Liberland

Libertarians are interested in the attempt to create a new country in Europe, slightly larger than Monaco or Lichtenstein, in a disputed territory claimed by both Serbia and Croatia, which we covered a few weeks ago, called Liberland.

Liberland’s provisional president, Vit Jedlicka (a Czech citizen), who organized the project, has been doing a tour of American cities this month to raise funds and awareness.  One major fund transfer website has frozen their accounts, at least for the time being, so they are now mainly trying to raise money through bitcoin and other transfers. Jedlicka is also trying to find governments that will recognize Liberland as a sovereign country.

Vit Jedlicka, Liberland president, speaks to supporters

Some American libertarians who travel abroad to start libertarian groups professionally have opined to me, off the record, that Liberland is a quixotic project if for no other reason that it is being used by one of the two nation states to further its territorial claims against its neighbor, and anyone moving there may expect violence when the area is finally annexed by one of the two states.

There is a history of libertarians unsuccessfully trying to create free zones, like the Abaco islands in the Bahamas, that are then taken over by better armed neighboring governments.