This study examines Liberland’s claim to statehood within the framework of international law and international relations. Its main objective is to explain why Liberland, proclaimed in 2015 in a disputed border area between Croatia and Serbia, has remained significantly limited in terms of international recognition and acceptance despite attracting considerable visibility. The study adopts a qualitative research design and employs a single-case study supported by document analysis. The analysis is conducted through the classical criteria of statehood set out in the Montevideo Convention, alongside de facto sovereignty and international recognition. The findings show that although Liberland has generated institutional symbols, digital citizenship practices, constitutional discourse, and global media visibility, it continues to face major limitations with regard to permanent population, the contested status of its territory, effective government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. The study also demonstrates that visibility does not amount to recognition and that institutional discourse cannot substitute for effective sovereignty. In this context, Liberland should be understood not as a fully established state, but as an instructive case that reveals the limits of statehood claims and international recognition in the contemporary international system.
Murat Derin (Thu,) studied this question.