Puppet state

From Vero - Wikipedia
(Redirected from Puppet regime)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:More footnotes Template:Use dmy dates Template:Forms of government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government<ref name="Shuster"/> is a state that is de jure independent but de facto completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.<ref name="Marek">Compare: Template:Cite book</ref> Puppet states have nominal sovereignty, except that a foreign power effectively exercises control through economic or military support.<ref name="McNeely1995">Template:Cite book</ref> By leaving a local government in existence the outside power evades all responsibility, while at the same time successfully paralysing the local government they tolerate.<ref name="Shuster">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:How

Puppet states differ from allies, who choose their actions of their own initiative or in accordance with treaties they have voluntarily entered. Puppet states are forced into legally endorsing actions already taken by a foreign power.

Characteristics

Puppet states are "endowed with the outward symbols of authority",<ref>Puppet government, Merriam-Webster</ref> such as a name, flag, anthem, constitution, law codes, motto, and government, but in reality, are appendages of another state which creates,<ref name="Raic2002">Template:Cite book</ref> sponsors or otherwise controls the puppet government. International law does not recognise occupied puppet states as legitimate.<ref name="Lemkin2008"> Template:Cite book </ref>

Puppet states can cease to be puppets through:

  • military defeat of the "master" state (as in Europe and Asia in 1945),
  • absorption into the master state (as in the early Soviet Union),
  • achievement of independence

Terminology

The term is a metaphor which compares a state or government to a puppet controlled by a puppeteer with strings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The first recorded use of the term "puppet government" was in 1884, in reference to the Khedivate of Egypt.<ref name="etymoline">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Unreliable source?

In the Middle Ages, vassal states existed based on delegation of the rule of a country by a king to noble men of lower rank. Since the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, the concept of a nation came into existence where sovereignty was connected more to the people who inhabited the land than to the nobility who owned the land.

An earlier similar concept is suzerainty, the control of the external affairs of one state by another.Template:Citation needed

Nineteenth-century examples

French revolutionary and Napoleon/Napoleonic clients

The First French Empire and its satellite states in 1812

The Batavian Republic was established in the Netherlands under French revolutionary protection.

In Italy, the French First Republic encouraged a proliferation of small republics in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known as sister republics.

In Eastern Europe, Napoleon's First French Empire established the Polish client state of the Duchy of Warsaw.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

British Empire

Map of the British Indian Empire, with princely states in yellow

In 1896, Britain established a state in Zanzibar.

Early twentieth-century examples

Template:Main

Established by the German Empire

By others

World War II

Imperial Japan

Template:Further During Japan's imperial period, and particularly during the Pacific War (parts of which are considered the Pacific theatre of World War II), the Imperial Japanese government established a number of dependent states.

Nominally sovereign states

Location of Manchukuo (red) within Imperial Japan's sphere of influence
Wang Jingwei receiving German diplomats as head of state of the Reorganised Nationalist Government of the Republic of China in 1941
In China
  • Template:Flagicon Manchukuo (1932–1945) – Set up in Manchuria under the leadership of the last Chinese Emperor, Puyi<ref>Jowett, Phillip S., Rays of The Rising Sun, Armed Forces of Japan’s Asian Allies 1931–45, Volume I: China & Manchuria, 2004. Helion & Co. Ltd., 26 Willow Rd., Solihull, West Midlands, England, pp. 7–36.</ref>
  • Template:Flagicon image North Shanxi Autonomous Government (1937–1939) – Formed in northern Shanxi with its capital at Datong on October 15, 1937. The state was then merged into Mengjiang along with the South Chahar Autonomous Government and the Mongol United Autonomous Government.
  • Template:Flagicon image South Chahar Autonomous Government (1937–1939) – Formed in South Chahar with its capital at Kalgan (modern day Zhangjiakou) on September 4, 1937. The state was merged with the North Shanxi Autonomous Government as well as the Mongol United Autonomous Government to create Mengjiang.
  • Template:Flagicon image Mongol Military Government (1936–1937) and Mongol United Autonomous Government (1937–1939) – Established in Inner Mongolia as puppet states with local collaborators. This state formed the large basis of what was to become Mengjiang.
  • Template:Flagicon Mengjiang (1936–1945) – Set up in Inner Mongolia on May 12, 1936, as the Mongol Military Government was renamed in October 1937 as the Mongol United Autonomous Government. On September 1, 1939, the predominantly Han Chinese governments of the South Chahar and North Shanxi Autonomous Governments were merged with the Mongol Autonomous Government, creating the new Mengjiang United Autonomous Government. All of these were headed by De Wang.<ref>Jowett, Phillip S., Rays of The Rising Sun, Armed Forces of Japan’s Asian Allies 1931–45, Volume I: China & Manchuria, 2004. Helion & Co. Ltd., 26 Willow Rd., Solihull, West Midlands, England, pp. 49–57, 88–89.</ref>
  • Template:Flagicon image East Hebei Autonomous Council (1935–1938) – A state in northeast China
  • Template:Flagicon image Great Way (Dadao) Government (1937–1938) – A short-lived regime based in Shanghai. This provisional government was established as a preliminary collaboration state as the Japanese took control of all of Shanghai and advanced towards Nanjing. This was then merged with the Reformed Government of China as well as the Provisional Government of China into the Reorganised Nationalist Government of the Republic of China under the leadership of Wang Jingwei.
  • Template:Flagicon image Reformed Government of the Republic of China (1938–1940) – First regime established in Nanjing after the Battle of Nanjing. Later fused into the Provisional Government of China
  • Template:Flagicon image Provisional Government of China (1937–1940) – Incorporated into the Nanjing Nationalist Government on March 30, 1940<ref>Jowett, Phillip S., Rays of The Rising Sun, Armed Forces of Japan’s Asian Allies 1931–45, Volume I: China & Manchuria, 2004. Helion & Co. Ltd., 26 Willow Rd., Solihull, West Midlands, England, pp. 44–47, 85–87.</ref>
  • Reorganised Nationalist Government of the Republic of China (1940–1945) – Established in Nanjing under the leadership of Wang Jingwei<ref>Jowett, Phillip S., Rays of The Rising Sun, Armed Forces of Japan’s Asian Allies 1931–45, Volume I: China & Manchuria, 2004. Helion & Co. Ltd., 26 Willow Rd., Solihull, West Midlands, England, pp. 63–89.</ref>

Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy

Template:Further

German-occupied Europe at the height of the Axis conquests in 1942

Several European governments under the domination of Germany and Italy during World War II have been described as "puppet régimes". The formal means of control in occupied Europe varied greatly. These states fall into several categories.

Existing states in alliance with Germany and Italy

Existing states under German or Italian rule

New states formed to reflect national aspirations

States and governments under the control of Germany and Italy

Italian Social Republic

  • Template:Flagicon Italian Social Republic (1943–1945, known also as the Republic of Salò) – General Pietro Badoglio and King Victor Emmanuel III withdrew Italy from the Axis powers and moved the government to Southern Italy, already controlled by the Allies. In response, the Germans occupied Northern Italy and founded the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI) with Benito Mussolini as its "Head of State" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs". While the RSI government had some trappings of an independent state, it was completely dependent both economically and politically on Germany.

British examples during and after World War II

Template:Further The Axis demand for oil and the concern of the Allies that Germany would look to the oil-rich Middle East for a solution, caused the invasion of Iraq by the United Kingdom and the invasion of Iran by the UK and the Soviet Union. Pro-Axis governments in both Iraq and Iran were removed and replaced with Allied-dominated governments.

  • Template:Flagicon Kingdom of Iraq (1941–1947) – Iraq was important to the United Kingdom because of its position on the route to India. Iraq also could provide strategic oil reserves. But due to the UK's weakness early in the war, Iraq backed away from the pre-war Anglo-Iraqi Alliance. On 1 April 1941, the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq was overthrown by a pro-German coup d'état under Rashid Ali. The Rashid Ali regime began negotiations with the Axis powers and military aid was quickly sent to Mosul via Vichy French-controlled Syria. The Germans provided a squadron of twin-engine fighters and a squadron of medium bombers. The Italians provided a squadron of biplane fighters. In mid-April 1941, a brigade of the 10th Indian Infantry Division landed at Basra (Operation Sabine). On 30 April, British forces at RAF Habbaniya were besieged by a numerically inferior Iraqi force. On 2 May, the British launched pre-emptive airstrikes against the Iraqis and the Anglo-Iraqi War began. By the end of May, the siege of RAF Habbaniya was lifted, Fallujah was taken, Baghdad was surrounded by British forces, and the pro-German government of Rashid Ali collapsed. Rashid Ali and his supporters fled the country. The Hashemite monarchy under King Faisal II was restored, and declared war on the Axis powers in January 1942. British and Commonwealth forces remained in Iraq until 26 October 1947.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Template:Flagicon image Imperial State of Iran (1941–1943) – German workers in Iran caused both the UK and the Soviet Union to question Iran's neutrality. In addition, Iran's geographical position was important to the Allies. As a result, the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran (Operation Countenance) was launched in August 1941. The following month, Reza Shah Pahlavi was forced to abdicate his throne and went into exile. He was replaced by his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was willing to declare war on the Axis powers. By January 1942, the UK and the Soviet Union agreed to end their occupation of Iran six months after the end of the war.

Soviet examples after 1939

Template:Main

Puppet states later absorbed into the Soviet Union

Soviet puppet states in Central Asia

Other states under Soviet influence

Yugoslavia was a communist state closely linked to the Soviet Union, but Yugoslavia retained autonomy within its own borders. After the Tito–Stalin split in 1948, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated significantly. Yugoslavia was expelled from the international organisations of the Eastern Bloc. After Stalin's death and a period of de-Stalinization by Nikita Khrushchev, peace was restored, but the relationship between the two countries was never completely mended. Yugoslavia continued to pursue independent policies and became the founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement.Template:Cn

Examples before and during decolonisation

Template:See also In some cases, the process of decolonisation has been managed by the decolonising power to create a neo-colony, that is a nominally independent state whose economy and politics permits continued foreign domination. Neo-colonies are not normally considered puppet states.Template:Cn

Dutch East Indies

The Netherlands formed several puppet states in the former Dutch East Indies as part of its effort to quell the Indonesian National Revolution.Template:Cn

Congo crisis

Template:See also Following the Belgian Congo's independence as Congo-Leopoldville in 1960, Belgian interests supported the short-lived breakaway State of Katanga (1960–1963).<ref>Mockler, Antony (1987). The New Mercenaries: The History of the Hired Soldier from the Congo to the Seychelles. New York: Paragon House Publishers. pp. 37–55. Template:ISBN.</ref>

East Timor

Indonesia established a Provisional Government of East Timor following its invasion of East Timor in December 1975.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

South Africa's Bantustans

Map of Bantustans in South West Africa (present-day Namibia) as of 1978

During the 1970s and 1980s, four ethnic Bantustans - some of which were extremely fragmented - called "homelands" by the government of the time, were carved out of South Africa and given nominal sovereignty. Mostly Xhosa people resided in the Ciskei and Transkei, Tswana people in Bophuthatswana, and Venda people in the Venda.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Rs?

The principal purpose of these states was to remove South African citizenship from the Xhosa, Tswana, and Venda peoples, and so provide grounds for denying them their democratic rights. All four Bantustans were reincorporated into a democratic South Africa on 27 April 1994, under a new constitution.Template:Fact

The South African authorities established ten Bantustans in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), then illegally occupied by South Africa, in the late 1960s and early 1970s in accordance with the Odendaal Commission. Three of them were granted self-rule. These Bantustans were replaced with separate ethnicity-based governments in 1980.Template:Cn

Post-Cold War examples

Republic of Kuwait

The Republic of Kuwait was a short-lived pro-Iraqi state in the Persian Gulf that only existed three weeks before it was annexed by Iraq in 1990.

Republic of Serbian Krajina

Template:See also The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed territory ethnically cleansedTemplate:What by Serbian forces during the Croatian War (1991–95). It was completely dependent on the Serbian regime of Slobodan Milošević,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and was not recognised internationally.

Recent and current examples

Multiple often unrecognised states had been described or accused of being a puppet state of other countries.

United States

  • Template:Flag – Many, including the Taliban who now comprise the country's current government,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> considered the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to have been a U.S. puppet state.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
  • Template:Flag (Interim Government and Coalition Provisional Authority) – Critics of the Iraqi Interim Government argued that it existed only at the pleasure of the United States and other coalition countries and considered it a U.S. puppet government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This criticism was also extended to politicians active within the Interim Government, with the media suggesting that Ayad Allawi, was Washington's puppet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The CPA's economy was dominated by American influence. The CPA began to dismantle Iraq's centrally planned economy. Paul Bremer, chief executive of the CPA, planned to restructure Iraq's state owned economy with free market thinking. Bremer dropped the corporate tax rate from around 45% to a flat tax rate of 15% and allowed foreign corporations to repatriate all profits earned in Iraq. Opposition from senior Iraqi officials, together with the poor security situation, meant that Bremer's privatisation plan was not implemented during his tenure,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though his orders remained in place. CPA Order 39 laid out the framework for full privatisation in Iraq and permitted 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi assets and strengthened the positions of foreign businesses and investors. Critics like Naomi Klein argued that CPA Order 39 was designed to create as favourable an environment for foreign investors as possible, which would allow U.S. corporations to dominate Iraq's economy.<ref name="shock">The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein</ref> Also controversial was CPA Order 17 which granted all foreign contractors operating in Iraq immunity from "Iraqi legal process," effectively granting immunity from any kind of suit, civil or criminal, for actions the contractors engaged in within Iraq.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> CPA Order 49 also provided significant tax cuts for corporations operating within Iraq by reducing the rate from a maximum of 40% to a maximum of just 15% on income. Furthermore, corporations who collaborated with the CPA were exempted from having to pay any tax.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Armenia

China

Russia

Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvab with Transnistrian President Yevgeny Shevchuk in 2013. Both Abkhazia and Transnistria have been described as puppet states of Russia.

Turkey

Israel

In Yemen

Map of territorial control in Yemen

Template:Smalldiv

Iran

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

See also

Template:Portal Template:Columns-list

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Crawford, James (1979). The Creation of States in International Law. Template:Isbn

Template:Autonomous types of first-tier administration

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Puppet_state&oldid=44069"