check out this amazing blog dedicated to "new sovereignties": let a thousand nations bloom (mike gibson and patri friedman). they're calling their position "secessionism": well you might notice that i've often been on about balkanizing the world: many more countries would be a good start. more or less, from texas and alaska to kurdistan to the basque region to montenegro to tibet, i support every separatist movement everywhere.

there's a vague sort of picture out there according to which it is self-evident that ever-growing sovereignties are self-evidently desirable, until we end up with a world-state, run by al gore or jurgen habermas. but of course there are opposite forces pulling too: face the flanders, baby.