Book review : I want to break free : a practical guide to making a new country

Abstract

How does a would-be nation become a legitimate, internationally recognized state? This short, accessible book is framed as a step-by-step guide to nation-building. In it, Matt Qvortrup paints secessionism as a very public divorce; or, at least, a trial separation. His book covers five key issues: history and how to learn from it; starting a successful movement; legal status; international relations; and practical matters, including economics. The book is informed by Qvortrup’s wealth of experience advising governments – and would-be governments – on referendums and state creation. It covers a broad range of states and territories, many of them micronations, from the now-disbanded Principality of Hutt River to the still disputed region of Abkhazia. The cases of Scotland, Catalonia and even Brexit are also considered in detail, as are the recent successful bids for statehood of Montenegro, TimorLeste and South Sudan. The most attention is given to Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea still in negotiations about its future political status after a near-unanimous vote for independence in a 2019 referendum. Bougainville is a useful and highly topical central case study that provides a contemporary grounding for the book. [excerpt]