What is a country? | The 4 criteria to be a state

1933 Montevideo Convention outlines four key attributes any country must possess if it was to be accepted as a sovereign independent state. But what do these requirements for statehood mean in real terms?

Hello and welcome! My name is James Ker-Lindsay. Here I take an informed look at International Relations with a focus on territorial conflicts, secession, independence movements and new countries. If you like what you see, please do subscribe. If you want more, including exclusive content and benefits, consider becoming a channel member. Many thanks!

It is accepted that any territory that wants to be considered a state must meet four criteria. These are a settled population, a defined territory, government and the ability to enter into relations with other states. These were originally set out in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. Even now, these are the benchmarks used by the UN when judging whether to admit a new member. But what do they mean in real terms? Using examples of current states, I show that there are actually huge variations in each of these attributes. Russia, China, Monaco and Tuvalu are all states, but vastly different in terms of size and population. In fact, one of the key attributes of statehood is even considered in a radically different way in the 21st century.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction and Titles
0:26 The 1933 Montevideo Convention
1:15 Defined Territory
2:29 Settled Population
3:26 Independent Government
4:22 Relations with Other States
5:20 The Four Attributes of Statehood

RELATED VIDEOS
How Does a Country Join the United Nations? The 3 Steps to UN Membership

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FURTHER READING & USEFUL SOURCES

Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States

The Creation of New States in International Law

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MY PROFILES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

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EQUIPMENT & TOOL USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO

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KEYWORDS

#InternationalLaw #MontevideoConvention #Statehood
#InternationalPolitics #UnitedNations #Secession #Independence
#InternationalHistory #InternationalRelations

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[JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed the video and learned something from it. If so, please consider subscribing.

I have also put some more information and links in the description above. Please do leave any comments and suggestions below. I'm particularly keen to hear about any topics you'd like to see me cover in future videos.

[noeminagy]

Dear James, I am an international law professor myself from Hungary, and I can only say you are doing an excellent and helpful job here. I have recommended your channel to my students. Sincerely, Noémi

[speedcubesolver]

Thank you for such informative videos. The public must be educated about such topics and channels like this are doing exactly that job 👍

[ghes]

Hi James, I just want to say thank you for your videos! They have proved extremely useful and have helped me in my preparation for my upcoming International Public Policy Law module, providing me with a strong grounding in key concepts. Direct, informative, and delivered in a clear and concise manner. Much appreciated!

Kind regards,
from an Irish student.

[Asamations]

Thanks for the video James. Countries and how they form really do fascinate me. And so it's interesting finding out how they become a country.

[_iammoses]

Thanks Mr. Ker-Lindsay for this video. Subscribed✅

[RWBHere]

Thank-you for being succinct. Subscribed.

[timor]

What an excellent first video on any YouTube channel...l Going back now binge watching your channel. Your accent and dress became a lot less formal (and to my eyes more authentic) over time....

[playstationsimracing]

"You cannot simply plant a flag on an empty piece of land and call it a country. There needs to be people living there." I pity these innocent native people...

[ImRezaF]

"You cannont simply plant a flag on an empty piece of land and call it a country'

British Empire: yep...about that.

[thomasmason]

I realise that it is a somewhat niche area, but I would be interested in your view of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It certainly possesses a government and has relations with states, but the territory it controls and the population thereof would stretch any definition.

[luxembourgishempire]

This was a very interesting video actually Professor James.
I think it's funny how certain people have just stuck a flag in the middle of uninhabited nowhere and declared it a country. It needs a permanent population! Us Luxembourgers have all the attributes to be a sovereign independent country and we hope to hold onto our independence forever really.
Keep up the good work!

[louiseperriard]

Hey ! Amazing video :) I have a question; I was surprised to see that the de-recognition of countries was a thing. Isn't art. 6 of the Montevideo Convention clear on that ("(...) Recognition is unconditional and irrevocable") ? Thanks :)

[karimboulman]

Hi James, excellent work here. My question is what define a nation ? And what makes one accede to statehood ?

[Magicalfluidprocess]

It seems to me that states /countries are corporations

[princestevenii.]

James, I discovered your channel yesterday and I'm loving it so far. But I have a question. Now, I am no expert. (I'm a high school student.) You were using state and country interchangebly in the video. Isn't there a difference. I mean, the states in the United States of America aren't considered countries.

[kiturselassie]

A country is made up of 2 components,
1.Natiinal security (standing army headed by President aka c-in-c)
2.Treasury(headed by the vice president)

[konstantinpliev]

Watching from South Ossetia and i have no idea why we are not regarded by the international community as a state... We have all these 4 requirements. Thank you for your videos!)

[queenofstrongstyle]

Just came across this. Really good video. In regards to the 1st criteria are there any practices" regarding how a territory is acquired? Does the method of acquiring territory matter in determining "statehood" or is that indirectly taken into account when it comes to international recognition? Awesome video :)

[peacefulworld]

Nice, Western Togoland has already met 3 of the four conditions!
1. She got a defined Territory. Got recognised since 1922 as territory which make it possible for the UN to entrusted her under the caretakership of Britain to be nurtured to independence with conditions.
2. The Territory got a settled population, over 7 million people, based on the 2010 population figures.
3. *Interim government, this is being fought against by the government of Ghana, many of the Governing Council leadership are now in forced exile and some detained.
4*Yet to gain a state to have a relationship with.