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99% Invisible: From The Sea, Freedom

On the October 16, 2015 edition of 99% Invisible.

n 1933, delegates from the United States and fourteen other countries met in Montevideo, Uruguay to define what it means to be a state. The resulting treaty from the Montevideo Convention established four basic criteria for statehood—essentially, what is required to be recognized as a  country.

The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: 1. A defined territory 2. A permanent population 3. A government 4. Capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

Over time, some people got to thinking that the criteria for becoming a state seemed surprisingly simple. So simple that some attempted to declare their house an independent country. So-called “micronations” popped up around the world [...]