ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the various factors responsible for the emergence and continued existence of de facto states in the contemporary international system. It deals with a brief discussion of the different etiologies characteristic of quasi-states and de facto states. The chapter considers several factors that either have been or, in some cases, may potentially be implicated in the birth of de facto states. Statehood and international personality used to be contingent upon the demonstration of certain empirical capabilities, particularly effective governance. In spite of the scholarly and media attention lavished on the concept of humanitarian intervention, the prospects that it will facilitate the creation of more de facto states are quite remote. The substantive requirements for the de facto state in terms of such things as popular support, effective control of a given territorial area, and the provision of governance services are not easy to attain in any circumstances.
