Under What Conditions Do Microstates Form In The First Place? Is There A Correlation Between The Size Of A Political Unit And Its Relative Sovereignty? What Contributes To The Success Of Ministates, Or, In Certain Cases, Their Failure? From Modern Day City-States, Island Countries As Well As Sparsely Populated Territories, To Historical Anomalies, Tax Havens And Aspirant States, This Atlas Considers A Wide Range Of Countries Largely Defined By Their Relative Smallness. A Beautifully-Designed Collection Ideal For Those With An Interest In Geopolitics And Cartographic Curiosities, Some Of The Microstates Explored In This Book Include: •Liechtenstein One Of The Smallest Countries In The World Today – And Also One Of The Wealthiest – With A Territory That Covers Approximately 25Km From North To South, The Only Country Located Entirely In The Alps •Cocos (Keeling) Islands Consisting Of Two Coral Atolls With A Total Area Of 14M2, Where Fewer Than 600 People Live And The Majority Of The Population Is Muslim •Couto Misto A De-Facto Semi-Independent State Which Many Believe Had Special Sovereign Rights Granted To It By A 12th Century Princess, Later Disputed By Spain And Portugal And Eventually Partitioned In 1864 These Along With Many More Examples Are Captured In This Engaging Atlas Full Of Geographical Intrigue.