The removal of a person from his or her home country, often because of the threat of political oppression or of a war. Exile usually entails the loss of the status and property of the exiled person. Political exile is most commonly associated with deposed heads of state, and it is common in cases of civil war or international armed conflict. But the term also can be applied to governments that are forced into exile, such as the government of Yugoslavia in the 1970s.
Governments in exile are an unusual phenomenon in international law, with a variety of States acknowledging them and entering into different relationships (recognition). A government in exile may claim to continue to exercise sovereign powers even though it no longer controls the territory of its homeland, but it must still perform some of the functions of a State on foreign territory.
In some cases, the idea of a government in exile arises because of widespread belief that a current government is illegitimate. The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, established in Brussels in 2011, is an example of such a government in exile.
The exiled Russian community today is more diversified than in the 1950s and 1980s, and this should be an advantage in terms of fostering a strong sense of community. It would be more productive, therefore, to organize meetings and conferences with people from various parts of Russia. This way, they could develop different ideas about how to deal with the problems in their homeland and share a common interest in maintaining a vibrant and cosmopolitan Russian society in America.
About the Author
