Definition
A free city is a self-governing non-state jurisdiction with frameworks in place safeguarding self-sovereignty.
Discussion
Overview
A free city differs from a free society due to being founded on a formalized legal structure. A free society, by contrast, does not need to have any official frameworks in place to be free.
The “non-state” aspect of a free city means it does not have status as a nation (in law, “state” means the institution of a national government).
Free cities are typically structured with the intention to promote individual rights and freedoms using solutions to more outdated governance systems.
They are an example of ground-up (bottom-up) initiatives.
History
Despite the reign of tribal leaders, empires and monarchs, most of the history of human civilization in the second millennium is characterized by decentralization, self-sovereignty and competition in governance. The mechanism for this was federalization with emphasis on the local level rather than national level. In other words, families, villages and private associations held jurisdiction which could not be overridden by the nation.
Even during the Holy Roman Empire, several cities in Europe increasingly secured official autonomy from the twelfth century onwards, gaining status as imperial, or free, cities.
In the heyday of international law in the 1800s, certain cities also enjoyed nominal independence from their national governments. Although any such sovereignty was dismantled and absorbed by surrounding nations leading into the 20th century.
Free private cities
Free cities are usually “private” in the sense they are managed by a non-government operator.
Free private cities are made up of the following elements:
- either semi-autonomy or full autonomy to develop legal frameworks
- governance is managed for profit by a private operator rather than a public government entity
- living in or engaging with in a free private city is voluntary through contract.
Examples of free cities
While Liberland is technically not a free city due to being structured as a nation, its promoted values and legal frameworks are based on the concept of free cities and, in particular, the free private city.
Implementation
Permission
A typical strategy to establish free cities is through special economic zones (an SEZ). Securing an SEZ means the national government has agreed to a free city within the country’s jurisdiction. This has both advantages and risks, the former including a written contract which binds the country to leave the free city alone. Although, not least because nation states are currently more powerful than free cities, there is often little reason why the country cannot break the contract. The “zones for economic development and employment” of Próspera and Ciudad Morazán in Honduras are two common examples of SEZs. Many cities today with high degrees of economic prosperity and low poverty were founded on models of, or which mirrored, SEZs.
Politics
An alternative to seeking special legal status from a country for a free city is to use the existing political systems. The Soubey initiative is an example of this approach. Benefiting from the subsidiary legal framework of Switzerland, Soubey seeks to increase the safeguards to self-sovereignty for Swiss nationals.
Networks
Another approach to setting up a free city is to not focus on territory but on networks. The free city of Montelibero took this approach. While the main hub is located in Montenegro, the free city of Montelibero relies not on geography but on blockchain-based infrastructure for its legal frameworks and tokenization for the provision of goods and services.
Morázan Model Forum
The Live and Let Live Community is an active participant in the Morázan Model Forum. Here members share ideas and increase networks in the interests of the values behind free cities.
If you are interested to join this forum, email scott@liveandletlive.org
Further Resources
- Free Cities Foundation: https://free-cities.org/
- Titus Gebel, Free and Private Cities (Free Cities Foundation, 2023)