An article (http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011010/ts/attacks_rabbani_1.html) about alternatives to the Taliban as future governments in Afghanistan included the following interesting quote:
How does a government without a country pay its bills (for embassy electricity or air fare)?
Are there any other current orphaned governments in a similar situation, i.e. recognized by the UN but not by their own country?
Donations/contributions from the exile community and foreign “friends.” Accounts and investments that were in the name of the legitimate government (not that I think Afghanistan was anything but flat broke anyway). Ambassadors who moonlight in their chosen professions and have Mrs. Ambassador do the typing. Book sales. Stamp sales. The trappings of government-in-exile are well established.
Technically, the status of Afghanistan is that the legitimate government has been physically driven out of the capital and most of the territory, but the country itself is occupied by battling forces and no new government willing, never mind able, to assume responsibility for the country’s obligations has been lawfully constituted.
I believe that for some time in the 1990’s, Somalia had a UN mission while there was no actual national government, and Liberia kept a lot of its activities abroad (e.g. Ship Registry) going while totally falling apart internally.
If the US (and the UN) recognize this Afghanistan government-in-exile, does it thereby follow that, if the Taliban is routed, the US would automatically support the claims of the previous government to return to power?
Good question. Wish I knew the actual US Policy.
WAG: Politically, I think it’s likely that the GIE representatives would retain their function as placeholders in the embassies, while they and other factions we supported would be “prevailed upon” (i.e., “Do this or you go the way of the Tali’s.”) to join in an emergency “national unity government” that would be the one to call out for a Constitutional Convention to re-establish a proper Afghani State.
There were many governments in exile during (and after WW2). Most countries which had been invaded by Germany and Russia set up governments mainly in London and these were recognised by the allies and treated with full diplomatic rights. This state of affairs continued after the war . The Baltic States (Latvia etc) and Poland both continued with these “alternative” governments in London because the ones imposed by the USSR were not considered legitimate by some western countries and even (in the case of the Baltic States) by the UN.