Instead of creating new 'network states' that can’t supply public goods or credibly defend sovereignty, form a treaty‑based league of willing jurisdictions that harmonize visas, taxation, arbitration, and property rules for global online communities. Think of a modern Hanseatic League that offers portable legal status and standardized services across its members.
— This reframes sovereignty and state capacity as a standards alliance among existing states, offering a feasible path to govern de‑localized communities without secession fantasies.
Dustin Sharp
2026.01.16
62% relevant
Sharp’s defense of the nation‑state is a direct counterpoint to the 'network state' or secessionist alternatives; it connects to the existing proposal that effective governance should work through treaty‑based state networks rather than ephemeral online jurisdictions. The article undercuts the network‑state optimism and argues for national capacity instead.
James Farquharson
2026.01.08
85% relevant
Wu Xinbo’s discussion of pursuing a US–China 'grand bargain' and the broader article’s emphasis on trading influence and formal arrangements echoes the existing idea of forming treaty‑based, standards alianaces among jurisdictions rather than new secessionist network states; both propose governance by negotiated rules and shared services across sovereignties.
Max Skjönsberg
2026.01.05
62% relevant
Maitland’s pluralism (value of churches and intermediary institutions) maps onto the existing idea advocating treaty‑based leagues and standards alliances rather than creating wholly new sovereign entities; the article cites Maitland’s inspiration from Otto von Gierke and links to Smith’s limits on state remit, which supports the standards‑alliance reframing of sovereignty.
Johann Kurtz
2025.12.31
75% relevant
Kurtz proposes a private, membership‑based network of dynastic families to coordinate estates, patronage, events and investments — effectively a standards/alliance play among private jurisdictions and elites. That maps onto the existing idea’s core claim (using a network‑style alliance to supply governance‑like services), though here the actors are private families rather than states.
Noah Smith
2025.10.01
100% relevant
Noah Smith’s preview for the Network State Conference proposing a 'global Hanseatic League' to operationalize network‑state ideals via cooperating nation‑states.