Let's Party like a State
- Consul Spiekermann
- 14. Aug.
- 3 Min. Lesezeit
When the micronation Romanov Empire nearly made a deal with The Gambia in 2017, one that would have allowed it to establish itself there as an autonomous floating city-state, the agreement ultimately fell through. The Gambian government finally took the position that the Romanov Empire, as a diplomatically unrecognized micronation, was not a genuine state and therefore lacked the capacity to enter into international treaties. That was a great shame. That sort of thing can no longer happen to us, however; a political party offers the opportunity to operate on the international stage in ways otherwise reserved for sovereign states.
Under certain circumstances, political parties can act like a genuine state. The most prominent example of this is likely the SWAPO Party of Namibia. The South West Africa People’s Organization is a socialist party in the Republic of Namibia. Until the end of the First World War, Namibia was a colony of the German Empire known as German South West Africa. Following the First World War, South Africa administered Namibia under a mandate from the League of Nations, and after the Second World War, under a mandate from the United Nations. However, apartheid prevailed in South Africa from 1948 onwards. Under rule of the National Party, in which many old N#zi sympathizers played a significant role, the white minority ruled over the other ethnic groups with an iron fist, including in South West Africa. SWAPO fought against this in South West Africa.
nitially using peaceful means, but soon resorting to military force, SWAPO established its own party army-the People's Liberation Army of Namibia. Allied with Angolan and Cuban communists as well as Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress, SWAPO waged a military struggle against South Africa. In 1966, the United Nations revoked South Africa’s mandate over South West Africa, and in 1968, it renamed the territory Namibia. The South African government simply ignored this and proceeded to annex Namibia de facto. Although SWAPO was-and remains-a political party, during the era of the struggle for independence, it operated in some respects like a state. In 1978, SWAPO was admitted to the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Non-Aligned Movement is an alliance of independent states founded in 1961 on the initiative of Marshal Tito to offer an alternative to the major power blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. From then on, the political party SWAPO was able to interact within the Non-Aligned Movement on an equal footing-much like an independent state-with countries such as Yugoslavia, India, Egypt, Cuba, Vietnam, and many others. SWAPO’s membership in the Non-Aligned Movement ended when Namibia gained full independence in 1990 and Sam Nujoma, the founder of SWAPO, was elected President of the Republic of Namibia. However, there are also contemporary examples of political parties that operate internationally, to some extent, like independent states.
The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, an alliance of political parties in New Caledonia (part of the French Republic), is an observer member of the Non-Aligned Movement and a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group—a regional intergovernmental organization that also counts Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands among its full members. At the same time, however, it is the largest faction in the regional parliament of New Caledonia. The Hostosian National Independence Movement, an unregistered political party in Puerto Rico, is also an observer member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
As a registered political party that aims to represent the interests of Austria’s indigenous minorities, there would seem to be no reason why the Minority List of Austria – Danube Federation could not, at some point in the future, attend a Non-Aligned Movement summit as a guest or even apply for Observer Membership.
