Liberland is a phenomenon in Southeast Europe that has elected the crypto-millionaire Justin Sun as its Prime Minister in a special election.
Who rules which country? Justin Sun is a 34-year-old Chinese man who was recently elected Prime Minister of the so-called Free Republic of Liberland
, as reported by the official website of the micronation. Sun is a crypto-millionaire and founder of TRON, a blockchain currency. However, he is also under scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accuses him of fraud and money laundering (via financefeed.com).
Liberland is a territory claimed in 2015 by Czech politician Vit Jedlicka, covering an area of 7.2 square kilometers. For context, Liechtenstein is more than 20 times larger.
It is located on the Danube River, which forms the border between Serbia and Croatia. It is not an recognized state, but its new Prime Minister has big plans and compares the alleged nation to Vatican City (via X).
A utopia of libertarian economics and crypto
What exactly is Liberland? Liberland is not recognized by any state in the world. It is essentially a geographical accident that arose from a legal error. The border between Serbia and Croatia runs through the Danube River – a classic in world history. However, the river has been drastically straightened in the past, leading to disputes.
As a result, land areas have emerged over which Serbia and Croatia cannot agree on distribution. Thus, the territory along the Danube has remained unclaimed for several decades.
How was Justin Sun elected? The voting system in Liberland operates differently than usual and contradicts democratic standards, such as “one person – one vote.” Those who want to become citizens and gain voting rights must first acquire 5,000 Liberland Merits (LLM). One LLM costs $2. This only grants the minimum voting rights.
The more voluntary taxes paid through LLM purchases, the greater the political influence. Therefore, those who invest the most money in Liberland also have the largest voting weight.
What are Justin Sun’s plans? According to his statement on X, he aims to make Liberland a center for freedom-loving people. He envisions a similar status for it as Vatican City has for Christianity. Vit Jedlicka, the founder of the state, has been the president of the country since its inception.
For anyone who enjoys shifting national borders in strategy games, Ara: History Untold might be worth a look. However, you should know what you are getting into, which is something MeinMMO editor Schuhmann has a lot to say about: I spent 40 hours with the new strategy game on Steam in 3 days – But I can’t recommend it to anyone
