Kosheleva M.S.

Donetsk National University of the Economics and Trade

named after Michail Tugan-Baranovsky, Ukraine

The problem of puppet states in the history of politology

At the present stage of human development the political struggle is becoming more drastic. In connection with this the diversity and effectiveness of methods of achievement of certain political goals also increase. Quite often, in different kinds of propaganda the term "puppet state" is used. The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and role of this phenomenon.

Puppet state - a term denoting a state governed from outside by another State. [1] It can have two meanings:

1. The state, which existence depends on external forces, followed by a foreign power in all key areas of the policy. Such authority may be called the "puppet mode", which is subordinated to another State in the international system, although formally independent.

2. The state, created as a result of foreign military intervention. In this case we can talk about the successor State, which is created and maintained by an external force. [2]

According to this interpretation, the puppet state has a lack of democracy (because its policy is determined from the outside), or the lack of sovereignty (because it was created by an external force in violation of the rules of sovereign succession). For this reason, the term "puppet state" only applies to the modern world, which means that each state exists only according to the will of its people. With regard to antiquity, more preferably terms vassal state, and others used. [1], [2]

The term is often used in political struggle, it is understood as such a state is not legal.

The first puppet state in the modern sense was the Batavian Republic, established in the Netherlands during the wars of revolutionary France. During the Napoleonic Wars there were a number of other states dependent on France.

At the end of the XIX and first half of XX centuries, Japan has set its sights on building in Southeast Asia, the so-called "Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere", headed by itself.[3] The struggle for dominance has reached its apogee during the Second World War. This struggle caused the creation of a number of puppet states.

A classic example of puppet modes in the so-called homelands created under apartheid in South Africa. Formally, they are considered national autonomy with their own governments, the diplomatic apparatus, army and citizenship. In fact, all blacks were deprived of citizenship of South Africa, and got the Bantustan citizenship instead it. In such circumstances they found themselves on the mainland of South Africa on the rights of the foreign labor force, limited in movement, and not involved in the political system. Indian reserves in the U.S. and Canada are rough analogues of the Bantustans, but the coincidence is not a perfect match. In modern politics, the word "Bantustan" is the byword, and designates the backward puppet state based on ethnicity.

In today's world, the term "puppet state" has a negative connotation, and therefore often used by various opponents in a political struggle. Definition of a State as a "puppet" in connection with this will certainly be challenged by the other party.

Nevertheless, the question of whether to consider some of the states as puppet ones has not yet closed and is relevant.

Some scientists call "puppet" all countries of the former "world socialist camp", which were part of the Warsaw Pact because of the strong dependence of local governing parties of the USSR, the placement of Soviet garrisons, etc. [4]

Opponents of the Iraq war usually consider an occupation government of Iraq as puppet, because it is installed as a result of foreign military invasion. Supporters of this war challenge this determination.

Opponents of the policy of Israel can call the Palestinian National Authority "Bantustans". Supporters of Israel’s policy deny this statement.

Thus, the puppet mode is phenomenon with a very long prehistory, which today is used successfully in the political struggle. The problem of the existence of puppet states is still relevant in today's world and can be viewed from different sides.

References:

1. Constructing the Nation-state. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1995. p. 161. ISBN 0313293988.

2. Raič, D (2002). Statehood and the Law of Self-determination. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 81.

3. Jowett, Phillip S. , Rays of The Rising Sun, Armed Forces of Japan’s Asian Allies 1931-45, Volume I: China & Manchuria, 2004. Helion & Co. Ltd., 26 Willow Rd., Solihul, West Midlands, England, pg.7-36.

4. Estonia: Identity and Independence: Translated into English (On the Boundary of Two Worlds: Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination in the Baltics) Jean-Jacques Subrenat, David Cousins, Alexander Harding, Richard C. Waterhouse on Page 246. ISBN 9042008903