::: nBlog :::
During the previous world wars, many occupied states had their government-in-exiles hosted and protected by other nations. While their effective governance was limited, these nations could still ie. issue passports and execute agreements, and, most importantly, coordinate resistance in their home countries.
An independent nation has various definitions, but generally it can take care of its own people by providing essential services like healthcare, rule of law, education, security and a stable business environment.
In the past, an aggressor could subdue a nation by sole military force, seizing those essential services and quickly making them serve new purposes. Databases, factories and knowledge were all physical and local.
Today, a territorial invasion is just a small part of things required to conquer a modern nation, as more and more knowledge, work and inherent national systems can be built independently of physical locations.
To oversimplify, you are a nation when your services (websites) are up and your people can access them. Passports can be issued, healthcare records are securely accessible and taxes can be collected; there’s free press and innovations are preserved.
Militarily protecting these virtual assets offers an arsenal of new challenges, but ultimately far better protection to nation states. However, it requires a whole new kind of architectural planning and fluidity. Luckily our nation has all the assets available. It is just a question of coordinating them.
//Pasi
