Who has heard of the Faroe Islands?

• Main Author: Thomassen, Marius
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: ePublications@bond 2011
• Subjects: Faroe Islands
• Online Access: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cm/vol9/iss2/4; http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1127&context=cm

Extract: The Faroe Islands are one of the smallest countries in the world. In fact, the country is so small that its neighbours barely know of it, and hardly know anything about it. What is more, the Faroe Islands are not defined as an independent country, and therefore have limited access to the international society. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing region under the Danish realm. The current Danish government, as well as the opposition, have declared their support for an independent Faroese state, as long as the Faroese people themselves want independence. Thus, the only barriers for Faroese independence are psychological, where the population is more or less divided half and half into those who want independence and those who want unification with Denmark, though the Faroe Islands have become ever more autonomous. Furthermore, the Faroe Islands have all the qualifications of a proper independent state, such as their own language, culture, history, flag, national anthem, and geographically-defined territory. This leads to the question of how would an independent Faroe Islands fit into the current system of global governance?