*How to Start Your Own Country in Four Easy Steps*
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4217&print=1>
By Joshua Keating
Posted February 2008
With Kosovo unilaterally declaring independence and a host of wannabe
states looking to follow its lead, you might be thinking it’s about time
to set up your own country. You’ve picked out a flag, written a national
anthem, even printed up money with your face on it. But what’s the next
step? Creating a new country isn’t as easy as you think.
*Step 1: Make sure you are eligible*
As tempting as it might be to declare your cubicle a sovereign state,
customary international law actually does specify minimum standards for
statehood.
1. You must have a defined territory.
2. You must have a permanent population.
3. You must have a government.
4. Your government must be capable of interacting with other states.
(This one is somewhat controversial. It was included as a
qualification in the 1933 Montevideo Convention
<http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/intdip/interam/intam03.htm>,
which established the United States’ “good neighbor” policy of
nonintervention in Latin America, but is generally not recognized
as international law.)
*Step 2: Declare independence*
Congratulations on joining the ranks of Transnistria, Somaliland, and a
host of other countries that won’t be marching at the Olympics anytime
soon. Just because you’ve met the qualifications and declared yourself
independent doesn’t mean that you’re going to be taken seriously. Even
the Principality of Sealand <http://www.sealandgov.org/>—located on a
10,000-square-foot platform in the North Sea—has tried with mixed
success to claim sovereignty under these qualifications.
However, now that your state is established, there are certain benefits
you can expect, even if you’re not recognized by anyone. “Once an entity
has established itself as a de facto state, it will benefit from
territorial integrity and certain guarantees of sovereignty,” says
Stefan Talmon, professor of public international law at Oxford
University and author of Recognition in International Law. “For
instance, now that Kosovo is established as a state, Serbia can no
longer freely attack it to bring it back into Serbia. It benefits from
the prohibition of the use of force under the U.N. Charter.” These rules
were established during the Cold War to protect new states that were not
yet recognized by one bloc or another.
*Step 3: Get recognized*
There’s not much point in having your own country unless other countries
acknowledge your existence. International recognition is what gives a
country legitimacy in the international community and what ultimately
distinguishes the New Zealands of the world from the Nagorno-Karabakhs.
Naturally, though, the established countries are going to take some
convincing. “Recognition is quite complicated because it combines
international law and international politics,” Talmon says. “Some people
say that recognition is a purely political act. It is at the discretion
of existing states whether they recognize, so there is no right to
recognition.”
This was especially true during the Cold War, when the national
legitimacy of North and South Vietnam, North and South Korea, and East
and West Germany depended on which side you asked. Even today, a number
of entities are recognized as states by some countries, but not by
others. Palestine, Taiwan, and Northern Cyprus fall into this category.
The United States has no official policy on what is required for
recognition, according to its State Department. Instead, the decision to
recognize a state is made by the president. Then the president decides
whether to establish diplomatic relations with the state based on U.S.
national interests. There’s no cookie-cutter approach, so when you ask
for recognition, be sure to explain how your independence will be good
for America. In the old days, proving your anti-communist cred was
usually good enough. Today, U.S. strategic priorities are a bit more
complex, though as Kosovo proves, ticking off the Russians still helps.
*Step 4: Join the club*
Since its founding in 1945, membership in the United Nations has become
the gold standard of international legitimacy. “When you are admitted to
the U.N, that’s a form of approval,” Talmon says. “It’s like a stamp
[that says] you are now a full member of the international community.”
Applying for U.N. membership is a breeze. According to U.N. rules
<http://www.un.org/ga/ropga_adms.shtml>, all you need to do is write a
letter to the secretary-general requesting membership. These letters are
remarkably short and simple. For a handy template, check out the
successful application of Montenegro
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/montenegro_application.pdf>, the
United Nations’ most recent member.
You can mail your application to:
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
The United Nations
First Ave. at 46th St.
New York, NY 10017
Now comes the hard part. The Security Council must refer you to the
General Assembly, which must determine by a two-thirds majority that you
are a “peace-loving state” that can carry out the duties of the U.N.
Charter <http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/>.
It’s probably not even worth trying this unless you’ve completed step 3.
A number of unrecognized states have applied for U.N. recognition over
the years, including American-Indian tribes, but without the credibility
bestowed by bilateral recognition, these applications are usually just
filed away.
The biggest obstacle to U.N. membership is power politics. Neither North
nor South Korea got U.N. membership until 1991 because of vetoes by one
bloc or another during the Cold War. Even today, Russia’s veto on the
Security Council will probably prevent Kosovo from gaining a seat at the
table anytime soon. The Republic of China, a.k.a. Taiwan, was one of the
founding members of the United Nations and once had a “permanent” seat
on the Security Council. But Taiwan was booted out in favor of the
People’s Republic of China in 1971, after U.S. President Richard Nixon
decided to cozy up to Beijing. The Taiwanese government has applied for
membership every year since 1993, but to no avail. The United Nations
didn’t even bother to open Taiwan’s most recent letter.
As you can see, the point at which a territory officially becomes a
country is very much in the eyes of the beholder. International
recognition can be an elusive prize. The good news? The longer you wait,
the better your chances become. In international law, which is often
based on custom, the longer you can maintain your de facto sovereignty,
the more likely you are to be accepted. (Unless, of course, you’re Taiwan.)
The strength of Kosovo’s bid for independence from Serbia is based
largely on the fact that it has, for all intents and purposes, been
independent for almost a decade. In a more extreme example, the
900-year-old Sovereign Order of Malta has diplomatic relations with 100
countries and observer status at the United Nations even though its
entire territory is contained in a few buildings in Rome. So don’t be
discouraged. Starting your own country isn’t impossible. It’s just going
to require a lot of patience and the right friends.
/
/Joshua Keating is an editorial assistant at/ Foreign Policy.
/
