new states could not immediately become part of the international community or be bound by international law, and recognised nations did not have to respect international law in their dealings with them. In 1815, at
2840-416: A state to recognise other states. Recognition is often withheld when a new state is seen as illegitimate or has come about in breach of international law. Almost universal non-recognition by the international community of Rhodesia and Northern Cyprus are good examples of this, the former only having been recognized by South Africa, and the latter only recognized by Turkey. In the case of Rhodesia, recognition
2982-443: A state was defined by having a territory, a population, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states. The Montevideo Convention criteria do not automatically create a state because additional requirements must be met. While they play an important role, they do not determine the status of a country in all cases, such as Kosovo , Rhodesia , and Somaliland . In practice international relations take into account
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#17327935338123124-492: Is a matter of discretion, it is open to any existing State to accept as a state any entity it wishes, regardless of the existence of territory or of an established government." International lawyer Hersch Lauterpacht states that recognition is not merely a formality but an active interpretation in support of any facts. Once made however it cannot be arbitrarily revoked on account of another state's own discretion or internal politics. The constitutive theory of statehood defines
3266-461: Is an international system of states, multinational corporations , and organizations that began with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused. Up until the 19th century, the radicalised concept of a "standard of civilization" was routinely deployed to determine that certain people in the world were "uncivilized", and lacking organised societies. That position
3408-458: Is commonly considered to be such a state. Outlining the concept of a de facto state for EurasiaNet in early 2024, Laurence Broers wrote: De facto states can be understood as a product of the very system that excludes the possibility of their existence: the post-Second World War and post-colonial system of sovereign and equal states covering every centimeter of the globe. The hegemony of this system, at least until recent years,
3550-470: Is most commonly conceptualised as something categorical, which is either present or absent, and the coherence of any intermediate position in that binary has been questioned, especially in the context of international law. In spite of this, some authors admit the concept of a semi-sovereign state , a state which is officially acknowledged as sovereign but whose theoretical sovereignty is significantly impaired in practice, such as by being de facto subjected to
3692-447: Is no precise definition by which public acts can easily be distinguished from private ones. State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be either expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations. There are debates over whether states can exist as
3834-607: Is what created the possibility of a de facto state as an anomaly existing outside of it - or in Alexander Iskandaryan 's memorable phrase, as "temporary technical errors within the system of international law." The Soviet and Yugoslav collapses resulted in the emergence of numerous such entities, several of which, including Abkhazia, Transdniester, South Ossetia and the NKR , survived in the margins of international relations for decades despite non-recognition. Sovereignty
3976-482: Is widely recognized. In political science, sovereignty is usually defined as the most essential attribute of the state in the form of its complete self-sufficiency in the frames of a certain territory, that is its supremacy in the domestic policy and independence in the foreign one. Named after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the Westphalian System of state sovereignty, according to Bryan Turner, "made
4118-425: The 1912 elections were mainly a contest between the CUP and the new Freedom and Accord Party . With the CUP rigging the proceedings to their advantage, the military decided to dispute the results. The Savior Officers demanded the pro-CUP Grand Vizier Mehmed Said Pasha dissolve parliament and to resign, which he did. Mehmed V appointed Ahmed Muhtar Pasha in his place, who formed a national unity government called
4260-699: The Alexandropol , Erivan , and Etchmiadzin , mainly along the course of the Kars– Julfa railway. The territory named would effectively bring all of Armenia into the Ottoman Empire. The railway was desired as the Ottoman forces sought a fast route to North Persia, where they were fighting the British forces in the Persian Campaign , though historian Richard G. Hovannisian has suggested that
4402-461: The Amazon's tropical forests , that are either uninhabited or inhabited exclusively or mainly by indigenous people (and some of them are still not in constant contact). Additionally, there are states where de facto control is contested or where it is not exercised over their whole area. Currently, the international community includes more than 200 sovereign states, most of which are represented in
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic - Misplaced Pages Continue
4544-707: The CUP was forced out of power by the military. This was followed up by the traumatic loss of almost all of the Empire's European territories west of Constantinople (now Istanbul ) in the First Balkan War , and the return of a now radicalized CUP rule in another coup . Eastern Thrace was retaken in the Second Balkan War . The Ottomans entered World War I in November 1914, upon which Mehmed declared
4686-550: The Chamber of Deputies that he would not approve the executions of common criminals and especially political criminals associated with the 31 March uprising. Afterwards, he wasn't able to resist the insistence of the Unionist politicians, and eventually approved their hanging. This was the first of many examples of Sultan Reşad's reluctant approval of many laws, decrees and wills during his reign against his personal convictions and
4828-568: The Congress of Vienna , the Final Act recognised only 39 sovereign states in the European diplomatic system, and as a result, it was firmly established that in the future new states would have to be recognised by other states, and that meant in practice recognition by one or more of the great powers . One of the major criticisms of this law is the confusion caused when some states recognise
4970-502: The Draft Declaration on Rights and Duties of States , and the charters of regional international organizations express the view that all states are juridically equal and enjoy the same rights and duties based upon the mere fact of their existence as persons under international law. The right of nations to determine their own political status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions
5112-670: The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) , etc.). Most sovereign states are both de jure and de facto (i.e., they exist both according to law and in practice). However, states which are only de jure are sometimes recognised as being the legitimate government of a territory over which they have no actual control. For example, during
5254-456: The First Balkan War . The Ottomans made some small gains in the following war , recapturing the peninsula comprising East Thrace up to Edirne , but this was only partial consolation for the Turks: the bulk of Ottoman territories that they had fought to keep had been lost forever. The sudden loss of these enormous swaths of land, which had been Ottoman territory for centuries and were ceded to
5396-539: The First World War continued, the Commissariat initiated peace talks with the Ottoman Empire , which had invaded the region , but the talks broke down quickly as the Ottomans refused to accept the authority of the Commissariat. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , which ended Russia's involvement in the war, conceded parts of the Transcaucasus to the Ottoman Empire, which pursued its invasion to take control of
5538-671: The Khedivate of Egypt proclaimed its independence and was turned into a British protectorate ; these provinces had at least been under nominal Ottoman rule. The proclamation had no noticeable effect on the war, despite the fact that many Muslims lived in Ottoman territories. Some Arabs eventually joined the British forces against the Ottoman Empire with the Arab Revolt in 1916. Mehmed V hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II , his World War I ally, in Constantinople on 15 October 1917. He
5680-542: The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 . With this sudden development, the delegation postponed leaving as they had to reconsider their stance. As the Transcaucasus had not been part of the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, they sent messages to several governments around the world, stating as they were not a party in the peace talks they would not honor the treaty and would not evacuate the territories. The delegation would finally depart on 7 March and arrive at Trabzon
5822-577: The Second World War , governments-in-exile of several states continued to enjoy diplomatic relations with the Allies , notwithstanding that their countries were under occupation by Axis powers . Other entities may have de facto control over a territory but lack international recognition; these may be considered by the international community to be only de facto states. They are considered de jure states only according to their own law and by states that recognise them. For example, Somaliland
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic - Misplaced Pages Continue
5964-584: The Three Pashas . Reşad was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I . He succeeded his half-brother Abdul Hamid II after the 31 March Incident . Coming to power in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt, his nine-year reign featured three coups d'etat, four wars, eleven governments, and numerous uprisings. The Italo-Turkish War saw the cession of the Empire's North African territories and the Dodecanese Islands , including Rhodes , during which
6106-677: The Tomb of Sultan Murad . The visit was recorded on film and photographs by the Manaki brothers . It would soon prove to be the last visit of an Ottoman sultan to the Rumelian provinces before the catastrophe of the Balkan Wars the following year. In the backdrop of the 1912 Albanian revolt and the Italian invasion of Libya , due to the CUP's policies of centralization and Turkish nationalism,
6248-475: The United Nations . These states exist in a system of international relations, where each state takes into account the policies of other states by making its own calculations. From this point of view, States are integrated into the international system of special internal and external security and legitimization of the dilemma. Recently, the concept of the international community has been formed to refer to
6390-467: The constitution was promulgated for the third and final time when Mehmed ascended to the throne (it was retracted during the 1909 and 1878 crisis). However the issue about what to with the 31 March perpetrators revealed who was really in power: Mahmud Şevket Pasha and the Committee of Union and Progress . In the immediate aftermath of the 31 March Incident, Mehmed V persistently informed the members of
6532-441: The declarative theory of statehood defines a state as a person in international law if it meets the following criteria: 1) a defined territory; 2) a permanent population; 3) a government and 4) a capacity to enter into relations with other states. According to declarative theory, an entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states, as long as the sovereignty was not gained by military force. The declarative model
6674-581: The "constitutional and legal basis" on which it operated, and it has not accepted the allegation that the "TRNC" courts as a whole lacked independence and/or impartiality". On 3 February 2017, The United Kingdom's High Court stated "There was no duty in the United Kingdom law upon the Government to refrain from recognizing Northern Cyprus. The United Nations itself works with Northern Cyprus law enforcement agencies and facilitates co-operation between
6816-698: The "perfect equality and absolute independence of sovereigns" has created a class of cases where "every sovereign is understood to waive the exercise of a part of that complete exclusive territorial jurisdiction, which has been stated to be the attribute of every nation". Absolute sovereign immunity is no longer as widely accepted as it has been in the past, and some countries, including the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa, have introduced restrictive immunity by statute, which explicitly limits jurisdictional immunity to public acts, but not private or commercial ones, though there
6958-399: The Commissariat to join the talks at Brest-Litovsk, that did not confer recognition. Finally, Rauf stated that the Ottoman delegation was at Trabzon only to resolve some economic and commercial issues that had not been settled at Brest-Litovsk. Chkhenkeli and his fellow delegates had little option but to request a short recess so they could message the Seim and determine how to proceed. During
7100-494: The Constituent Assembly had its first and only meeting, broken up by the Bolsheviks, thereby effectively consolidating their power in Russia. This confirmed for the Commissariat that they would not be able to work with the Bolsheviks in any serious capacity, and so they began to form a more formal government. The ceasefire between the Ottoman Empire and the Commissariat lasted until 30 January [ O.S. 17 January], when
7242-462: The Empire regardless of ethnicity or religion, in order to foster a communal sense of belonging and allegiance to the Ottoman state. With the loss of the Empire's ethnic minorities in Rumelia and North Africa, the movement's raison d'être also evaporated, and the country's politics soon began to take on a more exclusionary character, centered around Turkish nationalism . The more extreme elements of
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#17327935338127384-561: The Empire's opponents within a span of only two years, was traumatic to the Turks and culminated in the 1913 Ottoman coup d'etat . Muslims in the lost lands were expelled from their homes and emigrated behind the new Ottoman border surrounding Constantinople. The resulting refugee crisis overwhelmed municipal authorities. It also spelt the end of the Ottomanism movement, which for several decades had advocated equal rights to all citizens of
7526-525: The German and Ottoman Empires were nominally allies, the relationship had deteriorated in the preceding months, as the German public had not approved of reports that the Ottoman government was massacring Christians, nor did the German government appreciate the Ottoman army's advance into territory not agreed to at Brest-Litovsk. The Germans also had their own strategic interests in the Caucasus: they wanted both
7668-731: The Great Cabinet. Martial law was declared. With defeat in the Balkan Wars , Muhtar Pasha resigned, and was replaced by Kâmil Pasha. Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire lost all its remaining territory in North Africa ( Tripolitania , Cyrenaica and Fezzan ) and the Dodecanese to Italy in the Italo-Turkish War and nearly all its European territories (except for a small strip of land west of Constantinople) in
7810-476: The Musavats claimed their driving force was "conscience not fear", it was in reality "fear and not conscience". He concluded that they would all regret this act. When the debate finished, Davit Oniashvili , an ethnic Georgian Menshevik, proposed the motion for the Seim "to proclaim Transcaucasia an independent democratic federative republic". Some deputies left the chamber as they did not want to vote in favor of
7952-532: The Musavats, who represented Azerbaijani interests, were still hesitant to fight fellow Muslims, but conceded that independence was the only way to ensure the region would not be divided by foreign states. The only major opposition came from the Socialist Revolutionary Party , when one of their representatives, Lev Tumanov [ ru ] , argued that the people of Transcaucasia did not support such an action. He also argued that while
8094-727: The October Revolution, the central authority had ceased to exist in Transcaucasia. An independent government had been formed and that since it had acted like a state when it discussed the invitation to the Brest-Litovsk peace talks, it qualified as a sovereign state, even if independence had not been explicitly proclaimed. Rauf refuted the argument, asserting that the Sovnarkom had authority over all of Russia and even though Ottoman representatives had sent messages to
8236-417: The Ottoman Empire, a response to the 1915 genocide and continued attacks on Armenian civilians, while only the Azerbaijanis resisted going to war, as they were reluctant to fight fellow Muslims. Azerbaijanis were outvoted and on 14 April the Seim declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Immediately after the voting finished, Tsereteli and Jordania left to join the defense of Batum, while the delegation in Trabzon
8378-448: The Ottoman army launched a new offensive into the Caucasus, claiming it was to retaliate against sporadic attacks by Armenian militias on the Muslim population in occupied Ottoman territory. With Russian forces largely withdrawn from the front, the Commissariat realized that they would not be able to resist a full-scale advance by the Ottoman forces, and so on 23 February agreed to start a new round of peace talks. The idea to establish
8520-428: The Ottoman delegates ignored. Both sides invited observers: the TDFR brought a small German contingent, led by General Otto von Lossow , while the Ottoman delegates had representatives from the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus , an unrecognized state they were backing. Chkhenkeli wished to proceed on the basis of the Brest-Litovsk terms, but this was refused by the Ottoman delegation, led by Halil Bey ,
8662-402: The Ottoman forces, split into two groups, were 40 km (25 mi) from Erevan and 120 km (75 mi) from Tiflis. With this threat, the TDFR reached out to Von Lossow and the Germans in hopes of securing their help and protection. Von Lossow had previously offered to mediate between the TDFR and the Ottoman Empire on 19 May, though this had not led to any progress. While
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#17327935338128804-481: The Ottoman government turned against the Armenians, and initiated a genocide by 1915, in which around 1 million Armenians were killed. The 1917 February Revolution saw the demise of the Russian Empire and the establishment of a provisional government in Russia. The Viceroy of the Caucasus, Grand Duke Nicholas , initially expressed his support for the new government, yet he was forced to resign his post as imperial power eroded. The provisional government created
8946-477: The Ottoman invasion. In his second speech, Tsereteli blamed the Azerbaijanis for failing to support the defense of the TDFR and declared that as the federation had failed it was time for Georgia to proclaim itself independent. At 15:00 the motion was passed: "Because on the questions of war and peace there arose basic differences among the peoples who had created the Transcaucasian Republic, and because it became impossible to establish one authoritative order speaking in
9088-431: The Ottoman minister of justice. Halil Bey argued that as the two states were in conflict, the Ottoman would no longer recognize Brest-Litovsk and instead presented Chkhenkeli with a duly prepared draft treaty. The treaty contained twelve articles which called for the Ottoman Empire to be ceded not only the oblasts of Kars and Batum , but also the uezds of Akhalkalaki , Akhaltsikhe , Surmalu , and large parts of
9230-443: The Ottomans continued their advance into Transcaucasian territory and shortly after occupied both Erzerum and Kars. Upon its establishment, the TDFR had no cabinet to lead the new government. The Commissariat had been dissolved when independence was declared, and Gegechkori refused to continue in a leadership position, feeling he had lost support to do so. Though it had been agreed during the Seim debates that Chkhenkeli would take up
9372-413: The Seim met on 21 May to discuss the future of the TDFR and agreed that it was not likely to last much longer. The next day the Georgians met alone and resolved that independence was their only logical choice. Jordania and Zurab Avalishvili drafted a declaration of independence on 22 May, before Jordania left again for Batum to meet Von Lossow. On 24 May Von Lossow replied that he
9514-414: The South Caucasus, and was set to serve in that role until the Russian Constituent Assembly could meet in January 1918. Evgeni Gegechkori , a Georgian, was named the president and Commissar of External Affairs of the Commissariat. The other commissariats were split between Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, and Russians. Formed with the express purpose of being a caretaker government, the Commissariat
9656-402: The TDFR had been part of the Russian Empire . As the empire dissolved during the 1917 February Revolution and a provisional government took over, a similar body, called the Special Transcaucasian Committee (Ozakom), did the same in the Caucasus. After the October Revolution and rise of the Bolsheviks in Russia, the Transcaucasian Commissariat replaced the Ozakom. In March 1918, as
9798-432: The TDFR has been largely ignored in the national historiographies of the region and has been given consideration only as the first stage towards independent states. Most of the South Caucasus had been absorbed by the Russian Empire in the first half of the nineteenth century. A Caucasian Viceroyalty had originally been established in 1801 to allow for direct Russian rule, and over the next several decades local autonomy
9940-435: The TDFR that were based on agreement with their neighbors. He further laid out a platform with five main points: write a constitution; delineate borders; end the war; combat counter-revolution and anarchy; and land reform. A new peace conference was convened at Batum on 11 May, with both Chkhenkeli and Vehib in attendance. Before the conference, Chkhenkeli repeated his request to have the other Central Powers present, which
10082-415: The Tiflis Soviet, the Ozakom, and other groups on 28 November [ O.S. 15 November] decided to end the Ozakom and replace it with a new body, the Transcaucasian Commissariat , which would not be subservient to the Bolsheviks. Composed of representatives from the four major ethnic groups in the region (Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, and Russians) it replaced the Ozakom as the government of
10224-485: The Transcaucasian Seim to accept this position. He initially asked that Batum remain part of the Transcaucasus, arguing that as the major port in the region it was an economic necessity. The Ottomans refused the proposal, making it clear that they would only accept the terms of Brest-Litovsk, to which Chkhenkeli conceded. Acting on his own accord, on 9 April Chkhenkeli agreed to negotiate further based on
10366-545: The Transcaucasus could have a legitimate government and negotiate with the Ottoman Empire more properly. Thus on 23 February they established the " Seim " ("legislature") in Tiflis. No election was held for the deputies; instead, the results for the Constituent Assembly election were used, the electoral threshold being lowered to one-third of that used for the Constituent Assembly to allow more members to join, which allowed smaller parties to be represented. Nikolai Chkheidze ,
10508-477: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Vehib also told Ilia Odishelidze , who was also taking orders from the Commissariat, that in light of attacks by Armenian forces on the population near Erzurum , Ottoman forces would have to advance to keep the peace, warning that any hostile reply would be met with force. These requests were replied to directly by Chkheidze as Chairman of the Seim, who noted that the Transcaucasus had sent
10650-567: The Westphalian equality of states . First articulated by Jean Bodin , the powers of the state are considered to be suprema potestas within territorial boundaries. Based on this, the jurisprudence has developed along the lines of affording immunity from prosecution to foreign states in domestic courts. In The Schooner Exchange v. M'Faddon , Chief Justice John Marshall of the United States Supreme Court wrote that
10792-647: The actions of the TDFR during its short existence demonstrated that it "was not independent, democratic, federative, or a republic". Under Bolshevik rule, the three successor states would be forcibly reunited within the Soviet Union as the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic . This state lasted from 1922 to 1936 before being broken up again into three union republics : the Armenian , Azerbaijani , and Georgian Soviet Socialist Republics . Within
10934-594: The arrival of the Action Army to Istanbul. Although he ascended to the throne with the title of Mehmed V, he was called Sultan Reşad by the people. His Cülûs [ tr ] ceremony was held in the Ministry of War building (now part of Istanbul University ) in Beyazıt . The new sultan boarded the İhsaniye from Dolmabahçe Palace to Sirkeci , during which he received a gun salute that frightened him. As he
11076-477: The care of his father's senior consort Servetseza Kadın . She had asked Abdulmejid to take the motherless children under her wing, and raised as her own, and carried out the duties of a mother who cares for her children with compassion and concern. In 1856, aged twelve, he was ceremoniously circumcised together with his younger half-brothers, Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin , Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin , and Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin . Reşad received his education at
11218-562: The city until it was evacuated on 25 April. Having captured most of their claimed territory and unwilling to lose more soldiers, the Ottoman delegates offered another truce on 22 April and waited for the Transcaucasians to reply. In the face of Ottoman military superiority, the Georgian National Council decided that the only option was for Transcaucasia to declare itself an independent state. The idea
11360-551: The community that has the intention to inhabit the territory permanently and is capable to support the superstructure of the State, though there is no requirement of a minimum population. The government must be capable of exercising effective control over a territory and population (the requirement known in legal theory as "effective control test") and guarantee the protection of basic human rights by legal methods and policies. The "capacity to enter into relations with other states" reflects
11502-476: The concept of " government-in-exile " is predicated upon that distinction. States are non-physical juridical entities, not organisations of any kind. However, ordinarily, only the government of a state can obligate or bind the state, for example by treaty. Generally speaking, states are durable entities, though they can become extinguished, either through voluntary means or outside forces, such as military conquest. Violent state abolition has virtually ceased since
11644-465: The constitution, and he soon developed a disinterest in statecraft. On May 5, 1909, Ahmed Tevfik Pasha , Abdul Hamid II's last grand vizier who was appointed in the middle of the 31 March Crisis, resigned under the pressure from the CUP, and a new government more favorable to the committee was formed under the grand viziership of Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha . The Albanian Revolt of 1910 broke out and
11786-404: The effect of recognition and non-recognition. It is the act of recognition that affirms whether a country meets the requirements for statehood and is now subject to international law in the same way that other sovereign states are. State practice relating to the recognition of states typically falls somewhere between the declaratory and constitutive approaches. International law does not require
11928-553: The end of World War II. Because states are non-physical juridical entities, it has been argued that their extinction cannot be due to physical force alone. Instead, the physical actions of the military must be associated with the correct social or judiciary actions for a state to be abolished. The ontological status of the state has been a subject of debate, especially, whether or not the state, being an object that no one can see, taste, touch, or otherwise detect, actually exists. It has been argued that one potential reason as to why
12070-665: The entity's degree of independence. Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention declares that political statehood is independent of recognition by other states, and the state is not prohibited from defending itself. A similar opinion about "the conditions on which an entity constitutes a state" is expressed by the European Economic Community Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee , which found that
12212-447: The existence of states has been controversial is because states do not have a place in the traditional Platonist duality of the concrete and the abstract. Characteristically, concrete objects are those that have a position in time and space, which states do not have (though their territories have a spatial position, states are distinct from their territories), and abstract objects have a position in neither time nor space, which does not fit
12354-587: The field and the Arab Revolt spelling impending disaster, the Ottomans signed the Armistice of Mudros , though by then he was dead, and succeeded by Mehmed VI . Prince Mehmed Reşad was born on 2 November 1844 at the Çırağan Palace , Constantinople. His father was Sultan Abdulmejid I , and his mother was Gülcemal Kadın . He had three elder sisters, Fatma Sultan , Refia Sultan and Hatice Sultan (Refia Sultan's twin sister, died in infancy). After his mother's death in 1851, he and his sisters were entrusted to
12496-595: The fighting paused, on 16 January 1918 [ O.S. 3 January], Ottoman diplomats invited the Commissariat to join the peace talks in Brest-Litovsk , where the Bolsheviks were negotiating an end to the war with the Central Powers . As the Commissariat did not want to act independently of Russia, they did not answer the invitation and thus did not participate in the peace talks there. Two days later, on 18 January [ O.S. 5 January],
12638-463: The following day. The Tiflis Soviet met and declared their opposition to the Bolsheviks. Three days later the idea of an autonomous local government was first expressed by Noe Jordania , a Georgian Menshevik , who argued that the Bolshevik seizure of power was illegal and that the Caucasus should not follow their directives, and wait until order was restored. A further meeting of representatives from
12780-464: The following, regarding constitutive theory: International Law does not say that a State is not in existence as long as it is not recognised, but it takes no notice of it before its recognition. Through recognition only and exclusively a State becomes an International Person and a subject of International Law. Recognition or non-recognition by other states can override declarative theory criteria in cases such as Kosovo and Somaliland . By contrast,
12922-713: The giant pendant medallions of the Hagia Sophia . In addition to Persian literature , Mehmed was also interested in Mevlevi Sufism and the Masnavi . He enjoyed the company of his uncle Abdul Aziz . Mehmed became crown-prince in 1876 with the ascension of his brother Abdul Hamid II , but was essentially kept under house arrest in Dolmabahçe Palace , and was under close surveillance. Abdul Hamid made sure to not personally communicate with him. After
13064-454: The increase in the number of states can partly be credited to a more peaceful world, greater free trade and international economic integration, democratisation, and the presence of international organisations that co-ordinate economic and political policies. Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( Ottoman Turkish : محمد خامس , romanized : Meḥmed-i ḫâmis ; Turkish : V. Mehmed or Mehmed Reşad ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918)
13206-487: The international system has surged. Some research suggests that the existence of international and regional organisations, the greater availability of economic aid, and greater acceptance of the norm of self-determination have increased the desire of political units to secede and can be credited for the increase in the number of states in the international system. Harvard economist Alberto Alesina and Tufts economist Enrico Spolaore argue in their book, Size of Nations, that
13348-536: The lead Ottoman delegate, Rauf Bey , asked the Transcaucasian delegation whom they represented. Akaki Chkhenkeli , the head of the Transcaucasian delegation, was unable to give a proper response as it was not clear to him or his associates who they represented. When the question was repeated two days later, Rauf also asked Chkhenkeli to clarify the make-up of their state, to determine if it qualified as one under international law . Chkhenkeli clarified that since
13490-485: The lifting of many restrictions in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution Mehmed earned popularity as crown prince by attending ceremonies that celebrated the constitution , much to the chagrin of his previously absolutist brother. His reign began at the conclusion of the 31 March Incident on 27 April 1909, which resulted in the deposition of his brother Abdul Hamid II. Mehmed came to
13632-581: The location deliberately chosen so that he could travel to Tiflis if necessary, something that was not possible from Trabzon. Upset at Chkhenkeli's actions over the previous days, namely the evacuation of Kars, the Dashnaks initially refused to join the cabinet. They negotiated with the Mensheviks but relented when the latter warned they would only support Chkhenkeli or Hovhannes Kajaznuni , an Armenian. The Mensheviks knew that electing Kajaznuni would give
13774-512: The matter, so the motion passed with few dissents. The new republic, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR), immediately sent a message to Vehib Pasha announcing this development and expressing their will to accept the provisions of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and surrendered Kars to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire recognized the TDFR on 28 April. Despite this recognition,
13916-425: The modern states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, the TDFR is largely ignored in their respective national historiography , given consideration only as the first stage towards their own independent states. 41°45′N 44°45′E / 41.75°N 44.75°E / 41.75; 44.75 Sovereign state A sovereign state is usually required to have a permanent population, defined territory,
14058-618: The name of all Transcaucasia, the Seim certifies the fact of the dissolution of Transcaucasia and lays down its powers." Most delegates left the chamber, leaving only the Georgians, who were shortly joined by members of the Georgian National Council. Jordania then read the Georgian declaration of independence and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Georgia . This was followed two days later with an Armenian declaration of independence , followed quickly by Azerbaijan doing
14200-470: The new sultan's carriage trip around the city, during which he cheerfully greeted his subjects, created great excitement among the people of Istanbul. Because of his house imprisonment, Mehmed sat on the throne at the age of 65 and with no experience in state affairs. Due to his meek and weak-willed personality and the strength of the Young Turk movement, the government was firmly out of his hands. When
14342-401: The next day. On arrival, the delegation, comprising ten delegates and another fifty guards, was held up as the guards were asked to disarm. The unusually large delegation was made up of individuals selected to represent the diverse ethnic groups and political factions that composed the Seim; on their arrival an Ottoman official quipped that "[i]f this was the entire population of Transcaucasia, it
14484-421: The ontological state of the state is. Realists believe that the world is one of only states and interstate relations and the identity of the state is defined before any international relations with other states. On the other hand, pluralists believe that the state is not the only actor in international relations and interactions between states and the state is competing against many other actors. Another theory of
14626-464: The ontology of the state is that the state is a spiritual, or "mystical entity" with its own being, distinct from the members of the state. The German Idealist philosopher Georg Hegel (1770–1831) was perhaps the greatest proponent of this theory. The Hegelian definition of the state is "the Divine Idea as it exists on Earth". Since the end of World War II, the number of sovereign states in
14768-541: The palace. Halid Ziya, the chief clerk of the Chamberlain's office between 1909 and 1912, described this as being a poor one. Thanks to his comparatively high intelligence, however, he made good use of the education he had and used it to go further. He studied Arabic and Persian , and spoke the latter very well. He took piano lessons from an Italian pianist and calligraphy lessons from a famous Ottoman calligrapher, Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi (1801–1876), who designed
14910-453: The perception that the TDFR intended to keep fighting to defend Armenian territory, and it was feared that this would see the Azerbaijanis leave the federation and make it easier for Ottoman forces to threaten the rest of Armenia, a proposition the Dashnaks were not eager to endorse. The cabinet was confirmed by the Seim on 26 April, consisting of thirteen members. Chkhenkeli, aside from being prime minister, assumed foreign minister's office,
15052-563: The present day, has never had a meaning, which was universally agreed upon." In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia , "sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all". Sovereignty has taken on a different meaning with the development of the principle of self-determination and the prohibition against the threat or use of force as jus cogens norms of modern international law . The United Nations Charter ,
15194-483: The real reason was to allow them a means to reach Baku and access the oil production around the city. Giving the TDFR several days to consider their options, the Ottoman forces resumed their military advances into Armenia on 21 May. They engaged the Armenians at the battles of Bash Abaran , Sardarapat and Kara Killisse , but could not defeat the Armenians decisively. As a result, their advance slowed down, and eventually, they were forced to retreat. By 22 May
15336-500: The recess at Trabzon, the Ottoman forces continued their advance into the Transcaucasian territory, crossing the 1914 border with the Russian Empire by the end of March. The Seim debated the best course of action; a majority of the delegates favored a political solution. On 20 March the Ottoman delegates offered that the Seim could only return to negotiations if they declared independence, thereby confirming that Transcaucasus
15478-489: The recognition of a country is a political issue. On 2 July 2013, The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that "notwithstanding the lack of international recognition of the regime in the northern area, a de facto recognition of its acts may be rendered necessary for practical purposes. Thus the adoption by the authorities of the "TRNC" of civil, administrative or criminal law measures, and their application or enforcement within that territory, may be regarded as having
15620-469: The region began exporting oil and became a major economic hub. Ethnically the region was highly diverse. The three major local groups were Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians; Russians had also established themselves after the Russian Empire absorbed the area. With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Caucasus became a major theatre , the Russian and Ottoman Empires fighting each other in
15762-608: The region. The Russians won several battles and penetrated deep into Ottoman territory. However, they were concerned that the local population, who were mostly Muslims , would continue to follow the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed ;V and disrupt the Russian forces, as he was also the caliph , the spiritual leader of Islam. Both sides also wanted to use the Armenian population, who lived across the border, to their advantage and foment uprisings. After military defeats,
15904-436: The remaining positions being split among Armenians (four), Azerbaijanis (five), and Georgians (three). Azerbaijanis and Georgians took up the leading positions in the cabinet, an act that historian Firuz Kazemzadeh said revealed as "the relationship of forces in Transcaucasia" at the time. In his inaugural address to the Seim, Chkhenkeli announced that he would work to ensure all citizens had equality and to establish borders for
16046-402: The role of documents in understanding all of social reality. Quasi-abstract objects, such as states, can be brought into being through document acts, and can also be used to manipulate them, such as by binding them by treaty or surrendering them as the result of a war. Scholars in international relations can be broken up into two different practices, realists and pluralists, of what they believe
16188-468: The role of prime minister, he refused to serve in a caretaker position until a new cabinet could be formed. The cabinet was not finalized until 26 April, so for three days the TDFR effectively had no executive. With pressing needs to attend to, Chkhenkeli took up his role as prime minister. He ordered the Armenian forces to cease fighting and also requested Vehib to meet him for peace negotiations in Batum,
16330-417: The same , creating the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan Democratic Republic , respectively. All three newly independent states signed a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire on 4 June, effectively ending that conflict. Armenia then later engaged in brief wars with both Azerbaijan (1918–1920) and Georgia (December 1918) to determine its final borders. As the TDFR lasted only a month, it has had
16472-460: The side of the Central Powers . He was actually said to look with disfavour on the pro-German policy of Enver Pasha , but could do little to prevent war due to the sultanate's diminished influence. This was the last genuine proclamation of jihad in history by a Caliph , as the Caliphate was abolished in 1924. As a direct result of the declaration of war, the British annexed Cyprus , while
16614-514: The sovereignty of the state was subject to limitations both internal (West Germany's federal system and the role of civil society) and external (membership in the European Community and reliance on its alliance with the United States and NATO for its national security). Although the terms "state" and "government" are often used interchangeably, international law distinguishes between a non-physical state and its government; and in fact,
16756-554: The sultan was asked to take a more proactive approach to politics when partisanship took hold, Mehmed V responded "If I was to interfere in every matter during the Constitutional Monarchy administration, what was [my] brother's fault?" He also claimed that he had to be subservient to the Unionists in order to save the sultanate, otherwise the Unionists would have declared a republic. Despite its shaky foundations,
16898-407: The supposed characteristics of states either, since states do have a temporal position (they can be created at certain times and then become extinct at a future time). Therefore, it has been argued that states belong to a third category, the quasi-abstract, that has recently begun to garner philosophical attention, especially in the area of Documentality , an ontological theory that seeks to understand
17040-447: The terms set out, though requested that representatives from the other Central Powers participate in the talks. Rauf replied that such a request could only be considered if the Transcaucasus were an independent state. Tired of fruitless negotiations and realizing that the contested territories could be occupied by force, Ottoman officials issued an ultimatum to the defenders in Batum, ordering it evacuated by 13 April. While Chkhenkeli
17182-455: The territory. Faced with this imminent threat, on 22 April 1918 the Commissariat dissolved itself and established the TDFR as an independent state. A legislature, the Seim, was formed to direct negotiations with the Ottoman Empire, which had immediately recognized the state. Diverging goals of the three major groups ( Armenians , Azerbaijanis , and Georgians ) quickly jeopardized the TDFR's existence. Peace talks again broke down and, facing
17324-513: The throne largely as a figurehead with no real political power. At the age of 64, Mehmed V was the oldest person to ascend the Turkish throne. It was decided to use the name "Mehmed" as his regal name, not his real name "Reşad". This name change was made upon the suggestion of Ferik Sami Pasha, to establish a connection between Mehmed the Conqueror 's entry into Constantinople with his army and
17466-710: The two parts of the island". and revealed that the co-operation between the United Kingdom police and law agencies in Northern Cyprus is legal. Turkish Cypriots gained "observer status" in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) , and their representatives are elected in the Assembly of Northern Cyprus. As a country, Northern Cyprus became an observer member in various international organizations (the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),
17608-579: Was announced that the peace talks at Brest-Litovsk had concluded, and the Russians would sign a peace treaty. Contained within the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was the agreement that the Russians would give up large swaths of land to the Ottoman Empire, including major regions in the Transcaucasus: the territories of Ardahan , Batum Oblast , and Kars Oblast , all of which had been annexed by Russia after
17750-451: Was debated in the Seim on 22 April, the Georgians leading the debate, noting that the Ottoman representatives had agreed to resume peace talks provided that the Transcaucasus would meet them as an independent state. The choice to move forward was not unanimous initially: the mostly Armenian Dashnaks felt that the best option at the time was to stop the Ottoman military's advance, though they were reluctant to give up so much territory, while
17892-441: Was expressed in the 1933 Montevideo Convention . A "territory" in the international law context consists of land territory, internal waters, territorial sea, and air space above the territory. There is no requirement on strictly delimited borders or minimum size of the land, but artificial installations and uninhabitable territories cannot be considered as territories sufficient for statehood. The term "permanent population" defines
18034-706: Was girded with the sword of Osman in the Eyüp Mausoleum by the Shaykh al-Islam Saygı Efendi and Postnişini Abdülhalim Efendi of the Mevlevi Order . Mehmed V then boarded the royal carriage and visited the tomb of Mehmed the Conqueror in the Fatih Mosque , after which he returned to the Dolmabahçe. Since the sultan was not seen on the streets of Istanbul during the long years of Abdul Hamid's reign,
18176-608: Was indeed very small; if, however, it was only a delegation, it was much too large." While the delegates waited for the conference in Trabzon to begin, the head of the Ottoman Third Army , Vehib Pasha , sent a request on 10 March to Evgeny Lebedinskii [ ru ] , a former Russian general who had begun to follow orders from the Commissariat, to evacuate the Ardahan, Batum, and Kars areas, as stipulated by
18318-441: Was leaving Sirkeci to Beyazıt in the royal carriage, the people of Istanbul lined up on both sides of the road and enthusiastically applauded as he passed by. In his speech after the bay'ah prayer, he declared, "I am the first sultan of liberty and I am proud of it!" and from then on Mehmed V was known as the "Constitutional Sultan." On May 10, 1909, the sultan boarded the yacht Söğütlü in front of Dolmabahçe and went to Eyüp . He
18460-531: Was made Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia on 27 January 1916, and of the German Empire on 1 February 1916. He was also made a Feldmarschall of Austria-Hungary on 19 May 1918. Mehmed V died at Yıldız Palace on 3 July 1918 at the age of 73, only four months before the end of World War I. Thus, he did not live to see the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. He spent most of his life at
18602-462: Was no longer part of Russia. The idea of independence had arisen before, the Georgians having discussed it in depth in preceding years; it was decided against as the Georgian leadership felt the Russians would not approve it and the Menshevik political ideology leaned away from nationalism. By 5 April, Chkhenkeli accepted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as a basis for further negotiations and urged
18744-408: Was not able to govern strongly: it was dependent on national councils, formed around the same time and based on ethnic lines, for military support and was effectively powerless to enforce any laws it passed. With Russian and Ottoman forces still nominally engaged in the region, a temporary ceasefire, the Armistice of Erzincan , was signed on 18 December 1917 [ O.S. 5 December]. With
18886-433: Was only authorized to work with the TDFR as a whole; as it was becoming apparent that it would not last long, he would have to leave Trabzon and consult with his government on how to proceed further. On 26 May Tsereteli gave two speeches in the Seim. In the first, he explained that the TDFR was unable to continue as there was a lack of unity among the people and that ethnic strife led to a division of action in regards to
19028-402: Was ordered to return to Tiflis immediately. Some Azerbaijani delegates defied this order and remained there, seeking potential negotiation, though nothing came of this. The military superiority of the Ottoman forces became apparent right away. They occupied Batum on 14 April, with little resistance. They also attacked Kars, but a force of 3,000 Armenian soldiers, with artillery support, held
19170-481: Was receptive to the loss of Batum, recognizing its importance but accepting that it was part of the terms at Brest-Litovsk, the Georgian members of the Seim were adamant about keeping the city, Gegechkori noting that it could be defended quite easily. Irakli Tsereteli , a Georgian Menshevik, gave an impassioned speech calling for the defense of the city and asked the Seim to denounce the Brest-Litovsk treaty altogether. Armenian delegates had long been in support of fighting
19312-556: Was reduced and Russian control was further consolidated, the Viceroyalty gaining greater power in 1845. Tiflis (now Tbilisi), which had been the capital of the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti , became the seat of the viceroy and the de facto capital of the region. The South Caucasus was overwhelmingly rural: aside from Tiflis the only other city of significance was Baku , which grew in the late nineteenth century as
19454-432: Was reflected and constituted in the notion that their "sovereignty" was either completely lacking or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of the "civilized" people". Lassa Oppenheim said, "There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is an indisputable fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until
19596-592: Was suppressed by the Şevket Pasha, now War Minister . The assassination of Ahmet Samim Bey and the Western-sponsored integration of the Cretan State into Greece threw the sultan into a fit of depression. In June 1911, he embarked on an imperial tour of Selânik (Salonica, today Thessaloniki ) and Manastır (today Bitola ), stopping by Florina on the way. He also visited Üsküp ( Skopje ) and Priştine ( Pristina ), where he attended Friday prayers at
19738-484: Was the Bolshevik-controlled Council of People's Commissars (known by its Russian acronym, Sovnarkom). From the outset, the Seim faced challenges to its authority. With a diverse ethnic and political makeup and no clear status to its authority, there was conflict both within its chambers and outside. It was largely dependent on national councils, represented by the three main ethnic groups, and
19880-496: Was the penultimate sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a constitutional monarch , interfering little when it came to government affairs, though the constitution was held with little regard by his ministries . The first half of his reign was marked by contentious politicking between factions of the Young Turks , and the second half by war and domination of the Committee of Union and Progress and
20022-420: Was unable to proceed without their consent. Thus the Ottoman offer to renew peace talks and a willingness to meet in Tiflis, where the Seim was based, was refused, as the Seim felt it would only showcase the internal disagreements taking place. Instead they agreed to travel to Trabzon , in northeast Anatolia . A delegation representing the Seim was scheduled to depart for Trabzon on 2 March, but that day it
20164-517: Was widely withheld when the white minority seized power and attempted to form a state along the lines of Apartheid South Africa , a move that the United Nations Security Council described as the creation of an "illegal racist minority régime". In the case of Northern Cyprus, recognition was withheld from a state created in Northern Cyprus. International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence, and
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