Editing Micronation

{{Short description|Self-proclaimed political entity}}
{{About|self-proclaimed political entities that are not recognised as states|small countries that are officially recognised|Microstate|recognized small countries larger than microstates|Small state}}
{{Distinguish|list of states with limited recognition{{!}}unrecognised state}}
{{Good article}}
[[File:Sealand fortress.jpg|thumb|The [[Principality of Sealand]] is a micronation located on [[HM Fort Roughs|a seafort]] off the coast of the United Kingdom.]]
{{Politics}}

A '''micronation''' is a [[polity|political entity]] whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent [[nation]] or [[sovereign state]], but which lacks [[legal recognition]] by any [[sovereign state]]. Micronations are classified separately from [[list of states with limited recognition|de facto states]] and [[quasi-state]]s; they are also not considered to be [[autonomous administrative division|autonomous]] or [[self-governance|self-governing]] as they lack the legal basis in [[international law]] for their existence. The activities of micronations are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than disputed by the established nations whose territory they claim—referred to in micronationalism as ''macronations''. Several micronations have issued coins, [[flags of micronations|flags]], postage stamps, [[Fantasy passport|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'''{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=74}} or '''micropatrology'''.{{sfn|Ferguson|2009|p=37}}{{efn|name="Note"|Both terms also refer to the study of [[microstates]].<ref name="Vieira"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Eccardt|first=Thomas M.|year=2005|title=Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City|publisher=[[Hippocrene Books]]|page=142|isbn=978-0-781-81032-6}}</ref>}}

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 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 allowing for many [[summit (meeting)|diplomatic summits]] to take place between micronations since the 2000s, including the biennial [[MicroCon]] convention.

== 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>

== 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),{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=14}} Court in Exile of the [[Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia]] (since 1860),{{sfn|Ferguson|2009|p=1}} [[State of Scott]] (1861–1986),<ref>{{cite AV media|last=Lienhard|first=John H.|date=27 June 2022|url=https://uh.edu/engines/epi3277.htm|title=Small Countries |publisher=[[University of Houston]]|time=2:15–2:37|format=audio}}</ref> [[Republic of Parva Domus Magna Quies]] (since 1878),{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=105}} and the more contemporary [[Kingdom of Elleore]] (since 1944),{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=105}} [[Republic of Saugeais]] (since 1947),<ref>{{cite news|first=Lebby|last=Eyres|date=12 March 2020|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200311-a-tiny-country-between-france-and-switzerland|title=A Tiny Country between France and Switzerland|work=[[BBC Travel]]|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> [[Principality of Outer Baldonia]] (1949–1973)<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mackinnon|first=Lachlan|date=2014|url=https://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v8n2/i.-MacKinnon-Shima-v8n2-105-119.pdf|title="Give me fish, not federalism"|journal=Shima|publisher=Shima Publishing|volume=8|number=2|page=106}}</ref> and [[Sultanate of M'Simbati]] (1959–{{floruit|1964}}).{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=169}}

=== Libertarian micronations and seasteading projects: 1964–1972 ===
[[File:Isoladellerose.jpg|thumb|[[Republic of Rose Island]], before its destruction]]
[[File:MinervaReef3.jpg|thumb|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 (micronation)|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 {{convert|9.7|km}} 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 within a few years by a cyclone, and the project was completely abandoned in 1973.<ref name="web3">{{cite web|url=https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingaid.cfm?eadid=00327|title=Leicester Hemingway: An Inventory of His New Atlantis Collection in the Manuscript Collection at the Harry Ransom Center|date=n.d.|work=[[Harry Ransom Center]]|publisher=[[University of Texas at Austin]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Strauss|1999|page=65–68}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/island-environments-in-a-changing-world/0DBFE3F1D0A2AA9ECF96DF86752E6A20|last1=Walker|first1=Lawrence R.|last2=Bellingham|first2=Peter|title=Island Environments in a Changing World|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-13950-026-5|page=34|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1967, [[Paddy Roy Bates]] squatted on [[HM Fort Roughs]], an offshore platform in the [[North Sea]] used during World War II approximately {{convert|12|km}} off the coast of the United Kingdom.<ref name="Mac"/> Bates had intended to broadcast a [[Pirate radio in the United Kingdom|pirate radio station]] from the platform, however ultimately never did so.{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=9}} He instead declared the independence of Fort Roughs and declared it the [[Principality of Sealand]].<ref name="Mac"/>{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=9}} Bates died in 2012, and [[Michael Bates (Sealand)|Michael Bates]] has since succeeded him as Prince of Sealand.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 October 2012 |title='Prince of Sealand' Roy Bates dies in Essex |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19901944 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331173525/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-19901944 |archive-date=March 31, 2014}}</ref>

[[Operation Atlantis]] was a project started in 1968 by Werner Stiefel, aiming to establish a new, libertarian nation in international waters via seasteading.{{sfn|Simpson|2016|p=I}} 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Baker|first=Chris|date=19 January 2009|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/01/mf-seasteading/?currentPage=all|title=Live Free or Drown: Floating Utopias on the Cheap|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref> Upon reaching its destination, however, it sank in a hurricane.{{sfn|Simpson|2016|p=28}} After a number of subsequent failed attempts to construct a habitable sea platform and achieve sovereign status, the project was abandoned in 1976.{{sfn|Strauss|1999|p=74}} The [[Republic of Rose Island]] was an artificial platform originally constructed as a [[tourist attraction]] in the [[Adriatic Sea]] in 1968. However, Italian architect Giorgio Rosa soon declared it sovereign.{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=14}} 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]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Imarisio|first=Marco|date=28 August 2009|url=https://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_agosto_28/isola_utopia_imarisio_64f311d6-9397-11de-8445-00144f02aabc.shtml|title=Riemerge l'isola dell'Utopia|trans-title=The island of Utopia re-emerges|language=Italian|work=[[Corriere della Sera]]}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Strauss|1999|p=115–116}} It was invaded by troops from Tonga that same year, who [[annexation|annexed]] it before destroying the island.{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=14}} During its brief existence, Minerva was a [[media sensation]].{{sfn|Strauss|1999|p=123}}

=== Conceptualisation ===
As of January 1973, the Office of the Geographer of the [[United States Department of State]] had a file cabinet for "countries which are only partially real", which included the [[Kingdom of Humanity]], Outer Baldonia, Minerva and the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]—not a micronation{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=50, 52}}—among others. Writer [[w:Philip J. Hilts|Philip J. Hilts]] added, "We know the [[Eastern bloc]], the [[Western bloc]], and the [[Third World]] nations. But there is another universe of nations which exist apart from the familiar countries."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hilts|first=Philip J.|author-link=Philip J. Hilts|date=21 January 1973|title=Where Is This Place?: Strange shores, indeed|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|page=PC12|id={{ProQuest|148471481}}}}</ref> 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''.{{sfn|O'Driscoll|2000|p=100}}{{sfn|Moreau|2014|page=51}}{{sfn|Strauss|1999|p=162}} By 1976, it had documents pertaining to 128 micronations and similar political entities.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/28/archives/nations-off-the-beaten-track-a-world-of-tiny-nations.html|last=Bongartz|first=Roy|date=28 March 1976|title=Nations Off the Beaten Track|work=[[The New York Times]]|via=the New York Times Archives}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NYT"/> 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]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wallechinsky|first1=David|last2=Irving|first2=Wallace|author1-link=David Wallechinsky|author2-link=Irving Wallace|year=1978|title=The People's Almanac #2|url=https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac200wall/page/330/mode/2up|publisher=[[William Morrow and Company]]|isbn=978-0-553-01137-1|pages=330–331}}</ref> In 1979, the first book about micronations, ''[[How to Start Your Own Country (book)|How to Start Your Own Country]]'', was published by [[Erwin S. Strauss]].{{sfn|Strauss|1999|loc="[[edition notice]]"}} The IMS contributed considerably to the work.{{sfn|Strauss|1999|page=II}} 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]].{{sfn|Strauss|1999|loc="[[edition notice]]"}} According to the [[Yearbook of International Organizations]], the IMS was disestablished in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100018345|title=International Micropatrological Society (IMS)|date=n.d. |website=[[Union of International Associations]] (UIA)}}</ref>

=== Initial developments in Australia: 1970–1981 ===
[[file:HRP3.jpg|thumb|left|Entrance to the [[Principality of Hutt River]] (formerly Hutt River Province), a micronation founded in Australia]]

Australia has a disproportionate number of micronations compared to other countries.<ref name="Trigger"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/23/raising-the-drawbridge-why-are-so-many-australians-creating-their-own-countries|last1=Hobbs|first1=Harry|last2=Williams|first2=George|date=23 October 2022b|title=Raising the drawbridge: why are so many Australians creating their own countries?|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Casley">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/leonard-casley-obituary-tvn6h5l0g|date=5 March 2019|title=Leonard Casley obituary|work=[[The Times]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Neuweiler|first1=Sebastian|last2=Menagh|first2=Joanna|date=16 June 2017|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-16/hutt-river-province-decision-on-ato-fight/8624450|title=Australia's oldest micro-nation founders ordered to pay $3m tax bill|work=ABC News}}</ref> Casley abdicated in 2017 in favour of his son [[Graeme Casley|Graeme]].<ref name="Casley"/> Leonard died in 2019, and Hutt River dissolved the following year amidst continued disputes with the [[Australian Taxation Office]] as well as the [[Financial market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|financial impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|last=O'Connell|first=Ronan|date=10 August 2020|title=Australia's oldest micronation, Hutt River is no more thanks to Covid-19|work=[[CNN]]|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/australia-micronation-hutt-river-principality/index.html}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=144}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/bumbunga-governor-alec-brackstones-relentless-will-to-secede/news-story/d743e96aaf5cb71cfc28b26bf7a30a6d|last=Cook|first=Craig|date=30 June 2018|title=Bumbunga Governor Alec Brackstone's relentless will to secede|work=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Malcom|url=|title=Clouds cleared on baron's reign|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=24 June 1992|page=10|via=the SMH Archives}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=97}} He was inspired by Hutt River.{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=145}} The [[Grand Duchy of Avram]] was established in [[Tasmania]] in the early 1980s by politician [[John Charlton Rudge]], and issues its own banknotes.<ref name="Trigger">{{cite news|last=Trigger|first=Rebecca|date=10 February 2017|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-10/meet-the-micro-nations-of-australia/8252020|title=Micro-nations: Meet the tiny states who've said 'see ya later' to the Commonwealth|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]}}</ref> In recognition of his status, Rudge legally changed his name to John the Duke of Avram.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2022|p=24–25}} 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]].{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=74}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/micronations/3039654|last=Gilbert|first=Ewan|date=17 October 2015|title=Empire of Atlantium: Take a glimpse into Australia's smallest micronation|work=ABC News}}</ref>

=== Micronational community in Japan: 1981–1991 ===
{{Main|Mini-dokuritsukoku}}

In 1981, drawing on a news story about 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 real-world 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, known as [[Mini-dokuritsukoku|mini-independent countries]] ({{langx|ja|ミニ独立国|mini dokuritsu koku}}),<ref>{{cite book|last=Vlastos|first=Stephen|year=1998|title=Mirror of Modernity: Invented Traditions of Modern Japan|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|page=121|isbn=978-05-20206-373}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Munetaka|last1=Kurahara|first2=Yuki|last2=Goto|first3=Toshiya|last3=Hikage|date=30 October 1996|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aija/61/488/61_KJ00004221789/_pdf/-char/ja|title=住民主体のまちづくりに向けての北海道ミニ独立国の活動に関する考察|trans-title=Consideration on the activities of the mini-independent country of Hokkaido for resident-centered town planning|language=Japanese|journal=Proceedings of the Architectural Institute of Japan|publisher=Architectural Institute of Japan|volume=61|issue=488|pages=165–175|doi=10.3130/aija.61.165_2|doi-access=free| issn = 1340-4210 }}</ref> held intermicronational [[summit (meeting)|summits]], 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.<ref>{{cite book|first=Shigeru|last=Inoue|title=日本まちづくり事典|trans-title=Nippon Matchidukuri Jiten|pages=407–409|year=2010|language=Japanese|publisher=Maruzen Publishing|isbn=978-4-621-08194-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.transformationsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Trans35_08_Streich.pdf|last=Streich|first=Philip|date=2021|title=The Japanese Experience with Micronations|journal=Transformations|issue=35|pages=119–128}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://japandaily.jp/will-secede-japans-micro-nation-boom-2573/|last=Pasion|first=Adam|date=9 February 2016|title=The Will to Secede: Japan's Micro-nation Boom|work=Japan Daily}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ndr.de/kultur/3-Mai-1980-Atomkraftgegner-errichten-Republik-Freies-Wendland,freierepublikwendland100.html|last=Werner|first=Carina|date=3 May 2020|title="Freie Republik Wendland": Gelebte Utopie der Atomkraftgegner|trans-title="Free Republic of Wendland": Living utopia of nuclear power opponents|language=German|work=[[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/venceremos-tschuess-a-bad93b9f-0002-0001-0000-000014331635?context=issue|date=13 July 1980|title="Venceremos, tschüß"|trans-title=Venceremos, Goodbye|language=German|work=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref> Also in 1980, the [[Independent State of Aramoana]] was declared by residents of the [[Aramoana|eponymous settlement]] during the [[Save Aramoana Campaign]], which was opposed to the proposed construction of an [[aluminium smelter]] at Aramoana in New Zealand.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2022|page=194}} 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/aramoana-pathway-sea|last=Constantine|first=Ellie|date=13 December 2011|title=Aramoana: pathway to the sea|work=[[Otago Daily Times]]}}</ref>

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 bolster tourism.{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=131–133}}

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 in [[Long Island Sound]], which Kamen privately owns. Kamen wrote his own constitution and created a flag, currency and national anthem for the micronation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/nyregion/our-towns-from-li-sound-a-new-nation-asserts-itself.html|last=Ravo|first=Nick|date=22 April 1988|title=Our Towns; From L.I. Sound, A New Nation Asserts Itself|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1992, despite still being recognised as part of [[New York State]] in 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]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|page=150}}

=== Artistic micronations: 1990s ===
Several [[conceptual art]] projects with micronational claims arose in the 1990s, usually as a means to challenge the idea of [[statehood]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=110}}

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".{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=110}} [[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 state]]s and "the distance between [[high tide]] and [[low tide]]" of France.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2022|p=113}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/arts/design/09bien.html|title=At Venice Biennale, Artists Plant Flag for Their State (of Mind)|work=The New York Times|last=Kennedy|first=Randy|date=9 June 2007|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They also claim to operate [[embassies]] around the world.<ref>{{cite news|last=Daniel|first=Sabine|date=26 March 2019|url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/normandie/culture-ambassade-elgaland-vargaland-hebergee-au-frac-caen-1645106.html|title=Culture: L'Ambassade d'Elgaland-Vargaland hébergée au FRAC de Caen|trans-title=Culture: The Embassy of Elgaland-Vargaland hosted at the FRAC in Caen|language=French|work=[[France Info (TV channel)|France Info]]}}</ref> In 1996, Swedish artist [[Lars Vilks]] proclaimed the [[Royal Republic of Ladonia]] as a result of a court battle between local authorities over Vilks's [[illegal construction]] of two sculptures in the natural reserve of [[Kullaberg]] in southern Sweden. Ladonia's claim of independence has since persisted following Vilks's death in 2021, with [[Carolyn Shelby]] serving as Queen since 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur/drottningen-av-ladonien-var-plikt-att-rora-oss-framat/|date=11 October 2021|title=Drottningen av Ladonien: "Vår plikt att röra oss framåt"|trans-title=The Queen of Ladonia: "Our duty is to move forward"|language=Swedish|work=[[Dagens Nyheter]]}}</ref> In 1997, the neighbourhood of [[Užupis]] in [[Vilnius]], Lithuania declared tongue-in-cheek independence as a republic consisting of laidback artists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181014-uupis-a-tiny-republic-of-free-spirits|last=Rhone|first=Erin|date=15 October 2018|title=Užupis: A tiny republic of free spirits|work=BBC News}}</ref>

=== 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,<ref name="web2"/>{{sfn|Lasserre|2000|p=10}} and many micronations launched their own [[website]]s.<ref name="web1"/> 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.{{sfn|Lasserre|2000|p=1–3, 8}} Several intermicronational [[international organisation|organisations]] were also established,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.unipo.sk/public/media/21000/3_Ištok_FG_2014_volume56_no1_.pdf|last1=Ištok|first1=Robert|last2=Nováková|first2=Štefánia|date=2014|title=Micronationalism as a Phenomenon of the Present|journal=Folia Geographica|publisher=[[University of Prešov]]|volume=56|number=1|page=52}}</ref> with the [[League of Secessionist States]], originally founded in 1980 by the [[Kingdom of Talossa]],{{sfn|O'Driscoll|2000|p=258}} and the United Micronations being at the forefront.<ref name="web2"/> The [[French Institute of Micropatrology]] ({{langx|fr|l'Institut français de micropatrologie}}) was founded in 1996 by Swiss academic Fabrice O'Driscoll to study this phenomenon.<ref name="web1"/><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Valérie|last1=Foucher-Dufoix|first2=Stéphane|last2=Dufoix|url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-pardes-2012-2-page-57.htm|title=La patrie peut-elle être virtuelle ?|trans-title=Can the homeland be virtual?|language=French|date=February 2012|journal=Pardés|publisher=In Press|volume=52|pages=57–75|via=[[Cairn.info]]}}</ref> Other online micronational services during the 1990s included MicroWorld, a monthly micronational magazine,<ref name="web1"/> and alt.politics.micronations, a [[Usenet]] [[newsgroup]] dedicated to discussions regarding micronationalism.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/diy-sovereignty-and-the-popular-right-in-australia|title=DIY sovereignty and the popular right in Australia|last=Lattas|first=Judy|journal=Mobile Boundaries/Rigid Worlds |year=2005|editor1-first=Michael|editor1-last=Fine|editor2-first=Nicholas|editor2-last=Smith|editor3-first=Amanda|editor3-last=Wise|publisher=[[Macquarie University]]|page=14}}</ref> In 2000, O'Driscoll authored ''[[Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU: revue de quelques micro-Etats, micro-nations et autres entités éphémères]]'' (They do not sit at the UN: a review of some micro-states, micro-nations and other ephemeral entities), which details over 600 micronations.<ref name="Vieira">{{cite book|last=Vieira|first=Fátima|editor1-last=Marks|editor1-first=Peter|editor2-last=Wagner-Lawlor|editor2-first=Jennifer A.|editor3-last=Vieira|editor3-first=Fátima|year=2022|title=The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures|chapter=Micronations and Hyperutopias|publisher=[[Springer International Publishing]]|page=282|doi= 10.1007/978-3-030-88654-7_22|isbn=978-3-030-88654-7}}</ref>

[[File:Molossia - Border with United States.jpg|thumb|A marker along the [[Republic of Molossia]]'s claimed border with Nevada]]

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]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2022|p=220}} Six micronations competed and were asked to record their performances then report it to a Molossian [[message board]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Hay|first=Mark|date=14 October 2016|url=https://www.good.is/sports/micronations-play-sports-too|title=The Absurd History Of The Intermicronational Olympic Games|work=[[GOOD Magazine]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kochta-Kalleinen|first=Oliver|year=2005|orig-date=2003|url=http://www.studiokalleinen.net/downloads/amorph03_protocols.pdf|title=Amorph!03 Summit Of Micronations: Protocols|translator1-last=Monni|translator1-first=Sari|translator2-last=Kallio|translator2-first=Mikko|publisher=Artists' Association MUU|isbn=978-9-519-65536-9}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/6973488.hidden-nations-revealed/|date=29 October 2004|title=Hidden nations revealed|work=[[The Northern Echo]]}}</ref><ref name="NYT1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/arts/art-in-review-we-could-have-invited-everyone.html|last=Smith|first=Roberta|date=15 July 2005|title=Art in Review; We Could Have Invited Everyone|work=The New York Times}}</ref> The items were featured alongside artwork by artists including [[Yoko Ono]] and [[Nina Katchadourian]].<ref name="NYT1"/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://brooklynrail.org/2005/09/artseen/i-we-could-have-invited-everyone-i|last=Raven|first=Francis|date=September 2005|title=We Could Have Invited Everyone|magazine=[[The Brooklyn Rail]]}}</ref> Both exhibitions coincided with an intermicronational summit.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://kunstaspekte.art/event/we-could-have-invited-everyone-2005-06?hl=en|title=We Could Have Invited Everyone (24. Jun 2005 → 29. Jul 2005)|work=Andrew Kreps Gallery|publisher=Kunstaspekte}}</ref> In 2005, the six-part [[BBC]] comedy-[[documentary]] series ''[[How to Start Your Own Country]]'' aired on [[BBC Two]], in which comedian [[Danny Wallace (humorist)|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]].{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=28}} 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]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chadwick|first=Alex|title='Lonely Planet' Explores Micronations|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6416479|work=[[NPR]]|date=1 November 2006}}</ref>{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|loc="[[edition notice]]"}}

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 Kingdom]] and that their parents were in [[exile]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2007/07/24/two-princesses-detained-in-sarawak_1|last=Then|first=Stephen|date=24 July 2007|title=Two 'princesses' detained in Sarawak|work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/520063|agency=Associated Press|date=12 September 2007|title=Self-professed 'princesses' from ancient Indonesian monarchy face Malaysia court|work=[[Taiwan News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510111849/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/520063|archive-date=10 May 2022}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jakarta.tribunnews.com/2020/06/20/tak-akui-indonesia-ini-kewarganegaraan-dua-putri-mahkota-sunda-empire-di-paspor-diplomatiknya|last=Gustaman|first=Y|date=20 June 2020|title=Tak Akui Indonesia, Ini Kewarganegaraan Dua Putri Mahkota Sunda Empire di Paspor Diplomatiknya|trans-title=Not Recognizing Indonesia, These are the Citizenship of the Two Crown Princesses of the Sunda Empire in their Diplomatic Passport|language=Indonesian|work=[[:id:Tribun Jakarta|Tribun Jakarta]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://intisari.grid.id/read/032206487/13-tahun-2-putri-sunda-empire-mendekam-di-sel-mau-dibebaskan-pemerintah-malaysia-bingung-karena-keduanya-tidak-mengaku-sebagai-wni-kekeh-mengaku-dari-sunda-empi|last=Ariyani|first=Tatik|date=21 June 2020|title=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|trans-title=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|language=Indonesian|work=[[Intisari]]}}</ref>

=== 2010s ===
In 2010, the documentary film ''[[How to Start Your Own Country (film)|How to Start Your Own Country]]'', directed by Jody Shapiro, was screened as part of the [[2010 Toronto International Film Festival|35th Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name="Variety">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/how-to-start-your-own-country-1117943530/|last=Anderson|first=John|date=12 September 2010|title=How to Start Your Own Country|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> The documentary explored various micronations around the world and included an analysis of the concept of statehood, seasteading and [[citizenship]].<ref name="Variety"/><ref name="Seasteading">{{cite news|url=https://www.seasteading.org/review-micronation-film-highlights-seasteading-vision/|author=[[The Seasteading Institute]]|date=20 October 2010|title=Review of Micronation Film Highlights Seasteading Vision|work=The Seasteading Institute}}</ref> The film was inspired by Erwin Strauss' eponymous book.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/movies/documentary-explores-the-meaning-of-country-ng-ya-148275|last=Harvey|first=Shannon|date=5 October 2011|title=Documentary explores the meaning of country|work=[[The West Australian]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Squires"/><ref name="PoliNation"/> Between 2013 and 2014, two [[Aboriginal Australian]] [[nation]]s 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 [[Yidiny people|Yidindji]], in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://world.time.com/2013/05/30/australias-aborigines-launch-a-bold-legal-push-for-independence/|last=Neubauer|first=Ian Lloyd|date=30 May 2013|title=Australia's Aborigines Launch a Bold Legal Push for Independence|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/aboriginal-tribe-forms-micronation-and-offers-australia-treaty|last=Waby|first=Tasmin|date=3 November 2015|title=Aboriginal tribe cuts ties with Australia|work=Lonely Planet}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/17/nigel-scullion-acknowledges-yidindji-cabinet-as-murrumu-pushes-for-treaty|last=Robertson|first=Joshua|date=17 February 2016|title=Self-declared sovereign Indigenous nation recognised by Australian minister|work=The Guardian}}</ref> In both cases, the declarations of independence went wholly unrecognised by the [[Government of Australia]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2022|page=192}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/murrumu-walubara-yidindji-renounces-citizenship-to-reclaim-australia-20151102-gkok6g.html|last=Howden|first=Saffron|date=2 November 2015|title=Murrumu Walubara Yidindji renounces citizenship to reclaim Australia|work=[[The Age]]}}</ref>

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.<ref name="QZ"/><ref name="NPR"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/microcon-2015-dictators-of-the-world-unite-at-world-summit-of-micronations--countries-too-small-to-count-10174346.html|last=Usborne|first=Simon|date=13 April 2015|title=MicroCon 2015: Dictators of the world unite at world summit of micronations - countries too small to count|work=[[The Independent]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The ''[[Organisation de la microfrancophonie]]'', a French intermicronational organisation, was founded in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete/article/2021/08/20/flandrensis-le-grand-duche-qui-veut-sauver-la-planete_6091884_3451060.html|url-access=subscription|last=Baudet|first=Marie-Béatrice|date=20 August 2021|title=Flandrensis, le Grand-Duché qui veut sauver la planète|trans-title=Flandrensis, the Grand Duchy that wants to save the planet|language=French|work=[[Le Monde]]}}</ref> The organisation organised its first summit in 2016, hosted by the [[Principality of Aigues-Mortes]].<ref name="20min"/> In 2018, the [[Principality of Islandia]] was established by two individuals aiming to build a [[crowdfunded]] micronation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Collett|first1=Richard|date=10 March 2022|title=They bought a Caribbean island to start their own country |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/islandia-lets-buy-an-island-micronation/index.html|work=CNN}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/belize-coffee-caye-buy-island-micronation-b2048047.html|last=Thackray|first=Lucy|date=31 March 2022|title=Crowdfunded private island sparks feud after owners claim it as 'micronation'|work=The Independent|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== 2020s ===
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] that began in 2020, several micronations imposed their own restrictions, mimicking countries.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/how-micronations-are-responding-to-the-coronavirus|last=Haines|first=Gavin|date=25 March 2020|title=How micronations are responding to the coronavirus|work=Lonely Planet}}</ref> Some inactive Internet-based micronations also returned to activity as people were commanded to stay home and quarantine.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/fake-countries-had-a-hard-time-dealing-with-the-pandemic-too-11592766597|last=Hookway|first=James|date=21 June 2020|title=Fake Countries Have a Hard Time Dealing with the Pandemic, Too|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> In 2020, [[Netflix]] released the film ''[[Rose Island (film)|Rose Island]]'', based on the story of engineer Giorgio Rosa and the Republic of Rose Island.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55092341|title=Rose Island: Netflix adapts the story of 'prince of anarchists' Giorgio Rosa|date=7 December 2020|work=BBC News}}</ref> In 2021, academics Harry Hobbs and George Williams published ''Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty'', a book exploring various aspects of micronationalism.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/94147|last=Corbett|first=Jack|date=May 2022|title=Book review: Micronations and the search for sovereignty|journal=Small States & Territories |volume=5|issue=1|pages=229–230}}</ref> It was published by [[Cambridge University Press]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/micronations-and-the-search-for-sovereignty/micronations-and-the-search-for-sovereignty/37C4A87BB351D4275285EC20CCCEBD50|title=Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty|series=Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|date=n.d.|isbn=978-1-009-15012-5 }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news|date=28 October 2022|title=Forget a castle — your home can be your very own nation|work=[[The Australian]]}}</ref> Also in 2022, illusionist [[Uri Geller]] purchased [[Lamb (island)|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-62150163|last=Berg|first=Raffi|date=7 August 2022|title=The mysteries that gave birth to the world's newest micronation|work=BBC News}}</ref>

== Territorial claims ==
{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| width     =
| title     =
| image1    = Wrythe,_Austenasia_2.jpg
| width1    = 185
| alt1      =
| caption1  = Many micronations claim private property. Wrythe, the capital of the [[Empire of Austenasia]], is a house in [[Carshalton]], London<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/4064529.carshalton-home-declares-itself-independent-state/|last=Barnes|first=Kevin|date=22 January 2009|title=Carshalton home declares itself independent state|work=[[Sutton & Croydon Guardian]]}}</ref>
| image2    = Satellite image of Gornja Siga in 2007.jpg
| width2    = 200
| alt2      =
| caption2  = The micronation project [[Liberland]] has claimed a piece of land it considers ''[[terra nullius]]'' due to technicalities in a border dispute between Croatia and Serbia.<ref name="JB">{{cite news|last=Bartlett|first=Jamie|date=24 May 2016|title=The crypto-libertarians using technology to undermine the nation-state|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/24/the-crypto-libertarians-using-technology-to-undermine-the-nation/|url-access=subscription|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]}}</ref>
}}

While most micronations [[land claim|claim land]] they can administer, often private property, some have made claims to uninhabitable tracts of land. For instance, some micronations have claimed [[Bir Tawil]] in Africa and [[Marie Byrd Land]] in [[West Antarctica]], lands which are ''[[terra nullius]]''—unclaimed by any other sovereign state.<ref>{{cite encyclopaedia|title=Micronation|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/micronation|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|date=10 October 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=130}} Several others have also made claims to other portions of [[Antarctica]]. Examples are the [[Grand Duchy of Westarctica]] and [[Grand Duchy of Flandrensis]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=130–132}} However, due to Antarctica's remoteness, no micronation has yet to establish a permanent residence on the continent.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=133}} On the other hand, at least one micronationalist has physically reached Bir Tawil;{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=84}} 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]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Jackson|first=Joe|date=11 May 2015|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2015/5/11/creating-the-kingdom-of-north-sudan|title=Creating the Kingdom of North Sudan|work=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Helen|first=Regan|date=12 May 2015|url=https://time.com/3854995/kingdom-of-north-sudan-crowdsourcing-campaign-jeremiah-heaton-agriculture-research-center/|title=World's First 'Crowdsourced Country' Campaign Aims to Solve World Hunger|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref>

Other micronational claims have been made to [[Croatia–Serbia border dispute|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.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=139–140}} However, the [[Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Croatia)|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.<ref>{{cite press release|date=6 July 2015|title=On Virtual Narratives at Croatia's Borders|url=https://mvep.gov.hr/nachrichten-91528/on-virtual-narratives-at-croatia-s-borders-160587/160587|work=Hungarian Embassy of the Republic of Croatia|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Croatia)]]}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=139}}<ref name="JB"/> The land lacks infrastructure and lies on the [[floodplain]] of the Danube.<ref>{{cite news|last=Palmeri|first=Tara|date=2 September 2016|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/looking-for-liberland-serbia-croatia-vit-jedlicka-danube-swamp-anarchist-libertarian-utopia-taxation-flood-plain-swamp/|title=Looking for Liberland|website=[[Politico]]}}</ref>

=== Other claims ===
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. Some micronations are associated with [[the Seasteading Institute]], a [[non-profit]] organisation formed to facilitate the establishment of these seasteads.<ref name="Seasteading"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/01/mf-seasteading/|last=Baker|first=Chris|date=19 January 2009|title=Live Free or Drown: Floating Utopias on the Cheap|work=[[Wired Magazine|Wired]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Eveleth |first=Rose |author-link=Rose Eveleth |date=14 April 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150414-i-rule-my-own-ocean-micronation |title='I rule my own ocean micronation' |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

The [[Space Kingdom of Asgardia]], founded in October 2016, claims an [[artificial satellite]] that orbited the Earth.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=75}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Cuthbertson|first=Anthony|date=26 June 2018|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/space-kingdom-asgardia-nation-iq-tests-citizens-a8417276.html|title='Space kingdom' Asgardia wants IQ tests for wannabe citizens|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crane|first=Leah|date=13 November 2017|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2153196-the-space-nation-asgardia-just-launched-its-first-satellite/|title=The 'space nation' Asgardia just launched its first satellite|work=[[New Scientist]]}}</ref> Asgardia-1 reportedly re-entered the atmosphere in September 2022.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mack|first=Eric|date=7 September 2022|url=https://www.cnet.com/science/asgardia-the-worlds-first-space-kingdom-could-soon-crash-back-to-earth/|title=Asgardia, the 'World's First Space Kingdom,' Could Soon Crash Back to Earth|work=[[CNET]]}}</ref> The [[Nation of Celestial Space]] claims all of [[outer space]],{{sfn|Strauss|1999|p=82, 85}} whilst the [[Empire of Angyalistan]] lays claim to [[garbage patches]] around the world's oceans in protest against their existence.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baudet|first=Marie-Béatrice|date=18 August 2021|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete/article/2021/08/18/l-empire-d-angyalistan-mallarme-et-pierre-dac-pour-boussoles_6091687_3451060.html|title=L'invitation au rêve de l'empire d'Angyalistan, qui règne en tout bien tout honneur sur la ligne d'horizon|trans-title=The invitation to dream of the empire of Angyalistan, which reigns supreme on the horizon|work=[[Le Monde]]}}</ref>

Other claimed micronations may fit more into a cultural category were territorial claims are not as easily defined such as [[Aynvaul]], what appears to be an [[Irish-American]] and [[Irish language]] revival micronation based in or around [[Long Island, New York]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Gary |title=Garden City News |url=https://www.gcnews.com/articles/aynvaul-micronation-thrives-on-li-under-residents-noses/|website=Garden City News |date=July 12, 2024 |publisher=Litmor Publishing Corp. |access-date=July 27, 2024}}</ref> and the [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] based [[Ruritania micronation|Kingdom of Ruritania]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpvNg-wrTkk&t=38s | title=The People Who Rule the World's Smallest Countries (HBO) | website=[[YouTube]] | date=3 August 2017 | type = Television production | time = 0:34-1:24 | location = Georgia, United States }}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3rEePJ8FB0 | title=Microcon 2019: Kingdom of Ruritania | website=[[YouTube]] | date=7 August 2019 }}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}} based on the fictional country of [[Ruritania]] from Anthony Hope's [[Prisoner of Zenda]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Traveller's Guide to Ruritania {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/traveller%E2%80%99s-guide-ruritania |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}}, the latter of which hosted [[MicroCon]] 2017 in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microcon 2017 |url=https://www.molossia.org/microcon/microcon2017.html |website=molossia.org}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}}

== Functions as a sovereign state ==
[[File:Sealand Coins Flag (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|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 [[Flags of micronations|flag]], [[coat of arms]] or seal, [[national motto|motto]] and [[national anthem|anthem]], and many micronations also issue coins, banknotes, stamps, passports, [[passport stamps]], [[orders of merit]] and bestow honours and [[false titles of nobility|titles of nobility]], although these are not recognised internationally.<ref name="Sawe"/>{{sfn|Moreau|2014|p=59–60}}{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=75}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2009|p=2}} 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.<ref name="Mac">{{cite news|last=MacEacheran|first=Mike|date=6 July 2020|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200706-sealand-a-peculiar-nation-off-englands-coast|title=Sealand: A peculiar 'nation' off England's coast|work=BBC Travel|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=32}} Some micronational coinage and stamps, if professionally made, have become valued as [[collector's item]]s by [[numismatists]] and [[philatelists]] (stamp collectors) alike.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Winnie|date=6 February 2020|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/micronation-stamps|title=The Joy of Collecting Stamps From Countries That Don't Really Exist|work=[[Atlas Obscura]]}}</ref> In addition, both Sealand and Seborga have their own national [[association football]] teams. The [[Sealand national football team]] was founded in 2004<ref>{{cite news|date=7 May 2012|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/17981522|title= Ralf Little gets an international cap for Sealand|work=[[BBC Sport]]|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://unpo.org/article.php?id=2715|title=NF-Board Opens Registrations for the 1st Viva World Cup in Northern Cyprus|date=1 July 2015|work=[[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]]}}</ref> The [[Seborga national football team]] was founded in 2014 and is run by the Football Federation of the Principality of Seborga.<ref>{{cite news|date=3 October 2022|url=https://www.riviera24.it/2022/10/la-federazione-calcistica-di-seborga-ottiene-il-primo-titolo-nazionale-italiano-782242/|title=La Federazione Calcistica di Seborga ottiene il primo titolo nazionale italiano|trans-title=The Seborga Football Federation obtains its first Italian national title|language=Italian|work=Riviera24}}</ref>

== Community ==
=== Diplomacy ===
[[File:Flandrensispolination.JPG|thumb|Micronationalists after signing a [[treaty]] at [[PoliNation 2012]]]]

Like countries, micronations engage in intermicronational diplomacy with one another. This includes the signing of [[treaties]], [[non-aggression pact]]s and intermicronational conventions, [[diplomatic missions]] and [[declarations of war]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=154–155}} Several intermicronational [[international organisation|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.{{sfn|Moreau|2014|p=236–237}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2009|p=16}}

==== Intermicronational summits ====
{{Further|summit (meeting)}}

Intermicronational summits are also commonplace within the micronational community,{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=155}} and several reoccurring summits have taken place. These include the sporadically-held PoliNation,<ref>{{cite news|last=Johanson|first=Mark|date=24 May 2017|title=Masters of micronations: Meet people who started their own tiny countries|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/micronations/index.html|work=CNN}}</ref> biennial MicroCon;<ref name="QZ">{{cite news|last=Simon|first=Johnny|date=31 March 2018|url=https://qz.com/1196022/photos-the-leaders-control-some-of-the-small-nations-in-the-world|title=Meet the leaders of the world's imaginary nations|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]}}</ref> and the ''Organisation de la microfrancophonie'' has hosted three intermicronational summits between its member states.<ref name="Sud">{{cite news|url=https://www.sudouest.fr/gironde/blaye-devient-la-capitale-de-la-microfrancophonie-12040123.php|url-access=subscription|last=Maury|first=Martial|date=28 August 2022|title=Blaye devient la capitale de la microfrancophonie|trans-title=Blaye becomes the capital of the Microfrancophonie|language=French|work=Sud Quest}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Squires">{{cite news|last=Squires|first=Nick|date=4 May 2010|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7673696/Wacky-world-of-micronations-unite-to-demand-recognition.html|title=The world's micronations unite to demand recognition|work=The Telegraph|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="PoliNation">{{cite web|url=http://www.soc.mq.edu.au/PoliNation-conference/|title=PoliNation: A One-Day Conference on Micronationalism|date=n.d.|work=[[Macquarie University]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012125357/http://www.soc.mq.edu.au/PoliNation-conference/|archive-date=12 October 2010}}</ref> PoliNation 2012 was held in London, United Kingdom, and PoliNation 2015 commenced at [[Umbria]], Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.micronationconference.com/conference.html|title=PoliNation 2012 @ London|work=MicronationConference.com|date=n.d.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525054007/http://www.micronationconference.com/conference.html|archive-date=25 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=FQ|date=4 July 2015|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/07/04/micronazioni-conferenza-ad-alcatraz-quella-in-umbria-per-costituire-la-mini-onu/1837731/|title=Micronazioni, conferenza ad Alcatraz (quella in Umbria) per costituire la "mini Onu"|trans-title=Micronations, conference in Alcatraz (the one in Umbria) to set up the "mini UN"|language=Italian|work=[[il Fatto Quotidiano]]}}</ref> MicroCon 2015 was held in [[Anaheim, California]] and hosted by Molossia;<ref name="NPR">{{cite news|last=Neuman|first=Scott|date=10 April 2015|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/04/10/398757610/molossia-heads-up-big-micronation-summit-in-california|title=Tiny Territories Mingle At MicroCon; Passports Optional|work=NPR}}</ref> MicroCon 2017 in [[Tucker, Georgia]] by the [[Kingdom of Ruritania]];<ref>{{cite news|last=Buckner|first=Heather|date=30 June 2017|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/probably-didnt-know-leaders-26-micronations-just-gathered-atlanta/|title=You probably didn't know, but leaders from 26 micronations just gathered in Atlanta|work=[[Atlanta (magazine)|Atlanta]]}}</ref> MicroCon 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, by the Kingdom of Slabovia;{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=155}}<ref name="MC19">{{cite web|url=https://www.microcon2019.com/|date=n.d.|title=The 3rd global conference for micronations|work=MicroCon2019.com}}</ref> and MicroCon 2022 in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]] by Westarctica, having been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.microcon2022.com/|date=n.d.|title=MicroCon 2022|work=MicroCon2022.com|access-date=2022-11-21|archive-date=2022-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008204333/https://www.microcon2022.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first summit hosted by the ''Microfrancophonie'' was held in 2016 in [[Aigues-Mortes]], [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitania]], and hosted by the Principality of Aigues-Mortes;<ref name="20min">{{cite news|url=https://www.20minutes.fr/montpellier/1930903-20160926-sommet-francophone-micronations-entre-folkore-engagement-citoyen|last=Bonzom|first=Nicolas|date=26 September 2016|title=Le sommet francophone des micronations, entre folkore et engagement citoyen|trans-title=The Francophone micronational summit, between folklore and citizen engagement|language=French|work=[[20 minutes (France)|20 Minutes]]}}</ref> the second summit took place in 2018 in [[w:Vincennes|Vincennes]], Paris, and was hosted by Angyalistan;<ref name="LeParisien">{{cite news|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/val-de-marne-94/les-faux-princes-empereurs-et-marquis-des-micronations-francophones-en-sommet-a-vincennes-20-07-2018-7827972.php|last=Nèves|first=Corinne|date=20 July 2018|title=Les (faux) princes, empereurs et marquis des micronations francophones en sommet à Vincennes|trans-title=The (fake) princes, emperors and marquises of the Francophonie micronations at a summit in Vincennes|language=French|work=[[Le Parisien]]|access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref> the third summit took place in 2022 in [[Blaye]], [[w:Nouvelle-Aquitaine|Nouvelle-Aquitaine]], organised by the Principality of Hélianthis.<ref name="Sud"/> Since 2022, the Micro Euro Summit has been held regularly as a congress for European micronations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mejzrová |first=Anita Haas |date=2022-06-30 |title=Arcivévoda, Marx i kačer Donald. Reportáž ze summitu mikronárodů, jež se uznávají navzájem |url=https://denikn.cz/908958/arcivevoda-marx-i-kacer-donald-reportaz-ze-summitu-mikronarodu-jez-se-uznavaji-navzajem/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=Deník N |language=cs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Antonov |first=Zar |date=2024-07-24 |title=Micro Euro Summit 2024 ends with success and confidence. |url=https://www.microcosme.info/post/micro-euro-summit-2024-ends-with-success-and-confidence |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=Microcosme.info |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Micronationalism |url=https://flandrensis.com/about/micronation/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=vzw Groothertogdom Flandrensis |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Websites and online communities ===
There are thousands of micronations which exist and operate solely online.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=12}} Micronationalists convene and engage with one another through several online platforms, especially [[social media]] and historically [[Internet forum|forums]] (message boards), where micronationalists can share lessons and ideas as well as gain inspiration for establishing their own micronation.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=203, 216}} [[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]]]",<ref name="Independent">{{cite news|last=Usborne|first=Simon|date=13 April 2015|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/microcon-2015-dictators-of-the-world-unite-at-world-summit-of-micronations-countries-too-small-to-count-10174346.html|title=MicroCon 2015: Dictators of the world unite at world summit of micronations - countries too small to count|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> and a number of micronations exist and conduct diplomacy solely on the wiki, utilising it as an [[online community]].{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=203}}{{sfn|Hayward|2018|p=163, 168}} As of October 2023, the largest micronational [[Facebook Group|group]] on [[Facebook]], ''Micronations and Alternative Polities'', had 3,400 members,<ref>{{cite web|title=Micronations and Alternative Polities|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/micronationsandalternativepolities/|type=[[Facebook Group]]|work=[[Facebook]]|publisher=[[Meta Platforms]]|url-access=registration|quote=3.4K members}}</ref> and the [[subreddit]] forum r/micronations on [[Reddit]] had another 8,000.{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=155}}<ref>{{cite web|title=r/micronations|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/micronations/|type=[[Subreddit]]|work=[[Reddit]]|publisher=[[Advance Publications]]|quote=8.2K Nation Builders}}</ref>

== Legality ==
=== Arguments for sovereignty ===
''Micronation'' as a word has no basis in international law.<ref>{{cite dictionary|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195389777.001.0001/acref-9780195389777-e-1445?rskey=xn1ueZ&result=1441|editor-first1=John P.|editor-last1=Grant|editor-first2=J. Craig|editor-last2=Barker|year=2009|title=micronations|dictionary=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law|edition=3|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-195-38977-7|quote=While the terms micro-States or mini-States have some meaning in international law, the term micronations does not.|via=[[Oxford Reference]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=28–29}} 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 (polity)|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."{{sfn|Hobbs|Williams|2021b|p=28–29}}{{sfn|Furnues|2018|p=11–12}}

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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-18/bitcoin-couple-face-death-penalty-in-thailand-for-seastead/11031336|last=Weedon|first=Alan|date=18 April 2019|title=Bitcoin couple could face death penalty in Thailand for 'seastead' floating home in international waters|work=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47974234|date=18 April 2019|title=US man could face death penalty over Thailand 'sea home'|work=BBC News}}</ref> As of 2020, they relocated to Panama.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elmhirst |first=Sophie|author-link=Sophie Elmhirst |date=2021-09-07 |title=The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world's first cryptocurrency cruise ship |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/sep/07/disastrous-voyage-satoshi-cryptocurrency-cruise-ship-seassteading |access-date=2023-11-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite news|date=27 November 2009|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/royalty-obituaries/6671765/His-Tremendousness-Giorgio-Carbone.html|title=His Tremendousness Giorgio Carbone|work=The Telegraph|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite video|last=Bosio|first=Dario|date=27 February 2018|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180226-an-italian-village-that-wants-independence|type=short documentary|title=An Italian village that wants independence|work=[[BBC Travel]]|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>{{sfn|Ryan|Dunford|Sellars|2006|p=28–33}} The [[Romanov Empire (micronation)|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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bernard|first1=Lagan|last2=Parfitt|first2=Tom|date=28 February 2017|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/paradise-lost-for-russian-and-dream-of-an-empire-in-the-sun-c3s088tdw|title=Russian monarchist dreams of Romanov revival in the Pacific|work=The Times|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Fictional country]]
* [[League of Small and Subject Nationalities]]
* [[List of micronations]]
* [[List of unrecognised countries]]
* [[Nation-building]]
* [[State-building]]

== Footnotes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|last=Strauss|first=Erwin S.|author-link=Erwin Strauss|date=1999|orig-date=1979|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781581605242|title=How to Start Your Own Country|publisher=[[Paladin Press]]|edition=3|isbn=978-1-58160-524-2|via=the [[Open Library]]}}
* {{cite book|last=O'Driscoll|first=Fabrice|date=2000|title=[[Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU: revue de quelques micro-Etats, micro-nations et autres entités éphémères]]|language=French|publisher=[[:fr:Presses du Midi|Presses du Midi]] |isbn=978-2-87867-251-0}}
* {{cite journal|last=Lasserre|first=Frédéric|date=14 March 2000|url=http://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/4397|title=Les hommes qui voulaient être rois. Principautés et nations sur Internet|language=French|journal=[[:fr:Cybergeo|Cybergeo]] |doi=10.4000/cybergeo.4397|via=[[OpenEdition.org]]|doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11794/864|hdl-access=free}}
* {{cite book|last1=Ryan|first1=John|last2=Dunford|first2=George|last3=Sellars|first3=Simon|year=2006|title=[[Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations]]|publisher=[[Lonely Planet]]|isbn=978-1-74104-730-1}}
* {{cite thesis|last=Ferguson|first=Bennie Lee|year=2009|url=https://soar.wichita.edu/bitstream/handle/10057/2410/THESES2009SPRING_5.pdf?sequence=1|title=What is a Nation: The Micronationalist Challenge to Traditional Concepts of the Nation-state|publisher=[[Wichita State University]]}}
* {{cite thesis|url=https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/22951152/moreau_thesis_finalsubmission.pdf|last=Moreau|first=Terri Ann|year=2014|title=Subversive Sovereignty: Parodic Representations of Micropatrias Enclaved by the United Kingdom|publisher=[[University of London]]}}
* {{cite journal|last=Simpson|first=Isabelle|date=27 September 2016|url=https://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v10n2/e.-Simpson-Shima-v10n2.pdf|title=Operation Atlantis: A case-study in libertarian island micronationality|journal=Shima|publisher=Shima Publishing|volume=10|number=2|pages=19–35|doi=10.21463/shima.10.2.05}}
* {{cite book|last1=Mislan|first1=David Bell|last2=Streich|first2=Philip|year=2018|title=Weird IR: Deviant Cases in International Relations|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=978-3-319-75555-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Furnues|first=David|date=2018|title=The Rise of Non-territorial Sovereignties and Micronations|url=https://cris.unu.edu/sites/cris.unu.edu/files/W-2018-10.pdf|publisher=[[United Nations University]]}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Hayward|first1=Philip|date=2018|url=https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/130709/1/n.-Hayward-Shima-v12n1-3.pdf|title=Secessionism, submergence and Siteresponsive art: The Embassy of the Commonwealth of New Bayswater at the 1st Fremantle Biennale|journal=Shima|volume=12|pages=163–168|doi=10.21463/shima.12.1.14|s2cid=195031869 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hobbs |first1=Harry |author-link=Harry Hobbs |last2=Williams |first2=George |author-link2=George Williams (lawyer) |date=2021a |url=https://academic.oup.com/icon/article-abstract/19/1/71/6247754 |title=Micronations: A lacuna in the law |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]; [[New York University School of Law]] |journal=[[International Journal of Constitutional Law]] |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=71–97 |url-access=subscription |doi=10.1093/icon/moab020}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hobbs |first1=Harry |last2=Williams |first2=George |year=2021b |author2-link=George Williams (lawyer) |author-link=Harry Hobbs |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/micronations-and-the-search-for-sovereignty/B0414A3A322695D9EE71E4CDDFDA06DE |title=Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty |series=Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-009-15013-2 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Harry Hobbs |url=https://unsw.press/books/how-to-rule/ |title=How to Rule Your Own Country: The Weird and Wonderful World of Micronations |last1=Hobbs |first1=Harry |last2=Williams |first2=George |author-link2=George Williams (lawyer) |year=2022 |publisher=[[University of New South Wales Press]] |isbn=978-1-742-23773-2 |url-access=subscription}}

== Further reading ==
{{see also|Bibliography of works on micronationalism}}

===Nonfiction===
* {{cite book|last=Fuligni|first=Bruno|author-link=Bruno Fuligni|year=1997|title=L'État c'est moi: Histoire des monarchies privées, principautés de fantaisie et autres républiques pirates|language=French|publisher=[[:fr:Éditions de Paris|Éditions de Paris]]|isbn=978-2-90529-169-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Fuligni|first1=Bruno|last2=Hanne|first2=Isabelle|year=2013|title=Micronations|publisher=Diaphane|language=French|isbn=978-2-919-07719-9}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Hobbs|first1=Harry|last2=Williams|first2=George|date=2021|url= https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2021.1935450?scroll=top&needAccess=true|title=The demise of the 'second largest country in Australia': micronations and Australian exceptionalism|publisher=[[Routledge]]|journal=[[Australian Journal of Political Science]]|volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=206–293|url-access=subscription|doi=10.1080/10361146.2021.1935450|hdl=10453/149325 |s2cid=235598841 |hdl-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Riding|first1=James|last2=Dahlman|first2=Carl T.|date=2022|title=Montage space: Borderlands, micronations, terra nullius, and the imperialism of the geographical imagination|publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]]|journal=[[Dialogues in Human Geography]]|volume=12|issue=2|pages=278–301|doi=10.1177/20438206221102597|s2cid=249051290 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Hobbs|first1=Harry |last2=Hayward |first2=Philip |last3=Motum|first3=Robert|title=Cyber Micronations and Digital Sovereignty|publisher=[[Springer Nature]]|journal=Digital Society|date=2023 |volume=2|issue=3|page=44|doi=10.1007/s44206-023-00069-9|s2cid=264147592|doi-access=free}}

===Fiction===
* {{cite book |first=Robert A. |last=Heinlein |title=[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]] |year=1966 |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]] |isbn=978-0-312-86355-5 |trans-quote=Award-winning SF: penal colonies on the Moon form a micronation which declares and defends its independence from Earth, becoming a microstate. Presciently for 1966, computer-aided communications play a crucial part.}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nqcUCJYasx0C&q=knight&pg=PT58 |first=Marvin |last=Kaye |author-link=Marvin Kaye |year=1977 |title=The Laurel and Hardy Murders |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Mysterious Press]] |isbn=978-0-525-14397-0 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |via=[[Google Books]] |trans-quote=Fictional mystery using real people as characters, among them [[Barry Alan Richmond]], president of the [[Most Serene Federal Republic of Montmartre]], either an extended political satire or a micronation in Manhattan. Across three pages, pp. 58–60, the character Richmond declares his '''complete''' title for the record.}}
* {{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Perry |author-link=Thomas Perry (author) |year=1988 |title=Island |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons|Putnam]] |isbn=978-0-399-13327-5 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-399-13327-5 |via=[[Publishers Weekly]]|trans-quote=A couple fleeing the mob build upon an uninhabited Caribbean island and start a successful micronation→microstate, then must defend it.}}

== External links ==
{{Wikibooks|Micronations|Starting your own micronation}}
{{Commons category|Micronations|Micronation}}
* [https://micronations.wiki/wiki/Micronation Micronation] at [[MicroWiki]], the free micronational encyclopædia
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220127054218/https://www.lexico.com/definition/micronation micronation] at ''[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{small|[archived]}}

{{Micronations|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Micronations| ]]
[[Category:Hobbies]]
[[Category:Political neologisms]]