DECLARATIVE THEORY - are less interested in the practice of the international community when a State is being created; what is important is whether, objectively the State exists. A declarative theorist, however, might argue that a State cannot properly be said to exist in the absence of democratic legitimacy, perhaps by reference by philosophical, political or natural law theories. ie through a new-kantians theory of jurisprudence, one might postulate that a non-democratic State loses key attributes of its sovereignty - loses, in other words, its right to be recognised fully as a State - which might justify actions by other States in certain situations that would otherwise violate interntational law.