If you have ever thought that the United States has just gotten too large to manage effectively or too large to manage the greed and corruption and that the system just does not work then you are not alone. A set of creative visionaries and dreamers have set out to create societies of their own with like minded individuals in the micronational movement. A micronation, sometimes referred to as a new country project, is an attempt to create a separate and autonomous society that breaks away from its larger, macro world counterparts to be independent communities. The seriousness of these groups can vary from mere hobbyist with an online “kingdom” to serious endeavors with claimed territory such as the infamous Sealand.

In this series exploring the phenomenon of micronations we will take a look at a few of the more interesting micronations and associated organizations that I have found and their unique spin on the political scene with their particular approach to the politics to see what implications, if any, these could have on the larger political scene. 

With the hysteria that has been coming from the right as of late about the fear of socialism and communism they tend to overlook that there are several people out there who favor a community focused structure that eliminates exploitation and inequalities to create a classless, cooperative society. This is the case with The Socialist Republic of Zandrovia which is described as a “socialist meritocracy that is based on equality and justice, not exploitation.”

The Socialist Republic of Zandrovia, also known as the Zandrovian Republic or simply Zandrovia, has a very interesting take on their political and governmental structure combining elements of democracy, republic representation, socialist ideology, and a strong community focus. One of the most unusual aspects about Zandrovia is that unlike many of the micronational movements out there, the head of state for this micronation is a woman, the Prime Minister Alekzandria who was elected to a life term by the founding citizens of the micronation. Future leaders of Zandrovia, once in office, will remain at their post as long as the general “vote of confidence” remains in their favor, giving the citizens the power to remove a leader if they fail to serve the people.

Zandrovia is based on a constitution which is currently being updated since its original conception in early 2008 and will be up for ratification by its citizens once complete and will then be the fundamental law of the land. The micronation lists 7 guiding principles on their website which include Loyalty, Respect, Honor, Sustainability & Stewardship, Community, Justice, and Equality. They have a strong environmental policy and commitment to social justice and ending exploitation.

Another aspect of Zandrovia that I found particularly fascinating is the fact that they issue titles of nobility; however, instead of being based on heredity or monetary basis, the titles such as Lady and Lord are issued based on what is referred to as ZCC's, Zandrovian Community Credits, which rewards its citizens based on hours of community service and contributions towards building and sustaining their community.

A couple of other interesting aspects of the political structure of Zandrovia is the fact that the national budget is voted upon by the people, not the government. And that representatives in the parliament are not based on geographical locations as they are in the US but are based on particular interests or focus. For example, there would be a representative elected to speak about health care matters, another to represent family values, and another to speak for environmental concerns, etc. I wonder how such a system would work in American politics and will be interested in watching how this plays out in the future.

Currently, this budding micronation is accepting new citizens devoted to the cause and its future of building a self sustaining cooperative community. You can visit their web site at: www.ZandrovianRepublic.co.cc and becoming a citizen is Free. As far as the future goes they have plans to open a university, create their own social network, a national newspaper, and annual ball to celebrate the founding and growth of their nation among other goals. They encourage people of all walks of life to join, particularly writers, teachers, and those interested in community leadership and politics.

Stay tuned for our next article in this series as we explore a modern medieval micronation with tremendous commercial appeal.