# Startup States Society: how to start a new country Full text of https://startupstates.swiss/ · Last updated 11 November 2026 · Published under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: quote with attribution to the Startup States Society. Startup States Society · Genève ## Where countries are built like startups, and startups become countries. New countries. Built by agreement. An independent institute in Geneva championing the peaceful, ethical and lawful creation of new countries under public international law, with respect for human rights and for the natural world. ## Where would you like to begin? ### The Concept What a Startup State is, where the term comes from, and how it differs from charter cities, network states and micronations. ### Monographs Open-access studies of treaty-based state formation, recognition and the history of contested self-governance. ### Atlases Map 628 cases of contested self-governance, and trace how members of the United Nations have granted or withdrawn recognition. ### Research Journal articles, guest essays and coverage of the Society’s work across the legal and policy press. ### People An international Advisory Council, the Society’s Ambassadors and its Founding Director. ### Governance Swiss legal constitution, founding statutes, minutes, published expense reports and contact details. - Non-profit - Non-governmental - Humanitarian ## An independent institute for the peaceful creation of new countries The Startup States Society is a non-profit, non-governmental association constituted in Geneva under Articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code. It researches, publishes and advocates for one proposition: that new countries can come into being peacefully, by agreement with existing states, within public international law. Its purpose is humanitarian. A country formed by consent can give people a lawful home under institutions they have chosen, while protecting individual rights, the natural environment and the interests of the host state and its citizens. The Society does not build countries itself, and it does not give legal or financial advice. It studies how new countries could be formed, sets out the principles they should honour, and convenes the scholars and practitioners who share them. ## How a Startup State comes into being Not by declaration, and not by separation. By agreement, in three stages. The idea borrows from the way the most inventive companies think. The largest hospitality platform in the world owns almost no hotels, and one of its largest transport networks owns few vehicles. In the same spirit, a country of the future need not own the land beneath it: it may hold that land under a long-term lease from a willing host state. The Society applies that inventiveness to statecraft, without the haste. Nothing is disrupted and nothing is broken: agreement comes first, and every step rests on public international law. ### What are Startup States? Startup States /ˈstɑːtʌp steɪts/ · STAHR-tuhp stayts · sing. Startup State New, independent, self-governing countries intentionally built from first principles, channelling an entrepreneurial ethos in the design and deployment of modular governance, innovative technologies, and market-aligned systems: delivering legally grounded, deliberate, treaty-enabled statehood. Epigram Startups that are new countries, and new countries that are startups. ### Etymology The term Startup States synthesises two historically distinct yet increasingly convergent domains. Startup derives from the twentieth-century lexicon of Silicon Valley, denoting ventures born from agility, innovation, and lean experimentation. State, from the Latin status, acquired its political meaning in Renaissance Europe, evolving under the Westphalian system into the foundational unit of modern international law, recognised under the Montevideo Convention (1933) as requiring a permanent population, defined territory, effective government, and the capacity to enter international relations. Their juxtaposition forms a neologism signalling not rebellion, but origination: countries designed with purpose, launched through consent, and governed with precision. Their legal foundations aim to satisfy Montevideo criteria whilst securing status through negotiated treaties, sustainable jurisdictional leasing, and pluralistic diplomacy. ### Expanded Juridical Definition Startup States are new, independent, and self-governing countries, deliberately constructed from first principles, anchored in lawful consent and entrepreneurial clarity. They arise neither from separation nor from conquest, but emerge through mutually informed, symbiotic agreements that reflect the voluntary will of all parties involved. In their most legally conscientious and diplomatically robust form, Startup States are established through cooperative formations pursuant to lawful agreements with recognised states, typically formalised via treaties, long-term leases, or the lawful transfer of uninhabited and uncontested territories. Such juridical constructs may manifest as concurrent jurisdiction or condominium governance, wherein both parties exercise defined legal competences whilst each retains its distinct status as a state. Startup States do not seek to undermine or replace existing countries. Rather, they offer voluntary, opt-in alternatives characterised by consent, clarity, and competence. ### Distinctions from Charter Cities, Network States and SEZs Charter Cities and Special Economic Zones are subnational experiments legally subordinate to the host country and revocable at will. Honduras revoked the ZEDE framework in 2022; no equivalent unilateral revocation is possible for a properly constituted bilateral international treaty. Network States often lack defined territory, formal recognition, and binding treaties. Startup States begin with territory, law, and recognition, not ideology and aspiration. Micronations are typically symbolic projects lacking legal standing and enforceable treaties. Startup States are formed through lawful bilateral treaties designed for legitimacy, scalability, and real-world relevance from the outset. ## Monographs Five monographs by Julien Andrew Starr, free to read and deposited with Zenodo, SSRN and Academia, each with a persistent DOI. ### Startup States Where Countries Are Built Like Startups, and Startups Become Countries A treatment of treaty-based country formation, jurisdictional design and the legal architecture of de novo statehood, grounded in the Montevideo Convention and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. ## The Atlases Two interactive atlases, each part of a Society monograph. Free to use under CC BY 4.0, with downloadable data, for researchers, practitioners, policy analysts and founders. ### Atlas of Unrecognised States The 628 entries of The Compendium of Unrecognised States: attempted and contested self-governance from 1492 to the present. Filter by family, part or period, search by name, and open any entry. ### Atlas of Recognition Which members of the United Nations recognise, or once recognised, each of 25 entities outside it, from 1948 to 10 October 2026. No entity is recognised by every member. Colour the map by entity and move through the years. Data in CSV, GeoJSON, JSON and Excel. The Atlas of Unrecognised States accompanies The Compendium ; the Atlas of Recognition accompanies Recognition at the Margins. ## The people behind the Society An Advisory Council drawn from diplomacy, law, economics and governance, a circle of Ambassadors, and the Founding Director. ### Mark Beer OBE The Metis Institute ### Professor Chris Berg RMIT University, Melbourne ### Steve Clancy New Nation Project ### John McCone Researcher and writer ### Eric Miki Strategist ### Greg Quinn OBE Aodhan Consultancy Ltd ### Isabelle Castro Utopia in Beta ### Zuzana Martakova Freeth’m ### Veronica Antonio Paulaitis Klikdiva · OriginTribe ### Julien Andrew Starr Julien Andrew Starr, known to colleagues as Andy, is the Founding Director of the Startup States Society and the originator of the Consensual Theory of Statehood. He is the author of five monographs: Startup States, How to Build New Countries, No Treaty, No Country, The Compendium of Unrecognised States and Recognition at the Margins. Alongside the monographs he has written essays and briefs on statehood and new country formation, published by the International Affairs Forum, the Free Cities Foundation and The Elysian. Before founding the Society he co-founded a printed tabloid, worked in his family’s residential real estate businesses and was an early figure in Bitcoin. He is a numismatist and philatelist, and divides his time between the Mediterranean and the Yucatán. An informational listing. It implies no membership offering, fundraising or solicitation. Roles reflect governance and advisory support only. ## Research Peer-reviewed scholarship, policy essays and press coverage on the legal and theoretical foundations of new country formation. - Peer-reviewed · Journal of Special Jurisdictions Startup States: A New Framework for Jurisdictional Innovation John McCone, Vol. 4, 2024. The first peer-reviewed treatment of the Society’s framework. (https://journalofspecialjurisdictions.com/index.php/jsj/article/view/64) - Policy essay · International Affairs Forum Startup States: an introduction for international affairs Julien Andrew Starr. The concept and its treaty-based model, set out for an international relations readership. (https://www.ia-forum.org/Content/ViewInternalDocument.cfm?ContentID=21313) - Guest essay · The Elysian New Countries Should Rent Land, Not Buy It Julien Andrew Starr, June 2026. Why the treaty-lease model is the strongest path to lawful de novo statehood. (https://www.elysian.press/p/new-countries-should-rent-landnot) - Guest essay · Free Cities Foundation Don’t Pay People to Build Your City. Give Them a Stake in It. Julien Andrew Starr, June 2026. On Shenzhen, Próspera and the Durrës Marina, and why equity participation decides whether governance projects endure. (https://freecitiesfoundation.substack.com/p/dont-pay-people-to-build-your-city) - Policy essay · LinkedIn The Monaco Effect: How Governments Can Unlock the Hidden Value of Idle Territory Julien Andrew Starr. How states can turn underused land into jurisdictional assets through partnership. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/monaco-effect-how-governments-can-unlock-hidden-value-julien-starr-vqfwf/) - Commentary · LinkedIn 3 Reasons to Start New Countries, Not New Cities Julien Andrew Starr. Why country formation outlasts city-level reform as a vehicle for governance innovation. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-reasons-start-new-countries-cities-julien-starr-u9ozf/) - Essay · Utopia in Beta Beautiful and Possible Isabelle Castro, Ambassador of the Society. On the conditions under which better societies become imaginable. (https://utopiainbeta.substack.com/p/beautiful-and-possible) - Press release · EIN Presswire Startup States Society Names Mark Beer OBE and Professor Chris Berg as Advisors 23 September 2026. The former DIFC Courts Registrar General and an RMIT University economist join the Advisory Council. (https://world.einnews.com/pr_news/944486860/startup-states-society-names-mark-beer-obe-and-professor-chris-berg-as-advisors) - Press release · MENAFN Startup States Society Names Mark Beer OBE and Professor Chris Berg as Advisors September 2026. Regional and international pickup of the advisory appointments. (https://menafn.com/1111705137/Startup-States-Society-Names-Mark-Beer-OBE-And-Professor-Chris-Berg-As-Advisors) - Press release · National Law Review Startup States Society Launches HowToStartANewCountry.com 7 July 2026. The Society’s plain-language resource on peaceful, lawful new country formation. (https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/startup-states-society-launches-how-start-new-country) Watch and listen - Film · Vimeo An introduction to Startup States (https://vimeo.com/1163574298) - Audio overview · SoundCloud Where Countries Are Built Like Startups (https://soundcloud.com/startup-states-society/startup-states-where-countries/s-rt4aXN8ZmPI) - Recorded Space · X The Society’s first public Space (https://x.com/Startup_States/status/2062534952911061165) New to the subject The Society’s sister site sets out the basics in plain language. ## Governance Statutes and minutes are published in the French original with an English reference translation. ### Official documents - UID CHE-418.101.559 Swiss Federal UID Register (https://www.uid.admin.ch/Detail.aspx?uid_id=CHE-418.101.559) - Founding Statutes French original, with English translation (https://www.startupstates.swiss/SSS_Statutes_Final.docx.pdf) - Minutes · Procès-verbal French original (https://www.startupstates.swiss/PROC%C3%88S-VERBAL.pdf) ### Constitution and contact A Verein under Articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code. As a non-commercial association it is not required to enter the Commercial Register; the UID is an administrative identifier assigned by the Federal Statistical Office. ### Open books - Funding: Funded by its Founding Director. No external contributions received. - Tax status: An application for tax exemption is under appeal before the cantonal authority. ## Questions ### How do I start a new country? You need four things: land, people, a government and the recognition of other countries. Land is the hardest, because almost all of the world’s land already belongs to an existing country or, like Antarctica, is governed by treaty. The lawful way to obtain it is by agreement: an existing country consents, usually by treaty, to a new country on part of its territory, often held by long-term lease. Founders then build institutions, bring in residents and seek recognition. The Society’s monograph How to Build New Countries sets out each step, with a model founding treaty. ### What is a country? In international law, a country, or state, has four features set out in the Montevideo Convention of 1933: a permanent population, a defined territory, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. Recognition by other countries is not part of the definition, but in practice it decides whether a country can trade, sign treaties and join international organisations. The United Nations has 193 member states, and a handful of states and territories stand outside it. ### What are Startup States? Startup States are new, independent countries created through lawful and peaceful agreement with existing states, usually by treaty. They are deliberately designed jurisdictions that seek international recognition from the outset, and they apply entrepreneurial discipline to law, governance and economics. ### Is it legal to start your own country? Yes, if it is done by agreement. International law does not forbid the creation of new countries, and states have created them by treaty before. What the law does not allow is taking land that belongs to another country, or claiming it by declaration alone. A new country founded with the consent of an existing one, on territory that country has agreed to provide, rests on lawful ground. ### How do I get land for a new country? From an existing country, by agreement. Almost all of the world’s land already belongs to a state, so a new country needs a host that agrees to provide territory, usually through a long-term lease or a shared arrangement known as a condominium, set out in a treaty. Buying land is not enough on its own, because ownership does not carry the right to govern. ### Can I buy an island and make it my own country? No. Buying an island makes you its owner, but the island stays under the law of the country where it lies, which keeps the right to govern it. Lawyers distinguish ownership, called dominium, from the authority to govern, called imperium, and only the existing country can transfer or share the second, normally by treaty. That distinction is the central argument of the Society’s monograph No Treaty, No Country. ### Can I just declare my own country? You can declare one, but a declaration does not create a country. Projects that proclaim independence without the agreement of the country that holds the land are usually called micronations; some are thoughtful political experiments, but none has been recognised as a state. The Society’s Compendium of Unrecognised States documents hundreds of such attempts since 1492. ### Can a group of people start a country from scratch? Yes, in principle, though not on their own. A founding group can design the constitution, gather future residents, raise finance and negotiate, and no rule of international law bars a proposal because it began with private founders. The decisive step belongs to an existing country: its consent, given by treaty, brings the new country into being. Deliberate new countries of this kind, founded from first principles, are the Society’s central subject. ### Has a new country ever been created by agreement? Yes, several times. Vatican City was created by the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy. Singapore became independent in 1965 under an agreement with Malaysia. Czechoslovakia divided by negotiation into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993. The Free City of Danzig was constituted under the Treaty of Versailles in 1920. Each shows that states can be founded by consent rather than by force. ### What is the newest country in the world? South Sudan, which became independent on 9 July 2011 and joined the United Nations five days later. Like most new countries of the past century, it emerged from an existing state, in its case after a peace agreement and a referendum. The Society’s work concerns a different path: new countries founded from scratch, by agreement, on territory provided by a willing host. ### Who decides whether a new country is recognised? Each existing country decides for itself. Recognition is granted state by state, through formal declarations, diplomatic relations or treaties, and no single body confers it. Joining the United Nations is a separate step: under Article 4 of the UN Charter, the General Assembly admits a new member by a two-thirds vote on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Society’s study Recognition at the Margins finds that recognition tends to arrive in waves and to be lost one state at a time. ### What are unrecognised countries? Unrecognised countries are territories that govern themselves and claim to be states but lack wide recognition from other countries; Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria are present examples. The Society’s Compendium of Unrecognised States documents 628 such claims and attempts since 1492, and its interactive Atlas of Unrecognised States maps them. ### Does the Startup States Society support independence movements? No. The Society takes no position on independence movements, breakaway regions or territorial disputes, whether in Scotland, Quebec, Catalonia, Flanders or elsewhere. It may study them, for instance what the Supreme Court of Canada said about Quebec in 1998, but it does not advocate for or against them. Its own focus is deliberate, intentional countries: new countries founded from scratch, by agreement with an existing state, on territory that state has agreed to provide. ### Why create Startup States? Many people would welcome institutions designed with care for the present day: clear law, efficient public services and firm protection of individual rights and of the environment. A Startup State offers a lawful way to build them without overturning or weakening any existing government. The host state can gain investment, employment and a partner; the new country gains a lawful foundation. Both agree the terms in advance. ### Are Startup States lawful under international law? They can be, when they are formed by agreement. International law allows states to conclude treaties about territory and jurisdiction. A Startup State would be designed to meet the Montevideo criteria and to respect the United Nations Charter and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Whether a given proposal is lawful depends on its structure and on the consent of the states concerned; the Society’s monographs examine the question in detail. ### What is the Montevideo Convention, and why does it matter? The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) sets out four criteria for statehood: a permanent population, a defined territory, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. The criteria are widely treated as reflecting customary international law. Under the declaratory view, which most scholars accept, a state exists once they are met, although recognition by other states remains decisive in practice. Startup States are designed to satisfy each criterion from the start. ### How do Startup States differ from charter cities and special economic zones? Charter cities and special economic zones are subnational arrangements, subordinate to the host country and revocable under its law. Honduras repealed its ZEDE framework in 2022. A properly constituted treaty between states cannot be withdrawn by one party alone in the same way: the autonomy it confers rests on international law, not on a domestic licence. ### Are Startup States a new name for micronations? No. Micronations are usually symbolic projects without legal standing, enforceable treaties or a credible route to recognition. Startup States are designed to be formed by treaty with an existing state and to be self-governing and institutionally sound from the outset. ### How do Startup States differ from network states? The network-state idea begins with an online community that later seeks territory and recognition. Startup States begin at the other end: with territory, law and a treaty with an existing state, and they work within the international order as it stands. ### Is this a form of colonialism? No. Colonialism was extractive and imposed. A Startup State cannot exist without the host country’s free agreement and its continuing part as a co-architect, under enforceable terms, transparent governance and measurable local benefit. The model affirms the standing of host nations rather than diminishing it. ### What are the first steps towards founding a Startup State? A credible proposal begins with law and structure, not a manifesto: a clear account of legal form, governance, economic model, candidate locations and diplomatic approach, followed by a team with legal, economic and diplomatic experience. The Society’s monographs set out the questions in order, and the Society may, at its discretion, make introductions to scholars and practitioners in the field. ### Can I invest in the Society or in a Startup State? The Society is a non-profit institute. It does not offer investments, raise capital or solicit funds, and nothing on this site is an offer of any kind. Those who wish to support its research or contribute expertise are welcome to write to the Society. ### What does the Startup States Society do? The Startup States Society is an independent, non-profit institute in Geneva that researches how deliberate new countries can be founded from scratch, lawfully and peacefully, by agreement with existing states. It publishes open-access monographs and interactive atlases, considers proposals from founders and governments in confidence, and holds open office hours. It does not build countries itself and does not give legal or financial advice. ### Who founded the Startup States Society? The Society was founded in Geneva in 2025 by Julien Andrew Starr, its Founding Director and the author of its five monographs. It is constituted as a Verein, a non-profit association under the Swiss Civil Code, and carries the Swiss enterprise identification number CHE-418.101.559. ### Where can I learn more about starting a new country? Begin with HowToStartANewCountry.com, the Society’s introductory guide, then read the monograph Startup States, free to download. The Society’s Substack carries essays and dispatches, and those with a serious proposal can speak with the Society at its open office hours or write through the proposal form on this page. ## Bring a proposal before the Society The Society considers, in confidence, proposals from founders, founding groups and consortia, and from governments and institutions exploring the lawful creation of a new country. Every proposal is read. The Society replies where it believes it can be of use, and may decline without giving reasons. It does not offer investments, legal advice or financial advice. Prefer a word first? Join the Society’s open office hours. For a longer conversation, or a time outside those hours, write through the usual channels or come by referral. ## Stay at the frontier of new country formation. Essays and dispatches on Substack; commentary and announcements on X and Telegram. Scholars, practitioners, governments, institutions and the press are welcome to correspond. Or speak with the Society at open office hours. 12 Rue Le Corbusier · 1208 Genève · Suisse · Facsimile +41 27 539 16 11 ## Monographs in detail ### Startup States Where Countries Are Built Like Startups, and Startups Become Countries The foundational monograph of the Startup States movement. A comprehensive treatment of treaty-based country formation, jurisdictional design, and the legal architecture of de novo statehood in the twenty-first century, grounded in the Montevideo Convention and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. - Author: Julien Andrew Starr - Edition: Third, 2026 - DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18671043 - ISBN: 978-1-291-80104-0 - Access: Free to read ### How to Build New Countries The Lawful De Novo Establishment of States on Dry Land Through Long-Term Leasehold and Condominium Arrangements in Public International Law Can new countries lawfully be established on dry land through treaty-based lease? Across seventeen parts, this monograph examines the closed territorial order, the limits of alternative frontiers, and the conditions under which a private consortium might negotiate a jurisdictional treaty with a stable, democratic UN member state, concluding with a Model Founding Treaty. - Author: Julien Andrew Starr - Edition: Second, October 2026 - DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19115519 - ISBN: 978-1-291-75753-8 - Access: Free to read ### No Treaty, No Country The Creation of States by Agreement and the Case for Private Initiative Can a treaty bring a country into being? This monograph defends three findings: that existing states may constitute a new polity by international agreement; that no rule of international law invalidates a proposal on account of its private origin; and that the entire argument turns on parent state permission. The practical proposal rests on separating dominium from imperium, allowing a population to form under its own law. - Author: Julien Andrew Starr - Edition: Second, October 2026 - DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23065378 - Access: Free to read ### The Compendium of Unrecognised States A Taxonomy of Attempted and Contested Self-Governance, 1492 to the Present A reference work of 628 entries on attempted and contested self-governance since 1492: breakaway governments, settler republics and de facto states, free cities and administered zones, filibusters, micronations, seasteads and network states. Each entry rests on sources a reader can check, and a closing part asks which claims reached recognition or membership of the United Nations, by which routes, and why others did not. The interactive Atlas of Unrecognised States forms part of the work. - Author: Julien Andrew Starr - Edition: First, October 2026 - Extent: 553 pages · 628 entries - DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23482753 - Licence: CC BY 4.0 ### Recognition at the Margins States with Limited Recognition, Diplomatic Reversal and the Practice of International Recognition, 1945–2026 Which members of the United Nations recognise Palestine, Kosovo, the Sahrawi Republic, Taiwan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Somaliland and Northern Cyprus, and how has that pattern changed since 1945? Built on a dataset of 193 members, eight entities and more than five hundred dated acts, the monograph finds that recognition is gained in waves and lost one state at a time, that recognition is not membership, and that for a new state the realistic route lies through agreement with an existing one. The interactive Atlas of Recognition forms part of the work. - Author: Julien Andrew Starr - Edition: First, October 2026 - Extent: 205 pages - DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23483004 - Licence: CC BY 4.0