Place and Chips: Virtual Communities, Governance and the Environment

This article examines the significance of virtual communities whose formation has been facilitated by advances in communications technologies. This involves discussing the evolving role and autonomy of national governments in relation to processes of globalization, set within the context of the challenges faced by governments to coordinate global responses to environmental degradation. The Principality of Sealand, the Global State of Waveland and the Dominion of Melchizedek are discussed. It is argued that it is less their claims to state-hood that is significant but rather the ability to act autonomously that they represent. Governance is considered as a process that extends beyond national policy decision-making. This more inclusive approach pays more attention to both civil society and, in relation to advances in telecommunications, the methods various actors utilize to further their agendas.