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What requirements did the Montevideo Convention establish for statehood?
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state
Plato (center left) and Aristotle, detail from School of Athens, fresco by Raphael, 1508–11; in the Stanza della Segnatura, the Vatican. Plato is shown pointing to the heavens and the realm of forms, Aristotle to the earth and the realm of things.
The Montevideo Convention, signed in 1933, established the standard criteria for statehood under international law. To be considered a state, an entity must possess the following four qualifications:12
- A permanent population: A stable community of people living within the territory.
- A defined territory: A specific geographic area subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, though minor boundary disputes do not necessarily negate statehood.23
- A government: An authority capable of exercising control, though international recognition has occasionally been granted to states even when effective government control was challenged by civil war.2
- The capacity to conduct international relations: The ability to enter into agreements and interact with other sovereign states.12
These criteria represent a mixture of factual conditions and legal standards. While these requirements provide the framework for statehood, the practical application—particularly regarding effective government control—has evolved as the international community has recognized states in various complex political circumstances.2