Introduction The relationship among members of the international community is central to the process of maintaining peace and promoting socio-economic development at the global level. The states that form the international community regulate their relationships through agreements or treaties that facilitate the peaceful resolution of trade and political conflicts. In this context, the international community refers to “the group of states whose identity and sovereignty is recognized, and that choose to participate in global discussions and decision-making processes.” This definition suggests that recognition qualifies an entity to be a state, which in turn enables it to participate in the affairs of the international community. However, some scholars believe that recognition plays little or no role in the process of determining whether an entity is a state or not. Thus, this paper will shed light on the significance of recognition in the determination of the statehood of an entity. In this regard, it will support the thesis that recognition enhances the functionality of an entity rather than justifying its statehood. Theoretical Framework The process of determining whether an entity qualifies to be a state is guided by two criteria, namely, the practical viability criteria, and the policy objective criteria. Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States defines the practical viability criteria as follows. First, the entity that purports to be a state must have a permanent population. However, the Convention does not specify the minimum number of people who can form a state. Second, an entity that aspires to achieve statehood must have a defined territory. This requirement ensures that the permanent population of the state has a demarcated land to live on. Third, an entity that claims to be a state must have a government to perform the political functions defined in its constitution or laws. Finally, an entity that claims to be a state must be independent of external interferences. In this regard, the state achieves independence by developing the capacity to form relations with existing states. The objective policy criteria guide the use of policies such as military force, self-determination, and operating under the control of the UN Security Council to attain statehood. To elucidate, self-determination refers to the legal right of members of an entity to determine their destiny, including political organization on their own. In this regard, an entity that is considered a self-determination unit can achieve statehood despite failing to achieve all the requirements of the practical viability criteria. Additionally, an entity cannot achieve statehood through military means. The achievement of the aforementioned criteria leads to the recognition of an entity as a state. However, the role of recognition in the process of achieving statehood is illustrated by two theories. These include “the constitutive theory and the declaratory theory”. The constitutive theory states that a state comes into existence upon being recognized by existing states. In this context, recognition confers certain rights and duties to the new state in the international community. The constitutive theor