Politics can take many forms and exile is a common experience for people displaced from their homes. Political exile can be a way for people to challenge the legitimacy of their government or to claim territory from their home country. A government in exile is a group of people that claims supreme authority over a nation and operates in a foreign land with the consent of the hosting country.
Generally, governments in exile are established by a group that has been displaced from its homeland due to military force or belligerent occupation. The most common reasons for the establishment of a government in exile are a coup d’etat or an armed conflict. Governments in exile are distinct from local de facto regime[s], insurgents, or national liberation movements[1]. The most important characteristic of a government in exile is its connection to a foreign State. Governments in exile must be recognized by a foreign State and, with that recognition, it is possible to exercise some traditional functions of sovereignty.
Although the definition of exile is clear in legal terminology, it is not easy to define in the context of a particular situation. The term often evokes images of a displaced person fleeing persecution to another country. But, the distinction between a refugee/migrant and an involuntary displaced person is blurred, and hard-and-fast rules on the choice to leave one’s own country are difficult to maintain.