The Free Nation of New Athens

The Free Nation of New Athens is a micronation founded on the principles of Liberty, Brotherhood and Solidarity. The sovereign territory of The Free Nation of New Athens consists of four noncontiguous claims across the state of Georgia, USA: one province each in Kennesaw, Roswell and Norcross; and one territory in Peachtree City.

For frequently asked questions, check out the New Athens FAQ

Etymology
The name of the Free Nation of New Athens has two parts. The first part being "the Free Nation" and the second being "New Athens." "The Free Nation" was chosen because the nation was founded on the principle of Liberty and it will serve as a constant reminder of this. "New Athens" was inspired by the city of Athens, Georgia. It is among the citizens' favorite places to visit and many see it as a place of freedom.

Origins
Prior to declaring independence, the would-be citizens were living in Cobb County, where city ordinances had been passed that allowed the government to control the living situations of individuals, even on private property. Specifically, Cobb County Ordinance Sec. 134-1, which was forcing citizens of Cobb County into high cost housing and preventing them from exploring other options. The would-be founders, along with many other citizens of the county saw this as a terrible violation of civil liberties and an overreach of government. As a result, they were forced to explore other options and eventually came to the conclusion that the best course of action was to declare independence. Thus, The Free Nation of New Athens was born.

Independence Era
December 26, 2018, the Free Nation of New Athens began its formation. September 30, 2019, After months of work with regards to The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, the website, and national finances, the Free Nation of New Athens formally declared independence from the United States of America when the founding citizens signed The Declaration of Independence of The Free Nation of New Athens. October 2, 2019, the Constitution was ratified. October 4, 2019, the first parliamentary meeting following the ratification of the constitution was held. At this meeting, Leighton W was elected to be the first Speaker of the People.

Expansion Era
October 14, 2019, the nation became signatory to the Arundel Convention and officially joined the League of Independent Nations October 20, 2019,the Acworth and Roswell provinces were officially claimed as sovereign territory and became the first 2 provinces. November 30, 2019, rather than only granting citizenship by invitation, the King decided to allow any individual to petition for citizenship. December 1, 2019, in cooperation with The Grand Duchy of Navārdia, co-founded the Atlanta Regional Union and became signatory to the Wrythe Convention December 2, 2019, the Norcross Province was claimed as sovereign territory and became the third province. January 31, 2020, the West Pope Island Territory was gifted to The Free Nation of New Athens by the Phoklandian Free State in a display of gratitude for being Navārdia’s first ally (besides the defunct Kingdom of Phokland). February 29, 2020, the League of Independent Nations and the Arundel Convention were dissolved. March 1, 2020, the League of Independent Nations was reformed and New Athens rejoined.

Contemporary History
March 7, 2020, the first New Athens Newsletter was drafted and published. The first issue discussed recent news and information through February 2020. April 15, 2020, the Grand Navārdian Commonwealth permanently ceded territorial claims of the West Pope Island Territory to New Athens. May 12, 2020, the Kennesaw Province was claimed as sovereign territory and became the fourth province. July 26, 2020, the Acworth Province was permanently unclaimed as territory and capital province of New Athens, and was replaced by the Kennesaw Province as the new capital. August 26, 2020, the second edition of the New Athens Newsletter was drafted and published. September 26, 2020, Duke Mason K became governor of the Kennesaw province. The Roswell province was declared the new capital province. September 30, 2020, the citizens celebrated Independence Day 2020 and a successful first year of independence.

Geography
The Free Nation of New Athens currently claims 4 parcels of land, each its own governed province, and one territory.

Government and politics
The government of The Free Nation of New Athens is a constitutional monarchy. All citizens may attend legislative meetings and maintain full voting powers. All parliamentary proceedings are in keeping with Robert's Rules of Order. All citizens may propose legislation to be discussed, voted on, or both. To satisfy quorum in all voting procedures in The Free Nation of New Athens, at least half of all citizens must be present. Citizens unable to attend a scheduled parliamentary meeting or vote may submit proposed business and/or votes to The Speaker of the People ahead of the meeting to be accounted for.

Foreign policy
The Free Nation of New Athens always welcomes new diplomatic relationships. It is the belief of the founders that through diplomacy, individuals can work together to do more as a collective than they would otherwise be able to do alone. It is a goal of The Free Nation of New Athens to establish as many fruitful relationships as possible with other macronations and micronations for mutual benefit. If you wish to establish communication with The Free Nation of New Athens, you may contact the government via email.

Current alliances and treaties
Alliances:
 * League of Independent Nations
 * Atlanta Regional Union

Adopted Conventions:
 * The Arundel Convention
 * Wrythe Convention
 * Libertas Convention

Mutual recognition
Below is a list of all nations that recognize the sovereignty of New Athens and are also recognized as sovereign by New Athens.

Citizenship
Citizenship is granted at the discretion of The King. Anyone may petition for citizenship at any time by filling out this short form.

Classifications
Boodlesmythe-Tallini System of Classification Dresner's System of Classification Freayth's System of Classification Linden's Revised System of Classification The Milic definition of statehood
 * New Athens is classified as: Bricks and Mortar, Small, Seeking Statehood — 5th World
 * This is a notoriously hard system, but New Athens still scores a 3.6 out of a maximum score of 5, which is very a good score for its age.
 * New Athens is a 4.25 out of a maximum score of 5 on this scale, which is "An influential and advanced micronation."
 * New Athens scores very well on this scale with a score of 3.6 meaning "One of the most significant micronations (eg. St.Charlie, the Nemkhav Federation etc). There was a lot of effort involved in getting the micronation to this level. Once here, it is quite difficult for the nation to fall back down unless it becomes inactive, like Petorio."
 * Under the Millic definition of statehood, New Athens is classified as an "internationalized state-like community" which means it has a fully functional government, has a domicile population, exercises de facto sovereignty over its domicile population, and has the capacity to participate fully in international relations.

Shop
The Free Nation of New Athens hosts two official shops. The first is the Redbubble Shop, which contains a large variety of national merchandise, including but not limited to stickers, phone cases, iPad cases, laptop cases, prints and posters, cups and mugs, bags, pillows, blankets and more. The second shop is known as the Specialty Shop which includes national flags, bottle openers, koozies, wristbands and lapel pins.

Newsletter archive
Current issue
 * | Edition II - Summer 2020

Past issues
 * | Edition I - Spring 2020
 * | Edition II - Summer 2020

Flag and values
The Free Nation of New Athens has had two national flags. Both national flags depict symbols of the nation's core values. The three core values of The Free Nation of New Athens are Liberty, Brotherhood and Solidarity. The Free Nation of New Athens declared independence and was founded in order to combat and protest laws that the people deemed to be a blatant violation of civil liberties. Liberty is at the core of the values of the nation and forever will be. The founders believe people should have the right to decide how they live and the nation will always fight to protect this belief.

The Original Flag Designed by our King, The Original Flag was the first national flag. It is no longer the official national flag, but can represent the nation regardless. The Original Flag depicts a cherry red dot in the center, surrounded by a cherry red lambda, on a battleship gray background. The cherry red lambda in the center of the flag represents Liberty. The cherry red dot inside the lambda represents Brotherhood. It is in the center because brotherhood should be at the center of all citizen relationships. The battleship gray background surrounding the lambda represents Solidarity. The symbol of solidarity reminds the citizens to persevere on the path of Liberty even when surrounded by adversity.

The Triangle Flag The Triangle Flag is the current official national flag and was designed about a month and a half after the nation's founding, when some of the citizens commented that the Original Flag looked boring. It was also designed by our King. It depicts a hollow cherry red equilateral triangle that contains another smaller solid cherry red equilateral triangle. The outside triangle represents Liberty. The interior triangle represents Brotherhood. The line extending from the point of the triangles represents the unity of the provinces. The triangles and line are outlined with silver. The battleship gray sections represent Solidarity. An equilateral triangle was selected as the chief symbol as it is the strongest geometric shape and is a popular vexillological symbol.