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Semi Autonomous Places

    1. CHIAPAS (Zapatista-contolled zones).

    2. SOMALIA.

    3. MADAGASCAR.

    4. EL ALTO, BOLIVIA.

    5. NAGALAND, MANIPUR, TRIPURA, etc.

    6. WEST PAPUA.

    7. BHUTAN.

    8. LADAKH.

    9. THE AMAZON.

    10. AMERICAN WILDERNESS.

    11. TRI-BORDER AREA (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay).

    12. MONGOLIA.

    13. TIPI VALLEY, Wales.

    14. BARCELONA, Catalonia/Spain.

    15. GREECE.

    16. SIBERIA.

    17. LE ZAD, France.

    18. ICELAND.

    19. ZOMIA.

    20. MICRONATIONS.

    CHIAPAS (Zapatista-contolled zones).

Pros: nearly 25-year autonomous zone, foreign capital excluded, many areas outside control of Mexican state, self-sufficient.

Cons: very specific kind of Maoist-inflected indigenous anarchism, too many lifestyle regulations, don't seem to accept visitors or migrants to the rural areas.

  1. SOMALIA.

Pros: large areas are virtually stateless, subsistence economy, non-state traditional (xeer) law.

Cons: civil war, US drone strikes, Islamists and other gangs active, very poor, shit gender politics. Possibly more ancap than anarchist.

  1. MADAGASCAR.

Pros: according to David Graeber, rural areas are de facto autonomous zones, outside state control.

Cons: poor, and not overtly anarchist.

  1. EL ALTO, BOLIVIA.

Pros: 700,000 strong self-governing city, squatted but tolerated, run by ayllus (participatory neighbourhood councils), informal and subsistence economy.

Cons: poor, social conservatism can be a problem, lynchings of criminals are also a problem.

  1. NAGALAND, MANIPUR, TRIPURA, etc.

Pros: strongly autonomous society, strong social movements, constant protests and shutdowns, weak state presence, subsistence/informal/handicrafts economy.

Cons: Indian state is an occupying power - weak but brutal; these areas are hard to visit or settle in due to Indian laws; constant intergroup conflict.

  1. WEST PAPUA.

Pros: anarchic hunter-gatherer and horticulturalist ways of life still prevalent; tribal culture fiercely defended; hostility to the state; social movements and armed opposition.

Cons: brutal Indonesian occupying army, many of the local cultures are patriarchal and violent, it's difficult to visit let alone move there due to Indonesian laws.

  1. BHUTAN.

Pros: traditional society with little influence of capitalism, excludes major chains such as McDonald's, uses "gross domestic happiness" instead of GDP, high standard of living, beautiful terrain, great for off-grid.

Cons: unelected monarchy, lots of restrictions on foreigners (including Nepalese minority), assimilationist ideology, police checkpoints etc.

  1. LADAKH.

Pros: subsistence economy, nonviolent Buddhist culture, gender equality, de facto village-level self-government, ideal for backpacking etc.

Cons: part of Kashmir and hence under Indian emergency rule.

  1. THE AMAZON.

Pros: largely unregulated, local peoples are anarchic hunter-gatherers, wilderness area.

Cons: requires high-end survival skills, locals unlikely to take well to visitors, the area is severely at risk from deforestation and climate change. Foot-long spiders, spiny fish which swim up your pee, aggressive giant guinea-pigs and other delightful flora and fauna.

  1. AMERICAN WILDERNESS.

America is relatively sparsely populated and there are vast areas of wilderness where hardly anyone sets foot - forests, desert, mountains. Thousands live in off-grid communities in the US, some fugitives have vanished for a decade or more, and there were maroon and triracial isolate communities throughout US history.

Pros: higher chances of finding somewhere with no existing human presence than most of the world, some untouched wilderness areas still left.

Cons: only an option with a lot of survival skills, US wilderness constantly destroyed by capital, also American police etc.

  1. TRI-BORDER AREA (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay).

Pros: largely lawless, ability to evade laws through multiple jurisdictions.

Cons: more capitalist than anarchist, lots of gang activity.

  1. MONGOLIA.

Pros: large subsistence sector, sparsely populated, low regulation, may not have extradition treaties.

Cons: post-communist state, creeping neoliberalism.

  1. TIPI VALLEY, Wales.

Pros: remote area, off-grid, effectively beyond state control. Very rare for police to go on-site. Lots of anarchists, weed growing wild, etc.

Cons: requires some bushcraft skills; gets buzzed by planes from the local airbase. There are other intentional communities and countercultural zones in various states of health all over Europe, America and Australia - Wendland in Germany, Christiania in Denmark, a community in an old riverbed in Spain, Findhorn in Scotland, etc - there's even a counterculture district in Lithuania. Most of these were set up in the 60s, 70s or 80s.

  1. BARCELONA, Catalonia/Spain.

Pros: large vibrant anarchist scene, regular riots, lots of squats. Catalan nationalism means relationship between population and state is strained. Spain is a good place for off-grid and suchlike, both legally and environmentally.

Cons: brutal police and Spanish state with extremely repressive laws.

  1. GREECE.

Pros: large vibrant anarchist scene (though downturn lately), regular riots, squats, armed groups; left-leaning government; limited state penetration of everyday life compared to other rich countries; universities are off-limits to police (this was restored recently).

Cons: brutal police, context becoming more repressive, austerity policies, fascism is on the rise.

  1. SIBERIA.

Pros: the government is giving away free farmland; very sparsely populated; becoming more fertile due to global warming; very easy to disappear and live off-grid.

Cons: Putin; post-Soviet pollution; it's very cold.

  1. LE ZAD, France.

Pros: explicitly anarchist, occupied, part self-sufficient, just scored a major victory over the government.

Cons: at risk of eviction; France has become much more repressive since the state of emergency.

  1. ICELAND.

Pros: Green, pirate and independent activists do well in elections, are currently in government; small country, sparsely populated; Scandinavian-style welfare state; lots of wilderness; doesn't have most of the repressive crap which is common in Europe.

Cons: conservatives periodically in power; no jobs; development projects eating into the environment; whaling.

  1. ZOMIA.

James Scott's name for a large area of upland Southeast Asia in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and southwest China.

Pros: still largely lawless, anarchic culture, informal and subsistence economies, porous borders; great for backpacker trails.

Cons: mostly ruled by repressive states which have increased their power recently; lots of gang activity.

  1. MICRONATIONS.

People, often ancaps, periodically try to set up new nations, such as Sealand, which was an occupied oil rig. There's talk of a new floating nation being launched on old oil tankers, and another being created in space.

Pros: possibly outside government jurisdiction.

Cons: often remote and isolated; usually suppressed by states; usually organised on state-like model (but with extensive civil rights).


Source code

1. ## CHIAPAS (Zapatista-contolled zones). 

Pros: nearly 25-year autonomous zone, foreign capital excluded, many areas outside control of Mexican state, self-sufficient. 

Cons: very specific kind of Maoist-inflected indigenous anarchism, too many lifestyle regulations, don't seem to accept visitors or migrants to the rural areas.

2. ## SOMALIA. 

Pros: large areas are virtually stateless, subsistence economy, non-state traditional (xeer) law. 

Cons: civil war, US drone strikes, Islamists and other gangs active, very poor, shit gender politics. Possibly more ancap than anarchist.

3. ## MADAGASCAR. 

Pros: according to David Graeber, rural areas are de facto autonomous zones, outside state control. 

Cons: poor, and not overtly anarchist.

4. ## EL ALTO, BOLIVIA. 

Pros: 700,000 strong self-governing city, squatted but tolerated, run by ayllus (participatory neighbourhood councils), informal and subsistence economy. 

Cons: poor, social conservatism can be a problem, lynchings of criminals are also a problem.

5. ## NAGALAND, MANIPUR, TRIPURA, etc. 

Pros: strongly autonomous society, strong social movements, constant protests and shutdowns, weak state presence, subsistence/informal/handicrafts economy. 

Cons: Indian state is an occupying power - weak but brutal; these areas are hard to visit or settle in due to Indian laws; constant intergroup conflict.

6. ## WEST PAPUA. 

Pros: anarchic hunter-gatherer and horticulturalist ways of life still prevalent; tribal culture fiercely defended; hostility to the state; social movements and armed opposition. 

Cons: brutal Indonesian occupying army, many of the local cultures are patriarchal and violent, it's difficult to visit let alone move there due to Indonesian laws.

7. ## BHUTAN. 

Pros: traditional society with little influence of capitalism, excludes major chains such as McDonald's, uses "gross domestic happiness" instead of GDP, high standard of living, beautiful terrain, great for off-grid. 

Cons: unelected monarchy, lots of restrictions on foreigners (including Nepalese minority), assimilationist ideology, police checkpoints etc.

8. ## LADAKH. 

Pros: subsistence economy, nonviolent Buddhist culture, gender equality, de facto village-level self-government, ideal for backpacking etc. 

Cons: part of Kashmir and hence under Indian emergency rule.

9. ## THE AMAZON. 

Pros: largely unregulated, local peoples are anarchic hunter-gatherers, wilderness area. 

Cons: requires high-end survival skills, locals unlikely to take well to visitors, the area is severely at risk from deforestation and climate change. Foot-long spiders, spiny fish which swim up your pee, aggressive giant guinea-pigs and other delightful flora and fauna.

10. ## AMERICAN WILDERNESS. 

America is relatively sparsely populated and there are vast areas of wilderness where hardly anyone sets foot - forests, desert, mountains. Thousands live in off-grid communities in the US, some fugitives have vanished for a decade or more, and there were maroon and triracial isolate communities throughout US history. 

Pros: higher chances of finding somewhere with no existing human presence than most of the world, some untouched wilderness areas still left. 

Cons: only an option with a lot of survival skills, US wilderness constantly destroyed by capital, also American police etc.

11. ## TRI-BORDER AREA (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay). 

Pros: largely lawless, ability to evade laws through multiple jurisdictions. 

Cons: more capitalist than anarchist, lots of gang activity.

12. ## MONGOLIA. 

Pros: large subsistence sector, sparsely populated, low regulation, may not have extradition treaties. 

Cons: post-communist state, creeping neoliberalism.

13. ## TIPI VALLEY, Wales. 

Pros: remote area, off-grid, effectively beyond state control. Very rare for police to go on-site. Lots of anarchists, weed growing wild, etc. 

Cons: requires some bushcraft skills; gets buzzed by planes from the local airbase. There are other intentional communities and countercultural zones in various states of health all over Europe, America and Australia - Wendland in Germany, Christiania in Denmark, a community in an old riverbed in Spain, Findhorn in Scotland, etc - there's even a counterculture district in Lithuania. Most of these were set up in the 60s, 70s or 80s.

14. ## BARCELONA, Catalonia/Spain. 

Pros: large vibrant anarchist scene, regular riots, lots of squats. Catalan nationalism means relationship between population and state is strained. Spain is a good place for off-grid and suchlike, both legally and environmentally. 

Cons: brutal police and Spanish state with extremely repressive laws.

15. ## GREECE. 

Pros: large vibrant anarchist scene (though downturn lately), regular riots, squats, armed groups; left-leaning government; limited state penetration of everyday life compared to other rich countries; universities are off-limits to police (this was restored recently). 

Cons: brutal police, context becoming more repressive, austerity policies, fascism is on the rise.

16. ## SIBERIA. 

Pros: the government is giving away free farmland; very sparsely populated; becoming more fertile due to global warming; very easy to disappear and live off-grid. 

Cons: Putin; post-Soviet pollution; it's very cold.

17. ## LE ZAD, France. 

Pros: explicitly anarchist, occupied, part self-sufficient, just scored a major victory over the government. 

Cons: at risk of eviction; France has become much more repressive since the state of emergency.

18. ## ICELAND. 

Pros: Green, pirate and independent activists do well in elections, are currently in government; small country, sparsely populated; Scandinavian-style welfare state; lots of wilderness; doesn't have most of the repressive crap which is common in Europe. 

Cons: conservatives periodically in power; no jobs; development projects eating into the environment; whaling.

19. ## ZOMIA. 

James Scott's name for a large area of upland Southeast Asia in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and southwest China. 

Pros: still largely lawless, anarchic culture, informal and subsistence economies, porous borders; great for backpacker trails. 

Cons: mostly ruled by repressive states which have increased their power recently; lots of gang activity.

20. ## MICRONATIONS. 

People, often ancaps, periodically try to set up new nations, such as Sealand, which was an occupied oil rig. There's talk of a new floating nation being launched on old oil tankers, and another being created in space. 

Pros: possibly outside government jurisdiction. 

Cons: often remote and isolated; usually suppressed by states; usually organised on state-like model (but with extensive civil rights).