Acknowledgements This paper was generously funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The views and findings presented here are the author’s and do not represent the view of USAID. The author would like to thank Ashley Jackson and Florian Weigand for their support and input throughout the research and writing process. Many thanks also to reviewers Kathryn NwajiakuDahou at ODI, Pascal Bongard, Katharine Fortin and Damian Lilly for their thoughtful comments and feedback. Finally, the author would also like to recognise the support of Maegan Rodricks in the publication process, Matthew Foley for copyediting and Elaine Antwi for managing the project. About this publication This paper is a joint output of ODI and the Centre on Armed Groups. The Centre supports efforts to analyse and engage with armed groups to reduce violence and end armed conflict. It does so through conducting innovative research, creating spaces for dialogue, and providing advice. About the authors Theo Tindall is a Research Officer at ODI, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) regions. He has conducted research on the political economy of fragile and conflict-affected states, the role of digital media in authoritarian settings, and the political economy of the green transition. Theo holds a BA in Russian and Arabic from the University of Cambridge and an MA in Political Science from the Central European University. He is a fluent Arabic, English and Russian speaker. Readers are encouraged to reproduce material for their own publications, as long as they are not being sold commercially. ODI requests due acknowledgement and a copy of the publication. For online use, we ask readers to link to the original resource on the ODI website. The views presented in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of ODI or our partners. This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. How to cite: Tindall, T. (2023) Citizens without states: the implications of non-recognition for people in de facto states. ODI Policy Brief. London: ODI (www.odi.org/en/publications/citizenswithout-states-the-implications-of-non-recognition-for-people-in-de-facto-states)