International isolation

When India pitches for diplomatic isolation of Pakistan, it refers to bringing world attention to Pakistan's involvement in breeding terrorist outfits within their territory and thus calls for distancing of country from other nations. Isolation is generally in terms of economic isolation from major economies that often include trade restrictions and discontinuation of financial aid. There is a slight difference in diplomatic isolation, though, International isolation is a penalty applied by the international community or a powerful group of countries, like the United Nations, towards one nation or government.

The same term may also refer to the state a country finds itself in after being shunned by the international community. The determinants of the greater group of countries rely on economic, political and cultural stability but since the global order is constantly changing with the rise of developing countries such grouping may change.

One of the examples is the international isolation of South Africa during the Apartheid years. International isolation is often the result of international sanctions against a specific country (or group of countries). It may also be a result of a policy of isolationism by the country in question. Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, for example, ended up in a state of international isolation after decades of confrontation with the West and its critical politics against fellow Arab governments.

Countries, which have seceded from another state may find themselves under international isolation, like Abkhazia, which is only recognized by a handful of countries after breaking away from Georgia with the help of the Russian military. Certain widely acknowledged terms or concepts, like "Pariah state", have been coined to refer to countries that have isolated themselves internationally or have been isolated by sizeable groups of nations. The characteristics of such a state are "...precarious diplomatic isolation, the absence of assured, credible security support or political moorings within big-power alliance structures."