De Facto Power, De Jure Denial: Rethinking Government Recognition Through The Taliban Case

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Khushi Bhati, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow

ABSTRACT

The Taliban’s forceful seizure of power in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 has confronted the international community with one of the most complex and unresolved questions in contemporary public international law: whether, and on what legal basis, the Taliban government ought to be recognised under international law. This paper examines the international legal dimensions of recognition of the Taliban government, drawing on the doctrines of de facto and de jure recognition, the principle of effective control as established in the Tinoco Arbitration (1923), and the emerging doctrine of democratic legitimacy. It engages with recent scholarship, including Hasar (2024), Rahimi and Hazim (2023), Faheem and Khan (2022), and Trivedi (2025), to construct a comprehensive doctrinal argument. The paper argues that while the Taliban satisfies the traditional effectiveness test for government recognition, its profound violations of jus cogens norms, particularly its systematic gender apartheid, coupled with the absence of democratic legitimacy, provide a strong legal and moral basis for withholding de jure recognition. The paper further examines the geopolitical rift between the US-led group of states and the China-Russia bloc, the significance of engagement without recognition, the international legal consequences of non-recognition (including access to state assets, UN representation, and state responsibility), and the role the UN General Assembly may play in resolving this impasse. The paper concludes by arguing that recognition decisions, though largely political in practice, must be guided by international law to avoid adverse legal consequences.

Keywords: Government Recognition, De Facto and De Jure Recognition, Taliban Government, Afghanistan 2021, Democratic Legitimacy, Jus Cogens Norms, State Responsibility.

373. DE FACTO POWER, DE JURE DENIAL- RETHINKING GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION THROUGH THE TALIBAN

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