Fugitive rape-accused Nithyananda is in the news after his disciple Vijayapriya Nithyananda, along with five other women, represented his ‘country’ Kailasa at a UN conference.

“Who wouldn’t want to buy an island?” Marshall Mayer asks above the roar of the engine as the boat cuts through the still waters of the Caribbean Sea. Mayer is co-founder of Let’s Buy an Island, an ambitious project that in 2018 set out to crowdfund the purchase of an island. By December 2019, the group’s aspirations became reality, raising over $250,000 to complete the purchase of an uninhabited island off the coast of Belize.

Rioting, masked protestors, buses set alight, attacks against police officers and journalists—scenes that were once all too familiar have become a reality once again on the streets of Northern Ireland. Is a return to violence an inevitable reality?

What does it mean to be a citizen of Abkhazia, South Ossetia or any other de facto state? Are the people living in such territories stateless? What are some of the precarious situations they are faced with? An interview with our esteemed explorer Ramesh Ganohariti, a PhD student from Dublin City University.

An area of eastern Ghana has declared itself a sovereign state. The region known as Western Togoland has had secessionist attempts in the past.

International relations and sport have become increasingly intertwined, with sport and sports events being used for various diplomatic and political goals. Yet, membership of FIFA and the IOC is largely organised along lines of sovereign statehood. What about CONIFA, the alternative for contested territories? An academic analysis by Ramesh Ganohariti and Ernst Dijxhoorn.

Extinguished Countries is the first guidebook series about countries that no longer exist. They don’t follow today’s borders but take us on a journey through time and space to lost kingdoms, republics and empires, looking for what unites us rather than divides us.

What is Brexit? Is it a case of secession? Or should we think of it in other terms? In this video, James Ker-Lindsay (London School of Economics) explores how we can best define the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.

In the effort to elucidate and understand de facto states, the University of Tartu (Estonia) recently founded the De Facto State Research Unit. From Somaliland to Transnistria and everywhere in between, their goal is to uncover these hidden spots that may turn out unexpectedly influential in world politics.

CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, just announced the teams that have qualified for the World Football Cup in North Macedonia, June 2020. Teams from places like Metabeleland, Kabylia, Panjab, Cascadia and the Chagos Islands are overlooked by FIFA and will get a chance to win their place on a global stage in this alternative tournament.

The World Football Cup 2020 for de facto states and minority peoples will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia. The tournament will consist of 16 teams; the qualification period ends in December 2019. The event will take place from 30 May-7 June 2020.

What do you need to start your own country? Citizens, a flag, a national anthem? British comedian Danny Wallace tried to find out, and started his own micronation in his flat in London. His series was aired at the BBC in 2005.

What if you want to play football, but your territory is not recognized by FIFA? You can join CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, which has 58 members up to now. The next CONIFA World Foodball Cup will take place in 2020, but the location is still unknown after Somaliland was striped of hosting rights in August 2019.