US Territorial Statecraft: The Political Economy of Recognition in Contested Lands

<br>What explains the rapid change in sovereign status of key contested territories and the role of the United States in driving these shifts? Theories of great power transitions are insufficient in explaining a surge of US recognition activities and bipartisan support for these bills since 2017. This paper theorises about a new U.S.-centred ‘political economy of recognition’ which considers how new geoeconomic imperatives and domestic political and economic transformations increase the recognition and derecognition of contested states. By analyzing all Congressional and Senate bills on recognition from 1973 to 2024, including bipartisan support, sponsorship and the language and content of these bills, this study argues how economic-security interests and corporate and lobbying generate a new zero-sum, selective market for sovereignty that displaces normative commitments to self-determination and thaws frozen conflicts. Case study analysis further unearths how for new winners recognition is conditional on <b>economic integration into U.S.-led financial and security frameworks. Understanding the</b> US’s strategic use of sovereign recognition contributes to key debates about economic statecraft, incentives that drive foreign policy decisions, territorial disputes and international conflicts in the periphery.