Micronations In Sweden

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.

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

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-states, 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'', 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 (existed 1811–16), Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia (since 1860), State of Scott (1861–1986), Republic of Parva Domus Magna Quies (since 1878), and the more contemporaneous Kingdom of Elleore (since 1944), Republic of Saugeais (since 1947), Principality of Outer Baldonia (1949–1973) and Sultanate of M'Simbati (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 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 squatted on HM Fort Roughs, 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, 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 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 it before destroying the island. During its brief existence, Minerva was a media sensation.

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''. 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. 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 over a dispute concerning wheat production quotas. 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. Casley abdicated in 2017 in favour of his son Graeme. 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 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.

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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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. 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. 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.

Artistic micronations: 1990s

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

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." 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. They also claim to operate embassies around the world. 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. 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, originally founded in 1980 by the Kingdom of Talossa, and the United Micronations being at the forefront. The French Institute of Micropatrology (''l'Institut français de micropatrologie'') was founded in 1996 by Swiss author Fabrice O'Driscoll 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 and the erstwhile Kingdom of TorHavn hosted an Intermicronational Olympic Games online to coincide with the 2000 Summer Olympics. 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. Both exhibitions coincided with an intermicronational summit. In 2005, the six-part BBC
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