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Anexclusive mandate is a government's assertion of its legitimate authority over a certain territory, part of which another government controls with stable,de factosovereignty. It is also known as a claim to sole representation or an exclusive authority claim. The concept was particularly important during theCold War period when a number of states were divided on ideological grounds.
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For nearly all of the 41 years thatGermany was split into two countries, theFederal Republic of Germany (West Germany) claimed to be the sole legitimate successor to theGerman Reich that existed from 1871 to 1945. This claim was initially based solely on the government's mandate by virtue offree elections. To that end, it claimedBerlin, capital of united Germany from 1871 to 1945, as its capital, with the provisional capital inBonn.
In a statement made before theBundestag, German ChancellorKonrad Adenauer asserted this mandate as early as October 21, 1949, in response to the constitution of theGerman Democratic Republic (GDR) coming into effect. The Secretary of State Summit of the three western powers on September 18, 1950 inNew York City, supported Chancellor Adenauer's claim.
When theSoviet Union proclaimed the sovereignty of the GDR, the West GermanBundestag once again unanimously insisted that the Federal Republic was the sole legitimate representative of the German people. At theTreaties of Paris (Pariser Verträge), at which the Federal Republic of Germany was admitted into theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization, the allied nations adopted the position which the three western allies had already confirmed at theNine-Power Conference inLondon: that the Federal Republic had the exclusive right to act on behalf of the entire German people in matters of foreign policy. The western nations thereby recognized the Federal Republic as the only lawful government for Germany as a whole.
Aside from such considerations pertaining to international law, thereunification clause of theBasic Law suggested that international recognition of the German Democratic Republic was to be avoided, so as not to sever the constitutional mandate to a unified German state.
Until 1973, the Federal Republic took a strict line in claiming an exclusive mandate for all of Germany. Under theHallstein Doctrine, the Federal Republic broke diplomatic relations with states that maintained diplomatic relations with the GDR, except for the Soviet Union. On different levels, such as in international sports, there were, however, a wide range of international cooperations which even led to unified German teams in six Olympic Games (three Winter and three Summer Games).[1] Over time, especially after the election of a social-liberal coalition led byWilly Brandt in 1969, the exclusive mandate was softened, as it severely limited the Federal Republic's domestic and international autonomy. Starting in 1973, under theOstpolitik policy, the Federal Republic took the line that the Democratic Republic was,de jure, a state within a single German nation which could also function legally within international law as a sovereign state, while reasserting that the Federal Republic was itself the sole legitimate representative of a continuing German Reich that remained otherwise without institutional organisation; thereby relinquishing any claim to bede jure the government of Germany as a whole outside of its own boundaries until such time as the two German states might be reunified.[2]
Judicially, an exclusive mandate had been claimed to have arisen from the proposition that the German state as a whole had been preserved, that only one German state could legitimately exist, and that that one state was identical with the Federal Republic. The German Democratic Republic was therefore held to be an illegally constitutedSovietpuppet state occupying territory that rightfully belonged to the Federal Republic, thus lacking autonomy. An alternate view held that the GDR was in a state ofcivil war with the FRG government, and therefore could not be recognized as a state underinternational law. A third, the so-called "umbrella state" theory, entails the existence of two fragment states under the umbrella of a single German nation that had been formed in 1871 and which had never actually been annihilated; this theory arose in the late 1960s and was maintained in a ruling of theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany of 31 July 1973 upholding the "Basic Treaty" by which relations between East and West Germany were normalised. Crucially, although the Constitutional Court reaffirmed the proposition that the pre-1945 German state had been preserved and organised, albeit partially, solely in the institutions of the Federal Republic, the Justices explicitly rejected the proposition that this would imply an exclusive mandate; "...identity does not require exclusivity".[3]
With the admission of both German states to theUnited Nations in 1973, matters regarding the exclusive mandate were no longer relevant. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court maintained that the Federal Republic continued to bear a responsibility for the whole German people; albeit that this responsibility could only be discharged in respect of Germans physically present in its territory or within its jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Federal Republic of Germany did not recognize a distinct citizenship for the German Democratic Republic; if East Germans presented themselves in West Germany, or at a West German embassy in a third country, they could obtain a West German passport. Generally, the Federal Republic considered East Germans to be German citizens under the old 1871–1945 all-German citizenship (i.e.Bundesbürger, citizens of West Germany). Refugees who fled from the GDR were therefore not deported, and automatically qualified for West German citizenship.
In addition, visitors from the GDR would receive a West German passport upon request, for example, in order to ease travel to the United States. After the fall of the Berlin wall in November 1989, East Germans were greeted withBegrüßungsgeld (100 West GermanDeutsche Mark) and could travel freely within West Germany, while West German access to the East was still hindered for some weeks by visa and theMindestumtausch mandatory minimum exchange of 25 DM.
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The 1949 constitution of the German Democratic Republic also acknowledged that Germany was an indivisible republic, and thus there was only one German citizenship. The GDR, therefore, was also founded on the premise of future reunified German state. Initially, it regarded the West German regime as an illegally constituted NATO puppet state, a line accepted by most of theEastern bloc. The GDR erected theBerlin Wall in 1961 partly to prevent Germans moving freely within Germany. In 1974, however, the reunification clause was stricken from the GDR's constitution. Thereafter, it regarded itself as a separate state from West Germany. The Communist regime collapsed[citation needed] in the fall of 1989. East Germany lingered on for another year until it declared its accession to the Federal Republic in theGerman reunification of 1990.
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TheRepublic of China (ROC) was established inmainland China in 1912 following the conclusion of the1911 Revolution which led to the collapse of theQing dynasty. In 1927, theChinese Civil War broke out between theKuomintang-ledNationalist government and theChinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since 1949–1950, thede facto territories of theROC are limited to theTaiwan Area which includes the main island of Taiwan and Penghu (acquired by the ROC from Japan in 1945 at the conclusion of hostiles in World War II) along withseveral other islands.[4][5] Meanwhile, thePeople's Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949 by the CCP, controls mainland China,Hong Kong (since 1997) andMacau (since 1999).[4] Officially, both the ROC and the PRC claimde jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan to which the ownership of sovereignty is disputed), and regard the other government as illegitimate.[4][6][7] Japan formally severed the claim to Taiwan and Penghu islands upon the signing of theTreaty of San Francisco in April 1952, which has left thestatus of Taiwan undetermined.[8]
Until 1971, the ROC was therepresentative of member state "China" at theUnited Nations (UN) in which "China" is a permanent member of theUN Security Council with veto power.[9] In 1971, the PRCreplaced the ROC as the representative of "China" at the UN.[9] Since 1972, the ROC has been excluded from all UN subcommittees. After the UN switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC, many statesfollowed suit. At present, the ROC maintainsofficial diplomatic relations with 12 UN member states and theHoly See; many other states maintain unofficial relations with the ROC. The UN formally designates ROC-held territories as "Taiwan, Province of China".
The ROC currently participates in numerous international events and organizations under the name "Chinese Taipei" while theWorld Trade Organization officially refers to ROC-controlled territories as the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu".[citation needed]
However, the ROC continued its claim of being the solelegitimate government of China and its territory until 1991 when it ceased tolabel the Communist Party as a rebellious group and recognized its jurisdiction over mainland China.[10] From that point on, the claims had been softened with the rise ofTaiwanese nationalism andTaiwan independence movement.[citation needed] The ROC's claim of sovereignty over territories under the control of the PRC is not actively pursued under the pro-independenceDemocratic Progressive Party-led government.[citation needed]
WhenNorth Korea andSouth Korea were created within months of each other in 1948, both claimed sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula. Both states claimed that the other was an unlawfully constituted puppet state of the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively. In 1991, however, both countries joined the UN, as part of their reconciliation policy. By 2024, the North formally abandoned the peaceful reunification while the South maintains the exclusive mandate.[11][12]
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TheDemocratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed in 1945; theRepublic of Vietnam gained its independence fromFrance in 1954 and France also recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1954 while Vietnam was divided in the same year. While elections were intended to be held in 1955 to reunite the country, they never took place. For the next 20 years, both staked claims to all of Vietnam, claiming that the other was an illegally constituted puppet state. This continued untilthe capital of South Vietnam was captured by the pro-North Vietnamese government in its civil war on 30 April 1975. Vietnam was reunited under the communist regime of the North in 1976.
When some European countries (such asSwitzerland) started recognizing North Vietnam towards the end of the Vietnam war, South Vietnam did not interrupt its diplomatic relations with them. Switzerland thus recognized North Vietnam in 1971 but also turned its consulate inSaigon (South Vietnam) into an embassy until the end of the war in 1975.
In 1979, Vietnaminvaded and occupiedCambodia (at that time was ruled by theKhmer Rouge asDemocratic Kampuchea) establishing thePeople's Republic of Kampuchea, but it was dismissed by thePeople's Republic of China as a "puppet state". At the time, both of the countries had disputed the claims of being the sole legitimate representative of all theKhmer people of Cambodia in theUnited Nations. This resulted in its seat being retained by theCoalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, a coalition government formed in 1982 as agovernment in exile and composed of the royalistFUNCINPEC party, the republicanKhmer People's National Liberation Front and the Khmer Rouge-backedParty of Democratic Kampuchea.
From 1996 to 2001, theTaliban controlled two-thirds of Afghanistan during theconflict against theNorthern Alliance. After the overthrow in2001, the new Afghan government re-established control of the country though the Taliban retained parts of it.
Following the American withdrawal and subsequenttakeover of Kabul twenty years later, the Taliban re-established control in Afghanistan as atheocratic emirate, though theIslamic Republic of Afghanistan remains internationally recognized.
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A similar situation occurred at the start of theSyrian Civil War in March 2011 when two governments claimed sovereignty over the whole Syria: TheBa'athist Syrian government headed byBashar al-Assad and thevarious opposition groups seeking to remove Assad consisting of theNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces,Syrian National Council and theSyrian Interim Government. Both entities are considered puppet entities backed by theRussian Federation/Iran and theUnited States/Saudi Arabia.
In addition, theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), aSunni Islamist fundamentalist militant group, controlled part of the Syrian territory along with portions of neighbouringIraq. In a more ambiguous situation, the Kurdish territory of northeast Syria became controlled by Syrian Kurdish federal stateRojava when Syrian government forces left the area, or areas were liberated from ISIL occupation. Since the end of theSix-Day War in 1967,Israel has occupied theGolan Heights in southwestern Syria, only tode facto annex it in 1981.
Eventually, the Syrian rebel groupstook control of the country by early December 2024, causing theAssad regime to crumble.
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Like the Syrian situation, Yemen is governed by two regimes claiming to be sole legitimate government of the Yemeni state amidst theongoing civil war: Thecurrent government led by presidentAbdrabbuh Mansur Hadi which is currently recognized bySaudi Arabia, theUnited States and theUnited Nations and theSupreme Political Council led by theHouthi movement inSana'a is recognized byIran and a few countries.
TheSouthern Transitional Council, formed in 2017, seeks the restoration of the formerSouth Yemeni state that was unified in 1990 withNorth Yemen. This group is supported by theUnited Arab Emirates.
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...Most importantly, with the repeal of the temporary provisions, the Chinese Communist Party would no longer be seen as a rebel group. "From now on, we will see the Chinese Communist Party as a political entity that controls the mainland region and we will call them the 'mainland authorities' or the 'Chinese Communist authorities'," President Lee said during the press conference
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