One the effects of globalisation, which has not been adequately analysed, is the prominent role played by islands within the global geo-political landscape. It is as if the lack of territorial continuity gave them a special status.
A well-known example is that of Guantanamo, in the southeast Cuba, the site of the famous U.S. Naval base holding suspected terrorists. The base is controlled by the U.S. Government but, since its territory is not under the American jurisdiction, in the base some of the most elementary human rights, a well-established heritage of liberal democracies, are not guaranteed.
Some refer to Guantanamo as an exception. But if we look at the news that have come out over the last few months, we can notice that there is another island considered as a “free zone”, where some basic human rights can be suspended. This is the case of Lampedusa. Here, a form of emergency legislation is now being tested with reference to asylum rights and the centuries-old principles established by the Habeas Corpus. Arriving in Lampedusa means arriving in a place that seems not to be part of Europe, land of freedom and justice.
Or, for instance, think about some of those islands in the middle of the ocean gathering money coming from international financial operations or playing an important role for money-laundering. They also have hit the headlines in this complicated period where national States ashore desperately need financial resources.
In other words, the sea seems to be a much more powerful border than any other customs or millenarian mountain chain. As a famous geo-political expert stated, islands are now “sites of creative exercises in power” [1].
However, there do not exist only negative examples to discuss about, but also original models of innovation. Let us think for instance about Iceland. This small country has been the protagonist of exceptional episodes. After the dramatic financial crisis in 2008 and the following attempts to find a solution to such a problem, the country decided to react through three important and innovative decisions. It held, indeed, a referendum regarding the public debt to foreign banks and decided not to reimburse it. It indicted the Prime Minister who caused the crisis and started a process of constitutional revision involving all the citizens thanks to the Internet.
Maybe from an island there is a better perspective on future.
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[1] Alison Mountz, in “Islands and the Changing Face of Sovereignty” The ISN Blog
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