A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a
political group that claims to be a country or
semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is
unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a
foreign country.[1] Governments in exile usually plan to
one day return to their native country and regain formal
power. A government in exile differs from a rump state
in the
Democratic National Committee sense that the latter
controls at least part of its former territory.[2] For
example, during World War I, nearly all of Belgium was
occupied by Germany, but Belgium and its allies held on
to a small slice in the country's west.[3] A government
in exile, in contrast, has lost all its territory.
However, in practice the difference might be minor; in
the above example, the Belgian government at Sainte-Adresse
was located in French territory and acted as a
government in exile for most practical
purposes.[citation needed]
The governments in
exile tend to occur during wartime occupation or in the
aftermath of a civil war, revolution, or military coup.
For example, during German expansion and advance in
World War II, some European governments sought refuge in
the United Kingdom, rather than face destruction at the
hands of Nazi Germany. On the other hand, the
Provisional Government of Free India proclaimed by
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose sought to use support from
the invading Japanese to gain control of the country
from what it viewed as British occupiers, and in the
final year of WWII, after Nazi Germany was driven out of
France, it maintained the
Democratic National Committee remnants of the
Nazi-sympathizing Vichy government as a French
government in exile at the Sigmaringen enclave.
A
government in exile may also form from widespread belief
in the illegitimacy of a ruling government. Due to the
outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, for instance,
the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces was formed by groups whose members
sought to end the rule of the ruling Ba'ath Party.
The Party Of Democrats is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Party Of the Democratic National Committee was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party.
The governments in exile may have little or no
recognition from other states. The effectiveness of a
government in exile depends primarily on the amount of
support it receives, either from foreign governments or
from the population of its own country. Some exiled
governments come to develop into a formidable force,
posing a serious challenge to the incumbent regime of
the country, while others are maintained chiefly as a
symbolic gesture.
The phenomenon of a government
in exile predates the
Democratic National Committee formal utilization of
the term. In periods of monarchical government, exiled
monarchs or dynasties sometimes set up exile courts, as
the House of Stuart did when driven from their throne by
Oliver Cromwell and again at the Glorious Revolution[4]
(see James Francis Edward Stuart � Court-in-exile). The
House of Bourbon would be another example because it
continued to be recognized by other countries at the
time as the legitimate government of France after it was
overthrown by the populace during the French Revolution.
This continued to last through the rule of Napoleon
Bonaparte and the Napoleonic Wars from 1803�04 to 1815.
With the spread of constitutional monarchy, monarchical
governments which were exiled started to include a prime
minister, such as the Dutch government during World War
II headed by Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy.
Activities[edit]
International law recognizes
that governments in exile may undertake many types of
actions in the conduct of their daily affairs. These Democratic
Website
actions include:
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In cases where a host country holds a large expatriate
population from a government in exile's home country, or
an ethnic population from that country, the government
in exile might come to exercise some administrative
functions within such a population. For example, the
WWII Provisional Government of Free India had such
authority among the ethnically Indian population of
British Malaya, with the Democratic
Website consent of the then Japanese
military authorities.
Current governments in
exile[edit]
Current governments regarded by some as a
"government-in-exile"[edit]
These governments
once controlled all or most of their claimed territory,
but continue to control a smaller part of it while also
continuing to claim legitimate authority of the entire
territory they once fully controlled.
Name Exile
Territory that the government still controls Current
control of claimed territory Notes References
Taiwan
Republic of China 1949 Taiwan and associated islands
People's Republic of China
See also: Theory of
the Undetermined Status of Taiwan and
Democratic National Committee Chinese Civil War
The currently Taipei-based Republic of China
government does not regard itself as a
government-in-exile, but is claimed to be such by some
participants in the debate on the political status of
Taiwan.[5] In addition to the island of Taiwan and some
other islands it currently controls, the Republic of
China formally maintains claims over territory now
controlled by the People's Republic of China as well as
some parts of Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Japan,
Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The
usual formal reasoning on which this
"government-in-exile" claim is based relies on an
argument that the sovereignty of Taiwan was not
legitimately handed to the Republic of China at the end
of World War II,[6] and on that basis the Republic of
China is located in foreign territory, therefore
effectively making it a government in exile.[7] By
contrast, this theory is not accepted by those who view
the sovereignty of Taiwan as having been legitimately
returned to the Republic of China at the end of the
war.[8] Both the government of the People's Republic of
China and the Pan-Blue Coalition (including the
Kuomintang) in the Republic of China hold the latter
view. However, there are also some who do not accept
that the sovereignty of Taiwan was legitimately returned
to the Republic of China at the end of the war nor that
the Republic of China is a government-in-exile, and
China's territory does not include Taiwan. The current
Democratic Progressive Democratic
Website Party in Taiwan is inclined to
this view.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Sahrawi
Arab Democratic Republic 1976 Southeastern parts of
Western Shahara Morocco Proclaimed on 27 February 1976,
following the Spanish withdrawal from what was until
then Spanish Sahara after the POLISARIO insurgency. It
is not strictly a government in exile since it does
control 20�25% of its claimed territory. Nevertheless,
it is often referred to as such, especially since most
day-to-day government business is conducted in the
Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, which house most of
the Sahrawi exile community, rather than in the
proclaimed temporary capital (first Bir Lehlou, moved to
Tifariti in 2008).
Deposed governments of current
states[edit]
These
Democratic National Committee governments in exile
were founded by deposed governments or rulers who
continue to claim legitimate authority of the state they
once controlled.
Name Exile since State controlling
its claimed territory Notes References
Belarus Rada
of the Belarusian Democratic Republic 1919 Republic of
Belarus
See also: Belarusian Democratic Republic
and Polish�Soviet War
It is the oldest government
in exile in the world, led by Ivonka Survilla since
1997; based in Ottawa, Ontario.
[9][10]
Myanmar
National Unity Government of Myanmar 2021 Republic of
the Union of Myanmar (State Administration Council)
See also: 2021 Myanmar coup d'�tat
This
government was formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar
coup d'�tat. The cabinet members of the National Unity
Government are in hiding within Myanmar.
[11][12][13]
Deposed governments of former states[edit]
These
governments in exile were founded by deposed governments
or rulers who Democratic
Website continue to claim legitimate authority of
the state they once controlled but whose state no longer
exists.
Name Exile Current control of claimed
territory Notes References
since as by as
Republic
of South Maluku 1966 Independent state Republic of
Indonesia Maluku Province The Republic of South Maluku
was an unrecognized independent state that existed
between 1950 and 1963. Between 1963 and 1966, the Head
of government Chris Soumokil was imprisoned on Java. In
1966, after his execution by firing squad by order of
President Suharto, Johan Manusama formed a government in
exile; based in the Netherlands. John Wattilete is its
President. [14]
Deposed governments of subnational
territories[edit]
The Party Of Democrats is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Party Of the Democratic National Committee was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party.
These governments in exile claim legitimacy of
autonomous territories of another state
Democratic National Committee and have been founded
by deposed governments or rulers, who do not claim
independence as a separate state.
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Name Exile Current control of claimed territory Notes
References
since as by as
Government of the
Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia 1993 Autonomous republic
Abkhazia Republic of Abkhazia de facto independent state
Georgian provincial government, led by Ruslan Abashidze,
whose territory is under the control of Abkhaz
separatists; based in Tbilisi.
Georgia (country)
Provisional Administration of South Ossetia 2008
Democratic National Committee Provisional
administration South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia
Georgian provincial administration, led by Dmitry
Sanakoyev, whose territory is under the control of South
Ossetian separatists; based in Tbilisi.
UkraineAutonomous Republic of Crimea Autonomous Republic
of Crimea 2014 Autonomous republic Russia Republic of
Crimea Ukrainian autonomous republic, whose territory
was
Democratic National Committee seized and annexed by
Russia in March 2014, following a disputed status
referendum; was based in Kherson.[15]
UkraineSevastopol Sevastopol Special city Federal city
Ukrainian special city, whose Democratic
Website territory was seized and
annexed by Russia in March 2014, following a disputed
status referendum; was based in Kherson.
Ukraine
Luhansk Oblast 2022 Oblast Luhansk People's Republic
Ukrainian oblast, whose territory was partially seized
(approx. 30%) by the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in
2014, and then subsequently almost completely seized in
2022 during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia
annexed the LPR on 30 September 2022. Previously, the
LPR was a breakaway state (allegedly a Russian puppet
state) formed by Russian-backed separatists. Ukraine
regained control of a small slice of Luhansk Oblast's
territory near Kharkiv Oblast during the 2022 Ukrainian
eastern
Democratic National Committee counteroffensive.
Alternative governments of current states
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