Enclave

An enclave is a territory that belongs officially to one country but is entirely surrounded by the territory of another country. The fundamental difference between an enclave and an exclave is that an enclave is completely enclosed by the territory of a foreign state. In addition, today there are also enclaves on the map of world.

The following image illustrates an example of an enclave. According to this example, region C is officially part of country B but is entirely surrounded by the territory of country A, and is therefore recognized as an enclave of country B.

^{Example of an Enclave Territory.}

Büsingen: The region of Büsingen, located within the territory of Switzerland, is officially part of Germany and is recognized as an enclave of Germany.

Nakhchivan: Nakhchivan, which is administratively linked to Azerbaijan but defined as a republic in its own right, is known as an enclave.

San Marino: San Marino is entirely surrounded by the official territory of Italy but is internationally recognized as an independent state and therefore cannot be classified as an exclave of any country.

Vatican City: This state lies within the borders of Italy and is surrounded by Italian territory, making it an enclave both politically and as a sovereign country. Because it is an independent state, it cannot be classified as an exclave of any country.

The term enclave primarily belongs to the fields of geography, international relations, and politics.

• Law: The term enclave is used particularly in the legal assessment and interpretation of countries’ official borders.
• Policy and Politics: The term enclave is used when political actors (state officials) analyze or interpret territorial boundaries between countries. It frequently arises in discussions concerning developments in territories that lie outside the main country but are entirely surrounded by another country’s territory.
• International Relations: In the field of international relations, the term enclave commonly appears in academic texts and is often introduced during educational stages.