Micronations

Hutt River, around 5 hours north of Perth, Australia, is one of about 70 micronations in the world, and has its own constitution, capital, and a postal service. What it does not have is international recognition. Australia has roughly half the world’s known micronations.

What it lacks, like all other micronations, is recognition from a single sovereign state. That hasn’t stopped some of Leonard’s followers from attempting to advance Hutt River’s foreign policy. The 2007 opening of an embassy and consular section in Dubai caused a minor diplomatic scandal with Australia, which accused the Hutt River “ambassador” of being a con man selling bogus travel documents. And though Hong Kong earlier this year included Hutt River on a list of legitimate places of incorporation, the move was widely dismissed as an error or a practical joke; Leonard himself is unsure of how it came to pass.

(thanks, Alex)

• micronations