Across the globe, there are small pockets of land where citizens have chosen to "break away" from their mother countries and forge new communities, often to escape war or turmoil.
While many of these countries begin with noble intentions, they often end up in political limbo, unable to gain recognition as legitimate countries from the global community.
Since 2005, photographer Narayan Mahon has set out to document these unrecognized states, photographing five would-be nations that are attempting to separate themselves from such war-torn countries as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, and Somalia.
Mahon tells the New York Times that, while he expected these breakaway nations to be filled with pride, patriotism, and determination, he actually found that many nations were still at the whim of their former homes, begging for recognition while being used as pawns in a larger, geopolitical game.
“It all just comes down to nationalism, and chauvinism, and the uglier parts of humanity,” he says. “That’s kind of sad, actually.”
Mahon's series, entitled "Lands in Limbo," show that sadness and disillusion front and center.
One of the first areas Mahon visited was Abkhazia, a separatist region that broke away from Georgia during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. It has since declared independence, built a national military, and created the usual trappings of a sovereign government.
Mahon quickly found, however, that no country in the world recognizes Abkhazia as a sovereign country, instead regarding it as part of Georgia.
In the violence that ensued when Abkhazia attempted to break away, tens of thousands were killed and several hundred thousand Georgian, Armenian, and Megrelian citizens were forced to leave the area. Only a few families still live in these apartment buildings, which are located in what was once a regional industrial center.
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