The increase in the number of States in the 20th century has not abated in recent years. The independence of many small territories comprising the ‘residue’ of the European colonial empires alone accounts for a major increase in States since 1979, while the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the USSR in the early 1990s further augmented the ranks. With these developments, the practice of States and international organisations has developed by substantial measure in respect of self-determination, secession, succession, recognition, de-colonisation, and several other fields. This book discusses the relation between statehood and recognition; the criteria for statehood, especially in view of evolving standards of democracy and human rights; and the application of such criteria in international organisations and between States. Combining a general argument as to the normative significance of statehood with analysis of numerous specific cases, this second edition gives an account of the developments which have led to the birth of so many new States.