World's smallest sovereign power is an order of knights founded 1,000 years ago

[Samnell]

With the Russel story, it was actually a woman he was speaking to, and it was "Turtles all the way down," as opposed to elephants.

I sit most appreciatedly corrected.

 

[Samnell]

I thought Sealand had the prize as the smallest nation-state.

Leaving aside issues of history that make the SMOM look a bit more legit, it's about dead-even with Sealand legally. They don't exactly claim to be a nation-state, though. The formula they like is "sovereign entity other than a state". The history is surely a part of the reason SMOM has two places granted extraterritoriality in Rome and maintains diplomatic relations with a number of countries.

So they're not a state, but are sometimes allowed to act like one...except when they're not, or when it's more of a historical courtesy...

 

[Aeson]

Though I applaud your efforts, I find the hooker explanation vastly more fun and amusing so I'm sticking with that.

Thanks I worked all morning on that one.

 

[wingsandsword]

I thought Sealand had the prize as the smallest nation-state.

Well, Sealand isn't recognized by any state, it takes no part in international affairs, it can't even recieve mail since it's mailing address is in the UK. It's not a nation, a family of squatters on an old British gunnery platform with delusions of grandeur. What happens when Sealand's population of 2 or 3 die of old age, has the entire "nation" died out?

The Soveriegn Military Order of Malta at least has some legitimacy on the international scene, like being granted extraterritorial rights in Rome. Their Sovereignty is really a courtesy for their age and history, since they are the same order (with a name change) that was the Knights Hospitaller of the Crusades, and they've been a political and military (and later on just political) power in the Mediteranean region for about 1,000 years. Their soveriegnty might be a little odd, but it's grandfathered in (historically a handful of military orders were considered soveriegn entities, but the Knights of Malta are the last ones), doesn't come up very often, and not really a subject of controversy.

 

[CarlZog]

Fair enough.


Carl

 

[The_Universe]

On the issue of states hoping to be recognized by the international community, isn't there a south pacific island lobbying for membership in the UN because if the polar ice caps melt much more, it will be swallowed by the sea?

Or, at the very least, isn't there an urban legend to that effect?

 

[mythusmage]

Another thing to note about the SMOM is that it is the only nation in the world that relies entirely on immigration to maintain its population. You see, the population is entirely male, so they need a continuous supply of new recruits to replace their losses.

 

[ForceUser]

On the issue of states hoping to be recognized by the international community, isn't there a south pacific island lobbying for membership in the UN because if the polar ice caps melt much more, it will be swallowed by the sea?

Or, at the very least, isn't there an urban legend to that effect?

You're talking about Tuvalu. And it is not a myth--those people are screwed. Thousands of Tuvaluans will be displaced by rising sea levels within 20 years; in fact, the government of Tuvalu has facilitated voluntary displacement to nearby New Zealand, where the new transplants are struggling to maintain the cultural identity that they've held for over 1,000 years.

All told, it is estimated that over 80 million people worldwide will become "environmental refugees" in this century as they are displaced by rising sea levels that some experts say are directly related to global warming.

There's a great book on the subject of the Tuvaluans' plight and the problems faced by others globally. It's called High Tide by Mark Lynas.

 

[Ambrus]

He just willed himself into exsistance?

The FSM created everything which logically must include himself as well. Duh.

How do you know he is a he?

Although the FSM is far beyong such trivial matters as human concepts of gender, he is nonetheless always spoken of by using masculine pronouns in church scripture as well as in holy iconography:

 

[nerfherder]

I thought Sealand had the prize as the smallest nation-state.

Carl

What about Lovely?

Cheers,
Liam