micronation
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmaɪ.kɹəʊ.neɪ̯.ʃən/
ipa: /ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊˌneɪ.ʃən/
rhymes: -eɪʃən
Forms: form: micronations
form: micro-nation
Etymology: From micro- (“very small”) + nation (“a sovereign state; country”). Compare microcountry, mini-nation, mini-country and ministate.
The first sense was coined on 11 March 1973 by the editors of the Lansing State Journal (see quotations) in a republication of an article by Philip J. Hilts, originally writing for Potomac Magazine (Sunday supplement to The Washington Post), and so-called because most micronations are small in size. The article was referring to the unrecognised political entities listed in the Ephemeral States file, a collection of physical micronational records maintained by the Office of the Geographer of the United States Department of State, launched in 1933.
Senses: examples: text: For every dreamer there is somewhere a doer, and in the realm [of] the strange micro-nations, the Republic of Minerva has plunged a bit ahead of the nebulous status of most others.
ref: 1973 March 11, Philip J. Hilts, “Micro-nations Nebulous Fourth World”, in Lansing State Journal, page C-5:
text: Oceanus ... This is the world's largest micronation, taking up all the seas of the world beyond national 3-mi. limits.
ref: 1978, David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac #2: A Completely New Book from Cover to Cover, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 330:
text: The list of micro-nations is long and colorful. The spirit of new nation-building that resonates from King Robert's descriptions of these countries, is seductive.
ref: 1996 April 1, David Zgodziński, “Net full of nations”, in The Montreal Gazette, page B3:
text: Even if you are very well traveled, you may not yet have visited any of the world's micronations. There are places all over where someone or some group has declared a sort of mock sovereignty. Real nations mostly ignore them, and so does everyone else usually.
ref: 2006 November 1, Alex Chadwick, “'Lonely Planet' Explores Micronations”, in NPR, archived from the original on 12 Apr 2025:
text: [Never heard of] the Imperial Kingdom of Calsahara? The Conch Republic? The Principality of Sealand? You’re not alone. Léo Delafontaine hadn’t either until 2012, when he visited the Republic of Saugeais, a self-proclaimed micronation in eastern France. He's since become fascinated with "countries" unrecognized by world governments and organizations. […] Some micronations are easily accessible while others are difficult to get to.
ref: 2014 November 18, Jordan Teicher, “The World's Tiniest Countries and the Eccentrics Who Rule Them”, in Wired, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2015:
text: After exploring several classificatory accounts that identify commonalities and distinctions among and between different types of micronation, we outline our definition. We find that micronations are self-declared nations that perform and mimic acts of sovereignty, and adopt many of the protocols of nations, but lack a foundation in domestic and international law for their existence and are not recognised as states in domestic or international forums.
ref: 2021, Harry Hobbs, George Williams, Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty (Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law), Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 21:
glosses: A non-autonomous entity that claims to be a sovereign state and mimics the actions of a state (with varying degrees of seriousness), but lacks any legal recognition and exists only on paper or in the mind of its creator; a micronational entity.
examples: text: Also, since Nigeria is the cornerstone of the economy of West Africa, many countries around its perimeter will suffer, including many of the "micro-nations" of the U.N. which were the biggest supporters of the actions in The Congo and Rhodesia.
ref: 1967 June 11, T. W. Carlson, “U.N. Should Act to Save Nigeria”, in Star Tribune, page 45:
text: The concept of an independent Bougainville is sometimes denounced because such a micronation would necessarily restrict the scope of employment opportunities while increasing the frustrations of educated Bougainvilleans.
ref: 1973, Anthony Clunies Ross, John Langmore, Alternative Strategies for Papua New Guinea, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 129:
text: Europe already has workable arrangements with micro-nations like Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino.
ref: 1991 July 7, “Wanna try driving a 'Yugo,' Mister?”, in Robert M. McKinney, editor, The Santa Fe New Mexican, page A-6:
text: But in easing its own vaccine crisis, this hilltop micronation – which is not a member of the European Union – has become a foil for a much larger crisis playing out beyond its borders.
ref: 2021 April 2, Chico Harlan, Stefano Pitrelli, “San Marino, the micronation within Italy, stokes envy with speedy Russian-supplied vaccine campaign”, in The Washington Post:
glosses: Synonym of microstate (“a country that has a very small population and land area”).
synonyms: word: microstate
extra: a country that has a very small population and land area
Synonyms: word: MN
word: ephemeral state
word: micronational entity
word: model country
word: new country project
word: project nation
word: micronation
word: countercountry
word: model nation
word: micropatria
word: microcountry
word: mini-country
word: mini-nation
word: mnation
word: mrnation
word: nationette
word: new nation project
Hypernyms: word: aspirant state
word: micronational entity
word: political entity
word: pseudonation
word: government
Hyponyms: bedroom nation
bug nation
egonation
egostan
mini-independent country
nanonation
space nation
Derived terms: micronationality
micronationdom
micronationhood
micronationry
Related terms: alt: micropatrology
word: micropatriology
word: cybernation
word: network state
word: ronation