When I first met Nick Middleton, she is surrounded by globes and atlases showing the most exotic places on the planet.
We were in the basement at Stanfords, the largest travel book store in London, which was once visited by the intrepid explorers such as Florence Nightingale, Ernest Shackleton and Ranulph Fiennes.
However, Middleton, to be here to talk about the countries that are missing from most books and maps are sold here. He called it "states that intangible", but although they looked magical names - Atlantium, Christiania, and Elgaland-Vargaland - all of it is a real place, inhabited by people.
In fact, you almost certainly, to inadvertently, may have visited one of them.
It feels like you are entering a parallel universe vibrates, forgotten history and rich culture.
Globes, it turns out, is full of small areas (and not too small) who had the whole symbol of a country - permanent residents, a government, flag and currency. Some are even able to issue a biometric passport for you.
However, various reasons make they are not allowed to have a representative at the UN, and ignored by most of the world map.
Middleton, an expert on the earth from the University of Oxford, has mapped the lands hidden in his latest book, An Atlas Countries intangibles.
Flipping through pages, it feels like you are entering a parallel world with a vibration, forgotten history and a rich culture. This parallel world has memilliki own international soccer leagues.
Christiania is a country that is in a city.
Middleton search begins, appropriately, with Narnia. He read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe works of CS Lewis with her daughter who was six years old, and the main character Lucy passed mothballs and hairy coat into a magical land. A strange request for Middleton.
As an expert in geography, he realizes the bottom you do not need to use magic to visit a country of "intangibles" in the eyes of most other countries.
However, he did not predict the country is so vast. "Once I started looking for them, I was amazed with so many of them," he said. "I can make the book a few times".
The problem, he said, is that we do not have a strict definition of what a country is. "As a geographer, is something of a surprise," he said. A number of countries mentioned in a treaty signed in 1933 and then, in the International Conference of American States in Montevideo, Uruguay.
"Montevideo Convention" claimed to be a country, a region need several features: a definition of the territory, a permanent population, a government and "the ability to establish relations with other countries".
With one of the criteria, the United Kingdom itself is a country that does not "tangible"
However, many countries that meet these criteria are not members of the United Nations (generally accepted as part of a country). Given that occurred in Taiwan - getting a seat in the UN General Assembly until 1971, until the Chinese came in and took the position.
Even the United Kingdom is a case that a bit odd, said Middleton. In our Law, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is regarded as an individual state. We have sports teams and competed against each other - but we only shared one seat at the UN. "So if England a country? Certainly not with this criterion, said Middleton. (Some questions were also attacked by the head of the Scottish referendum conducted some time ago)
Finally, England and Scotland are not included in Atlasnya. To fill out a short list that was drawn up, Middleton focus on countries that meet the criteria of the Montevideo Convention, namely that has a fixed area, population, and the government, but which do not have representatives in the General Assembly. (Although many of them even become a member "does not represent the United Nations - an alternative body to fight).
Some of the names will be recognized by those who read the paper: regions such as Taiwan, Tibet, Greenland, and Northern Cyprus. Others are less well known, but they do not mean less serious; Middleton discusses many examples of indigenous populations hoping to reassert their sovereignty.
One of the troubling history, he said, concerning the Republic of Lakotah (population 100,000). Situated in the middle of the United States (the eastern mountains Rocky), this republic is an attempt to reclaim the Black Hills were a sacred place for the Lakota Sioux Indian tribe.
US judge concluded that "the row cases dishonest deal may not be found in our history"
Bad condition they started in the 18th century, and in 1868 they finally signed an agreement with the US government that promised the right to live in the Black Hills.
Unfortunately, they are not counted enjoy the benefits of a gold-and government to quickly forget about the deal following a rush of gold hunters into the holy land.
Lakota seem to have to wait longer than a century to get an apology, when, in 1998, a judge in the Supreme Court concluded that "the case is more mature and a row of cases of dishonest deal may not be found in the history of our country".
The court decided to compensate for the Indians Sioux Lakota (almost Rp8.1 trillun) but they refused to accept the money. "They said if we took the money, would justify such a crime," said Middleton.
In fact, in 2007 their representatives headed to Washington to announce their withdrawal from the US, and they continue the legal fight for independence.
A similar struggle occurred in a number of continents. There Barotseland, a kingdom in Africa with a population of 3.5 million which are struggling to secede from Zambia, and Ogoniland, which seeks to secede from Nigeria; both declared independence in 2012.
In Australia, meanwhile, Murrawarri Republic was founded in 2013, after the indigenous tribe wrote to Queen Elizabeth II to ask for approval to be able to govern their territories. Tribe Murrawarri give 30 days to the Queen's reply to the request - and because there is no answer, they then formally reaffirmed claim to govern their ancient territory.
Not all countries are described in the book Middleton has deep historical roots - often, the country was founded by eccentric individuals who wish to build a country fair.
Middleton pointed Hutt River, in Australia, a "kingdom" that was founded by a small family farmers who wish to avoid the strict quota of wheat seed; they then create their own royal title, currency and postal services.
"They got the stamp business forward," said Middleton (though initially, the letters must be posted via Canada). After decades of fighting, the government relented and the family had to pay Australian tax.
In Europe, you can find Forvik, a small-sized Shetland Islands was founded by an Englishman (from Kent) to promote government transparency, Sealand, which is located on the coast of England, and Christiania, an area in the heart of Copenhagen.
This country was founded by a group that illegally occupies a former army barracks in 1971. On September 26 the same year, they declared independence, with "direct democracy", a la those in which each population (currently 850 people) can vote in any significant problem.
Christiania, an area in the heart of Copenhagen, founded by a group that occupies a former army barracks in the wild
So far, the Danish government does not see their activity; smoke marijuana, for example, is legal in Christiania, but in violation of Danish law (although the 'government' Christiania has also decided to ban the other drugs).
Although this is an example of an eccentric, Middleton not expensive efforts to set up their own state. "After the capture so many serious story about longing and oppression, I think we deserve not take it too lightly," he said. "For many people it is a matter of life and death."
He suspects despite their efforts, only a very few will get widespread recognition. "If I have to support, it will support the Greenland," he said - an autonomous region in Denmark which has had its own rules, often considered as the first step to gain official recognition.
But given the difficulty we are to define what a country is, maybe we all need to rethink the concept of a nation-state? He pointed to Antarctika, a continent which is peacefully divided among the international community, as a signal that we do not need to slice the mainland as well as a pizza.
Everyone, everywhere, can become a citizen Atlantium.
Maybe it was just a beginning. The last page of Atlas Middleton contains two examples of radicals who question everything we think about the meaning of the word 'state'.
Given Atlantium. Its capital, Concordia, is located in a remote province in Australia - which is inhabited by more kangaroos than people. But that was only a quarter adiministratif - Atlantium is a "non-teretorial", meaning that anyone, anywhere, can become citizens.
And his Web site proclaims: "In an age where more and more people are united by shared interests and the same goals - compared to - the traditional boundaries of a country, Atlantium offer an alternative to the discriminatory practices of history to approve citizenship to individuals with basic birth or other reasons. "
Whenever you travel abroad, you must pass Elgaland-Vargaland.
Then there Elgaland-Vargaland, established artists Sweden - and consists of the whole area of "no man's land" around the world, including the land that marks the border between the states and the curbing of the sea outside the territorial waters of a country; every time you travel abroad, you must pass Elgaland-Vargaland.
In fact, all the countries that have been visited Middleton, is closest to the beginning he started this journey, Narnia - since the artist claims that each time you enter a dream, or let your mind wander, you also have to pass through a boundary and a short visit to Elgaland-Vargaland.
Atlantium and Elgaland-Vargaland may be too fantastic for some people who are very serious - Middleton adore both of them more than an effort to encourage debate wider in international relations. "They all raised the possibility that countries which we know they are not the only ones has the legitimacy to govern this planet, "he wrote in his book.
One thing is certain - the world continue to experience constant change. "There are no people my age think that the Soviet Union would fall - can happen unexpected changes," he said. New countries are always born, while the old ones disappear.
In the future, any territory that we know can be countries that are not tangible.
Thank you for reading this article. Written and posted by Bambang Sunarno. sunarnobambang86@gmail.com
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name: Bambang Sunarno.
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DatePublished: May 19, 2015 at 16:12
Tag : Countries are intangible.
