Can anyone please tell me what the conditions are for creating an independent sovereign state (I guess the thread title was clear enough).
I was having a look at Sealand’s(Principality of Sealand Government site ) claim to statehood, but it seems a little shaky to me. I suppose that the UK has recognised its’ existence as a legal entity, but that’s it, really.
Suppose that I declared the land that I owned to be the People’s Republic of Zorrogrovia, what else would I have to do?
Sealand was in international waters. A condition not shared by the Republic of Zorro. Therefore the next thing, after a declaration of independence, would be drafting a army of defense.
Actually, the only way you can really establish a sovreign state is to have an army capable of defending your borders against other countries who are under the delusion that your country actually belongs to them. No one is going to care if you declare your house a sovreign country. You will only get in trouble if you refuse to pay taxes to the IRS, or refuse to allow duly authorized US law enforcement officials to exericize their duties. If you tell the cops they can’t come into your house without a passport, they aren’t going to listen to you, and you’ll end up arrested.
If you are able to repel the cops with force, the SWAT team or the FBI is going to come knocking. If you repel THEM with force, then perhaps the US military is going to come knocking. If you repel the tanks, helicopters, and stealth bombers, then perhaps your new country might be taken seriously. But even so, the chances are that the US would never recognize it, just like China doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of Taiwan.
Lemur866, if a policeman from the USA demanded entry into my house in London, I would indeed refuse them access because they’d have no jurisdiction. In fact, I may call the police to deal with them.
Cainxinth, thanks for that. I’ve started the People’s Republic of Zorrogrovia, and I’m going to find out if I can change the world for the better. There seem to be a worrying number of “Corporate police states” and “Compulsory consumerist sates”. How the hell did the hippy generation spawn a generation of mini-Fascists?
So if I could find a piece of land that has been overlooked by all existing states and that nobody claimed as their own, I could declare it a sovereign nation. OK, I’ll find my atlas.
Make sure to join the Sea of Cecil, my nation is the Holy Empire of newRlyeh.
Back on topic, I don’t think there are any areas not controlled by a government left on earth. Even Antartica has a whole bunch of treaties making it near impossible to claim a section of it, without having to deal with the US and other established powers. You might be able to find a small island that no one has claimed, but thats about it. If you do have the ability to take on an established nation-state in a land grab, try to find a country the US doesn’t like, and get their support. You might be able to get US arms deals to keep that territory, as long as you don’t go about nationalizing US business in the area.
If I had the money, and the time. I would either gather up my own military, or purchase the services of a PMC like Sandline and head for an area with no recongnized government.
Then, it would just be a matter or establishing peace and getting the goodwill of the citizens. If I’ve got the money, that shouldn’t be too hard… just get the water running again or something.
This has been a fantasy of mine since I was like 13. sigh
To Tell The Truth, an old television game show had a contestant who while scuba diving in the Caribbean found an island not on the charts. He applied to the UN for sovergienty. No word on if it was accepted.
If your goal is sovereignty, and you’re asking someone’s permission, doesn’t it defeat the purpose? Sovereignty is by definition inherent, and cannot arise from someone else’s grant (unless the someone else is another sovereign who is giving away some of their own sovereignty). The United Nations, which is not itself sovereign, doesn’t grant sovereignty. A sovereign nation can seek membership in the United Nations, but the sovereignty must come first.