On this channel, we’ve talked about landlocked countries, and their polar opposite, island
nations, now we bring up another interesting class of country: the city-state.
City-states have existed for pretty much as long as nations and kingdoms have existed.
By far the most recognizable group of city-states are those of ancient Greece, notably Athens
and Sparta.
Rome was also a city-state for the first couple centuries of its existence, and even then,
2,000 years later, during the Renaissance, there were still plenty of city-states on
the Italian peninsula.
Venice is certainly the most notable, having established a trade empire across the Adriatic
Sea, but cities like Genoa and Florence were also their own, independent city-states at
one point.
Germany also used to be just as divided as Italy, and also had plenty of city-states,
and the same can be said of the Swahili coast, Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica.
In short, city-states have been everywhere throughout the history of civilization (well,
maybe not Antarctica), and there are still quite a few today.
Now, for clarity, city-state doesn’t always literally mean an independent city, but can
also include areas surrounding the city, including… other cities!
Like Venice, it’s not like they made the entire Adriatic coast a set of suburbs, after
all.
Today, when we talk about city-states, we usually refer to the countries of Singapore,
Vatican City and Monaco, but we also include unusually tiny countries with few cities like
Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Malta, and San Marino, with an honorable mention to the emirates
of the UAE.
Not all of them are independent, like Hong Kong and Macau to China, or Berlin, Hamburg
and Bremen to Germany, or Washington DC to the US, but they still kind of function like
city-states (well, more so Hong Kong [which mostly functions as if it were independent],
less so DC [which isn’t even represented by a voting member in Congress]).
City-states generally exist for the same reasons that we have different countries in the first
place, but there are some circumstances that can lead to the country being so small.
Hong Kong and Macau, though not fully independent, are so small because they were once European
trading ports, for example.
Other times, it could be because they just don’t want to be part of their country,
as was the case with Singapore— after independence from Britain, the colonies of Singapore, Malaya,
Sarawak and Sabah united to create the state of Malaysia, but this union quickly went sour
for Singapore, and they left.
So, how do their governments function?
Are they comparable to city governments?
Well, for one, cities like Portland, Hamburg and Johannesburg don’t get to decide on
their own federal laws, foreign relations, currency, etc., and they have to report to
higher powers in Salem and DC for Portland, or Berlin for Hamburg, or Pretoria or Cape
Town or Bloemfontein for Johannesburg, so no, they’re not exactly like city governments.
However, some (most notably Vatican City) aren’t exactly like true national governments,
as things like a unique currency and passport control are more trouble than they’re worth
when the country is a small chunk of the Italian capital that can be circumnavigated in 40
minutes, but not all city-states are like this.
Basically, the whole dynamic of most city-states is pretty much just that of any country, just
smaller in size.
Singapore is to Malaysia as Germany is to Malaysia.
Because of its size, though, many call Singapore the only fully-functioning, true city-state
(as opposed to Vatican City and Monaco) you know, with their economy, and border guards,
and Singaporean-born citizens, and not to mention their female citizens.
Singapore defies a lot in terms of city-states, as it’s a huge player on the world stage,
being home to some of the world’s largest ports, being one of the Asian Tigers, and
having a surprisingly large military.
Basically, they’re just small countries, but they are interesting.
Cross-country running must be popular there.
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