In the future, you could be a citizen of a country that doesn't actually exist on a map.
April 16, 2026
Original Paper
Deterritorialized Statehood: Designing a Legal Framework for Climate-Displaced Nations
SSRN · 6291098
The Takeaway
Climate change is making entire nations vanish under rising seas, creating a legal crisis: what happens to a 'country' when its land is gone? This paper proposes 'deterritorialized statehood,' a framework where nations maintain their sovereignty, citizenship, and legal personality even without territory. Imagine a country that exists entirely as a digital entity, managing its people and assets across the globe from a 'cloud' capital. This challenges the 400-year-old Westphalian idea that a state *must* be a piece of dirt. For the millions who will be displaced, this could be the difference between being a 'refugee' and remaining a citizen with a voice on the world stage.
From the abstract
Climate change threatens the territorial foundations of many states-from low-lying archipelagos to river deltas-potentially undermining sovereignty, citizenship, and legal personality. This paper examines how international law can adapt to preserve statehood and the rights of affected peoples when physical territory disappears. After reviewing the literature on climate displacement and state continuity, we analyze core legal concepts (Montevideo statehood criteria, recognition, sovereignty) and