In April 2015 the nation of Liberland popped into existence.
There was no violent overthrow or political negotiations.
One man and his associates simply hoisted a flag and proclaimed that a small patch of
no-mans land between Serbia and Croatia was now the micronation of Liberland.
With an eager population, plans for a constitution, financial system, and a slogan, the nation
seems well on it’s way to legitimacy.
But…
can you really just show up and invent a brand new nation?
Well, technically yes.
So, how exactly do you do it?
The qualifications for what constitutes a “nation” were clearly spelled out in the
1933 Montevideo Convention.
This agreement defined a state as having sovereignty regardless of whether or not other countries
acknowledged it.
This is called “declarative theory” and is different from “constitutive theory”,
which says that other countries have to acknowledge your legitimacy.
Now, technically, without international acceptance, your nation is pretty much only relevant within
your borders.
But if that’s good enough for you, then let’s find out what you need to do.
First off, you must have a permanent population.
Now, so far no state has been denied for having too small of a population.
So as long as you’re willing to live permanently in your new nation, go ahead and strike that
off your list.
That’s where The Grand Duchy of Westarctica doesn’t count, because no one, including
its founder, has ever permanently lived there.
Next up, you must have a defined territory.
This is where most new nations fall flat.
With very few exceptions, nearly all the visible land in the world is already claimed.
This leaves you with a couple choices.
The first is to build, annex, or buy your own island that’s at least 200 nautical
miles from the nearest claimed territory.
You can also try to invade an existing plot of land, and hope that you can defend your
proclaimed borders, or that nobody cares and leaves you alone.
Either way, you need to be able to define your borders and have some form of control
over them.
The micronation Republic of Minerva was invaded and reclaimed by Tonga over a territory dispute.
Remember, if you can’t fight back, don’t try to take other government’s land.
Now, provided you’ve found or built some clearly defined area, the next thing you need
is a government.
All a government really is, is a source of administrative power that makes policy decisions
about a country’s goals, security, justice system, infrastructure, and economy.
So figure out what kind of political system you like: democratic, despotic, anarchist,
up to you; and draft a quick constitution laying out your micronation vision.
That should do it.
Finally, you must have the capacity to enter into relations with other states, so send
an e-mail, fax, letter, or homing pigeon to your nearest neighbor saying “hi!”, and
you should be good to go on that front as well.
Starting your own nation is pretty easy, provided that you’ve got the undisputed land to do
it.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Without undisputed land, someone, somewhere will demand you pay them taxes.
If you do, then you’re not really an independent state, like the Christiania commune of Denmark.
If you don’t, then you might have some trouble running your country from the inside of a
jail cell.
In any case, good luck!
There are quite a few regions that have been fighting for independence from larger nations
all over the world.
To learn more about these possible future countries, check out our video here.
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