You Rule! Create Your Own Country, by Scott Forbes and Emma Luara Jones

This book is published by Lonely Planet for Kids, and it was not exactly the sort of book that I thought it would be. This is not to say that this book is a bad one, only that it was a lot less about imagination and a lot more about creating one’s own microstate than I assumed it would be. There has been, for at least the last few decades, a rising movement on the part of people to turn small spaces into imaginary nations that seek in some way to provide a sense of independence from the larger nations that have been increasingly suffocating in their demands over the past century or more. One of the intriguing aspects of this book is the way that it talks about these matters, showing how it is that farms, platforms, isolated islands, warehouses, and other buildings and even rooms have served as micronations. Some areas of the world, like Antarctica, are so heavy with claims from micronations that there are associations that seek to deal with overlapping and competing claims being made on the same territory, which mirrors at least the real situation in Antarctica, it must be noted. The book’s focus on real territory that one could claim for one’s own micronation is a distinctive approach of this book when it comes to lore.

I must admit that when it comes to creating my own country, I tend to be more on the side of imagination myself. The book does speak at least briefly about this by looking at literary inventions of lands that have been done from time to time in novels and other literary forms. For the most part, though, this book sticks to rigorously practical means by which one may convince one’s family, friends, neighbors, and others to join up as citizens of an imaginary nation. Most of the attention here is spent on practical aspects, designing a flag, setting one’s territory, and choosing the political system. I thought that most of these choices would be made by looking at the definitions of the terms themselves, but the authors approach these matters as an opportunity to quiz the reader on their own behavior and thought processes in order to use that to decide the aspects of their imaginary state. If this book is not for me, it is definitely for those young people who might want to create their own microstate.

In terms of its contents, this book is a bit less than 100 pages. It is divided into several unnumbered chapters. First, the authors urge the reader to pick a place for a country, deciding among various options based on microstates that have existed up to this point, ranging from one’s home to land that is unclaimed to even virtual states. The authors then urge the reader to mark their territory through maps and attempts at border security (they could probably do no worse than our current administration, honestly, at that important task). This is followed by a discussion of making nationhood official through names, flags, and a declaration of independence. After that the authors urge the reader to recruit other people to be citizens of their new nation and how to settle into their new microstate. This is followed by discussion of the political systems that can be used in a microstate ranging from democratic regimes to oligarchies to authoritarian regimes (often of a monarchical type). After that there is a discussion of how to make money off of one’s statehood. This is followed by a discussion of culture, including national costumes and songs. Then comes a discussion of how to deal with issues of national security, dealing with neighbors, as well as diplomatic reciprocity. The book then talks about how the reader can pass along the book’s insights, before the book ends with a glossary and an index.