Fractionalization of Unrecognized States in Europe

Aims: The data on ethnic fractionalization is out-of-date in some cases, and in the case of some countries there are no such data at all. We measure the ethnic, linguistic and religious fractionalization of unrecognized states in Europe –of Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria and Kosovo, which were up till now excluded from the scope of interest of fractionalization observers. Methods: Using the population census data of these countries, we measure the fractionalization with the one minus Herfindahl index. Results: Whether homogenous or heterogeneous, the levels of their fractionalization remain different. Therefore, the (non)recognition of a state has no effect on its level of fractionalization.