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How do I start my own country?

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ALIAS
Jan 26, 2023
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Have you ever been scrolling through Twitter, reading about the latest political drama, and thought to yourself, "I could do a better job than these idiots. I should just start my own country."

Well, guess what? You can! Sort of. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but it is possible to create your own sovereign nation.

Here's everything you need to know about starting your own country.

Pick a Place

The first step in starting your own country is picking a location. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's actually one of the most important steps. After all, you can't have a country without land, right? The land you choose will determine what kind of country you can have. If you want a traditional landlocked country, you'll need to find someplace that isn't already claimed by another country. If you're looking for an island nation, however, things are a bit more complicated.

In order to claim an island as your own, you'll need to meet certain criteria set forth by international law. First and foremost, the island must be uninhabited. Second, it must be located in an area where no other country has sovereignty. And finally, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the ability to exercise control over the island and its surrounding waters.

If you can check all of those boxes, congratulations! You've just claimed your very own island nation. Now it's time to move on to the next step:populating your new country.

Find Some People (or Not)

The next step in starting your own country is finding people who are willing to live there with you. This step is entirely up to you; if you want your country to be populated, then go out and find some people who are willing to move there and become citizens. If you'd prefer an uninhabited island nation—maybe you're looking to get away from people—then you can skip this step entirely.

Either way, once you've got your population sorted out, it's time to move on to the next step: governance.

Set Up Some Rules (aka Governance)

No country can exist without some sort of governing body or rules in place. Even if you're the only person living in your new country, you'll still need to establish at least a few basic laws or regulations. Things like property rights, taxation (if applicable), and immigration policy (again, if applicable) will need to be decided upon and put into writing somewhere so that everyone knows what the rules are.

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