What is the AMU and what are its goals?
The Antarctic Micronational Union (AMU) is the first micronational multinational organization that comprises only of Antarctic micronations, and one of the oldest, if not the oldest, still existing micronational organization, established on December 6, 2008. The core mission of the AMU is to publicize and protect the territorial claims of its member states while providing a means for new claims to be registered and recorded.
The AMU is a neutral, non-political, non-partisan organization, and does not take stances on issues not related to Antarctic micronationalism.
Since 2010 the AMU has been mentioned in numerous Dutch, Belgian, Australian, Russian and Ukrainian publications, and is the only micronational organization with Wikipedia coverage.
Why do micronations join the AMU?
To have their Antarctic claims recognized by the Antarctic micronational community. The world’s largest Antarctic micronations are either AMU members, or chose to recognize the claims of AMU members (like Flandrensis). To date, the AMU remains the only widely recognized authority in Antarctic micronationalism, and while numerous attempts at creating an “alternative AMU” have been made over the course of years, none managed to achieve prominence and survived the test of time.
Is it hard to join the AMU?
Yes. The AMU intentionally maintains strict criteria for membership, and most applications are rejected. The Antarctic Micronational Union has existed for nearly 12 years, and we have no need to promote ourselves by actively looking for more members.
At the same time, our doors are always open for those who share our ideals and meet the established criteria, and new members do join the AMU. To learn more about the application process, please click here.
Who runs the AMU?
The senior executive of the AMU is the Administrative-General, elected from among the delegates by a simple majority of the member states. The Administrative-General is elected for four years, with no limit on the number of terms. The incumbent Administrative-General of the Antarctic Micronational Union is Yaroslav Mar, the President and senior delegate of the Federal Republic of Lostisland, first elected to the office in 2014 and re-elected in 2020.
To learn more about the Administrative-General, please click here.
Why does the AMU recognize the claims of micronation X when my micronation made such claims earlier?
Short answer: because micronation X is an AMU member, while your micronation isn’t.
Long answer: the AMU recognizes claims based not on the primacy of the claim, but on the fact of accession to the AMU Charter. When applying for membership, an applicant is required to demonstrate that their claim doesn’t conflict with the claims of existing AMU members. The AMU doesn’t take into consideration whether or not the applicant’s claim contradicts the claims of non-members. In the unlikely event where two or more nations with contradicting claims apply at the same time, the applications will be considered on merit.
I want to join the AMU, but my claim contradicts the claim of an AMU member. Can I apply for membership?
In this case, you should renounce the contradicting claim before submitting the application. Make sure that the updated claim does not conflict with the claim of another member: you may check the existing claims on the Members page. Please bear in mind that the map of claims is not always updated immediately when a new member joins, and may not reflect the latest changes: if in doubt, contact us before applying.
Is it possible to have my claims recognized without joining the AMU?
No. The whole point of AMU membership is to recognize each other’s claims, and to recognize the claim of a non-member would invalidate the purpose of the organization. The AMU does not conduct any negotiations with non-members other than accession talks.