| @esumid: Actually, the UN hasn't passed judgment on whether or not Kosovo is a sovereign country. As of this date the UN has failed to approve UN membership for Kosovo, but that's not quite the same thing. I don't have a problem with user's comment (after all, it's clear it's his personal opinion, and he acknowledges that it's contrary to the Sporcle consensus), but if we were to follow the United Nations qualification then Taiwan wouldn't be a country, as Taiwan is not recognized by the UN. Since Taiwan is very clearly a sovereign country in every respect (save UN membership) it leads me to question whether UN membership is the sine qua non for being a sovereign country. Nearly every country in the world has relations with Taiwan that look suspiciously like diplomatic relations under a different name. This stems from the PRC's refusal to have diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes Taiwan. It's pretty clear that barring Chinese pressure under that policy most countries in the world would have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan (as they have had in the past). Switzerland just became a UN member in 2002, was it not a sovereign country for many decades before doing so? Three of the oldest sovereign countries in Europe: Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino became UN members in 1993, 1993, and 1992 respectively. Where they not sovereign countries for many decades before doing so? My point being that recognition by other nations is an important consideration, but UN membership is just one indication of international recognition. Kosovo and Taiwan are both de facto sovereign countries that don't at the present time have membership in the UN. Both countries enjoy substantial, but by no means universal, recognition. |
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