In short:
Russia has become the first country to formally recognise the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called Russia’s official recognition a historic step.
The Taliban has sought international recognition while also enforcing its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The whole system of formal diplomatic recognition needs to die. Right now, “recognising” a government seems to be tantamount to acknowledging that government is legitimate and representative of the people. This is a very obstructive and unproductive system. It doesn’t matter whether you “recognise” a government and it also doesn’t matter what you decide to call your representatives to it. Refusing to recognise a government doesn’t mean that group of people doesn’t hold power or doesn’t actually control territory. It just prevents you from engaging with them in a constructive manner. It’s just a head-in-the-sand approach to intergovernmental relations.
If there’s a group of people calling themselves a government that holds power over a group of people or a piece of territory that you are interested in, it shouldn’t have to result in this whole game of charades. You should be able to send official representatives to that group without having to worry about offending everyone else. The whole concept of “recognition” is just nonsense.
I agree with your conclusion (recognition should be based entirely on who has Actual Control, in cases where that can be clearly determined), but not with this particular explanation. Nobody “recognises” Taiwan, but it has nothing to do with believing it’s illegitimate or unrepresentative. It has to do with the fact that China has a hissy fit if you do.
The Taiwan issue has exactly to do with the fact that sending official diplomatic representatives to it means recognising its legitimacy and sovereignty. Even though most Western countries already believe this, sending the representatives would be to express that they believe this which is what upsets the Chinese government. China doesn’t care what people think as long as they keep it to themselves. It’s when they get “embarrassed” on the world stage that Chinese leadership thinks it demands action.
If you read up on the history of the French Revolution (or other revolutions, but the French one is particularly dramatic) you’ll find out how hard it can be to establish who is really running the country.