Pocket State Primer

A Guide to Pocket Statehood

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Pocket State Primer

A Guide to Pocket Statehood

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First Digital Edition

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Forget about micronations! ........................................................................................................... 2 So what is a Pocket State?.............................................................................................................. 3 How does Pocket Statehood relate to micronationalism? ........................................................... 7 Check your level of seriousness and viability............................................................................... 7 How to start your own Pocket State.............................................................................................. 8 Situations and Strategies.............................................................................................................. 15 Traps.............................................................................................................................................. 17 Final Notes..................................................................................................................................... 18

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood

Perhaps you are involved with an internet-based micronation that has many "citizens" but no land to call your own. Perhaps you are involved with a commune full of people with their own unique identity and culture. Perhaps you are involved with a political sub-movement, hopefully a non-violent movement, looking for a way to make things better for yourselves. Perhaps you are a separatist, unhappy with your government, or you are part of a "dead" government in exile. It could be that you are a member of a persecuted religion, or you could be a member of a deposed royal family. It is even possible that you are a member of a group of disrespected indigenous people who have had their human rights trod on for 500 years or longer. It does not matter. You and your group, for whatever reasons, are seeking autonomy, selfdetermination, and sovereignty. You have found your way to this document, and it is our hope that your struggles will become easier after considering what you read here.

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Forget about micronations!

There was once a time when the word "micronation" was interchangeable with "small nation". It referred to a REAL group of people that was trying to do all of the things that YOU are trying to do. Forge a new country, state, or nation. They wanted to play on the same playing field with other nations and states. They would not have turned down membership within the United Nations. These "micronations" were often born out of tax protests, or other very real political situations, and the only thing separating them from revolutionaries, was their refusal to use violence as a tool of change. Those days are gone, sorry. Children who claim to be serious and very real have overrun micronationalism, but because of their age limitations, they are simply unable to carry through. These predominately-underage children have deluged the micronational landscape with Facebook pages, forums, warring-wikis, simulations, and recreational wars. It is a sad state of affairs, but alas, it is what it is and there is essentially nothing that can be done about it. You may call them whatever you wish, but many people simply refer to this crowd as "wikikiddies". They tend to be about 14 years old, and act like it. Not that theres anything wrong with being 14 years old - we all were at one time - but if you are reading this, you have probably already decided that associating your project with a group of children will not be beneficial. Do not squander time and resources trying to develop a fictional micronation. Instead, invest your time and resources into developing a Pocket State.

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So what is a Pocket State?

The 1817 Treaty of Chaumont and the classification of States breaks the States out into "Superpowers", "Major Powers", "Middle Powers", Small States", and "MicroStates" based on various criteria such as population size, their economies, military power, and influence on world affairs. States such as Uruguay and Paraguay, much smaller than the "Middle Power" States, are effectively "Small States". Very small States such as the Maldives, Malta, and other countries with populations of 1.5 million or less are "Micro-States". This is not conjecture or open to debate and discussion. This is the real world based on the 1817 Treaty of Chaumont and the 1997 definition by the Commonwealth Secretariat; London. Further, so many people today, especially the young, have short "attention spans" and seldom study history or look beyond the past 20 or 30 years. "Micro-States" have always been a feature of international politics, and there have been many times in the history of the globe when "Micro-States" were the norm, not the exception. Who is to say that period will not rise again? The "international system" we see today is a new construct - only emerging after 1945. Even as late as the mid 1960's "Micro-States" like Iceland, Jamaica, and Malta joined the U.N., but after the Maldives entrance in 1965, the other members began to question "Micro-States" viability to be full members. The Committee of Experts that the U.N. convened after the Maldives entrance submitted proposals including items from Britain and the U.S. limiting the power and rights of any further "Micro-States". Once again, this is not conjecture or open to debate and discussion. This is the real world of fact. Benedict, in Problem of smaller territories (1967), states that micro-states are "simply not viable to exist as independent states" and thus "unable to engage in international diplomacy". Ronald Barston, a former British diplomat, in an article titled External Relations of Small States published in Small States in International Relations (1971), referred to micro-states as "ceremonial states" and questioned whether they pursue a foreign policy in any meaningful sense. He further stated that the external relations of micro3 MicroBook Special Report

Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood states were of an "administrative nature", and that when they interact with the outside world, they do so through the embassies of their large neighbours. Adam Watson, a former British ambassador, in Diplomacy: the dialogue between states (1982), suggested that smaller micro-states could not engage in effective dialogue with other states, but suggested that larger and more advanced micro-states should maintain at least three diplomatic missions: one at the U.N., one in the capital of its former colonial power, and one in a neighbouring state. So, that is the global stance on States. There are also Nations. Nations are peoples with unique cultures, traditions, etc. Nations are not States, thus stand outside the sphere of States. Some Nations, such as Native American Tribes, have a limited Sovereignty but are not States . . . these border on the sphere of States but are limited in their powers and rights. Further outside he sphere of States are the Micronations. To understand what a Pocket State is, we must first understand the difference between Pocket States and Sovereign Nations. The only real difference between these two entities is recognition. Sovereign Nations, such as recognized Native American Tribes, possess a level of sovereignty due to agreements with the host country, etc. e.g. The Cherokee nation is recognized as Sovereign by the United States, and is basically allowed to do as it wishes as long as it abides by the agreement (treaty). Regardless of what anyone may say, this is LIMITED sovereignty, at best. Pocket States have no such recognition, and thus enjoy none of the rights and protections of its host country. However, the host country, for whatever reason, is unable to do anything about the situation. Taiwan is a good example of a classic Pocket State. China claims Taiwan as a province, yet Taiwan does as it pleases while China for various political reasons is unable to take control of Taiwan. Taiwan does not enjoy China's recognition, but it is effectively sovereign ( It enjoys full self-determination ). China also has to deal with Tibet, a Pocket State with a defined people, unique culture, and delineated border that has fallen on the Nation side of the equation. 4 MicroBook Special Report

Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood Although China controls the Tibetan territory, over 80,000 exiled Tibetans, including their leader, the Dali Lama, continue to function as a nation, even in exile, producing considerable pressure on China from the International community. Pocket States can be very small. The Italian town of Filettino, a village of about 600 people located about 70 km east of Rome that declared itself to be an independent state in 2011 is a Pocket State, and Freetown Christiania, a legal (official in 2011) autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents in Copenhagen recently moved from being a "Pocket State" to a "semi-autonomous region".

"We do not have to worry anymore about whether the government will throw us off our land. Hopefully now that we have won our right to own the land, then we will be able to feel more secure and start to deal with some of the problems that exist here. a Freetown Christiana Resident

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How does Pocket Statehood relate to micronationalism?

Micronationalism can lead to Pocket Statehood. Other than a very small portion of the micronational community, most of "micronationalism" as it exists today has little or nothing to do with anything in the real world. You will note from the diagram on page 6 that a thin sliver of micronationalism overlaps with Nations and touches Pocket States. This sliver of micronationalism is what everyone is trying to claim and NAME. It has been called: "Serious micronations", "5th World community", Incipient Nations, and "Transitional Nations" among other terms. This area touches "Pocket States" but it does NOT touch "Sovereign Nations", and that is because a project almost never moves from this sliver of Micronationalism, into full-blown state or nationhood without being a Pocket State first.

Check your level of seriousness and viability.

This is the place where everyone runs into his or her personal reality wall. This is the part that you will read and disagree with because it does not fit into your personal plan. This is where you are going to get a good dose of the big "R" - Reality. If you can get through the 17 steps that begin on the next page intact, you may have what it takes to form a Pocket State, or at the very least, you will know where your project falls short, and if you are honest with yourself, adjustments can be made and your project will meet with success. There are many "Guides" circulating that have been written by people who formed successful micronations, telling you how to form your own country. Ninety percent of this stuff is pure nonsense and has nothing to do with anything real. These Guides generally all are targeted at producing largely fictional, primarily online, micronations. What follows is an attempt to help you gauge your own level of seriousness and viability, because developing a Pocket State is serious business, and failure can mean being thrown in jail, beheaded, exiled, drawn and quartered, tortured, shot, killed, and then shot again. Best case is that a spectacular fail will only get you laughed at by some very important people. Read this next part carefully.

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How to Start Your Own Pocket State

17 Difficult and Challenging Steps
Anyone can start a micronation - they are a dime a dozen. To start a Pocket State, you must fully learn, completely absorb, and put into practice the points listed. 1. Understand that this is not a game. Forget about micronations! Sorry. Micronationalism has been overrun by children. These children have swamped the micronational landscape and replaced it with facebook pages, chats, wikis, game simulations, and various juvenile forums. Associating your serious project with this crowd will not be beneficial to your cause. THIS IS NOT A GAME If you are only doing this for fun or some other entertainment purpose, please stop now. Save yourself from the frustrations. You are not serious enough, sorry. 2. Do not advocate violence. If you want to run a violent revolution, read Che Guevara's book. It is available in English and many other languages, and is a very good treatise on the subject of guerrilla warfare. This text however is about establishing a Pocket State through non-violent means. It is possible within the confines of diplomacy, treaties, lobbying, and international law, but it is a long process (generations) and requires hard work. If all else fails, there's always Che's book, but remember, he was executed while only in his thirties. 3. Make sure you are at least 18 years old. 21 is better. No one will take you serious if you are not an adult. This is not pleasant to realize, but if you cannot legally sign a document, you cannot effectively run a government. How can you expect to negotiate a treaty, compact, or agreement when you cannot legally sign the document? Even after signing, it is unenforceable because a minor signed it.

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood Now, what real government would sign any agreement knowing it was unenforceable? Have a little life experience and professional credibility under your belt first. There is nothing wrong with being young, but if you are going to try this at a young age, you had better have an awesome skill set that makes up for the handicap. One . . . just ONE SINGLE lapse of maturity will haunt you, even if it is something an older, worldlier person might have gotten away with. If you are young, you need to follow the rules of diplomacy better, faster, and cleaner than the other person does. It isn't fair, but whoever told you life was fair lied to you. 4. Read "International Law - a brief primer by Mr. Nathaniel Burney." It is a very good starting point and a good dose of reality in case you have any strange micronational ideas in your head about international law. Mr Burney has graciously given MicroBook reprint permission and it is available for download in its entirety in the MicroBook Free Library or can be read on his website at: http://www.burneylawfirm.com/international_law_primer It is a text wall, so if you are not serious enough to read it, quit now. Pocket Statehood is not for you. 5. Use your REAL name. Nobody real is going to take you serious if you use a pseudonym, especially a childish, silly pseudonym. If you want to be perceived as serious, then you must present yourself seriously. If you are worried about putting your name onto the internet, then quit now, you are not serious enough. Adopt your Admiral_Buffy_Shiny_Pants pseudonym and go play with the other wikikiddies. In the real world, people use their real names. Legal names. It does not have to be the name on your birth certificate, but you had better be able to cash checks, start organizations, sign contracts, and conduct international relations with whatever name you are using.

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood 6. Forget about copyrights and intellectual property. Real nations are NOT somebody's intellectual property. Do not claim copyrights on your flag, speeches, etc. In fact, real national flags cannot be copyrighted, nor are they protected Trademarks. Those protections are reserved for businesses. If you feel you MUST protect your work, Creative Commons is a much better system to use for these purposes. If you are worried about losing profits, quit now, real nations are not businesses and do not have business hours. You are a leader of nation . . . or at least pretending to be one. 7. Avoid anyone (particularly "micronationalists") that disrespects or insults you. You are a leader of people. Expect to be treated like one. Treat other leaders as you expect to be treated. If you associate with non-serious micronations, do not expect to be taken seriously. People will judge you by those with whom you associate. If you are "playing with the wikikiddies", you are probably not serious enough about your project to run a Pocket State. 8. Check your ego. The micronational community is naturally full of self-important people. This should not be a vanity project. If you are doing this to feed your ego, then please save yourself a lot of pain and remain in the micronational subset. Pocket Statehood is not for you. 9. Befriend the person everyone attacks. As a friend once said: "Life as a micronationalist is no different than the world of quantum physics: everything is exactly the opposite of what you would expect it to be." From what has been observed, this is sage advice. If someone is attacked for no reason, it usually means that others feel threatened by him or her in some way. Such micronational pariahs can become very good allies and friends.

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood 10. DO NOT get yourself a free website or web mail address. Purchase your own domain name space (URL). Yes, you are going to have to spend real money. All real nations have their own domain. Use it to host your own emails addresses and websites. This is important. Real nations do not use free mail addresses. If you cannot afford this, quit now. You do not have enough money to start a serious nation. Sorry, money is a factor in the real world. 11. Build a website. Your website is the brochure for your project as well as an information center for the members and the world. Without one, people will know nothing or close to nothing about your Pocket State, its goals, desires, or dreams. It should be professional, but should also reflect a higher purpose than selfpromotion of the leader or leaders. Important people, the kind that can help you develop your project, will probably not even give you a second look, let alone take you seriously, if you do not have a website with a clean, professional appearance. It should be stressed that your members (citizens) should be HEAVILY weighted with real human locals from your area, not netizens. Refer to the websites of established nations to get an idea of what yours should be like, not micronations. 12. Develop micronational symbols/culture (If needed). You may wish to adopt a flag, or issue stamps, award medals, or issue a currency if your people have a need. You will probably need to obtain official letterhead, business cards, etc. It is not expensive, but it is another real money cost. Do not get flags, stamps, coins, etc., just for the sake of having them. Get these things if they are required, but there is no point in designing currency that is never used. Do not attempt to "develop" a culture. You do not need to invent a language. You do not need to invent an alphabet. You do not need to invent a new way of telling time. These are children's games. Culture is not "developed". If your culture does not already exist, stop now.

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood Culture is not designed or invented, culture grows. Culture is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, beliefs, social forms, material traits, and characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people united by common traditions, or their sense of kinship, or that have common language, or shared institutions, and beliefs. If all you want to do is design the trappings of a nation, then you are not serious, you are a micronational hobbyist. 13. It is good to join any organizations/registries that you feel are important. There are real-world organizations of exiled states, emerging countries, and unrecognized nations. Find them and join them if you believe they strengthen your cause. Avoid anything that claims micronationalism, or uses the term in their name. You will find that they are generally swarming with wikikiddies, and you do not want to be associated with that. Also, avoid paper-mills. There are more than a few scammers out there who do not care if you are laughed out of serious organizations because you presented their certificates to validate yourself. If you find that you are only "paying for paper", save your money. Purchase a manual on diplomatic protocol or some International Relations textbooks. 14. Establish a government. Are you a constitutional government? Write up your constitution! Have your leadership team all participate. If you have taken all of the correct steps, you will simply be putting down on paper the things that you are already doing anyway. These are the rules that you are already living by. Now, simply write them down. There are several examples of constitutions available and a constitution is simply the by-laws for a country. You can also use a standard by-laws template as a basis for your constitution. MicroBook has several resources available in their Library and Weblinks at www.micro-book.net You should agree on a dictionary among the leadership team for uniform definitions, and write those definitions into your constitution as well.

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood If one of your group members is an attorney, he or she may be able to provide guidance that is more personal. 15. Find a territory for your people. Many micronationalists claim their houses, essentially uninhabitable land, or land on other planets. DO NOT DO THIS! Some micronations exist on land unclaimed by other countries because of a loophole in an agreement or treaty. This is only slightly better. You will need territory at some point since this is one of the Montevideo Convention's requirements for statehood (the other requirements are to have a government, a permanent population, and to be able to host diplomatic relations). If you do not have land or cannot afford land, wait for it. Something will come along. Squat in a remote area if necessary, but DO get REAL LAND. You must have land, not a sea platform, not a ship, not an offshore oilrig, but physical earth. It cannot be man made. This is not a preference; it is in accord with International Admiralty and Maritime Law. You must occupy your land. It must have a physical population. You can squat on some remote area that nobody cares about, or make an agreement with the locals, just make sure it is REAL land populated by REAL people. If you think that your "nation" can exist without physical land, then you are not serious. Enjoy having an awesome serious micronation, 5th world community, incipient nation or transitional state. If you have gotten this far, yours will no doubt be one of the better serious micronations, 5th world communities, incipient nations or transitional states. Quit now and enjoy your life, because the next test will almost certainly be too much for you. Do you feel like you have a nation yet? Do you have land and citizens? Are people inspired? Do you all share a unique culture? Have you experienced a severe dent in your personal wealth? 13 MicroBook Special Report

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Do you feel the heavy weight of leadership on your shoulders? Then now is time for the acid test.

16. Renounce your citizenship, and declare your Independence. If you are not ready for a legal backlash, then do not do this! This step is too important to screw up. A letter detailing your position and claims should be hand delivered by a representative to all entities that holds any claim against the land and other real property, including yourself, that you are using, or your citizens claim as their own. Chances are that nothing will happen anyway, but if you are not mentally prepared for what MIGHT happen, then you need to quit now, or at the very least admit that you are not as serious as you thought. It is perfectly OK for you, your people, and your project to remain a serious micronation, 5th world community, incipient nation or transitional state forever. If you are not absolutely sure about this, you may want to delay taking such a big step. Remember, this process can take generations, not months or years. If you are not willing to go to jail or die for your country then you are not serious, sorry. 17. Now that you are a Pocket State, observe all international diplomatic protocols. Cooperate within the polity of Nations and States. They have rules. Attempt to follow those rules. Behave as a Nation-State. Send a mission to the United Nations, and to your former host country to begin working out Sovereignty issues. Open embassies in at least the nations you have split from and at least one other nation that you think may support your State. The easy part is over. Now, you and your citizens have real work to do.

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Situations and Strategies

A fair number of Pocket States grow out of Micronationalism. It is a natural place to begin, especially if your group has embraced the old-school definition of what micronationalism is supposed to be about. There is a good chance that you have been referring to yourselves as a "micronation" not knowing that micronationalism is no longer what it used to be. Your strategy should be to immediately cease and desist any activities you and your group may be involved with in the micronational world. Maintain ties with other micronational entities that seem to be moving towards being Pocket States. Remove your Pocket State from any "micronational United Nations" which is generally just internet bulletin boards. Close all memberships on ANYTHING "micronational", and begin behaving as a real nation. Do not give the time of day to anyone who does not behave in a diplomatic manner. Your strategies are not a whole lot different if you are a leader or member of a commune, political sub-movement, or small religion. Begin behaving like a professional. Ignore anyone who attempts to get a rise out of you by name-calling. Ignore all of it. You have a unique group with a unique message. You can succeed. Many small countries were founded by people who were called names . . . anarchists, troublemakers, or cultists. Brigham Young led his church, Moses-style, out into the middle of nowhere, and ran a Pocket State for many years. That state is now Idaho and Utah. It just takes vision (and a remote location where nobody will interfere with you). Perhaps you are part of a "dead" government in exile, or a member of a "deposed" royal family. What you have to your advantage, is that you already have the professionalism and diplomacy figured out. What you do not have is everything else. The trappings are easy. You know that. Look at the diagram on page 6 again. You have slipped into Pocket Statehood from the other direction!

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Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood Rather than endless petitioning to a government that has no interest in you, or to international organizations that cannot help you, consider procuring a NEW piece of land and beginning anew. Do this before everyone forgets about your cause, and the money runs out. Failure to do this will cause you to slip all the way into the business/paper-mill1 category like every other exiled government and royal family has had to do. That would be a sad end to what is no doubt a long history of very proud traditions. You are in a better position than anyone to obtain a legitimate homeland for your people.

A paper-mill is is essentially a fraudulent, usually unregulated, unaccredited organization or institution that issues dubious certifications, qualifications, degrees, diplomas, accreditations, awards, titles, etc. for a payment, with little or no requirements for the individual to demonstrate any competence, scholarship, or authority. 16 MicroBook Special Report

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Traps
The most destructive trap that you will encounter is fear. Do NOT fight fire with fire. Fire is better quenched by water. Do not adopt the flawed and erroneous principles and tactics of your adversaries, abandoning your own values for theirs. Your aspirations are higher. As you and your people free yourselves from traditional constraints, you will find yourselves more determined to achieve, perhaps for the first time in your lives, social justice. The world is still divided by ideological disputes, dominated by regional conflicts, and threatened by danger. Remember that you are working to separate yourselves from all of that, to achieve something different. Do not surrender to the temptations that will confront you. Do not surrender and again participate in the actions and rituals that you have worked so hard to leave behind. Do not allow fear to turn your project into a band of guerrillas. Laziness is another critical trap. Do not allow yourselves to idle. It is very easy to find a comfort zone and stagnate. Do not allow yourselves to fall asleep.

Stay awake.
Another trap, perhaps the biggest of all, is "micronationalism". Read any news article about micronations, watch any video clip about a micronation, or interview with any micronationalist by the media. Look at the way the material is presented. Look at how the host treats the micronationalist. The media always presents micronations as humorous, human interest stories, and they usually are presented in an extremely negative way. Do not fall into the trap go along to get along. Do not surrender to doing what everyone else is doing, simply because everyone else is doing it. There will be those who will tell you that "micronationalism" includes EVERYBODY, and it does. "Micronationalism" includes nine-year-old children who play internet 17 MicroBook Special Report

Pocket State Primer A Guide to Pocket Statehood simulations on computer-generated planets that do not exist, it includes nations that claim fleets of starships and robot warriors. What do you have in common with that? Do not allow yourself to be seduced into "micronationalism" just to have someone to talk to. Your sense of community belongs to your people, not a bunch of faceless friends and children on the internet. Refrain from the urge to do everything at once. This process takes GENERATIONS. If you are lucky, you might see success in your lifetime. Be deliberate and do nothing in an unprofessional or hurried manner. Take it slow. Do not rush. You will have plenty of terrified moments where you must meet deadlines in between all of the dull spaces. Proper preparation during those dull moments will assure that your performance during the mini-nightmares will be exemplary. Taking things in their good time will also assure that you do not miss any opportunities that may present themselves as you travel the path to Statehood.

Final Notes
This material was written for those who have more or less stumbled into Pocket Statehood. Perhaps you and your people have already come part of the way down this path and realised that you are on the edge of something larger. Attempting to form a nation or state is a serious process. A process so serious that often it is only achieved through violence, and even when violence is used, it is generally unsuccessful. If you are starting from scratch, you have nothing ahead of you but uphill challenges. Sorry to say it so bluntly, but thats the truth. If you are beginning from square one, it is best to accept that now. If you have been doing what you thought was an unrelated project, and found yourself speaking with your group and asking yourselves "why don't we form our own country?", then hopefully this volume will be of use to you.

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