The politics of digital recognition of states

Abstract The International Relations literature has long argued, as has international law scholarship, that state recognition is the prerogative only of established states: non-state actors hold no such prerogative. Yet, what the existing literature ignores is how the expansion of the transnational digital landscape is transforming the dynamics of the practice of state recognition. In the contemporary age, is it more relevant that a putative state is recognized by another, established, state, or by a multinational corporation? The article does not aim to suggest that one or the other is more or less important. It does aim, however, to bring forward the much-ignored argument that established states, while maintaining their monopoly on the legal aspects of state recognition, no longer hold a monopoly on its practical significance. There are ‘new actors in town’ in the state recognition process which ought not to be ignored. The article engages with the debate and argues that, with the expansion of the digital landscape, multinational corporations are playing a crucial role in defining not only what constitutes a state, but also what that state's official name is and where its borders lie in the expanding digital realm.