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A micronation is a
political entity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...
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-state A quasi-state (some times referred to as state-like entity or proto-state) is a political entity that does not represent a fully institutionalised or autonomous sovereign state. The precise definition of ''quasi-state'' in political literature f ...
s; 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. 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 The International Micropatrological Society (IMS) was an American learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), acade ...
. 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

Micronations are aspirant states that claim independence but lack legal recognition by world governments or major international organisations. Micronations are classified separately from states with limited recognition and
quasi-state A quasi-state (some times referred to as state-like entity or proto-state) is a political entity that does not represent a fully institutionalised or autonomous sovereign state. The precise definition of ''quasi-state'' in political literature f ...
s, nor are they considered to be autonomous nor self-governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence. 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—referred to as a "macronation" in micronationalism. Some micronations admit to having no intention of actually becoming internationally recognised as sovereign. 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. 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. In 2021, legal academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams, in their ''
Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty ''Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty'' is a non-fiction book written by the Australian lawyers and legal academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams about micronations and their legal status within international law. Written from an ...
'', defined micronations as: Online dictionary '' Collins English Dictionary'', published by HarperCollins, gives a similar definition:


History


Retrospective micronations

Several historical political entities have been retroactively described as "micronations" in academic and journalistic works, including the
Islands of Refreshment Islands of Refreshment was the name given to Tristan da Cunha by its self-proclaimed ruler, Jonathan Lambert, in 1811. History In the early 19th century American whalers frequented the neighboring waters and, on December 27, 1810, the Bosto ...
(existed 1811–16),
Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia ( es, Reino de la Araucanía y de la Patagonia; french: Royaume d'Araucanie et de Patagonie, sometimes referred to as ''New France'') was an unrecognized state declared by two ordinances on November 17, 18 ...
(since 1860), State of Scott (1861–1986),
Republic of Parva Domus Magna Quies Parva Domus, officially the Republic of Parva Domus Magna Quies (Latin for "small house, big rest") is a self-proclaimed micronational republic surrounded by the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. The nation has served as a civil, cultural and recre ...
(since 1878), and the more contemporaneous Kingdom of Elleore (since 1944), Republic of Saugeais (since 1947),
Principality of Outer Baldonia The Principality of Outer Baldonia is a defunct micronation that claimed sovereignty over approximately of Outer Bald Tusket Island, the southernmost of the Tusket Islands off the southern tip of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Founded in ...
(1949–1973) and
Sultanate of M'Simbati The Sultanate of M'Simbati was a micronation founded in 1959 in Tanganyika by Englishman Latham Leslie Moore, approximately 25 km southeast of Mtwara. Life events of Latham Leslie Moore Latham Leslie-Moore was born in Paddington, London, Unit ...
(1959–).


Libertarian micronations and seasteading projects: 1964–1972

Several entities that can be considered micronations by contemporary standards were established throughout the 1960s and early 1970s and based on ideals of
libertarianism Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
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 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. In 1967,
Paddy Roy Bates Patrick Roy Bates (29 August 1921 – 9 October 2012), also known as Prince Roy of Sealand, was a British pirate radio broadcaster and micronationalist, who founded the Principality of Sealand.Strauss, Erwin. ''How to Start Your Own Country'' ...
squatted on
HM Fort Roughs HM Fort Roughs was one of several World War II installations that were designed by Guy Maunsell and known collectively as ''His Majesty's Forts'' or as '' Maunsell Sea Forts''; its purpose was to guard the port of Harwich, Essex, and more ...
, an offshore platform in the North Sea used during World War II approximately off the coast of the United Kingdom. Bates had intended to broadcast a pirate radio station from the platform, however ultimately never did so. He instead declared the independence of Fort Roughs and deemed it the Principality of Sealand. Bates died in 2012, and Michael Bates has since succeeded him as Prince of Sealand. The
Republic of Rose Island The Republic of Rose Island ( eo, Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj; it, Repubblica dell'Isola delle Rose) was a short-lived micronation on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, off the coast of the province of Rimini, Italy. It was ...
, 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. The micronation had its own currency, a post office and commercial establishments. In 1969, the
Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
used explosives to destroy the facility, claiming it was a ploy to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation. 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. It was invaded by troops from Tonga that same year, who
annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
it before destroying the island. During its brief existence, Minerva was a
media sensation Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event for which the level of media coverage—measured by such factors as the number of reporters at the scene and the amount of material broadcast or published—is perceived t ...
.


Conceptualisation

The
International Micropatrological Society The International Micropatrological Society (IMS) was an American learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), acade ...
(IMS), an American learned society and
research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
, was founded in 1973 and dedicated to the study of micronations, a discipline it named ''micropatrology''. By 1976, it had documents pertaining to 128 micronations and similar political entities. 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. 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. In 1979, the first book about micronations, ''How to Start Your Own Country'', was published by
Erwin S. Strauss Erwin S. Strauss is an American author, science fiction fandom, science fiction fan, noted member of the MITSFS, and filk musician, born in Washington, D.C. He frequently is known by the nickname "Filthy Pierre". Science fiction and writing Str ...
. The IMS contributed considerably to the work. 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. According to the Yearbook of International Organizations, the IMS was disestablished in 1988.


Initial developments in Australia: 1970–1981

left, 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. The first micronation founded within Australia was the Principality of Hutt River in 1970. It was declared independent by farmer
Leonard Casley Leonard George Casley (28 August 1925 – 13 February 2019), better known as Prince Leonard, was the founder of the self-proclaimed micronation, the Principality of Hutt River, within the Australian state of Western Australia. He governed Hutt R ...
over a dispute concerning wheat
production quotas A production quota is a goal for the production of a good. It is typically set by a government or an organization, and can be applied to an individual worker, firm, industry or country. Quotas can be set high to encourage production, or can be use ...
. In 2017, the
Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...
ordered that Casley pay $2.7 million in unpaid tax, and that his son Arthur Casley pay $242,000 in unpaid tax. Casley abdicated in 2017 in favour of his son
Graeme Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan G ...
. 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. In 1976, the
Province of Bumbunga The Province of Bumbunga () was an Australian secessionist micronation located on a farm at Bumbunga near Snowtown and Lochiel, South Australia, from 1976 until approximately 2000. Its founder and only ruler was a British monkey trainer, uran ...
was declared by Alec Brackstone in response to the
1975 Australian constitutional crisis The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known simply as the Dismissal, culminated on 11 November 1975 with the dismissal from office of the prime minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Governor-General Sir Jo ...
. 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 The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
, Bumbunga was declared. 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. In 1979, the Independent State of Rainbow Creek was declared by Thomas Barnes in protest of alleged incompetence by the
Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...
in regards to the flooding of his and others' properties. He was inspired by Hutt River. The Grand Duchy of Avram was established in Tasmania in the early 1980s by politician John Charlton Rudge, and issues its own banknotes. In recognition of his status, Rudge legally changed his name to John the Duke of Avram. In 1981, the Empire of Atlantium was founded in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
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 Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...
, the right to abortion, and the right to
assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
.


Micronational community in Japan: 1981–1991

In 1981, drawing on a news report about Leicester Hemingway's "New Atlantis", novelist
Hisashi Inoue was a leading Japanese playwright and writer of comic fiction. From 1961 to 1986, he used the pen name of Uchiyama Hisashi. Early life Inoue was born in what is now part of Kawanishi in Yamagata Prefecture, where his father was a pharmacis ...
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 A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...
beetween 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 The was an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991 in which real estate and stock market prices were greatly inflated. In early 1992, this price bubble burst and Japan's economy stagnated. The bubble was characterized by rapid acceleration ...
in 1991 ended the boom. Many of the villages were forced to merge with larger cities, and the micronations and confederations were generally dissolved.


Protest micronations: 1980s

The 1980s saw the establishment of several micronational entities in protest. The
Free Republic of Wendland The Free Republic of Wendland (from German ''Republik Freies Wendland'') was a protest camp established in Gorleben, West Germany, on 3 May 1980 to protest against the establishment of a nuclear waste dump there. On 4 June 1980, the police moved i ...
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. 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. 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. The
Conch Republic The Conch Republic () is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek secession of the city of Key West, Florida, from the United States on April 23, 1982. It has been maintained as a tourism booster for the city. Since then, the term "Conch Rep ...
was founded by local residents of the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
in 1982 after the
United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...
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 Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
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. In 1986, the
Kingdom of North Dumpling North Dumpling Island is a island in Fishers Island Sound of Long Island Sound, off the coast of Connecticut, south of Groton, within the territory of the town of Southold on Long Island in New York State. The island is about north of Sou ...
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. 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 George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
to sign an unofficial non-aggression pact.


Artistic micronations: 1990s

Several conceptual art projects with micronational claims arose in the 1990s, usually as a means to challenge the idea of
statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
. In 1991, Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK), a Slovenian political
art collective An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the needs ...
, declared independence. NSK describes itself as a "State in Time," claiming no territory in order to be a "stateless state."
Elgaland-Vargaland Elgaland-Vargaland is a conceptual art project and micronation conceived and developed by Swedish artists Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Leif Elggren in 1992. It is also known by its acronym "KREV" (KonungaRikena Elgaland-Vargaland). Origins V ...
is a conceptual art project founded in 1992 by Swedish artists
Carl Michael von Hausswolff Carl Michael von Hausswolff (born 1956) is a composer, visual artist, and curator based in Stockholm, Sweden. His main tools are recording devices (camera, tape deck, radar, sonar) used in an ongoing investigation of electricity, frequency, ar ...
and
Leif Elggren Leif Elggren (born 1950, Linköping, Sweden), is a Swedish artist who lives and works in Stockholm. Active since the late 1970s, Leif Elggren has become one of the most constantly surprising conceptual artists to work in the combined worlds of ...
. According to them, everyone who dies is automatically granted citizenship. Among Elgaland-Vargaland's territorial claims include
graveyards A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
, people's mental states and "the distance between high tide and
low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...
" of France. They also claim to operate embassies around the world. In 1996, Swedish artist
Lars Vilks Lars Endel Roger Vilks (20 June 1946 – 3 October 2021) was a Swedish visual artist and activist who was known for the controversy surrounding his drawings of Muhammad. He also created the sculptures ''Nimis'' and ''Arx'', made of driftwood an ...
proclaimed the
Royal Republic of Ladonia Ladonia ( sv, Ladonien) is a micronation, proclaimed in 1996 as the result of a years-long court battle between artist Lars Vilks and local authorities over two sculptures. The claimed territory is part of the natural reserve of Kullaberg in sou ...
as a result of a court battle between local authorities over Vilks'
illegal construction Illegal construction (also known as illegal building or illegal housing) is construction work (or the result of such) without a valid construction permit. Besides the potential technical hazards on uncontrolled construction sites and in finished ...
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 Carolyn Shelby is an American micronationalist who currently reigns as the Queen and head of state of the Royal Republic of Ladonia. She has been reigning since June 2, 2011, succeeding Ywonne I Jarl as the head of state after being elected by ...
serving as Queen since 2011. In 1997, the neighbourhood of Užupis in Vilnius, Lithuania declared tongue-in-cheek independence as a republic consisting of laidback artists.


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, and many micronations launched their own websites. 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. Intermicronational organisations were also established, with the
League of Secessionist States The League of Secessionist States (LoSS; LOSS) is a dormant, Internet-based intermicronational organisation that exists "to promote intermicronational communication and partnership, and serves to act as a supramicronational, impartial Body wh ...
, originally founded in 1980 by the Kingdom of Talossa, and the
United Micronations 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 se ...
being at the forefront. The
French Institute of Micropatrology The International Micropatrological Society (IMS) was an American learned society and research institute dedicated to the study of micronations. Founded in 1973 by Frederick W. Lehmann IV of St. Louis, Michigan, the IMS coined '' micropatrology'' ...
(''l'Institut français de micropatrologie'') was founded in 1996 by Swiss author
Fabrice O'Driscoll Fabrice is a French masculine given name from the Roman name ''Fabricius'', which is itself derived from the Latin ''faber'' meaning blacksmith or craftsman. Notable people with the name include: * Fabrice Balanche (born 1969), French geographer * ...
of Aix-Marseille University to study this phenomenon. Other online micronational services during the 1990s included MicroWorld, a monthly micronational magazine, and alt.politics.micronations, a Usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussions regarding micronationalism. 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. In 2000, the
Republic of Molossia The Republic of Molossia, also known as Molossia (), is a micronation claiming sovereignty over of land near Dayton, Nevada. The micronation has not received recognition from any of the member states of the United Nations. It was founded by K ...
and the erstwhile
Kingdom of TorHavn Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
hosted an Intermicronational Olympic Games online to coincide with the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
. Six micronations competed and were asked to record their performances then report it to a Molossian message board. 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. 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. The items were featured alongside artwork by artists including Yoko Ono and
Nina Katchadourian Nina Katchadourian (born 1968) is an American interdisciplinary artist and educator. She works with photography, sculpture, video, and sound—often in playful ways. She is best known for her "Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style," a ...
. Both exhibitions coincided with an intermicronational summit. In 2005, the six-part BBC comedy- documentary series '' How to Start Your Own Country'' aired on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, 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. 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''. 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 The Sunda Democratic Empire, also known as the Sunda Empire-Earth Empire or simply Sunda Empire, which was founded by Lord Rangga Edi Raharjo in Brebes, Central Java. They claim that they are a great empire between the earth and the sun and have ...
and that their parents were in "
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
." 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 In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are s ...
, and they were interned at an immigration depot under supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.


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 The 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival, (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 9 and September 19, 2010. The opening night gala presented '' Score: A Hockey Musical'', a Canadian comedy-drama musical film. '' La ...
. The documentary explored various micronations around the world, and included an analysis of the concept of statehood, seasteading and citizenship. The film was inspired by Erwin Strauss' eponymous book. Also that same year, an intermicronational summit, PoliNation 2010, was held at Dangar Island in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. It was organised by Judy Lattas of
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...
, Princess Paula of the Principality of Snake Hill and George Cruickshank of the Empire of Atlantium. 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 The Murrawarri Republic is a micronation that declared its independence from Australia in 2013, claiming territory straddling the border of the states of New South Wales and Queensland within Australia. The territory is the traditional homelan ...
, comprising the
Muruwari The Muruwari, also spelt Murawari, Murawarri, Murrawarri and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of New South Wales and the southwestern area of Queensland. Language A monograph on and a dictionary of Muruwari have ...
, in 2013, and the
Sovereign Yidindji Government The Sovereign Yidindji Government or Yidindji Tribal Nation is an Aboriginal Australian microstate that is part of the Australian Aboriginal Sovereignty. Led by Murrumu Walubara Yidindji, members of the Yidindji nation renounced legal ties w ...
, comprising the Yidindji, in 2014. In both cases, the declarations of independence went wholly unrecognised by the
Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...
. 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. The ''
Organisation de la microfrancophonie The ''Organisation de la microfrancophonie'' (OMF; en, Organisation of the Microfrancophonie; shortened to Microfrancophonie) is an intermicronational organisation that aims to promote French-speaking ( Francophone) micronations in communities ...
'', a French intermicronational organisation, was founded in 2015. The organisation organised its first summit in 2016, hosted by the
Principality of Aigues-Mortes The Principality of Aigues-Mortes ( French: Principauté d'Aigues-Mortes) is a micronation that claims the city of Aigues-Mortes. It is not recognised by any country or government. Aigues-Mortes was founded in 2010 as a humorous parody of the Pri ...
. In 2018, the Principality of Islandia was established by two individuals aiming to build a crowdfunded micronation. Successfully purchasing the uninhabited
Coffee Caye The Principality of Islandia is an incipient micronation that claims Coffee Caye in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Belize as its territory. Coffee Caye is a currently uninhabited island of separated by a short boat trip from Belize City. Fou ...
in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Belize in 2019, Prime Minister of Belize
John Briceño John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
dismissed the project in 2022, calling them "stupid" and stating "We will never allow anybody to have their own country within this country elize- what a stupid thing. If you stupid enough to pay a lot of money to buy piece of land, good for you."


2020s

During the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, several micronations imposed their own restrictions, mimicking countries. Some inactive Internet-based micronations also returned to activity as people were commanded to stay home and quarantine. In 2020, Netflix released the film '' Rose Island'', based on the story of engineer Giorgio Rosa and the Republic of Rose Island. In 2021, academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams published ''Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty'', a book exploring various aspects of micronationalism. It was published by Cambridge University Press. 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. 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 A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
. Geller offers citizenship, with proceeds going to Save a Child's Heart, an Israeli charity.


Territorial claims

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 Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centur ...
in
West Antarctica West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica, one of the two major regions of Antarctica, is the part of that continent that lies within the Western Hemisphere, and includes the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from East Antarctica by the Transant ...
, lands which are '' terra nullius''—unclaimed by any other sovereign state. Several others have also made claimants to other portions of Antarctica. Examples are the
Grand Duchy of Westarctica Westarctica (officially the Grand Duchy of Westarctica, formerly the Protectorate of Westarctica) is an unrecognized micronation in Antarctica, founded in 2001 by Travis McHenry, who styles himself as Grand Duke Travis. It claims a region of W ...
and
Grand Duchy of Flandrensis The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis (Dutch: Groothertogdom Flandrensis) is a micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica, which was founded in 2008 by the Belgian Niels Vermeersch. Flandrensis is not recognised by any country or gover ...
. However, due to Antartica's remoteness, no micronation has yet to establish a permanent residence on the continent. On the other hand, at least one micronationalist has physically reached Bir Tawil; in June 2014, Virginian farmer Jeremiah Heaton travelled to the area and proclaimed the
Kingdom of North Sudan ( arz, بير طويل, translit=Bīr Ṭawīl, lit=tall water well, ) is a area of land along the border between Egypt and Sudan, which is uninhabited and claimed by neither country. When spoken of in association with the neighbouring Halaib ...
. 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 Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
. 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. 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. The most prominent example is the
Free Republic of Liberland Liberland, also known as the Free Republic of Liberland, is a micronation in Southeast Europe claiming an uninhabited parcel of disputed land on the western bank of the Danube, between Croatia and Serbia (locally known as Gornja Siga). It was p ...
, which was proclaimed in April 2015 by Czech right-libertarian politician and activist Vít Jedlička, and claims the largest pocket Gornja Siga. The land lacks infrastructure and lies on the floodplain of the Danube.


Seasteading

Some micronations have attempted to establish themselves in international waters—parts of the
sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
that cannot be claimed by any sovereign state—by seasteading. This involves the creation of permanent dwellings at sea. In 1964, writer Leicester Hemingway built a bamboo raft with steel, iron piping and rock, and had it towed off the coast of Jamaica. 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. Although Hemingway had plans to expand the raft, it was destroyed in 1966 by tropical storms. By 1973, Hemingway had completely abandoned the project.
Operation Atlantis Operation Atlantis was a project started by Werner Stiefel in 1968 aiming to establish a new, libertarian nation in international waters. The operation launched a ferro-cement boat on the Hudson River in December 1971 and piloted it to an area ...
, another example, was a project started in 1968 by Werner Stiefel, aiming to establish a new, libertarian nation in international waters via seasteading. 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. Upon reaching its destination, however, it sank in a hurricane. After a number of subsequent failed attempts to construct a habitable sea platform and achieve sovereign status, the project was abandoned in 1976. Another seasteading micronation was the Republic of Rose Island in the Adriatic Sea.


Other claims

The
Space Kingdom of Asgardia Asgardia, also known as the Space Kingdom of Asgardia and Asgardia the Space Nation, is a micronation formed by a group of people who have launched a satellite into Earth orbit. They refer to themselves as "Asgardians" and they have given thei ...
, founded in October 2016, claims an artificial satellite that orbited the Earth. Named
Asgardia-1 Asgardia, also known as the Space Kingdom of Asgardia and Asgardia the Space Nation, is a micronation formed by a group of people who have launched a satellite into Earth orbit. They refer to themselves as "Asgardians" and they have given thei ...
, the two-unit CubeSat was successfully launched by Orbital ATK in November 2017 as part of an International Space Station resupply mission. Asgardia-1 reportedly re-entered the atmosphere in September 2022. The
Nation of Celestial Space The Nation of Celestial Space (also known as Celestia) is a micronation created by Evergreen Park, Illinois resident James Thomas Mangan. Celestia comprised the entirety of "outer space", which Mangan laid claim to on behalf of humanity to ensu ...
claims all of outer space, whilst the
Empire of Angyalistan The ''Organisation de la microfrancophonie'' (OMF; en, Organisation of the Microfrancophonie; shortened to Microfrancophonie) is an intermicronational organisation that aims to promote French-speaking ( Francophone) micronations in communities ...
lays claim to
garbage patches A garbage patch is a gyre of marine debris particles caused by the effects of ocean currents and increasing plastic pollution by human populations. These human-caused collections of plastic and other debris, cause ecosystem and environmental probl ...
around the world's oceans in protest against their existence.


Functions as a sovereign state

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 A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
, coat of arms or seal, motto and
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
, and many micronations also issue coins, banknotes, stamps, passports,
passport stamps A passport stamp is an inked impression in a passport typically made by rubber stamp upon entering or exiting a territory. Passport stamps may occasionally take the form of sticker stamps, such as entry stamps from Japan. Depending on nationalit ...
, orders of merit and bestow honours and titles of nobility, although these are not recognised internationally. 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. Sone micronational coinage and stamps, if professionally made, have become valued as collector's items by numismatists and philatelists (stamp collectors) alike. In addition, both Sealand and Seborga have their own national association football teams. The Sealand national football team was founded in 2004 and became an associate member of the
N.F.-Board The N.F.-Board (french: Nouvelle Fédération-Board) was a federation of football associations established on 12 December 2003. It was made up of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, re ...
, a federation made up of unrecognised states,
stateless peoples A stateless nation is an ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state''Dictionary Of Public Administration'', U.C. Mandal, Sarup & Sons 2007, 505 p. and is not the majority population in any nation state. The term "stateless" impl ...
, regions and micronations that are not allowed to join
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
, in 2006. The Seborga national football team was founded in 2014, and is run by the Football Federation of the Principality of Seborga.


Community


Diplomacy

file:Flandrensispolination.JPG, Representatives of the
Grand Duchy of Flandrensis The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis (Dutch: Groothertogdom Flandrensis) is a micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica, which was founded in 2008 by the Belgian Niels Vermeersch. Flandrensis is not recognised by any country or gover ...
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. Several intermicronational organisations also exist, with some having as many as 80
member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...
. Most of these organisations generally work to maintain peace, strengthen micronational cooperation and to improve diplomatic relations between member states. 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.


Intermicronational summits

Intermicronational summits are also commonplace within the micronational community, and several reoccurring summits have taken place. These include the sporadic
PoliNation 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 se ...
, biannual MicroCon; and the ''Organisation de la microfrancophonie'' has hosted three intermicronational summits between its member states. PoliNation 2010 was held at Dangar Island,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia and was organised by Judy Lattas of
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...
, Princess Paula of the Principality of Snake Hill and George Cruickshank of the Empire of Atlantium. PoliNation 2012 was held in London, United Kingdom, and PoliNation 2015 commenced at Umbria, Italy. MicroCon 2015 was held in Anaheim, California and hosted by Molossia; MicroCon 2017 in Tucker, Georgia by the
Kingdom of Ruritania Ruritania is a fictional country, originally located in central Europe as a setting for novels by Anthony Hope, such as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1894). Nowadays the term connotes a quaint minor European country, or is used as a placeholder name f ...
; MicroCon 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada by the
Kingdom of Slabovia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
; and MicroCon 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada by Westarctica, having been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With 113 attendees, MicroCon 2019 claims to have been the most attended intermicronational summit in history. The first summit hosted by the ''Microfrancophonie'' was held in 2016 in Aigues-Mortes,
Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...
, and hosted by the
Principality of Aigues-Mortes The Principality of Aigues-Mortes ( French: Principauté d'Aigues-Mortes) is a micronation that claims the city of Aigues-Mortes. It is not recognised by any country or government. Aigues-Mortes was founded in 2010 as a humorous parody of the Pri ...
; the second summit took place in 2018 in Vincennes, Paris and was hosted by Angyalistan; the third summit took place in 2022 in Blaye, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, organised by the
Principality of Hélianthis A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
.


Websites and online communities

There are thousands of micronations which exist and operate solely online. 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.
MicroWiki MicroWiki is a free online encyclopedia about micronations launched in 2005. It has since become the principal way in which Internet users document micronational matters, as most do not meet Wikipedia's notability requirements. It is maintained b ...
, the largest micronational wiki and encyclopaedia, has thousands of articles on various topics related to micronationalism "with many country pages
n MicroWiki N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
longer than those of real nations n Wikipedia">Wikipedia.html" ;"title="n Wikipedia">n Wikipedia" and a number of micronations exist and conduct diplomacy solely on the wiki, utilising it as an online community. As of December 2022, the largest micronational Facebook Group, group on Facebook, ''Micronations and Alternative Polities'', had almost 3,400 members, and the subreddit forum r/micronations on Reddit had another 6,700.


Legality

The study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology or micropatrology.


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 A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow verti ...
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 should 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." 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 Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.


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 Seborga ( lij, A Seborca) is a small village and self-proclaimed principality in the region of Liguria near the French border. Administratively, it is a ''comune'' of the Italian province of Imperia. The main economic activities are horticulture ...
had never been a possession of the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
and was thus not legally included in the Kingdom of Italy when it was formed in 1861, meaning that Seborga had remained sovereign. 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 Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
to the imperial throne.


See also

*
League of Small and Subject Nationalities League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
* List of micronations *
List of unrecognised countries A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* Fictional country *
Nation-building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According to ...
*
Quasi-state A quasi-state (some times referred to as state-like entity or proto-state) is a political entity that does not represent a fully institutionalised or autonomous sovereign state. The precise definition of ''quasi-state'' in political literature f ...
* State-building


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * *


External links


Micronation
at
MicroWiki MicroWiki is a free online encyclopedia about micronations launched in 2005. It has since become the principal way in which Internet users document micronational matters, as most do not meet Wikipedia's notability requirements. It is maintained b ...
, the free micronational encyclopædia
micronation
at ''
Lexico Lexico was a dictionary website that provided a collection of English and Spanish dictionaries produced by Oxford University Press (OUP), the publishing house of the University of Oxford. While the dictionary content on Lexico came from OUP, th ...
UK English Dictionary''. Oxford University Press. {{Micronations Political neologisms Hobbies