Declarative theory of statehood
The declarative theory of statehood defines a state as a person of international law that meets certain structural criteria.
A document that is often quoted on the matter to is the Montevideo Convention from 1933, whose article 1 states:
The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.
Also, article 3 of the convention very clearly states that statehood is independent of recognition by other states. Recognition is considered a requirement for statehood by the constitutive theory of statehood.
See also
