The International Recognition of Governments in Practice(s): Creatures, Mirages, and Dilemmas in Post-2011 Libya.

The article focuses on the international (non)recognition of governments as a complex macro practice, analyzed through a detailed case study of post-2011 Libya. It develops a generalizable typology of government recognition micro practices—declaratory, diplomatic, informal engagement, intergovernmental cooperation, and support practices—and examines their guiding logics and effects, including identity formation, political legitimation, material empowerment, and sovereignty line-drawing. The study highlights the geopolitical inevitability of engaging territorially grounded domestic actors, the nuanced and often contradictory nature of recognition practices, and three key dilemmas: international versus domestic recognition, legitimacy versus effectiveness, and coherence versus inclusivity in conflict mediation. Drawing on elite interviews and international practice and recognition theories, the article argues for a research agenda that further explores these dynamics across cases involving coups, revolutions, and civil wars.