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"On a rainy and gloomy 2 September 1967, Roy Bates, a WWII veteran and former Major in the British Army, declared himself the ruler of the new Principality of Sealand. Like many political entities seeking statehood, several challenges immediately confronted the apparent nation. The difficulties facing Sealand appeared particularly grave. To begin with, the entirety of the Principality's territorial claim consisted of a 4,100-tonne de-commissioned artificial naval installation located off the coast of Essex in the River Thames estuary. Initially built in 1942 to guard the United Kingdom (UK) port of Harwich from invasion, the until recently abandoned naval fort possessed no arable land. In fact, it possessed very little habitable land at all. The purportedly independent state resembled an abandoned oil rig in being comprised of a 51-by-27-metre pontoon supported by two 18-metre hollow reinforced concrete towers of around 7.3 metres in diameter"--
List of contents
1. Prince Leonard prepares for war; 2. Statehood and micronations; 3. Motivations; 4. Performing sovereignty; 5. State responses; 6. The future of micronationalism; Appendix: List of micronations discussed.
About the author
Harry Hobbs is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Law. Dr Hobbs' recent scholarship has explored ideas of sovereignty through the lens of Indigenous peoples' rights, and he is co-Chair of the American Society of International Law Rights of Indigenous Peoples Interest Group.George Williams AO is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Anthony Mason Professor and a Scientia Professor at UNSW Sydney. He has served as Dean of UNSW Law and held an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship. He has written widely on constitutional law and has appeared as a barrister in the High Court of Australia on freedom of speech, freedom from racial discrimination and the rule of law.
Summary
Political disagreement is a fact of life. It can prompt people to stand for public office and agitate for political change. Others take a different route; they start their own nation. Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty is the first comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of people purporting to secede and create their own country. It analyses why micronations are not states for the purposes of international law, considers the factors that motivate individuals to separate and found their own nation, examines the legal justifications that they offer and explores the responses of recognised sovereign states. In doing so, this book develops a rich body of material through which to reflect on conventional understandings of statehood, sovereignty and legitimate authority. Authored in a lively and accessible style, Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty will be valuable reading for scholars and general audiences.
