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| [[Image:anthelia_arms.jpg|thumb|right|Arms
| | [http://mnn.mncentre.net/wiki/index.php?title=Anthelia on microwiki, click here] |
| of Anthelia]]
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| [[Image:anthelia_216x108.jpg|thumb|right|Flag of the Republic]]
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| The '''Republic of Anthelia''' (pronounced:
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| ''ant''-HEEL-''ee''-''yuh''), known in short as '''Anthelia''', is a
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| democratic micronation founded in July 2004. Anthelia is an
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| [[Anglophone Sector]] [[micronation]] and a member of the
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| [[Micronational Cartography Society]] and the [[Novasolum Treaty]].
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| == History ==
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| === Foundation ===
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| Anthelia was founded on 27 July 2004 by [[John Darcy]], an Australian
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| micronationalist with past involvement in the hobby but no other known
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| micronational citizenships. The Republic - it has always been called a
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| "republic" - was established with democratic and pluralistic objectives
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| but with low membership and activity there were two consequences:
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| Firstly, Darcy held de facto autonomous power as "Administrator" and
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| secondly, inactivity saw the fledgling micronation virtually shut down
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| from September 2004 to April 2005.
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| === Revival ===
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| The Republic was woken up on 11 April 2005 by a message of inspiration
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| and intent posted by prominent citizen [[Koen Nevens]]. Nevens' energy
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| pushed Anthelia to the attention of other Anglophone micronations
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| through the [http://www.Micronations.net Micronations.net] forums, and
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| this in turn attracted several possible citizens as well as interested
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| foreign observers. Anthelia's profile was also significantly raised at
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| this time through a dispute over its [[Micronational Cartography
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| Society]] map presence. This dispute was resolved amicably in due
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| course.
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| === Constitution ===
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| The revival sparked by the Nevens Communique of 11 April was indeed
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| energetic and rapid. By the end of April a draft Constitution was ready
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| for referendum and the groundwork had been laid for immediate Executive
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| Council elections. Duly, the Constitution was enacted and came into
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| force on 4 May 2005, and John Darcy and Koen Nevens were elected
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| unopposed as the inaugural Executive Council, taking office on 13 May.
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| The Constitution of the Republic provides for an elected '''Executive
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| Council''' to run the nation in everyday matters. The Executive Council
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| can appoint '''Ministers''' to assist in this, and Ministers can
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| propose new or amended laws for the control and benefit of national
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| affairs. Through '''direct democracy''', all citizens of the Republic
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| have the right to debate proposed laws and all citizens participate in
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| the vote to approve a law. (The policy of the present government is to
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| establish an elected legislative body at a future time when the
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| population can sustain it).
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| The Constitution also provides detailed protection of individual and
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| general rights, and a number of superior provisions regarding
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| citizenship and other matters to which all normal laws must conform.
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| Justice is to be administered through courts presided over by judges
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| who will be appointed as the need arises. The '''President of the
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| Republic''' is a largely symbolic position, as the President is one of
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| the Executive Councillors and has very few and limited exclusive powers
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| and duties of his own. John Darcy is the inaugural and current
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| President.
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| == Features of the Community ==
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| A micronation with less than a year of serious activity cannot be said
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| to have developed a strong individual culture; however, a number of
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| stylistic aspects promoted by the incumbent government give an
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| indication of "national identity".
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| Firstly, Anthelia is strongly grounded in the letter and substance of
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| its laws. Darcy and Nevens have consistently sought to write laws,
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| executive orders and a Constitution which are thorough, explicit and
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| strong. The possible criticism of this is that Anthelia is legalistic
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| and complicated by micronational standards, but the government's choice
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| is based on both instinct and training. Nevens is a practising lawyer
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| in his macronational life, and Darcy brings to his hobby a lifelong
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| recreational interest in politics and the law. A micronation headed by
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| these two could not in good conscience be governed loosely by
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| clumsily-written laws.
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| Secondly, Anthelia seeks to keep its community simulation firmly
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| anchored in "reality". Anthelia's fictional world is set in the same
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| time period as the real world and has no technology or capability which
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| is beyond the first decade of the 21st century. This is notwithstanding
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| Anthelia's choice to be involved in, for example, the [[MCS]] fictional
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| world map, which in substance is merely a tool for interaction with
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| other micronations.
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| Thirdly, the combination of lawful order and realistic simulation
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| underpins Anthelia's economic simulation. Economics and money appears,
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| from all reports, to be the weak underbelly of micronations - the
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| reasons for this are many and not least of them is the microscopic size
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| of the market which makes economic modeling irrelevant. (Imagine trying
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| to impose the rules of fluid dynamics on a few dozen water molecules
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| floating in a vacuum). Nevertheless, the Republic has enacted laws and
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| established an institutional framework to base its currency, and the
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| monetary sector of its economy, on real-world principles. This is an
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| ongoing source of disagreement between Anthelia and at least one other
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| micronation ([[Gotzborg]]) and that situation is still developing at
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| the time of writing.
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| Finally, it is the combination of a realism-grounded simulation and a
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| monetary economy which is driving, or will drive, the future
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| development of the community. The policy of the government is to
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| encourage and develop new and diverse aspects for the simulation which
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| will assist the community to look and behave like a real-world
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| community. This is, needless to say, a long-term strategy.
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| == Intermicronational Relations ==
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| Anthelia began as a micronation in isolation, although the wider
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| micronational community was known to the founder. The months since the
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| revival have seen Anthelia interact more widely with other
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| English-language micronations (the "Anglophone Sector").
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| The [[Micronational Cartography Society]] more than any other person or
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| body has provided the main impetus for this interaction. By virtue of
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| its place on the MCS map, Anthelia has chosen primarily to seek
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| discourse and interaction with its neighbours on that map -
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| [[Gotzborg]], [[Natopia]], [[Alexandria]], [[Rio Grande]] and
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| [[Lavalon]]. This is not to say that other micronations have been
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| ignored, but the main focus of diplomacy has been on these few and in
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| particular Gotzborg and Natopia.
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| It was this regional focus which led to the [[Novasolum Treaty]]. A
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| conference was held in May and June of 2005 for micronations which
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| shared the same continent as Anthelia on the MCS map. The aim of this
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| conference at its outset was to seek a mutual treaty for "the creation
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| of an area of freedom, security and justice" - there was no intent to
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| create a formal association of micronations and no multilateral
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| policies (such as economic policy) were to be imposed. During the
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| course of this conference, a related (but separate) project was begun
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| by President Darcy to enhance the geographic details of the
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| micronations involved, and it was from this project that the
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| continent's name "Novasolum" was agreed. In course, the treaty (which
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| was ratified by four of the parties by 8 July 2005) was named the
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| Novasolum Treaty.
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| In August 2005, the Republic was a party to the [[Treaty of BBC]],
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| which is a treaty with the micronation founded on BBC TV in the United
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| Kingdom by [[King Danny Wallace]].
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| == Further Information ==
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| The first point of contact for Anthelia is a [http://anthelia.net
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| website], and the forums can be reached from there for a complete
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| picture of the community's day-to-day activities.
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| An independent media also operates, with [[The Anthelia Quarterly]]
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| available by subscription (see information on the forums). Anthelian
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| affairs are also reported in the [[RIMA Journal]] and in general
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| discussions on [[Micronations.net]].
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| Citizenship is available to residents of the Republic who fulfill a
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| 10-day residency waiting period, but there are no restrictions on
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| general immigration. Given the importance placed on the now-operating
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| monetary economy, the government has enacted Income Support to provide for those people in Anthelia who do not yet have a job.
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| == Finally ==
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| The President is happy to answer direct personal inquiries at president@anthelia.net
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| [[Category: International]]
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| [[Category: History]]
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| [[Category: Anthelia]]
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