There really is no formula for recognizing a state. However, per Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.” A state must also be independent, meaning it is able to exercise self-determination, free of the authority of any other state. These characteristics are generally recognized as requirements for statehood under customary international law.

Of course, one or more of the requirements can be contested. And even if a state satisfies the conditions, it doesn’t mean any other state has to (or will) recognize it. It comes down to considerations of realpolitik — hence Israel is not recognized by the Arab states, and Taiwan’s position is perpetually ambiguous. In the latter case, China’s “chequebook diplomacy” buys diplomatic recognition from (poor, African and South American) countries at the expense of Taiwan. I guess that’s pretty effective public relations. (Side note: what many people seem to have forgotten is that, until 1971, Taiwan (the Republic of China) was recognized as the legitimate government of China, and held China’s seat at the UN.) Bottom line: if Taiwan were “rising” and owned hundreds of billions of dollars in US treasury securities, the situation would be completely different.

You’ve touched on it exactly. And when dealing with the “reputation of a nation”, it’s not always in their control. Most of those countries are controlled by their surrounding/neighbouring mother-father states, and have little to no independence, despite appearing so. Those larger states control every aspect, down to the food that’s imported, to the food grown, to the music people listen to - despite having their own Government.

So because of this unfashionable tie to these larger states, they have no choice but to accept their fate. I think every country suffers from some form of stereotype, but in their case, it’s almost counterproductive. How can you fix your reputation when your peers don’t even acknowledge you?

And as for Canada’s reputation, I think we’re still seen as the younger annoying cousin of Britain, or the annoying sibling to the U.S. But I think we’re slowly finding our identity, slowly but surely, and I think that’s a part of our reputation as well…

I think making a country visible to the rest of the world involves creating a singular message that is not only simple, but can be understood on a human level globally. This takes not only money, but time and effort by government officials to reach out to neighbouring countries as well as the superpowers. Global citizens, at the same time, have to be open-minded enough to realize that there is more to this global village than what is printed on the map. If we were all willing to be more understanding of the unknown cultures that surround us, we wouldn’t have all this confusion and conflict over land and identity.