de facto states, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, sustainability, political institutions, political systems, political regimes, political parties, elections

The chapter focuses on internal factors which contributed to the sustaining of a de facto state. It demonstrates how Nagorno-Karabakh and Abkhazia have developed their political institutions which help them to survive as distinct political entities. The author argues that both Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh introduced nominally democratic institutions and have managed to develop along the same lines as other post-Soviet states such as Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, which Freedom House likewise classifies as “partly free countries”. However, unlike internationally recognized states with hybrid political regimes, the development of democratic political institutions in Nagorno-Karabakh and Abkhazia is hindered by their lack of widespread international recognition, and – in the case of Nagorno-Karabakh – by the constant threat of military conflict with Azerbaijan.