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Wikipedia

Micronation

January 07, 2023

This article is about self-proclaimed political entities that are not recognised as states. For small countries that are officially recognised, see Microstate.
Not to be confused with unrecognised state.

A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified separately from de facto states and quasi-states; they are also not considered to be autonomous nor self-governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence. Micronations' activities are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than challenged by the established nations whose territory they claim—referred to in micronationalism as "macronations." Several micronations have issued coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals and other state-related items, some as a source of revenue. Motivations for the creation of micronations include theoretical experimentation, political protest, artistic expression, personal entertainment and the conduct of criminal activity. The study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology or micropatrology.[a]

The Principality of Sealand is a micronation located on a seafort off the coast of the United Kingdom

Although several historical states have been retroactively called micronations, the concept was formulated in the 1970s, with a particular influence from the International Micropatrological Society. Micronationalism saw several developments thereafter, with several micronations being founded in Australia in the 1970s and a "micronations boom" in Japan in the 1980s. As a result of the emergence of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, micronationalism lost much of its traditionally eccentric anti-establishment sentiment in favour of more hobbyist perspectives, and the number of exclusively online or merely simulation-based micronations expanded dramatically. This has allowed several intermicronational organisations to form, as well as allow for numerous diplomatic summits to take place since the 2000s.

Definition

See also: Westphalian sovereignty

Micronations are aspirant states that claim independence but lack legal recognition by world governments or major international organisations.[3][4] Micronations are classified separately from states with limited recognition and quasi-states, nor are they considered to be autonomous nor self-governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence.[5] While some are secessionist in nature, most micronations are widely regarded as sovereignty projects that instead seek to mimic a sovereign state rather than to achieve international recognition, and their activities are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than challenged by the established nations whose territory they claim[6][7]—referred to as a "macronation" in micronationalism.[8] Some micronations admit to having no intention of actually becoming internationally recognised as sovereign.[9] Geographically, most micronations are very small, are often the outgrowth of a single individual, rely on their sovereign state to some extent, and mimic sovereign states by creating their own government, legislation, proclaiming national symbols, holding national elections and engaging in diplomacy with other micronations.[10][11] While most micronations claim sovereignty over physical territory, others are based solely around the Internet or do not claim sovereignty at all, a hobbyist paradigm of micronationalism that arose with the rise of the Internet from the mid-1990s onwards.[12][13][14]

In 2021, legal academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams, in their Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty, defined micronations as:

self-declared nations that perform and mimic acts of sovereignty, and adopt many of the protocols of nations, but lack a foundation in domestic and international law for their existence and are not recognised as nations in domestic or international forums.

— Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty, Page 76[15]

Online dictionary Collins English Dictionary, published by HarperCollins, gives a similar definition:

An entity, typically existing only on the internet or within the private property of its members, that lays claim to sovereign status as an independent nation, but which is unrecognized by real nations.

— Collins English Dictionary[16]

History

See also: List of micronations

Retrospective micronations

Several historical political entities have been retroactively described as "micronations" in academic and journalistic works, including the Islands of Refreshment (existed 1811–16),[17] Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia (since 1860),[18] State of Scott (1861–1986),[19] Republic of Parva Domus Magna Quies (since 1878),[20] and the more contemporaneous Kingdom of Elleore (since 1944),[20] Republic of Saugeais (since 1947),[21] Principality of Outer Baldonia (1949–1973)[22] and Sultanate of M'Simbati (1959–fl. 1964).[23]

Libertarian micronations and seasteading projects: 1964–1972

Further information: micronation § Seasteading
 
Republic of Rose Island, before its destruction
 
The Republic of Minerva was a libertarian project that succeeded in building an artificial island in 1972 by importing sand

Several entities that can be considered micronations by contemporary standards were established throughout the 1960s and early 1970s and based on ideals of libertarianism and many of them created via seasteading.

New Atlantis was founded in 1964 by writer Leicester Hemingway, claiming a bamboo raft that he had constructed with steel, iron piping and rock. Hemingway had it towed 9.7 kilometres (6.0 mi) off the coast of Jamaica and argued that it was technically an island and fully sovereign based on the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Although Hemingway had plans to expand the raft, it was destroyed in 1966 by tropical storms, and the project was completely abandoned in 1973.[24][25] In 1967, Paddy Roy Bates squatted on HM Fort Roughs, an offshore platform in the North Sea used during World War II approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) off the coast of the United Kingdom.[26] Bates had intended to broadcast a pirate radio station from the platform, however ultimately never did so.[27] He instead declared the independence of Fort Roughs and deemed it the Principality of Sealand.[26][27] Bates died in 2012, and Michael Bates has since succeeded him as Prince of Sealand.[28] The Republic of Rose Island, an artificial platform constructed in 1968 by Italian architect Giorgio Rosa in the Adriatic Sea, was originally built as a tourist attraction, but Rosa soon declared it as sovereign.[29] The micronation had its own currency, a post office and commercial establishments. In 1969, the Italian Navy used explosives to destroy the facility, claiming it was a ploy to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation.[30] The Republic of Minerva was a libertarian project that succeeded in building a small, artificial island on the Minerva Reefs in 1972 by importing sand.[31] It was invaded by troops from Tonga that same year, who annexed it before destroying the island.[29] During its brief existence, Minerva was a media sensation.[32]

Conceptualisation

The International Micropatrological Society (IMS), an American learned society and research institute, was founded in 1973 and dedicated to the study of micronations, a discipline it named micropatrology.[33][34][35] By 1976, it had documents pertaining to 128 micronations and similar political entities.[36] The earliest attested use of micronation in its current meaning appeared on 28 March 1976 in an article by the New York Times about the IMS.[36] The first use of micronation in a book was in an eponymous dedicated section of the 1978 The People's Almanac #2 by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace.[37] In 1979, the first book about micronations, How to Start Your Own Country, was published by Erwin S. Strauss.[38] The IMS contributed considerably to the work.[39] However, the word micronation is notably absent from the book. A second edition of the work was published in 1984 by Loompanics, followed in 1999 by a third edition published by Paladin Press.[38] According to the Yearbook of International Organizations, the IMS was disestablished in 1988.[40]

Initial developments in Australia: 1970–1981

 
Entrance to the Principality of Hutt River (formerly Hutt River Province), a micronation founded in 1970

Australia has a disproportionate number of micronations compared to other countries.[41][42] The first micronation founded within Australia was the Principality of Hutt River in 1970. It was declared independent by farmer Leonard Casley over a dispute concerning wheat production quotas.[43] In 2017, the Supreme Court of Western Australia ordered that Casley pay $2.7 million in unpaid tax, and that his son Arthur Casley pay $242,000 in unpaid tax.[44] Casley abdicated in 2017 in favour of his son Graeme.[43] Leonard died in 2019, and Hutt River dissolved the following year amidst continued disputes with the Australian Taxation Office as well as the financial impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[45] In 1976, the Province of Bumbunga was declared by Alec Brackstone in response to the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Brackstone, an ardent British monarchist, became alarmed by what he saw as a drift away from the Australian system of constitutional monarchy toward outright republicanism. Thus, to ensure that at least one portion of Australia would remain loyal to the British Crown, Bumbunga was declared.[46][47]

The Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina was proclaimed in 1978 by German migrant Paul Neuman. Aeterna Lucina came to public attention in 1990 when Neuman faced fraud charges in the New South Wales court system relating to land sale offences; the case was abandoned in 1992.[48] In 1979, the Independent State of Rainbow Creek was declared by Thomas Barnes in protest of alleged incompetence by the Government of Victoria in regards to the flooding of his and others' properties.[49] He was inspired by Hutt River.[50] The Grand Duchy of Avram was established in Tasmania in the early 1980s by politician John Charlton Rudge, and issues its own banknotes.[41] In recognition of his status, Rudge legally changed his name to John the Duke of Avram.[51] In 1981, the Empire of Atlantium was founded in Sydney as a non-territorial global government based on the ideals of secularism, progressivism and liberalism. Among the causes Atlantium supports are the right to unrestricted international freedom of movement, the right to abortion, and the right to assisted suicide.[52][53]

Micronational community in Japan: 1981–1991

In 1981, drawing on a news report about Leicester Hemingway's "New Atlantis", novelist Hisashi Inoue wrote a 700-page work of magic realism, Kirikirijin, about a village that secedes from Japan and proclaims its bumpkinish, marginalized dialect its national language, and its subsequent war of independence. This single-handedly inspired a large number of Japanese villages, mostly in the northern regions, to "declare independence", generally as a move to raise awareness of their unique culture and crafts for urban Japanese who saw village life as backwards and uncultured. These micronations even held intermicronational summits between 1983 and 1985, and some of them formed confederations and intermicronational organisations. The Ginko Federation held an intermicronational Olympic games in 1986. However, the economic impact of the Japanese asset price bubble in 1991 ended the boom. Many of the villages were forced to merge with larger cities, and the micronations and confederations were generally dissolved.[54][55][56]

Protest micronations: 1980s

The 1980s saw the establishment of several micronational entities in protest.

The Free Republic of Wendland was a protest camp established in Gorleben, West Germany in 1980 in order to protest against the establishment of a nuclear waste dump at the site. The residents created a border checkpoint and built a temporary village with more than 100 huts, ranging from elaborate round houses to tents. After 33 days, the local police moved in and evicted the camp.[57][58] Also in 1980, the Independent State of Aramoana was declared by residents of the eponymous settlement during the Save Aramoana Campaign, which was opposed to the proposed construction of an aluminium smelter at Aramoana in New Zealand.[59] This was because the project called for the destruction of the villages of Aramoana and Te Ngaru, and also threatened a local wildlife reserve. The project was ultimately abandoned in the early 1980s, and the micronation of Aramoana peacefully reintegrated into New Zealand.[60]

The Conch Republic was founded by local residents of the Florida Keys in 1982 after the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock and inspection point on one of the only two roads connecting the Florida Keys with the mainland. The Key West City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience, claiming that it hurt the Keys' tourism industry. Though the roadblock was soon removed, the claim to sovereignty of the Conch Republic has persisted as a tongue-in-cheek venture meant to booster tourism.[61] In 1986, the Kingdom of North Dumpling was declared by inventor Dean Kamen after a denial from local officials to build his own wind turbine on North Dumpling Island, which Kamen privately owns. Kamen wrote his own constitution and created a flag, currency and national anthem for the micronation.[62] In 1992, despite still being recognised as part of the United States, Kamen was able to leverage his personal relationship with then-president George H. W. Bush to sign an unofficial non-aggression pact.[63]

Artistic micronations: 1990s

Several conceptual art projects with micronational claims arose in the 1990s, usually as a means to challenge the idea of statehood.[64]

In 1991, Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK), a Slovenian political art collective, declared independence. NSK describes itself as a "State in Time," claiming no territory in order to be a "stateless state."[64] Elgaland-Vargaland is a conceptual art project founded in 1992 by Swedish artists Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Leif Elggren. According to them, everyone who dies is automatically granted citizenship. Among Elgaland-Vargaland's territorial claims include graveyards, people's mental states and "the distance between high tide and low tide" of France.[65][66] They also claim to operate embassies around the world.[67] In 1996, Swedish artist Lars Vilks proclaimed the Royal Republic of Ladonia as a result of a court battle between local authorities over Vilks' illegal construction of two sculptures in the natural reserve of Kullaberg in southern Sweden. Ladonia's claim of independence has since persisted following Vilks' death in 2021, with Carolyn Shelby serving as Queen since 2011.[68] In 1997, the neighbourhood of Užupis in Vilnius, Lithuania declared tongue-in-cheek independence as a republic consisting of laidback artists.[69]

Effects of the Internet and media attention

In the mid-1990s, the emerging popularity of the World Wide Web made it possible for anyone to create their own virtual state-like entity with relative ease,[13][70] and many micronations launched their own websites.[12] As a result, micronationalism lost much of its traditionally eccentric anti-establishment sentiment in favour of more hobbyist perspectives, and the number of exclusively online or merely simulation-based micronations expanded dramatically.[71] Intermicronational organisations were also established, with the League of Secessionist States, originally founded in 1980 by the Kingdom of Talossa,[72] and the United Micronations being at the forefront.[13] The French Institute of Micropatrology (French: l'Institut français de micropatrologie) was founded in 1996 by Swiss author Fabrice O'Driscoll of Aix-Marseille University to study this phenomenon.[12][73] Other online micronational services during the 1990s included MicroWorld, a monthly micronational magazine,[12] and alt.politics.micronations, a Usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussions regarding micronationalism.[74] In 2000, O'Driscoll published his book Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU: revue de quelques micro-Etats, micro-nations et autres entités éphémères (They don't sit at the UN: a review of some micro-states, micro-nations and other ephemeral entities), which details over 600 micronations.[1]

In 2000, the Republic of Molossia and the erstwhile Kingdom of TorHavn hosted an Intermicronational Olympic Games online to coincide with the 2000 Summer Olympics.[75] Six micronations competed and were asked to record their performances then report it to a Molossian message board.[76] In 2003, the First Summit of Micronations summit commenced in Helsinki, Finland, coinciding with a performance art festival called Amorph!03. Six micronations were represented.[77] An art exhibition exhibiting various micronational miscellanea, We Could Have Invited Everyone, occurred in 2004 and 2005 at the Reg Vardy Gallery, University of Sunderland, England and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York City, United States respectively.[78][79] The items were featured alongside artwork by artists including Yoko Ono and Nina Katchadourian.[79][80] Both exhibitions coincided with an intermicronational summit.[81] In 2005, the six-part BBC comedy-documentary series How to Start Your Own Country aired on BBC Two, in which comedian Danny Wallace attempts to create his own country in his apartment in Bow, London. The micronation he created was eventually named the Kingdom of Lovely.[82] The following year, the travel guide company Lonely Planet published a light-hearted guide to numerous micronations titled Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations.[83][84]

In 2007, two self-proclaimed princesses of the Sunda Democratic Empire, sisters Puteri Lamia Roro Wiranata and Puteri Fathia Reza, were detained by Malaysian immigration authorities for attempting to enter from Brunei using diplomatic passports from the Sunda Empire. They claimed to be the princesses of the historical Sunda Empire and that their parents were in "exile."[85][86] In early 2008, they were freed by the Sessions Court, but maintained their claim of Sundan citizenship, thus making them ineligible for deportation to Indonesia. The Malaysian authorities subsequently deemed them stateless individuals, and they were interned at an immigration depot under supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[87][88]

2010s

In 2010, the documentary film How to Start Your Own Country, directed by Jody Shapiro, was screened as part of the 35th Toronto International Film Festival.[89] The documentary explored various micronations around the world, and included an analysis of the concept of statehood, seasteading and citizenship.[89][90] The film was inspired by Erwin Strauss' eponymous book.[91] Also that same year, an intermicronational summit, PoliNation 2010, was held at Dangar Island in Sydney, Australia. It was organised by Judy Lattas of Macquarie University, Princess Paula of the Principality of Snake Hill and George Cruickshank of the Empire of Atlantium.[92][93] Between 2013 and 2014, two Aboriginal Australian nations declared independence from Australia as part of the concept of Australian Aboriginal sovereignty—first the Murrawarri Republic, comprising the Muruwari, in 2013, and the Sovereign Yidindji Government, comprising the Yidindji, in 2014.[94][95][96] In both cases, the declarations of independence went wholly unrecognised by the Government of Australia.[97][98]

In 2015, the first convention of the biannual MicroCon was held in Anaheim, California, United States. Hosted by the Republic of Molossia, several presentations were held by micronationalists regarding various topics in micronationalism.[99][100][101] The Organisation de la microfrancophonie, a French intermicronational organisation, was founded in 2015.[102] The organisation organised its first summit in 2016, hosted by the Principality of Aigues-Mortes.[103] In 2018, the Principality of Islandia was established by two individuals aiming to build a crowdfunded micronation.[104] Successfully purchasing the uninhabited Coffee Caye in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Belize in 2019, Prime Minister of Belize John Briceño dismissed the project in 2022, calling them "stupid" and stating "We will never allow anybody to have their own country within this country [Belize] - what a stupid thing. If you stupid enough to pay a lot of money to buy [a] piece of land, good for you."[105]

2020s

During the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, several micronations imposed their own restrictions, mimicking countries.[106] Some inactive Internet-based micronations also returned to activity as people were commanded to stay home and quarantine.[107] In 2020, Netflix released the film Rose Island, based on the story of engineer Giorgio Rosa and the Republic of Rose Island.[108] In 2021, academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams published Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty, a book exploring various aspects of micronationalism.[109][110] It was published by Cambridge University Press.[111] A follow-up book on micronations by Hobbs and Williams, entitled How to Rule Your Own Country: The Weird and Wonderful World of Micronations, was published in 2022 by the University of New South Wales Press.[112] Also in 2022, illusionist Uri Geller purchased Lamb, an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland, and declared it independent as the Republic of Lamb. Geller offers citizenship, with proceeds going to Save a Child's Heart, an Israeli charity.[113]

Territorial claims

 
Many micronations claim private property. Wrythe, the capital of the Empire of Austenasia, is a house in Carshalton, London

While most micronations claim land they can administer, often private property, some have made claimants to uninhabitable tracts of land. For instance, some micronations have claimed Bir Tawil and Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica, lands which are terra nullius—unclaimed by any other sovereign state.[114][115] Several others have also made claimants to other portions of Antarctica. Examples are the Grand Duchy of Westarctica and Grand Duchy of Flandrensis.[116] However, due to Antartica's remoteness, no micronation has yet to establish a permanent residence on the continent.[117] On the other hand, at least one micronationalist has physically reached Bir Tawil;[118] in June 2014, Virginian farmer Jeremiah Heaton travelled to the area and proclaimed the Kingdom of North Sudan. Heaton stated that he claimed the territory in order to fulfil a promise to his daughter to make her a princess, however Heaton has appeared to have other motivations, offering several initiatives—such as the implementation of a national currency and the construction of an international airport and capital city—via crowdfunding.[119][120]

Other micronational claimants have been made to small pockets on the west bank of the Danube between Serbia and Croatia. Some micronationalists argue that the land is terra nullius because Croatia states the pockets are Serbian, whilst Serbia makes no claims on the land.[121] However, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has rejected these claims, stating that the differing border claims between Serbia and Croatia do not involve terra nullius, and are not subject to occupation by a third party.[122] The most prominent example is the Free Republic of Liberland, which was proclaimed in April 2015 by Czech right-libertarian politician and activist Vít Jedlička, and claims the largest pocket Gornja Siga.[123][124] The land lacks infrastructure and lies on the floodplain of the Danube.[125]

Seasteading

Main article: Seasteading

Some micronations have attempted to establish themselves in international waters—parts of the sea that cannot be claimed by any sovereign state—by seasteading. This involves the creation of permanent dwellings at sea.[126] In 1964, writer Leicester Hemingway built a bamboo raft with steel, iron piping and rock, and had it towed 9.7 kilometres (6.0 mi) off the coast of Jamaica.[24] Hemingway declared it an independent constitutional republic called New Atlantis, arguing that his raft was technically an island and based his sovereignty on the Guano Islands Act of 1856.[127] Although Hemingway had plans to expand the raft, it was destroyed in 1966 by tropical storms.[24] By 1973, Hemingway had completely abandoned the project.[128] Operation Atlantis, another example, was a project started in 1968 by Werner Stiefel, aiming to establish a new, libertarian nation in international waters via seasteading.[129] The operation launched a ferrocement boat on the Hudson River in December 1971, piloting it to an area near the Bahamas with the intent to permanently anchor it as their territory.[130] Upon reaching its destination, however, it sank in a hurricane.[131] After a number of subsequent failed attempts to construct a habitable sea platform and achieve sovereign status, the project was abandoned in 1976.[132] Another seasteading micronation was the Republic of Rose Island in the Adriatic Sea.[30]

Other claims

The Space Kingdom of Asgardia, founded in October 2016, claims an artificial satellite that orbited the Earth.[133][134] Named Asgardia-1, the two-unit CubeSat was successfully launched by Orbital ATK in November 2017 as part of an International Space Station resupply mission.[135] Asgardia-1 reportedly re-entered the atmosphere in September 2022.[136] The Nation of Celestial Space claims all of outer space,[137] whilst the Empire of Angyalistan lays claim to garbage patches around the world's oceans in protest against their existence.[138]

Functions as a sovereign state

 
Coins minted by the Principality of Sealand

Micronations function in the same way as sovereign states in that they have their own government, constitution, legislation, and (if a democracy) hold national elections. Micronations often have national symbols such as a flag, coat of arms or seal, motto and anthem, and many micronations also issue coins, banknotes, stamps, passports, passport stamps, orders of merit and bestow honours and titles of nobility, although these are not recognised internationally.[4][11][133][139] Some micronations have made profits by selling these items as souvenirs and memorabilia to tourists and via their national websites, and others have even sold citizenship and titles of nobility.[26][140] Sone micronational coinage and stamps, if professionally made, have become valued as collector's items by numismatists and philatelists (stamp collectors) alike.[141] In addition, both Sealand and Seborga have their own national association football teams. The Sealand national football team was founded in 2004[142] and became an associate member of the N.F.-Board, a federation made up of unrecognised states, stateless peoples, regions and micronations that are not allowed to join FIFA, in 2006.[143] The Seborga national football team was founded in 2014, and is run by the Football Federation of the Principality of Seborga.[144]

Community

Diplomacy

 
Representatives of the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis and the Republic of St. Charlie after signing a treaty

Like countries, micronations engage in intermicronational diplomacy with one another. This includes the signing of treaties, non-aggression pacts and intermicronational conventions, diplomatic missions and declarations of war.[145] Several intermicronational organisations also exist, with some having as many as 80 member states. Most of these organisations generally work to maintain peace, strengthen micronational cooperation and to improve diplomatic relations between member states.[146][147] Due to the large number of such organisations existing and operating soley online, with many having a similar purpose, the disparaging epithet "YAMO" (an acronym for the phrase "Yet Another Micronational Organisation") is commonly used in the intermicronational community in criticism of such organisations.[148]

Intermicronational summits

Further information: summit (meeting)
 
Attendees of MicroCon 2022

Intermicronational summits are also commonplace within the micronational community,[149] and several reoccurring summits have taken place. These include the sporadic PoliNation, biannual MicroCon;[99] and the Organisation de la microfrancophonie has hosted three intermicronational summits between its member states.[150] PoliNation 2010 was held at Dangar Island, Sydney, Australia and was organised by Judy Lattas of Macquarie University, Princess Paula of the Principality of Snake Hill and George Cruickshank of the Empire of Atlantium.[92][93] PoliNation 2012 was held in London, United Kingdom, and PoliNation 2015 commenced at Umbria, Italy.[151][152] MicroCon 2015 was held in Anaheim, California and hosted by Molossia;[100] MicroCon 2017 in Tucker, Georgia by the Kingdom of Ruritania;[153] MicroCon 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada by the Kingdom of Slabovia;[149][154] and MicroCon 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada by Westarctica, having been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[155] With 113 attendees, MicroCon 2019 claims to have been the most attended intermicronational summit in history.[154] The first summit hosted by the Microfrancophonie was held in 2016 in Aigues-Mortes, Occitania, and hosted by the Principality of Aigues-Mortes;[103] the second summit took place in 2018 in Vincennes, Paris and was hosted by Angyalistan;[156] the third summit took place in 2022 in Blaye, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, organised by the Principality of Hélianthis.[150]

Websites and online communities

There are thousands of micronations which exist and operate solely online.[157] Micronationalists convene and engage with one another through several online platforms, especially social media and historically forums (message boards), where micronationalists can share lessons and ideas as well as gain inspiration for establishing their own micronation.[158] MicroWiki, the largest micronational wiki and encyclopaedia, has thousands of articles on various topics related to micronationalism "with many country pages [on MicroWiki] longer than those of real nations [on Wikipedia]," and a number of micronations exist and conduct diplomacy solely on the wiki, utilising it as an online community.[159][160][161] As of December 2022, the largest micronational group on Facebook, Micronations and Alternative Polities, had almost 3,400 members,[162] and the subreddit forum r/micronations on Reddit had another 6,700.[149][163]

Legality

The study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology[164] or micropatrology.[165]

Arguments for sovereignty

Micronations have no basis in international law. Despite this, several micronations have attempted to justify their claims to sovereignty by citing loopholes in local laws. A commonly attempted tactic used by micronationalists to legitimise their claims is the declarative theory of statehood as defined by the Montevideo Convention, which defines a state as: "a person of international law [that] possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states."[166][167]

In 2019, a couple seasteading off the coast of Thailand went into hiding after being accused by the Royal Thai Navy of violating Thailand's sovereignty. If found guilty, they could face life in prison or the death penalty.[168][169]

Based on historical claims

Some micronations are founded on the basis of historical anomalies. The Principality of Seborga was founded in 1963 by Giorgio Carbone, who claimed to have found documents from the Vatican archives which, according to Carbone, indicated that Seborga had never been a possession of the House of Savoy and was thus not legally included in the Kingdom of Italy when it was formed in 1861, meaning that Seborga had remained sovereign.[170][171][172] The Romanov Empire, created by chairman of the Monarchist Party of Russia Anton Bakov, claims to be a re-creation of the Russian Empire that holds Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen as the rightful heir to the imperial throne.[173]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Both terms also refer to the study of microstates.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Vieira, Fátima (2022). "Micronations and Hyperutopias". In Marks, Peter; Wagner-Lawlor, Jennifer A.; Vieira, Fátima (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures. Palgrave Macmillan. Springer International Publishing. p. 282. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88654-7_22. ISBN 978-3-030-88654-7.
  2. ^ Eccardt, Thomas M. (2005). Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City. Hippocrene Books. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-781-81032-6.
  3. ^ Mislan & Streich 2018, p. 17, 26.
  4. ^ a b Sawe, Benjamin Elisha (25 April 2017). "What Is A Micronation?". World Atlas. World Facts.
  5. ^ Hobbs & Williams 2021b, p. 82, 202.
  6. ^ Hobbs & Williams 2021b, p. 2.
  7. ^ Hobbs & Williams 2021a, p. 75.
  8. ^ Wedgwood, Ruth (2000). "Cyber-Nations". Kentucky Law Journal. University of Kentucky College of Law. 88 (4): 962.
  9. ^ Oeuillet, Julien (7 December 2015). . The Brussels Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016.
  10. ^ Ferguson 2009, p. 1–2.
  11. ^ a b Moreau 2014, p. 59–60.
  12. ^ a b c d Latrive, Florent (2 October 1998). "L'organisation des nations online. De Choconia à Mérovingie, les «micronations» virtuelles se développent sur l'Internet avec leur Constitution, leur drapeau, voire leur monnaie. Entre jeux de rôles, création artistique et laboratoire politique" [The organization of nations online. From Choconia to Merovingia, virtual "micronations" are developing on the Internet with their own constitution, their own flag, even their own currency. Between roleplay, artistic creation and political laboratory.]. Libération (in French).
  13. ^ a b c Mihm, Stephen (25 May 2000). "Utopian Rulers, and Spoofs, Stake Out Territory Online". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Lasserre 2000, p. 11–17.
  15. ^ Hobbs & Williams 2021b, p. 76.
  16. ^ "micronation". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins.
  17. ^ Hobbs & Williams 2021b, p. 14.
  18. ^ Ferguson 2009, p. 1.
  19. ^ Lienhard, John H. (27 June 2022). Small Countries (audio). The Engines of Our Ingenuity. The University of Houston. Event occurs at 2:15–2:37.
  20. ^ a b Hobbs & Williams 2021b, p. 105.
  21. ^ Eyres, Lebby (12 March 2020). "A Tiny Country between France and Switzerland". BBC Travel. BBC News.
  22. ^ Mackinnon, Lachlan (2014). ""Give me fish, not federalism"" (PDF). Shima. 8 (2): 106.
  23. ^ Hobbs & Williams 2021b, p. 169.
  24. ^ a b c "Leicester Hemingway: An Inventory of His New Atlantis Collection in the Manuscript Collection at the Harry Ransom Center". Harry Ransom Center. University of Texas at Austin. n.d.
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Bibliography

Further reading

External links

 
The Wikibook Making an Island has a page on the topic of: Declaring Independence
 
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January 07, 2023
micronation, this, article, about, self, proclaimed, political, entities, that, recognised, states, small, countries, that, officially, recognised, microstate, confused, with, unrecognised, state, micronation, political, entity, whose, members, claim, that, th. This article is about self proclaimed political entities that are not recognised as states For small countries that are officially recognised see Microstate Not to be confused with unrecognised state A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations Micronations are classified separately from de facto states and quasi states they are also not considered to be autonomous nor self governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence Micronations activities are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than challenged by the established nations whose territory they claim referred to in micronationalism as macronations Several micronations have issued coins flags postage stamps passports medals and other state related items some as a source of revenue Motivations for the creation of micronations include theoretical experimentation political protest artistic expression personal entertainment and the conduct of criminal activity The study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology or micropatrology a The Principality of Sealand is a micronation located on a seafort off the coast of the United Kingdom Although several historical states have been retroactively called micronations the concept was formulated in the 1970s with a particular influence from the International Micropatrological Society Micronationalism saw several developments thereafter with several micronations being founded in Australia in the 1970s and a micronations boom in Japan in the 1980s As a result of the emergence of the World Wide Web in the mid 1990s micronationalism lost much of its traditionally eccentric anti establishment sentiment in favour of more hobbyist perspectives and the number of exclusively online or merely simulation based micronations expanded dramatically This has allowed several intermicronational organisations to form as well as allow for numerous diplomatic summits to take place since the 2000s Contents 1 Definition 2 History 2 1 Retrospective micronations 2 2 Libertarian micronations and seasteading projects 1964 1972 2 3 Conceptualisation 2 4 Initial developments in Australia 1970 1981 2 5 Micronational community in Japan 1981 1991 2 6 Protest micronations 1980s 2 7 Artistic micronations 1990s 2 8 Effects of the Internet and media attention 2 9 2010s 2 10 2020s 3 Territorial claims 3 1 Seasteading 3 2 Other claims 4 Functions as a sovereign state 5 Community 5 1 Diplomacy 5 1 1 Intermicronational summits 5 2 Websites and online communities 6 Legality 6 1 Arguments for sovereignty 6 2 Based on historical claims 7 See also 8 Footnotes 9 References 9 1 Bibliography 10 Further reading 11 External linksDefinition EditSee also Westphalian sovereignty Micronations are aspirant states that claim independence but lack legal recognition by world governments or major international organisations 3 4 Micronations are classified separately from states with limited recognition and quasi states nor are they considered to be autonomous nor self governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence 5 While some are secessionist in nature most micronations are widely regarded as sovereignty projects that instead seek to mimic a sovereign state rather than to achieve international recognition and their activities are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than challenged by the established nations whose territory they claim 6 7 referred to as a macronation in micronationalism 8 Some micronations admit to having no intention of actually becoming internationally recognised as sovereign 9 Geographically most micronations are very small are often the outgrowth of a single individual rely on their sovereign state to some extent and mimic sovereign states by creating their own government legislation proclaiming national symbols holding national elections and engaging in diplomacy with other micronations 10 11 While most micronations claim sovereignty over physical territory others are based solely around the Internet or do not claim sovereignty at all a hobbyist paradigm of micronationalism that arose with the rise of the Internet from the mid 1990s onwards 12 13 14 In 2021 legal academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams in their Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty defined micronations as self declared nations that perform and mimic acts of sovereignty and adopt many of the protocols of nations but lack a foundation in domestic and international law for their existence and are not recognised as nations in domestic or international forums Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty Page 76 15 Online dictionary Collins English Dictionary published by HarperCollins gives a similar definition An entity typically existing only on the internet or within the private property of its members that lays claim to sovereign status as an independent nation but which is unrecognized by real nations Collins English Dictionary 16 History EditSee also List of micronations Retrospective micronations Edit Several historical political entities have been retroactively described as micronations in academic and journalistic works including the Islands of Refreshment existed 1811 16 17 Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia since 1860 18 State of Scott 1861 1986 19 Republic of Parva Domus Magna Quies since 1878 20 and the more contemporaneous Kingdom of Elleore since 1944 20 Republic of Saugeais since 1947 21 Principality of Outer Baldonia 1949 1973 22 and Sultanate of M Simbati 1959 fl 1964 23 Libertarian micronations and seasteading projects 1964 1972 Edit Further information micronation Seasteading Republic of Rose Island before its destruction The Republic of Minerva was a libertarian project that succeeded in building an artificial island in 1972 by importing sand Several entities that can be considered micronations by contemporary standards were established throughout the 1960s and early 1970s and based on ideals of libertarianism and many of them created via seasteading New Atlantis was founded in 1964 by writer Leicester Hemingway claiming a bamboo raft that he had constructed with steel iron piping and rock Hemingway had it towed 9 7 kilometres 6 0 mi off the coast of Jamaica and argued that it was technically an island and fully sovereign based on the Guano Islands Act of 1856 Although Hemingway had plans to expand the raft it was destroyed in 1966 by tropical storms and the project was completely abandoned in 1973 24 25 In 1967 Paddy Roy Bates squatted on HM Fort Roughs an offshore platform in the North Sea used during World War II approximately 12 kilometres 7 5 mi off the coast of the United Kingdom 26 Bates had intended to broadcast a pirate radio station from the platform however ultimately never did so 27 He instead declared the independence of Fort Roughs and deemed it the Principality of Sealand 26 27 Bates died in 2012 and Michael Bates has since succeeded him as Prince of Sealand 28 The Republic of Rose Island an artificial platform constructed in 1968 by Italian architect Giorgio Rosa in the Adriatic Sea was originally built as a tourist attraction but Rosa soon declared it as sovereign 29 The micronation had its own currency a post office and commercial establishments In 1969 the Italian Navy used explosives to destroy the facility claiming it was a ploy to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation 30 The Republic of Minerva was a libertarian project that succeeded in building a small artificial island on the Minerva Reefs in 1972 by importing sand 31 It was invaded by troops from Tonga that same year who annexed it before destroying the island 29 During its brief existence Minerva was a media sensation 32 Conceptualisation Edit The International Micropatrological Society IMS an American learned society and research institute was founded in 1973 and dedicated to the study of micronations a discipline it named micropatrology 33 34 35 By 1976 it had documents pertaining to 128 micronations and similar political entities 36 The earliest attested use of micronation in its current meaning appeared on 28 March 1976 in an article by the New York Times about the IMS 36 The first use of micronation in a book was in an eponymous dedicated section of the 1978 The People s Almanac 2 by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace 37 In 1979 the first book about micronations How to Start Your Own Country was published by Erwin S Strauss 38 The IMS contributed considerably to the work 39 However the word micronation is notably absent from the book A second edition of the work was published in 1984 by Loompanics followed in 1999 by a third edition published by Paladin Press 38 According to the Yearbook of International Organizations the IMS was disestablished in 1988 40 Initial developments in Australia 1970 1981 Edit Entrance to the Principality of Hutt River formerly Hutt River Province a micronation founded in 1970 Australia has a disproportionate number of micronations compared to other countries 41 42 The first micronation founded within Australia was the Principality of Hutt River in 1970 It was declared independent by farmer Leonard Casley over a dispute concerning wheat production quotas 43 In 2017 the Supreme Court of Western Australia ordered that Casley pay 2 7 million in unpaid tax and that his son Arthur Casley pay 242 000 in unpaid tax 44 Casley abdicated in 2017 in favour of his son Graeme 43 Leonard died in 2019 and Hutt River dissolved the following year amidst continued disputes with the Australian Taxation Office as well as the financial impact caused by the COVID 19 pandemic 45 In 1976 the Province of Bumbunga was declared by Alec Brackstone in response to the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Brackstone an ardent British monarchist became alarmed by what he saw as a drift away from the Australian system of constitutional monarchy toward outright republicanism Thus to ensure that at least one portion of Australia would remain loyal to the British Crown Bumbunga was declared 46 47 The Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina was proclaimed in 1978 by German migrant Paul Neuman Aeterna Lucina came to public attention in 1990 when Neuman faced fraud charges in the New South Wales court system relating to land sale offences the case was abandoned in 1992 48 In 1979 the Independent State of Rainbow Creek was declared by Thomas Barnes in protest of alleged incompetence by the Government of Victoria in regards to the flooding of his and others properties 49 He was inspired by Hutt River 50 The Grand Duchy of Avram was established in Tasmania in the early 1980s by politician John Charlton Rudge and issues its own banknotes 41 In recognition of his status Rudge legally changed his name to John the Duke of Avram 51 In 1981 the Empire of Atlantium was founded in Sydney as a non territorial global government based on the ideals of secularism progressivism and liberalism Among the causes Atlantium supports are the right to unrestricted international freedom of movement the right to abortion and the right to assisted suicide 52 53 Micronational community in Japan 1981 1991 Edit In 1981 drawing on a news report about Leicester Hemingway s New Atlantis novelist Hisashi Inoue wrote a 700 page work of magic realism Kirikirijin about a village that secedes from Japan and proclaims its bumpkinish marginalized dialect its national language and its subsequent war of independence This single handedly inspired a large number of Japanese villages mostly in the northern regions to declare independence generally as a move to raise awareness of their unique culture and crafts for urban Japanese who saw village life as backwards and uncultured These micronations even held intermicronational summits between 1983 and 1985 and some of them formed confederations and intermicronational organisations The Ginko Federation held an intermicronational Olympic games in 1986 However the economic impact of the Japanese asset price bubble in 1991 ended the boom Many of the villages were forced to merge with larger cities and the micronations and confederations were generally dissolved 54 55 56 Protest micronations 1980s Edit The 1980s saw the establishment of several micronational entities in protest The Free Republic of Wendland was a protest camp established in Gorleben West Germany in 1980 in order to protest against the establishment of a nuclear waste dump at the site The residents created a border checkpoint and built a temporary village with more than 100 huts ranging from elaborate round houses to tents After 33 days the local police moved in and evicted the camp 57 58 Also in 1980 the Independent State of Aramoana was declared by residents of the eponymous settlement during the Save Aramoana Campaign which was opposed to the proposed construction of an aluminium smelter at Aramoana in New Zealand 59 This was because the project called for the destruction of the villages of Aramoana and Te Ngaru and also threatened a local wildlife reserve The project was ultimately abandoned in the early 1980s and the micronation of Aramoana peacefully reintegrated into New Zealand 60 The Conch Republic was founded by local residents of the Florida Keys in 1982 after the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock and inspection point on one of the only two roads connecting the Florida Keys with the mainland The Key West City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience claiming that it hurt the Keys tourism industry Though the roadblock was soon removed the claim to sovereignty of the Conch Republic has persisted as a tongue in cheek venture meant to booster tourism 61 In 1986 the Kingdom of North Dumpling was declared by inventor Dean Kamen after a denial from local officials to build his own wind turbine on North Dumpling Island which Kamen privately owns Kamen wrote his own constitution and created a flag currency and national anthem for the micronation 62 In 1992 despite still being recognised as part of the United States Kamen was able to leverage his personal relationship with then president George H W Bush to sign an unofficial non aggression pact 63 Artistic micronations 1990s Edit Several conceptual art projects with micronational claims arose in the 1990s usually as a means to challenge the idea of statehood 64 In 1991 Neue Slowenische Kunst NSK a Slovenian political art collective declared independence NSK describes itself as a State in Time claiming no territory in order to be a stateless state 64 Elgaland Vargaland is a conceptual art project founded in 1992 by Swedish artists Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Leif Elggren According to them everyone who dies is automatically granted citizenship Among Elgaland Vargaland s territorial claims include graveyards people s mental states and the distance between high tide and low tide of France 65 66 They also claim to operate embassies around the world 67 In 1996 Swedish artist Lars Vilks proclaimed the Royal Republic of Ladonia as a result of a court battle between local authorities over Vilks illegal construction of two sculptures in the natural reserve of Kullaberg in southern Sweden Ladonia s claim of independence has since persisted following Vilks death in 2021 with Carolyn Shelby serving as Queen since 2011 68 In 1997 the neighbourhood of Uzupis in Vilnius Lithuania declared tongue in cheek independence as a republic consisting of laidback artists 69 Effects of the Internet and media attention Edit In the mid 1990s the emerging popularity of the World Wide Web made it possible for anyone to create their own virtual state like entity with relative ease 13 70 and many micronations launched their own websites 12 As a result micronationalism lost much of its traditionally eccentric anti establishment sentiment in favour of more hobbyist perspectives and the number of exclusively online or merely simulation based micronations expanded dramatically 71 Intermicronational organisations were also established with the League of Secessionist States originally founded in 1980 by the Kingdom of Talossa 72 and the United Micronations being at the forefront 13 The French Institute of Micropatrology French l Institut francais de micropatrologie was founded in 1996 by Swiss author Fabrice O Driscoll of Aix Marseille University to study this phenomenon 12 73 Other online micronational services during the 1990s included MicroWorld a monthly micronational magazine 12 and alt politics micronations a Usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussions regarding micronationalism 74 In 2000 O Driscoll published his book Ils ne siegent pas a l ONU revue de quelques micro Etats micro nations et autres entites ephemeres They don t sit at the UN a review of some micro states micro nations and other ephemeral entities which details over 600 micronations 1 In 2000 the Republic of Molossia and the erstwhile Kingdom of TorHavn hosted an Intermicronational Olympic Games online to coincide with the 2000 Summer Olympics 75 Six micronations competed and were asked to record their performances then report it to a Molossian message board 76 In 2003 the First Summit of Micronations summit commenced in Helsinki Finland coinciding with a performance art festival called Amorph 03 Six micronations were represented 77 An art exhibition exhibiting various micronational miscellanea We Could Have Invited Everyone occurred in 2004 and 2005 at the Reg Vardy Gallery University of Sunderland England and Andrew Kreps Gallery New York City United States respectively 78 79 The items were featured alongside artwork by artists including Yoko Ono and Nina Katchadourian 79 80 Both exhibitions coincided with an intermicronational summit 81 In 2005 the six part BBC comedy documentary series How to Start Your Own Country aired on BBC Two in which comedian Danny Wallace attempts to create his own country in his apartment in Bow London The micronation he created was eventually named the Kingdom of Lovely 82 The following year the travel guide company Lonely Planet published a light hearted guide to numerous micronations titled Micronations The Lonely Planet Guide to Home Made Nations 83 84 In 2007 two self proclaimed princesses of the Sunda Democratic Empire sisters Puteri Lamia Roro Wiranata and Puteri Fathia Reza were detained by Malaysian immigration authorities for attempting to enter from Brunei using diplomatic passports from the Sunda Empire They claimed to be the princesses of the historical Sunda Empire and that their parents were in exile 85 86 In early 2008 they were freed by the Sessions Court but maintained their claim of Sundan citizenship thus making them ineligible for deportation to Indonesia The Malaysian authorities subsequently deemed them stateless individuals and they were interned at an immigration depot under supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 87 88 2010s Edit In 2010 the documentary film How to Start Your Own Country directed by Jody Shapiro was screened as part of the 35th Toronto International Film Festival 89 The documentary explored various micronations around the world and included an analysis of the concept of statehood seasteading and citizenship 89 90 The film was inspired by Erwin Strauss eponymous book 91 Also that same year an intermicronational summit PoliNation 2010 was held at Dangar Island in Sydney Australia It was organised by Judy Lattas of Macquarie University Princess Paula of the Principality of Snake Hill and George Cruickshank of the Empire of Atlantium 92 93 Between 2013 and 2014 two Aboriginal Australian nations declared independence from Australia as part of the concept of Australian Aboriginal sovereignty first the Murrawarri Republic comprising the Muruwari in 2013 and the Sovereign Yidindji Government comprising the Yidindji in 2014 94 95 96 In both cases the declarations of independence went wholly unrecognised by the Government of Australia 97 98 In 2015 the first convention of the biannual MicroCon was held in Anaheim California United States Hosted by the Republic of Molossia several presentations were held by micronationalists regarding various topics in micronationalism 99 100 101 The Organisation de la microfrancophonie a French intermicronational organisation was founded in 2015 102 The organisation organised its first summit in 2016 hosted by the Principality of Aigues Mortes 103 In 2018 the Principality of Islandia was established by two individuals aiming to build a crowdfunded micronation 104 Successfully purchasing the uninhabited Coffee Caye in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Belize in 2019 Prime Minister of Belize John Briceno dismissed the project in 2022 calling them stupid and stating We will never allow anybody to have their own country within this country Belize what a stupid thing If you stupid enough to pay a lot of money to buy a piece of land good for you 105 2020s Edit During the COVID 19 pandemic that began in 2020 several micronations imposed their own restrictions mimicking countries 106 Some inactive Internet based micronations also returned to activity as people were commanded to stay home and quarantine 107 In 2020 Netflix released the film Rose Island based on the story of engineer Giorgio Rosa and the Republic of Rose Island 108 In 2021 academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams published Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty a book exploring various aspects of micronationalism 109 110 It was published by Cambridge University Press 111 A follow up book on micronations by Hobbs and Williams entitled How to Rule Your Own Country The Weird and Wonderful World of Micronations was published in 2022 by the University of New South Wales Press 112 Also in 2022 illusionist Uri Geller purchased Lamb an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland and declared it independent as the Republic of Lamb Geller offers citizenship with proceeds going to Save a Child s Heart an Israeli charity 113 Territorial claims Edit Many micronations claim private property Wrythe the capital of the Empire of Austenasia is a house in Carshalton London While most micronations claim land they can administer often private property some have made claimants to uninhabitable tracts of land For instance some micronations have claimed Bir Tawil and Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica lands which are terra nullius unclaimed by any other sovereign state 114 115 Several others have also made claimants to other portions of Antarctica Examples are the Grand Duchy of Westarctica and Grand Duchy of Flandrensis 116 However due to Antartica s remoteness no micronation has yet to establish a permanent residence on the continent 117 On the other hand at least one micronationalist has physically reached Bir Tawil 118 in June 2014 Virginian farmer Jeremiah Heaton travelled to the area and proclaimed the Kingdom of North Sudan Heaton stated that he claimed the territory in order to fulfil a promise to his daughter to make her a princess however Heaton has appeared to have other motivations offering several initiatives such as the implementation of a national currency and the construction of an international airport and capital city via crowdfunding 119 120 Other micronational claimants have been made to small pockets on the west bank of the Danube between Serbia and Croatia Some micronationalists argue that the land is terra nullius because Croatia states the pockets are Serbian whilst Serbia makes no claims on the land 121 However the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has rejected these claims stating that the differing border claims between Serbia and Croatia do not involve terra nullius and are not subject to occupation by a third party 122 The most prominent example is the Free Republic of Liberland which was proclaimed in April 2015 by Czech right libertarian politician and activist Vit Jedlicka and claims the largest pocket Gornja Siga 123 124 The land lacks infrastructure and lies on the floodplain of the Danube 125 Seasteading Edit Main article Seasteading Some micronations have attempted to establish themselves in international waters parts of the sea that cannot be claimed by any sovereign state by seasteading This involves the creation of permanent dwellings at sea 126 In 1964 writer Leicester Hemingway built a bamboo raft with steel iron piping and rock and had it towed 9 7 kilometres 6 0 mi off the coast of Jamaica 24 Hemingway declared it an independent constitutional republic called New Atlantis arguing that his raft was technically an island and based his sovereignty on the Guano Islands Act of 1856 127 Although Hemingway had plans to expand the raft it was destroyed in 1966 by tropical storms 24 By 1973 Hemingway had completely abandoned the project 128 Operation Atlantis another example was a project started in 1968 by Werner Stiefel aiming to establish a new libertarian nation in international waters via seasteading 129 The operation launched a ferrocement boat on the Hudson River in December 1971 piloting it to an area near the Bahamas with the intent to permanently anchor it as their territory 130 Upon reaching its destination however it sank in a hurricane 131 After a number of subsequent failed attempts to construct a habitable sea platform and achieve sovereign status the project was abandoned in 1976 132 Another seasteading micronation was the Republic of Rose Island in the Adriatic Sea 30 Other claims Edit The Space Kingdom of Asgardia founded in October 2016 claims an artificial satellite that orbited the Earth 133 134 Named Asgardia 1 the two unit CubeSat was successfully launched by Orbital ATK in November 2017 as part of an International Space Station resupply mission 135 Asgardia 1 reportedly re entered the atmosphere in September 2022 136 The Nation of Celestial Space claims all of outer space 137 whilst the Empire of Angyalistan lays claim to garbage patches around the world s oceans in protest against their existence 138 Functions as a sovereign state Edit Coins minted by the Principality of Sealand Micronations function in the same way as sovereign states in that they have their own government constitution legislation and if a democracy hold national elections Micronations often have national symbols such as a flag coat of arms or seal motto and anthem and many micronations also issue coins banknotes stamps passports passport stamps orders of merit and bestow honours and titles of nobility although these are not recognised internationally 4 11 133 139 Some micronations have made profits by selling these items as souvenirs and memorabilia to tourists and via their national websites and others have even sold citizenship and titles of nobility 26 140 Sone micronational coinage and stamps if professionally made have become valued as collector s items by numismatists and philatelists stamp collectors alike 141 In addition both Sealand and Seborga have their own national association football teams The Sealand national football team was founded in 2004 142 and became an associate member of the N F Board a federation made up of unrecognised states stateless peoples regions and micronations that are not allowed to join FIFA in 2006 143 The Seborga national football team was founded in 2014 and is run by the Football Federation of the Principality of Seborga 144 Community EditDiplomacy Edit Representatives of the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis and the Republic of St Charlie after signing a treaty Like countries micronations engage in intermicronational diplomacy with one another This includes the signing of treaties non aggression pacts and intermicronational conventions diplomatic missions and declarations of war 145 Several intermicronational organisations also exist with some having as many as 80 member states Most of these organisations generally work to maintain peace strengthen micronational cooperation and to improve diplomatic relations between member states 146 147 Due to the large number of such organisations existing and operating soley online with many having a similar purpose the disparaging epithet YAMO an acronym for the phrase Yet Another Micronational Organisation is commonly used in the intermicronational community in criticism of such organisations 148 Intermicronational summits Edit Further information summit meeting Attendees of MicroCon 2022 Intermicronational summits are also commonplace within the micronational community 149 and several reoccurring summits have taken place These include the sporadic PoliNation biannual MicroCon 99 and the Organisation de la microfrancophonie has hosted three intermicronational summits between its member states 150 PoliNation 2010 was held at Dangar Island Sydney Australia and was organised by Judy Lattas of Macquarie University Princess Paula of the Principality of Snake Hill and George Cruickshank of the Empire of Atlantium 92 93 PoliNation 2012 was held in London United Kingdom and PoliNation 2015 commenced at Umbria Italy 151 152 MicroCon 2015 was held in Anaheim California and hosted by Molossia 100 MicroCon 2017 in Tucker Georgia by the Kingdom of Ruritania 153 MicroCon 2019 in Hamilton Ontario Canada by the Kingdom of Slabovia 149 154 and MicroCon 2022 in Las Vegas Nevada by Westarctica having been delayed due to the COVID 19 pandemic 155 With 113 attendees MicroCon 2019 claims to have been the most attended intermicronational summit in history 154 The first summit hosted by the Microfrancophonie was held in 2016 in Aigues Mortes Occitania and hosted by the Principality of Aigues Mortes 103 the second summit took place in 2018 in Vincennes Paris and was hosted by Angyalistan 156 the third summit took place in 2022 in Blaye Nouvelle Aquitaine organised by the Principality of Helianthis 150 Websites and online communities Edit There are thousands of micronations which exist and operate solely online 157 Micronationalists convene and engage with one another through several online platforms especially social media and historically forums message boards where micronationalists can share lessons and ideas as well as gain inspiration for establishing their own micronation 158 MicroWiki the largest micronational wiki and encyclopaedia has thousands of articles on various topics related to micronationalism with many country pages on MicroWiki longer than those of real nations on Wikipedia and a number of micronations exist and conduct diplomacy solely on the wiki utilising it as an online community 159 160 161 As of December 2022 the largest micronational group on Facebook Micronations and Alternative Polities had almost 3 400 members 162 and the subreddit forum r micronations on Reddit had another 6 700 149 163 Legality EditThe study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology 164 or micropatrology 165 Arguments for sovereignty Edit Micronations have no basis in international law Despite this several micronations have attempted to justify their claims to sovereignty by citing loopholes in local laws A commonly attempted tactic used by micronationalists to legitimise their claims is the declarative theory of statehood as defined by the Montevideo Convention which defines a state as a person of international law that possess the following qualifications a a permanent population b a defined territory c government and d capacity to enter into relations with the other states 166 167 In 2019 a couple seasteading off the coast of Thailand went into hiding after being accused by the Royal Thai Navy of violating Thailand s sovereignty If found guilty they could face life in prison or the death penalty 168 169 Based on historical claims Edit Some micronations are founded on the basis of historical anomalies The Principality of Seborga was founded in 1963 by Giorgio Carbone who claimed to have found documents from the Vatican archives which according to Carbone indicated that Seborga had never been a possession of the House of Savoy and was thus not legally included in the Kingdom of Italy when it was formed in 1861 meaning that Seborga had remained sovereign 170 171 172 The Romanov Empire created by chairman of the Monarchist Party of Russia Anton Bakov claims to be a re creation of the Russian Empire that holds Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen as the rightful heir to the imperial throne 173 See also EditLeague of Small and Subject Nationalities List of micronations List of unrecognised countries Fictional country Nation building Quasi state State buildingFootnotes Edit Both terms also refer to the study of microstates 1 2 References Edit a b Vieira Fatima 2022 Micronations and Hyperutopias In Marks Peter Wagner Lawlor Jennifer A Vieira Fatima eds The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures Palgrave Macmillan Springer International Publishing p 282 doi 10 1007 978 3 030 88654 7 22 ISBN 978 3 030 88654 7 Eccardt Thomas M 2005 Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe Andorra Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Monaco San Marino and Vatican City Hippocrene Books p 142 ISBN 978 0 781 81032 6 Mislan amp Streich 2018 p 17 26 a b Sawe Benjamin Elisha 25 April 2017 What Is A Micronation World Atlas World Facts Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 82 202 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 2 Hobbs amp Williams 2021a p 75 Wedgwood Ruth 2000 Cyber Nations Kentucky Law Journal University of Kentucky College of Law 88 4 962 Oeuillet Julien 7 December 2015 Springtime of micronations spearheaded by Belgian Grand Duke Niels The Brussels Times Archived from the original on 13 January 2016 Ferguson 2009 p 1 2 a b Moreau 2014 p 59 60 a b c d Latrive Florent 2 October 1998 L organisation des nations online De Choconia a Merovingie les micronations virtuelles se developpent sur l Internet avec leur Constitution leur drapeau voire leur monnaie Entre jeux de roles creation artistique et laboratoire politique The organization of nations online From Choconia to Merovingia virtual micronations are developing on the Internet with their own constitution their own flag even their own currency Between roleplay artistic creation and political laboratory Liberation in French a b c Mihm Stephen 25 May 2000 Utopian Rulers and Spoofs Stake Out Territory Online The New York Times Lasserre 2000 p 11 17 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 76 micronation Collins English Dictionary HarperCollins Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 14 Ferguson 2009 p 1 Lienhard John H 27 June 2022 Small Countries audio The Engines of Our Ingenuity The University of Houston Event occurs at 2 15 2 37 a b Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 105 Eyres Lebby 12 March 2020 A Tiny Country between France and Switzerland BBC Travel BBC News Mackinnon Lachlan 2014 Give me fish not federalism PDF Shima 8 2 106 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 169 a b c Leicester Hemingway An Inventory of His New Atlantis Collection in the Manuscript Collection at the Harry Ransom Center Harry Ransom Center University of Texas at Austin n d Strauss 1999 p 65 68 a b c MacEacheran Mike 6 July 2020 Sealand A peculiar nation off England s coast BBC Travel BBC News a b Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 9 Prince of Sealand Roy Bates dies in Essex BBC News 10 October 2012 a b Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 14 a b Imarisio Marco 28 August 2009 Riemerge l isola dell Utopia The island of Utopia re emerges Corriere della Sera in Italian Strauss 1999 p 115 116 Strauss 1999 p 123 O Driscoll 2000 p 100 Moreau 2014 p 51 Strauss 1999 p 162 a b Bongartz Roy 28 March 1976 Nations Off the Beaten Track The New York Times via the New York Times Archives Wallechinsky David Irving Wallace 1978 The People s Almanac 2 William Morrow and Company pp 330 331 ISBN 978 0 553 01137 1 a b Strauss 1999 Strauss 1999 p II International Micropatrological Society IMS Global Civil Society Database Yearbook of International Organizations Union of International Associations UIA n d a b Trigger Rebecca 10 February 2017 Micro nations Meet the tiny states who ve said see ya later to the Commonwealth ABC News Hobbs Harry Williams George 23 October 2022b Raising the drawbridge why are so many Australians creating their own countries The Guardian a b Leonard Casley obituary The Times 5 March 2019 Neuweiler Sebastian Menagh Joanna 16 June 2017 Australia s oldest micro nation founders ordered to pay 3m tax bill ABC News O Connell Ronan 10 August 2020 Australia s oldest micronation Hutt River is no more thanks to Covid 19 CNN Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 144 Cook Craig 30 June 2018 Bumbunga Governor Alec Brackstone s relentless will to secede The Advertiser Brown Malcom 24 June 1992 Clouds cleared on baron s reign The Sydney Morning Herald p 10 via the SMH Archives Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 97 Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 145 Hobbs amp Williams 2022 p 24 25 Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 74 Gilbert Ewan 17 October 2015 Empire of Atlantium Take a glimpse into Australia s smallest micronation ABC News Inoue Shigeru 2010 日本まちづくり事典 Nippon Matchidukuri Jiten in Japanese pp 407 409 ISBN 978 4 621 08194 5 Streich Philip 2021 The Japanese Experience with Micronations PDF Transformations 35 119 128 Pasion Adam 9 February 2016 The Will to Secede Japan s Micro nation Boom Japan Daily Werner Carina 3 May 2020 Freie Republik Wendland Gelebte Utopie der Atomkraftgegner Free Republic of Wendland Living utopia of nuclear power opponents Norddeutscher Rundfunk in German Venceremos tschuss Venceremos Goodbye Der Spiegel in German 13 July 1980 Hobbs amp Williams 2022 p 194 Constantine Ellie 13 December 2011 Aramoana pathway to the sea Otago Daily Times Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 131 133 Ravo Nick 22 April 1988 Our Towns From L I Sound A New Nation Asserts Itself The New York Times Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 150 a b Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 110 Hobbs amp Williams 2022 p 113 Kennedy Randy 9 June 2007 At Venice Biennale Artists Plant Flag for Their State of Mind The New York Times Daniel Sabine 26 March 2019 Culture L Ambassade d Elgaland Vargaland hebergee au FRAC de Caen Culture The Embassy of Elgaland Vargaland hosted at the FRAC in Caen France Info in French Drottningen av Ladonien Var plikt att rora oss framat The Queen of Ladonia Our duty is to move forward Dagens Nyheter in Swedish 11 October 2021 Rhone Erin 15 October 2018 Uzupis A tiny republic of free spirits BBC News Lasserre 2000 p 10 Lasserre 2000 p 1 3 8 O Driscoll 2000 p 258 Foucher Dufoix Valerie Dufoix Stephane February 2012 La patrie peut elle etre virtuelle Can the homeland be virtual Pardes in French In Press 52 57 75 via Cairn info Lattas Judy 2005 Fine Michael Smith Nicholas Wise Amanda eds DIY sovereignty and the popular right in Australia Macquarie University p 14 Hobbs amp Williams 2022 p 220 Hay Mark 14 October 2016 The Absurd History Of The Intermicronational Olympic Games GOOD Magazine Kochta Kalleinen Oliver 2005 2003 Amorph 03 Summit Of Micronations Protocols PDF Artists Association MUU Translated by Monni Sari Kallio Mikko ISBN 978 9 519 65536 9 Hidden nations revealed The Northern Echo 29 October 2004 a b Smith Roberta 15 July 2005 Art in Review We Could Have Invited Everyone The New York Times Raven Francis September 2005 We Could Have Invited Everyone The Brooklyn Rail We Could Have Invited Everyone 24 Jun 2005 29 Jul 2005 Andrew Kreps Gallery Press release Kunstaspekte Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 28 Chadwick Alex 1 November 2007 Lonely Planet Explores Micronations NPR Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 Then Stephen 24 July 2007 Two princesses detained in Sarawak The Star Self professed princesses from ancient Indonesian monarchy face Malaysia court Taiwan News Associated Press 12 September 2007 Archived from the original on 10 May 2022 Gustaman Y 20 June 2020 Tak Akui Indonesia Ini Kewarganegaraan Dua Putri Mahkota Sunda Empire di Paspor Diplomatiknya Not Recognizing Indonesia These are the Citizenship of the Two Crown Princesses of the Sunda Empire in their Diplomatic Passport Tribun Jakarta id in Indonesian Ariyani Tatik 21 June 2020 13 Tahun 2 Putri Sunda Empire Mendekam di Sel Mau Dibebaskan Pemerintah Malaysia Bingung Karena Keduanya Tidak Mengaku Sebagai WNI Kekeh Mengaku dari Sunda Empire 13 year old daughters of Sunda Empire languish in cell want to be released but Malaysian government confused because neither of them claim to be Indonesian citizens Kekeh claims to be from the Sunda Empire Intisari in Indonesian a b Anderson John 12 September 2010 How to Start Your Own Country Variety The Seasteading Institute 20 October 2010 Review of Micronation Film Highlights Seasteading Vision The Seasteading Institute Harvey Shannon 5 October 2011 Documentary explores the meaning of country The West Australian a b Squires Nick 4 May 2010 The world s micronations unite to demand recognition The Telegraph a b PoliNation A One Day Conference on Micronationalism Macquarie University n d Archived from the original on 12 October 2010 Neubauer Ian Lloyd 30 May 2013 Australia s Aborigines Launch a Bold Legal Push for Independence Time Waby Tasmin 3 November 2015 Aboriginal tribe cuts ties with Australia Lonely Planet Robertson Joshua 17 February 2016 Self declared sovereign Indigenous nation recognised by Australian minister The Guardian Hobbs amp Williams 2022 p 192 Howden Saffron 2 November 2015 Murrumu Walubara Yidindji renounces citizenship to reclaim Australia The Age a b Simon Johnny 31 March 2018 Meet the leaders of the world s imaginary nations Quartz a b Neuman Scott 10 April 2015 Tiny Territories Mingle At MicroCon Passports Optional NPR Usborne Simon 13 April 2015 MicroCon 2015 Dictators of the world unite at world summit of micronations countries too small to count The Independent Baudet Marie Beatrice 20 August 2021 Flandrensis le Grand Duche qui veut sauver la planete Flandrensis the Grand Duchy that wants to save the planet Le Monde in French a b Bonzom Nicolas 26 September 2016 Le sommet francophone des micronations entre folkore et engagement citoyen The Francophone micronational summit between folklore and citizen engagement 20 Minutes in French Collett Richard 10 March 2022 They bought a Caribbean island to start their own country CNN Thackray Lucy 31 March 2022 Crowdfunded private island sparks feud after owners claim it as micronation The Independent Haines Gavin 25 March 2020 How micronations are responding to the coronavirus Lonely Planet Hookway James 21 June 2020 Fake Countries Have a Hard Time Dealing with the Pandemic Too The Wall Street Journal Rose Island Netflix adapts the story of prince of anarchists Giorgio Rosa BBC News 7 December 2020 Corbett Jack May 2022 Book review Micronations and the search for sovereignty Small States amp Territories Islands and Small States Institute University of Malta 5 1 229 230 de Castro Vicente Bicudo 11 March 2022 Harry Hobbs and George Williams Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty PDF Shima Shima Publishing 16 1 421 425 doi 10 21463 shima 159 Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty Cambridge University Press n d Forget a castle your home can be your very own nation The Australian 28 October 2022 Berg Raffi 7 August 2022 The mysteries that gave birth to the world s newest micronation BBC News Micronation Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 130 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 130 132 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 133 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 84 Jackson Joe 11 May 2015 Creating the Kingdom of North Sudan Al Jazeera Helen Regan 12 May 2015 World s First Crowdsourced Country Campaign Aims to Solve World Hunger Time Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 139 140 On Virtual Narratives at Croatia s Borders Hungarian Embassy of the Republic of Croatia Press release Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Croatia 6 July 2015 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 139 Bartlett Jamie 24 May 2016 The crypto libertarians using technology to undermine the nation state The Telegraph Palmeri Tara 2 September 2016 Looking for Liberland Politico Eveleth Rose 14 April 2015 I rule my own ocean micronation BBC News Strauss 1999 p 65 67 Strauss 1999 p 68 Simpson 2016 p I Baker Chris 19 January 2009 Live Free or Drown Floating Utopias on the Cheap Wired Simpson 2016 p 28 Strauss 1999 p 74 a b Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 75 Cuthbertson Anthony 26 June 2018 Space kingdom Asgardia wants IQ tests for wannabe citizens The Independent Crane Leah 13 November 2017 The space nation Asgardia just launched its first satellite New Scientist Mack Eric 7 September 2022 Asgardia the World s First Space Kingdom Could Soon Crash Back to Earth CNET Strauss 1999 p 82 85 Baudet Marie Beatrice 18 August 2021 L invitation au reve de l empire d Angyalistan qui regne en tout bien tout honneur sur la ligne d horizon The invitation to dream of the empire of Angyalistan which reigns supreme on the horizon Le Monde Ferguson 2009 p 2 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 32 Lee Winnie 6 February 2020 The Joy of Collecting Stamps From Countries That Don t Really Exist Atlas Obscura Ralf Little gets an international cap for Sealand BBC Sport BBC News 7 May 2012 NF Board Opens Registrations for the 1st Viva World Cup in Northern Cyprus Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Press release 1 July 2015 La Federazione Calcistica di Seborga ottiene il primo titolo nazionale italiano The Seborga Football Federation obtains its first Italian national title Riviera24 in Italian 3 October 2022 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 154 155 Moreau 2014 p 236 237 Ferguson 2009 p 16 Skye Zabelle 2022 YAMO Micronational Dictionary MicroLunarius Publications Institute of Micropatriological Research p 17 a b c Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 155 a b Maury Martial 28 August 2022 Blaye devient la capitale de la microfrancophonie Blaye becomes the capital of the Microfrancophonie Sud Quest in French PoliNation 2012 London MicronationConference com n d Archived from the original on 25 May 2012 FQ 4 July 2015 Micronazioni conferenza ad Alcatraz quella in Umbria per costituire la mini Onu Micronations conference in Alcatraz the one in Umbria to set up the mini UN il Fatto Quotidiano in Italian Buckner Heather 30 June 2017 You probably didn t know but leaders from 26 micronations just gathered in Atlanta Atlanta a b The 3rd global conference for micronations MicroCon2019 com n d MicroCon 2022 MicroCon2022 com n d Neves Corinne 20 July 2018 Les faux princes empereurs et marquis des micronations francophones en sommet a Vincennes The fake princes emperors and marquises of the Francophonie micronations at a summit in Vincennes Le Parisien in French Retrieved 6 November 2022 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 12 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 203 216 Usborne Simon 13 April 2015 MicroCon 2015 Dictators of the world unite at world summit of micronations countries too small to count The Independent Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 203 Hayward 2018 p 163 168 Micronations and Alternative Polities Facebook Facebook Group Meta Platforms 3 386 total members r micronations Reddit Subreddit Advance Publications 6 7K Nation Builders Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 74 Ferguson 2009 p 37 Furnues 2018 p 11 12 Hobbs amp Williams 2021b p 28 29 Weedon Alan 18 April 2019 Bitcoin couple could face death penalty in Thailand for seastead floating home in international waters ABC News US man could face death penalty over Thailand sea home BBC News 18 April 2019 His Tremendousness Giorgio Carbone The Telegraph 27 November 2009 Bosio Dario 27 February 2018 An Italian village that wants independence BBC Travel short documentary BBC News Ryan Dunford amp Sellars 2006 p 28 33 Bernard Lagan Parfitt Tom 28 February 2017 Russian monarchist dreams of Romanov revival in the Pacific The Times Bibliography Edit Fuligni Bruno 1997 L Etat c est moi Histoire des monarchies privees principautes de fantaisie et autres republiques pirates Editions de Paris fr in French ISBN 978 2 90529 169 1 Strauss Erwin S 1999 1979 How to Start Your Own Country Paladin Press 3 ed ISBN 978 1 58160 524 2 via the Open Library O Driscoll Fabrice 2000 Ils ne siegent pas a l ONU revue de quelques micro Etats micro nations et autres entites ephemeres Presses du Midi fr in French Institut francais de micropatrologie ISBN 978 2 87867 251 0 Lasserre Frederic 14 March 2000 Les hommes qui voulaient etre rois Principautes et nations sur Internet Cybergeo fr in French doi 10 4000 cybergeo 4397 via OpenEdition org Ryan John Dunford George Sellars Simon 2006 Micronations The Lonely Planet Guide to Home Made Nations Lonely Planet ISBN 978 1 74104 730 1 Ferguson Bennie Lee 2009 What is a Nation The Micronationalist Challenge to Traditional Concepts of the Nation state PDF Thesis Wichita State University Moreau Terri Ann 2014 Subversive Sovereignty Parodic Representations of Micropatrias Enclaved by the United Kingdom PDF Thesis University of London Simpson Isabelle 27 September 2016 Operation Atlantis A case study in libertarian island micronationality PDF Shima Shima Publishing 10 2 19 35 doi 10 21463 shima 10 2 05 Mislan David Bell Streich Philip 2018 Weird IR Deviant Cases in International Relations Palgrave Macmillan Springer International Publishing ISBN 978 3 319 75555 7 Furnues David 2018 The Rise of Non territorial Sovereignties and Micronations PDF UNU CRIS United Nations University Hayward Philip 2018 Secessionism submergence and Siteresponsive art The Embassy of the Commonwealth of New Bayswater at the 1st Fremantle Biennale PDF Shima 12 163 168 doi 10 21463 shima 12 1 14 S2CID 195031869 Hobbs Harry Williams George 2021a Micronations A lacuna in the law International Journal of Constitutional Law Oxford University Press New York University School of Law 19 1 71 97 doi 10 1093 icon moab020 Hobbs Harry Williams George 2021b Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 009 15013 2 Hobbs Harry Williams George 2022 How to Rule Your Own Country The Weird and Wonderful World of Micronations University of New South Wales Press ISBN 978 1 742 23773 2 Further reading EditFuligni Bruno Hanne Isabelle 2013 Micronations Diaphane in French ISBN 978 2 919 07719 9 Istok Robert Novakova Stefania 2014 Micronationalism as a Phenomenon of the Present PDF Folia Geographica University of Presov 56 1 46 56 Lonely Planet Kids 2015 You Rule Create Your Own Country Lonely Planet ISBN 978 1 743 60784 8 Hobbs Harry Williams George 1 June 2021 The demise of the second largest country in Australia micronations and Australian exceptionalism Australian Journal of Political Science Routledge 56 2 206 293 doi 10 1080 10361146 2021 1935450 S2CID 235598841 Riding James Dahlman Carl T 23 May 2022 Montage space Borderlands micronations terra nullius and the imperialism of the geographical imagination Dialogues in Human Geography SAGE Publishing 12 2 278 301 doi 10 1177 20438206221102597 S2CID 249051290 External links EditMicronation at MicroWiki the free micronational encyclopaedia micronation at Lexico UK English Dictionary Oxford University Press archived The Wikibook Making an Island has a page on the topic of Declaring Independence Wikimedia Commons has media related to Micronation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Micronation amp oldid 1132018936, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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