City-state

A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory.^[1] They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as Rome, Carthage, Athens and Sparta and the Italian city-states during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as Florence, Venice, Genoa and Milan.

With the rise of nation states worldwide, there remains some disagreement on the number of modern city-states that still exist; Singapore, Monaco and Vatican City are the candidates most commonly discussed. Out of these, Singapore is the largest and most populous, and is generally considered to be the last real city-state left in the world, with full sovereignty, international borders, its own currency, a robust military, and substantial international influence in its own right.^[2] The Economist refers to the nation as the "world's only fully functioning city-state".^[3]

Several non-sovereign cities enjoy a high degree of autonomy and are often confused for city-states. Hong Kong, Macau,^[4]^[5] and cities of the United Arab Emirates—most notably Dubai and Abu Dhabi—are often cited as such.^[6]^[7]^[8]

^ "city-state | Definition, History, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
^ Brimelow, Ben. "How a tiny city-state became a military powerhouse with the best air force and navy in Southeast Asia". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference econ-CS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "City-states never disappeared: Hamburg, Hong Kong, Singapore". Tomorrow.Mag. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
^ "Capital Facts for Hong Kong". World's Capital Cities. 16 September 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference Hansen, Mogens 2000. Pg. 19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Parker, Geoffrey 2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Kotkin, Joel. 2010. "A New Era for the City-State?" In Forbes.

[brit-1] "city-state | Definition, History, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2020.

[2] Brimelow, Ben. "How a tiny city-state became a military powerhouse with the best air force and navy in Southeast Asia". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

[econ-CS-3] Cite error: The named reference econ-CS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] "City-states never disappeared: Hamburg, Hong Kong, Singapore". Tomorrow.Mag. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

[5] "Capital Facts for Hong Kong". World's Capital Cities. 16 September 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

[Hansen,_Mogens_2000._Pg._19-6] Cite error: The named reference Hansen, Mogens 2000. Pg. 19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Parker,_Geoffrey_2005-7] Cite error: The named reference Parker, Geoffrey 2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Kotkin,_Joel_2010-8] Kotkin, Joel. 2010. "A New Era for the City-State?" In Forbes.

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