I rule my own ocean micronation – BBC Future

Quirk also pointed out that the idea of floating nations may become more accepted as the impacts of climate change are seen. Consider the Maldives, he said, which is sinking below rising sea level. You can see this nation could be transitioning to a floating nation, and the question becomes, does the world recognise them as a nation?

Rule breaker

Sealand and the Seasteading Institute share some core aims and values, but theyre also substantially different. Sealand was a quirk of history, a single man who flew in the face of rules he disagreed with. Seasteading has much of that in its heart, but with a more complex philosophy behind it, rooted in the principles of the free market.

Unlike Sealand, which isnt trying to build a population, the seasteads would have to compete with one another to attract people to live there. Quirk imagines a world in which citizens, unhappy with the infrastructure, laws or systems of one nation, can break apart and float over to another. We think a market of competing services will unleash innovation in governance, he said.

When I asked Quirk what he imagines when he closes his eyes and thinks about a future seastead, he answered quickly. Venice. I love the history people were chased out of the places they lived in by warfare and they moved out into swamps and over time they built a civilisation on stilts that eventually became one of the wealthiest places on Earth.

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I rule my own ocean micronation - BBC Future