Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty

by Harry Hobbs, George Williams

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.

200 pages, Hardcover

Published January 6, 2022

About the author

Harry is a Lecturer in the UTS Faculty of Law. Harry teaches and researches in the fields of public law, the rights of Indigenous peoples, and international law, with a particular focus on Indigenous-State treaty making.

Harry has published over 30 academic papers in leading international and domestic journals. His scholarship has appeared in the International Journal of Constitutional Law, the Sydney Law Review, the University of Melbourne Law Review, the University of Toronto Law Journal, the Leiden Journal of International Law, and the Chicago Journal of International Law, among others. He is the author of Treaty (Federation Press, 2nd ed, 2020) (with George Williams), and Indigenous Aspirations and Structural Reform in Australia (Hart, forthcoming 2021).

Prior to joining UTS, Harry worked in the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Human Rights, the ACT Human Rights Commission, and as the Legal Research Officer at the High Court of Australia. He has a PhD from the University of New South Wales, a LLM (International Legal Studies) from New York University where he was awarded the Jerome Lipper Prize, and a BA/LLB (Honours) from the Australian National University.