How To Start A New Country - Balaji Srinivasan

Balaji S. Srinivasan wrote an article about the different ways to start a new country. Let's add some substance to this endeavor.

I think the easiest way to start a new country is to build a floating city. Why is that? Because you don't have to claim a piece of land that already belongs to a country and risk a conflict. International waters are vast and unconquered.

And we already know how to build huge ships that can carry thousands of people: cruise ships. So the technology, the ships, and the space to build them, the sea, are already available.

What's also interesting about founding a country on a ship is that you can go wherever the climate suits you. If there is a hurricane or a naval conflict, you can just sail somewhere else. Even better, you could sail the seas according to the seasons. This would allow the crew to enjoy warm temperatures all year round, and there would be huge savings on heating and air conditioning.

As for the laws that need to be written to govern a floating city, there are many tools available on the Internet. Aragon, for example, allows on-chain voting and on-chain financial management through decentralized autonomous organizations.

Since it is now possible to connect to the Internet via satellite, people can work remotely, even in the middle of the ocean.

Cruise ship defense must also be considered. Airborne and underwater drones, whether autonomous or not, add to the threat from ships, fighter jets, and submarines.

In terms of energy, the simplest way to generate electricity would be to install solar panels, windmills, or use nuclear fuel, as in submarines.

Food is a big issue. How do you feed hundreds to thousands of citizens every day? Several technologies seem to be involved: vertical farms, which allow people to grow vegetables vertically under LED lights, permaculture, which produces an interesting yield per square meter, and lab-grown food. Autonomous ships could also bring in fresh food. Fishing is also feasible.

As for water, desalination is still expensive in 2024, so the floating country would have to import fresh water on a regular basis and develop a system to recycle used water.

What about health? You can't live on a ship without a proper hospital! Infirmaries would need to be staffed 24 hours a day to care for patients. The staff should be able to provide advanced life support, emergency cardiovascular care, and minor surgery. They would be expected to stabilize critically ill patients and perform appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Foreign relations would also be an important issue. Does the floating country want to join NATO? The World Trade Organization? Interpol? Will it recognize international treaties?  Who would help defend the floating city in the event of a conflict or an international lawsuit?

Creating a new country doesn't seem like an easy task, because everything has to be built. But it's also very permissive, because national laws, rules and administrations don't exist yet.