FIRST TIER - STATES

• Supernational entities: comprised of macronations, but which by treaty assume certain governmental functions ordinarily maintained by macronations [European Community].
• Macronations, or Macrostates: Fully sovereign within its own territory, does not pay taxes or delegate to another nation essential services. [France, USA, Brazil, etc. -- members of the United Nations, by definition].
• Recognized Microstates: Sovereignty recognized by macronations, but due to small size may be dependent on neighboring macronation for services [Andorra, Nauru, Palestine].
• Unrecognized Microstates: Nations which physically hold territory, and maintain some services on it, and are not recognized by macronations as a nation [Hutt River, Republic of Texas (in the territory it actually controls)]; but are actively seeking that recognition.

• Protonations: Micronations located on the physical territory they claim, but are not actively working to assert sovereignty against a macronation [Talossa].
• Metanations: Micronations having a defined "spiritual homeland" on the Earth's surface having a defined and working governmental structure involving five or more people, not necessarily located on the territory claimed [Orange, Penguinea, Réunion].
• Aspiring metanations: Micronations (usually newly created) which lack the organization to qualify as a metanation [Kingdom of Porto Claro].
• Pseudonations: Pure fantasy nation or role-playing game [Lezaria].

This axis looks at how widely the power in a macro/micronation is distributed, from the least widely distributed to the most.

• Absolute Monarchy: The nation is the ruler's plantation. No attempt is made to maintain any appearance of democratic institutions. [Brunei]
• Absolute Oligarchy: A nation is ruled by a committee [Libya] or a family [Saudi Arabia]. No attempt is made to maintain any appearance of democratic institutions.
• Autocracy: A nation in fact ruled by one person or a small committee creates democratic-appearing institutions (for example, a rubber-stamp parliament) to legitimize their rule [Iraq].
• Single-Party Rule: One political party maintains consistent rule over time by eliminating opposition parties or through fraudulent elections [China, Kenya, Mexico before 1991]; or by overwhelming influence on public opinion, allowing existence of opposition parties, but those parties have no real influence [Poland under Communism, Talossa].
• Representative Government: Functioning institutions with checks and balances, run by elected representatives of the people, and not directly by the people themselves, based on the principle of majority rule [most Western democracies, Orange, Republic of Porto Claro].
• Consensus Government: Same as {E} but based on the principle of consensus [no known macronation, Penguinea].
• Direct democracy: Legislative powers are replaced by a direct vote of the people. [Ancient Athens, New England town meetings].
• Anarchy: [Lebanon during civil war, Somalia].

This web page has been restored by The Tisserand Museum
October, 2000