“Terra nullius.” Under international law, this Latin phrase meaning “nobody’s land” describes an area of land unclaimed by any sovereign nation-state. In an age where nearly every inch of the world’s landmass has been mapped, examples of terra nullius are exceedingly rare.

Bir Tawil, for instance — a desolate parcel of desert on the Egyptian-Sudanese border. Egypt and Sudan have competing maps of the border, but because of the crisscrossing of those boundaries, Bir Tawil would belong to whichever nation relinquished its claim on a larger, more desirable area. Each country insists that Bir Tawil belongs to the other.

This unusual status has attracted self-styled nationbuilders — so- called “micronationalists” — hoping to create their own “countries.” One notable attempt was by Jeremiah He

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