One man nation

For a list of one man nations, see List of one man nations.

A one man nation (OMN; shortening for one man micronation)—also known as an egonation or egostan—is a micronation which has only a single citizen or single active participant. One man nations are generally seen as disadvantaged compared to micronations with multiple active citizens. While hardline secessionists associate one man nations with simulationism and regard them as unprofessional, medium and light secessionists, and simulationists, are accepting of one man nations as a concept. Some one man nations which have multiple offices and positions all held by the micronation's single participant have been criticised as resembling a live action role-playing game (LARP) and thus regarded as "non-serious". Micronations possessing only a single active participant have existed since the 19th century, and were commonplace in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1997, one man nations began to be considered undesirable in the online intermicronational community, with citizenship count said to be inductive of the professionalism and strength of a micronation. This sentiment changed in the English-speaking linguistic sector by late 1999, and the acceptance of one man nations was greatly increased in the early 2000s. The MicroWiki community did not recognise one man nations until 2010, at which point they were largely dismissed, although since the late 2010s they have been largely accepted.

Etymology

The first word to describe a one-man nation was egonation, a derogatory epithet. Its origin is obscure, but according to the Sovereign Principality of Corvinia's "A glossary of micronational terms" web page it is attested to "at least 1997." The word was formed via a clipping of ego (from Latin ego "I;" meaning "the self") and micronation.

One man micronation—later shortened to one man nation—is first attested in the Organisation of Active Micronations's Micronational Dictionary on 7 May 2010 as one-man-micronation. Another derogatory epithet, egostan, arose in the MicroWiki community in 2017, formed by combining ego and -stan (from Persian ـستان‎ -estān "land of;" meaning "a metaphoric country name, often with a connotation to it being a hostile country").

History

The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia, founded in 1860, was originally a one-man nation (seal pictured)

Micronations possessing only a single active participant have existed since the 19th century. The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia, a micronation in the historic region of Araucanía and eastern Patagonia, was declared in 1860 by Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, a French lawyer and adventurer. New Atlantis was another one man nation founded in 1964 by writer Leicester Hemingway; and Operation Atlantis in 1968 by dermatologist Werner Stiefel. All three micronations had only a single citizen throughout their existence. The International Micropatrological Society, established in 1973, documented several one man nations. Some of them are profiled in Erwin S. Strauss' 1979 work How to Start Your Own Country. Several one man nations were founded in Australia as a form of protest throughout the latter half of the 1970s; the Province of Bumbunga in 1976 by ardent British monarchist Alex Brackstone; Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina in 1978 by German migrant Paul Neuman; and the Independent State of Rainbow Creek in 1979 by retired police officer Thomas Barnes.

The rise of micronationalism on the Internet beginning in 1995 resulted in micronations becoming increasingly online-based, allowing, for the first time ever, micronational diplomacy to conveniently commence. One man nations were first accepted in the online intermicronational community between 1995 and 1996, however, during 1997, one man nations began to be considered undesirable. Secessionists associated one man nations with simulationism, and thus considered them to be unprofessional; in their view, achieving independence with only a single resident was unrealistic and unobtainable. Additionally, micronations with several citizens—some claiming to ostensibly posses hundreds—were regarded as powerful. High citizenship counts were considered impressive, and said to be inductive of the professionalism and strength of a micronation, so much so that the only term coined around that year to describe a one-man nation, egonation, was a derogatory epithet.

This sentiment began to be relinquished in the English-speaking linguistic sector by late 1999, and the acceptance of one man nations was invigorated in the early 2000s by intermicronational organisations such as the League of Micronations. The micronations.net community, prominent between 2002 and 2008, seldom categorised one man nations, although greater citizenship counts still remained impressive. The MicroWiki community too did not categorise one man nations until 2010, at which point they were largely dismissed. Although not considered undesirable, micronations which only had a single active participant were seen as lacking in potential compared to micronations with multiple citizens.

Several historical classification systems for micronations in the MicroWiki sector awarded more points for having more citizens, disadvantaging one man nations. Such early systems included Mark Dresner's System of Classification created in 2009, David Salapa's Micronational Potential Index in March 2010 and Miles Huff's Scale of Economic Potential in October 2010. The term one man micronation (which was later shortened to one man nation) was added to the Organisation of Active Micronations's Micronational Dictionary on 7 May 2010, and the derogatory epithet egonation was added on 30 August 2010. One man nations were the topic of several discussions on the MicroWiki forums during the 2010s, however there was no consensus on their merit as a micronation nor on their inherent level of seriousness. Another derogatory epithet, egostan, arose in the community in 2017.

One man nations as a separate concept were paid little attention by macronational academics and journalists until 2017.

Perspectives

Entry for egonation in the Micronational Dictionary, said to be derogatory

Many hardline secessionists associate one man nations with simulationism. In the secessionist school of thought that the only way to achieve legal recognition is through means of force, they argue that it is improbable for a single citizen to overpower the parent macronation's monopoly on violence. Outside of this paradigm, other hardline secessionists generally regard one man nations as unprofessional; in their view, it is unrealistic for a single individual to form a polity of any kind, and they assert that a one-man nation cannot have a government as it would serve no purpose. As such, a one-man nation could never truly mimic a macronation, an important necessity in hardline secessionism. Both medium and light secessionists are generally accepting of one man nations as a concept. In practice, one man nations which have a government, even if authoritarian, or multiple offices and positions which are all held by the single participant, have been criticised by some of these secessionists as resembling a live action role-playing game (LARP) and thus regarded as "non-serious". Hamilton's Scale of Micronational Seriousness, conceived in 2020, actively defines a one-man nation as the least serious form of government.

In terms of development, one man nations are regarded as disadvantaged compared to micronations with multiple active citizens. One man nations may lack a variety of skills that individual citizens of other micronations may possibly possess. In addition, several classification systems for micronations in the MicroWiki sector awarded more points for having more citizens, disadvantaging one man nations.

The ego

Micropatriologists and macronational academics have observed that one man nations lack diversity, and as such are essentially extensions of oneself—the micronation's only citizen. In 2017, cultural theorist Bronwyn Winter wrote that, for many micronations, "the nation is simply an extension of one individual." Vicente Bicudo de Castro and Ralph Kober, writing for Shima in 2018, analysed the Principality of Hutt River through academic Ryan Anderson's concept of aislamiento, a sense of geographical and psychological isolation that constitutes a place as an "island". de Castro and Kober concluded that as Hutt River was in an isolated area and Leonard I, Prince of Hutt River was happy to "maroon himself there," the micronation therefore constituted an island, revealing the "deeply social and political nature of aislamiento."

See also

• No man micronation
• Bedroom nation—a micronation which claims a single room as its territory
• Glossary of micronational jargon