Editing Micronation (section)

== Definition ==
{{see also|Sovereignty}}

Micronations are [[aspirant states]] that claim [[statehood|independence]] but lack [[legal recognition]] by world governments or major [[international organisations]].{{sfn|Mislan|Streich|2018|p=17, 26}}<ref name="Sawe">{{cite web|last=Sawe|first=Benjamin Elisha|date=25 April 2017|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-a-micronation.html|title=What Is A Micronation?|series=World Facts|work=World Atlas}}</ref> Micronations are classified separately from [[states with limited recognition]] and [[quasi-state]]s, nor are they considered to be [[autonomous region|autonomous]] or [[self-governing]] as they lack the legal basis in [[international law]] for their existence.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=82, 202}} 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{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=2}}{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021a|p=75}}—referred to as a ''macronation'' in micronationalism.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wedgwood|first=Ruth|year=2000|url=https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol88/iss4/5/|title=Cyber-Nations|journal=[[Kentucky Law Journal]]|publisher=[[University of Kentucky College of Law]]|volume=88|issue=4|page=962}}</ref> Some micronations admit to having no intention of actually becoming internationally recognised as sovereign.<ref name="Brussles">{{cite web|last=Oeuillet|first=Julien|date=7 December 2015|url=http://www.brusselstimes.com/magazine2/4653/springtime-of-micronations-spearheaded-by-belgian-grand-duke-niels|title=Springtime of micronations spearheaded by Belgian "Grand-Duke" Niels|work=[[The Brussels Times]]|archive-date=13 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113080229/http://www.brusselstimes.com/magazine2/4653/springtime-of-micronations-spearheaded-by-belgian-grand-duke-niels}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Ferguson|2009|p=1–2}}{{sfn|Moreau|2014|p=59–60}} 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.<ref name="web1">{{cite web|last=Latrive|first=Florent|date=2 October 1998|url=https://www.liberation.fr/ecrans/1998/10/02/l-organisation-des-nations-online-de-choconia-a-merovingie-les-micronations-virtuelles-se-developpen_249745/|title=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.|trans-title=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.|language=French|work=[[Libération]]}}</ref><ref name="web2">{{cite news |last=Mihm |first=Stephen |date=25 May 2000 |title=Utopian Rulers, and Spoofs, Stake Out Territory Online |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/25/technology/utopian-rulers-and-spoofs-stake-out-territory-online.html |url-access=limited}}</ref>{{sfn|Lasserre|2000|p=11–17}}

In 2021, legal academics [[Harry Hobbs]] and [[George Williams (lawyer)|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".{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=76}}

Online dictionary ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]'', published by [[HarperCollins]], gives a similar definition: "An [[Political entity|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."<ref>{{cite dictionary |title=micronation |dictionary=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/micronation}}</ref>