On Micronations, Liberty, and Trump
President of Liberland and his team delivered a lecture at Georgetown University on February 29.
February 29 comes just once every four years, and so it was an appropriate day for a remarkable head of state to visit Georgetown. You may not have heard of President Vit Jedlikca, the current president of Liberland, Europe’s newest nation.
Liberland, a micronation located on a small island in the middle of the Danube river between Croatia and Serbia, lies approximately 25 miles away from the Croatian city of Osijek. Two islands make up the new nation, the main Liberland and the smaller Liberty Island, with only one house within its three square miles of territory.
Thanks to its unique territorial situation, Liberland declared its independence on April 13, 2015. The breakup of Yugoslavia during the 1990s created a complicated border between Croatia and Serbia, with both sides claiming different islands all the way down the Danube. Liberland, however, finds itself in territory claimed by neither side. The Serbian authorities maintain that their border extends to the middle of the Danube, while the Croatians officially state that their territory reaches up to the Western edge of Liberland, leaving the nation itself unclaimed. Despite Liberland’s lack of a claim, Croatian authorities prevent and detain any people trying to enter Liberland for illegally exiting its territory.
A libertarian politician, Jedlicka makes other nods to liberty in the symbolism of the fledgling nation: the yellow flag symbolizing freedom, its motto of “To Live and Let Live,” and the nation’s official beer “Liberty Ale.”
According to the Liberland website, “[The] nation is based on the human desire for freedom. All liberty loving people around the world are potential members of it. You can trace its origins way back in history. Starting with the Exodus of ancient times, we saw this manifest itself again as the American revolution and recently as Liberland.”
Jedlicka has big plans for the still mostly wooded island in the middle of the Danube. Liberland hosts an architectural competition that “invites architects to challenge the contemporary urban and architectural design status quo by responding to Liberland’s fundamental values.”
Zaha Hadid partner Patrik Schumacher leads the project, while Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture Professor Vedran Mimica takes the role of a fellow juror. The jury hopes that, “Liberland’s new architecture will be absolutely vital to its survival, success and advancement towards its envisioned future of maximum freedom and prosperity on the basis of an unleashed entrepreneurial creativity.”
It seems that the president’s love of liberty has resonated with many people around the world. Liberland currently has 75,000 citizens and maintains over 70 offices worldwide, including its newest consulate in Oregon, opened the day before the president’s visit to the Hilltop, and the Consulate in Greece, opened on March 6. His visit to the United States represented part of a greater world tour that will conclude in April. The president met with Libertarian presidential nominee and former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, in addition to Representatives Justin Amash (R-MI) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), and attended Conservative Political Action Conference events in both Washington and Baltimore.
The president is confident about the progress of Liberland in its attempt to join the international community. Whilst many still define Liberland as a micronation, the president feels that the definition does not totally apply to his nation.
“It is very hard to [call a] country where you have 400,000 applicants and registered people [who] are interested in citizenship...a micronation. People call even places like Lichtenstein a micronation, and Monaco a micronation. So I think on one hand, it is not an appropriate term… it is not a homegrown micronation,” he said.
The president is also pleased with the new political situation in Croatia. He stated that he saw the new Croatian government, elected in November 2015 and headed by the Croatian Democratic Union with the support of the strong libertarian group of independents Most, as promising to better relations between Liberland and Croatia. He added, however, that if the relationship does not improve, Liberland will look towards its other neighbor, Serbia.
“We are already building diplomatic bridges with Serbia. And we would like to build a physical bridge,” Jedlikca explained.
When asked about the divisive nature of politics in the United States and his ideal future relationship with the U.S., Jedlikca presented an unconventional view: “I actually think Donald Trump will be the future President. I think there is a great chance for us to install a good connection with him. He will say ‘Hey, let’s do it. Let’s make Liberland great.’ And I think that it’s one of the options of Liberland.”
Jedlicka, Liberland, and its supporters may seem like political outliers, but the very fact that they have a free unclaimed and untainted territory means that the project has real potential. Yet, the question remains: will Liberland fulfil its dream as a libertarian haven in Europe, or will its ideology get lost in the rough and tumble of European politics?