The Rise of Non-territorial Sovereignties and Micronations

There is much debate as to whether globalization is changing the face of geographical boundaries or leaving the world void of state and sovereignty. As a result of globalization, the exclusive territorial power of the state has become challenged by the operations of powerful multinational corporations (MNCs). MNCs can now pressure states to cut their labor costs, reduce taxation and tariffs. Sovereignty, though remaining part of the system, has become located instead in a multiplicity of institutional domains – MNCs and supranationals. There are huge repercussions to this decoupling of territory and sovereign state, including states no longer being free to instigate their own policies. With the weakening of the state-sovereignty relationship, tensions have been created and insecurity has meant the rise of walls within walls - in the form of micronations and non-sovereign states - MNCs have grown in power, dominating the system. This paper critiques the insubstantial definitions of what constitutes a state, the effects of the reconstitution of state-sovereignty, the shift in the balance of power from states to MNCs and devolved, regional bodies, which has been a contributory factor to the rise of micro-nations.