Policy:Peculiarism

Peculiarism is a uniquely micronational political philosophy, first developed in the context of the Kingdom of Talossa, but which can be applied to any micronation. In its most general form, Peculiarism is the belief that a claim of statehood is its own legitimization, rather than adherence to a set of outside standards. This is in stark contrast to the two prevailing theories of statehood, those being the Constitutive Theory, where by a state is legitimate if recognized by another legitimate state, and the declarative theory, as formalized in the Montevideo Convention, whereby a state is legitimate if it meets all four of the following criteria: permanent population, defined territory, government, and ability to enter into relations with other states.

Talossan Peculiarism was defeated, both culturally and politically, and is now relegated to the fringes. The Pillow Fortress, however, embraces Peculiarism as official policy. How, indeed, could it be otherwise when to accept either of the other theories is self-defeating? No amount of recognition from established states nor possession of territory can legitimize the Pillow Fortress (although both are still sought for various reasons) when it itself has done so already. The Principality and its sovereignty came into being simultaneously with the signing of the State Charter, and cannot be decoupled.

There are additional reasons to embrace Peculiarism other than it being a readymade philosophy of statehood amenable to the current reality of the Principality, and that is that by not being bound to existing standards of what does and does not constitute a state, the Pillow Fortress is free to experiment with different forms and functions. It may be that the Principality never acquires territory, or it acquires thousands of non-contiguous enclaves across the planet, or that it acquires one large piece of existing land, or constructs an artificial territory of its own, such as through seasteading. Any of these outcomes are as legitimate as any other, granting the Pillow Fortress the ability to choose those options which best suit its interests, rather than being forced into any one for the sake of preserving a notion of contingent sovereignty, which in all likelihood would never be recognized by so-called "macronations" anyway.