About OAM

Introduction

The Organisation of Active Micronations was an intermicronational organization with many aims and functions, such as assisting the development of and maintaining peace and security among its member nations. As well as claiming to be the largest micronational organization to have ever existed (despite many of its members being inactive within the organization itself for much of its history), it was the first known micronational multinational organization that attempted to consist only of "active" micronations. One of the few to expand beyond peacekeeping and negotiation with the introduction of essential reforms in July 2010. After increasing levels of inactivity and external criticism, the organization was dissolved by its founder on December 29th, 2011.

The organization aimed to provide genuine assistance to newer and fledging micronations, maintain its numerous projects, and contribute meaningfully and relevant to micronationalism and other aims outlined in the OAM Charter. The Council was the organization's decision-making body, comprising every member nation of the OAM.

The OAM served as the primary intermicronational organization in the MicroWiki community for much of its existence, filling the vacuum left by the Grand Unified Micronational's year-long dormancy from 2010 to 2011. It reached its zenith between September and December 2010, when between the collapse of the GUM and the unveiling of the MicroWiki Forums (and with micronational Skype rooms still in their relative infancy), the OAM was the primary platform for community interaction. The leading role of A1's Gordon Freeman - the organization's founder and longest-serving leader - eventually led to controversy for the OAM. The organization often conflated with his interests and identified as a platform for him to exert influence.

History

Establishment

The OAM was officially established on October 30th, 2009, after a decision was taken by the A1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the A1 Cabinet to follow the recommendations set out in the July 2009 Foreign Affairs White Paper to establish an effective and comprehensive intermicronational organization.

Following heavy criticism from some micronationalists, most notably Robert Lethler, and A1's withdrawal from the GUM, a surge of members followed. Although there were no officially acknowledged founding nations, the first three nations to join after the MGPRA1 were the Kingdom of Victoria, the People's Proper Republic of Wellington, and the Kingdom of Barrington.

First two months

During the first two months of its existence, the OAM's online headquarters were based in a mediocre forum system that allowed almost no scope for expansion and limited support. Thus, the forum was moved to its current location and the website, allowing for the first purge of inactive member nations.

Several member nations were suspended and later expelled due to lengthy periods of inactivity. A second purge followed soon afterward. The 'Micronational Dictionary' project was also formally begun at this time, and the scope for expansion of future projects was also established.

Initial phase

Another massive surge of new member nations occurred following the move to the new forum. This considerably elevated the OAM's standing and enabled the OAM to start work on its projects and other initial aims and goals.

Members of the OAM often negotiated directly on the forums for alliances, diplomatic relations, debates on both macro and micronational issues, opinions, and solving disputes. These discussions almost always produced results, such as the Aegis Alliance.

Post-Freeman period

The election of Pierre d'Égtavie to the position of Secretary-General marked the end of a period in which Gordon Freeman was, at most times, Secretary-General of the Organisation. He announced his intention not to run for Secretary-General "...for quite some time", although this was later found false following the June 29th Incident. The same election also produced the election of two Committee Chairmen positions, the OAMATC (OAM Activity Testing Committee) and the OAMPC (OAM Projects Committee), the Royal Reformed States of America, and the Kingdom of Sterling, respectively.

This period has been characterized by the restarting of former projects by the newly created OAMPC and the purging of inactive members immediately following the election by the OAMATC, resulting in a slight membership decline.

June 29th incident

On June 29th, 2010, at 19:00 UTC, Pierre d'Égtavie suddenly and unexpectedly resigned as Secretary-General of the Organisation in protest against what he perceived to be a severe schism that had formed between its left and right wings. At the same time, his nation, the Republic of Egtavia, withdrew from the OAM. This was followed by the withdrawals of the Democratic People's Republic of Sandus, the Democratic People's Republic of Erusia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Nemkhavia, and the Republic of Bokonton from the OAM in concert with Egtavia's action.

Each of the withdrawing nations blamed what they considered to be "unprofessional," "corrupt," and "aggressive" elements in the OAM for their withdrawal - the representative of Sandus specifically cited the Kingdom of Wyvern and its allies as being to blame. All five nations appeared to strongly support Sir Gordon Freeman and their interpretation of his founding vision for the OAM. Only Sandus was explicitly critical of the organization itself.

July reform

In mid-July 2010, the wordy Resolution 70 passed through The Council, approving Gordon Freeman's recommendations for reform. The reform's cornerstone was replacing the committee system with a series of 'agencies' with specific tasks to perform outside and inside the OAM.

Proposed OAM-GUM merge

Although in the past, the OAM and Grand Unified Micronational had been at odds with one another, several proposals for a merger were proposed by then Acting Chairman James von Puchow to try to "save" the institution from collapse and inactivity after having been discussed for some time before. GUM members put forward many different proposals, but all of these proposals were rejected immediately or discussed and then rejected by the Secretariat and The Council of the OAM.

Some of the proposals included appointing James von Puchow to fill the then vacant position of Vice Secretary-General to account for his recent GUM election win and establishing a new agency in the OAM specifically for ex-GUM members to help integrate the GUM into the OAM, whereby the Secretary would have one extra vote in The Council.

All the proposals were rejected by both the Secretariat and The Council, during which von Puchow accused the OAM members of having "prejudices against us [the GUM]" (noting the OAM and GUM's turbulent past), being "too big-headed to accept us" [emphasis included] and unwilling "to mutually cooperate with us [the GUM]." After many weeks of negotiation, von Puchow "relaunched" the GUM with "reforms," and discussions regarding an OAM-GUM merge were dropped with no result, which later saw a temporary period of dormancy within the GUM start in September.

Elections took place in November 2010 and saw Tom Turner become the sixth Secretary-General, Gordon Freeman and Pierre d'Égtavie becoming Vice Secretaries-General, and Alexander Reinhardt elected as OAMIAO Secretary. Many candidates promised reforms to the organization during the campaign, and Tom Turner proposed two reforms on December 4th. While neither reform was implemented, a third reform to the structure of Agencies and Secretaries was put forward on December 19th and passed in early January.

The departure of Gordon Freeman

Following the Linden Affair, which essentially took place on the OAM forum, the founder and then Vice Secretary-General, Gordon Freeman, resigned from the organization. He had minimal contact with the MicroWiki Sector during this time, including the OAM.

Following his departure, and the establishment of the MicroWiki Forum, many micronationalists feared that the OAM had lost its power or would even collapse. However, this was not to be. Although the number of daily posts and threads declined significantly during this period, the organization maintained relatively high activity and member participation levels.

Freeman and his micronation, the FRA1, returned to the Organisation in February 2011, following a motion passed by A1's Parliament for A1 to rejoin the organization. His continued claim to have "left the community" became increasingly ridiculed after this point, and it has become clear that his so-called departure was temporary.

A new direction

Tom Turner resigned as Secretary-General in March 2011, causing new elections. Gordon Freeman was again elected Secretary-General, and Aldrich Lucas, Anthony Fowler, and Joe Foxon were selected as the three Vice Secretaries-General.

Freeman was accused of using the OAM to maintain influence in the community he claimed to have left. During the Linden Affair, he was criticized for denouncing member states' sovereignty and discriminatory comments against neo-Pagans. Widespread dissatisfaction with the leadership of Freeman prompted a Motion of No Confidence against him, proposed by Crown Prince Jonathan of Austenasia at the request of various other nations. The final result was an evenly split vote, resulting in the motion needing to be passed.

This sparked a mass withdrawal of eleven member nations a week later, three returning to the organization and founding the short-lived Inter-Micronational Union and the even shorter-lived OUM in response to what some saw as the discrediting of the OAM. This episode also allowed various criticisms of the OAM to be brought into the public eye. However, the Organisation of Active Micronations remained the largest intermicronational organization active in the MicroWiki Community and claimed to be the largest in micronational history.

The OAM University was also established during this period (July 2011) but gained little significance and soon became inactive. Around the same time, New Guinea was expelled following revelations that the nation was built almost entirely on falsehoods. Furthermore, a public advertising campaign was created for the first time using online advertising. This advertising resulted in a new wave of member nations, with membership numbers rising considerably from around June to August 2011.

Dissolution

On December 22nd, 2011, Gordon Freeman proposed Resolution 221, which granted members the option to either disestablish the organization, keep it in its current state, or enact significant reforms. The majority of the members of the Council voted for disestablishment, with voting closing on December 29th. While the organization was officially disestablished on this day, discussions began on the details of the 'reincarnation' of the OAM in a new form - an identical one to that of the Bastion Union - whereby different micronations' online fora would be hosted on the same 'super-forum,' aiding inter-micronational communication. The new entity would not have any organizational structure, resemblance, or ties to the Organisation of Active Micronations.

This new entity was eventually established on January 3rd, 2012, as the Online Associated Micronations or 'OAMicro.' It used the same domain name as the Organisation of Active Micronations used, 'oamicro.org,' and was sometimes confused for a new "version" of the OAM.

Workings

The OAM operated similarly to the United Nations and prided itself on its commitment to speedy democratic processes, as the Council, made up of every member nation, had overriding democratic authority.

The Council

The Council was the decision-making and debating body in the OAM. It operated based on 'one nation, one vote' within it, regardless of 'standing' or other factors.

Resolutions

The most important part of the OAM was debating and either adapting or rejecting resolutions, much like those discussed in the United Nations General Assembly.

Such resolutions were non-binding on any micronation, and for one to be adopted, a majority of voting members must have voted in the affirmative. Any member nation may have proposed a resolution.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat was essentially the administrative body of the OAM, consisting of the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Active Micronations and the two Vice Secretaries-General.

The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary-General and the organization's required staff. The Council shall appoint the Secretary-General. They shall be the chief administrative officer of the organization. (*)

(*) Charter of the Organisation of Active Micronations; Chapter 3, Article 7, No. 1

The Secretary-General and three Vice Secretaries-General were elected on four-month terms by The Council. The first elections for Secretary-General were held in January 2010.

Criticism

The OAM faced criticism from several micronations, starting when some argued that it was "redundant" and "very similar in aims to other existing organizations." They claimed the OAM was "YAMO" (Yet Another Micronational Organisation) and duplicated other organizations' work. Others argued that the OAM existed only to jeopardize and attack the GUM due to numerous verbal public attacks by individual member states.

Such criticism was hefty from leading members of the Grand Unified Micronational, most notably Robert Lethler. However, complaints from Mr. Lethler diminished over time, with Will Sœrgèl of Sandus stepping up verbal attacks in mid-2010. He claimed that the OAM was used as a "basis of attacks and insults," was anti-communist, did not respect the sovereignty, existed without a united purpose, and "... did not foster cooperation between member-states".

Other nations claimed that the organization was dominated by a few elites, such as the organization's founder, Gordon Freeman. They maintained that despite the nominally democratic nature of the OAM, these select few continued to dominate decision-making.

Response

At-the-time Chairman and founder Gordon Freeman strongly argued against such claims, stating that the only similar aims with other micronational organizations are the "intermicronational peace and security" and "developing friendly relations" aims, which are "pretty much standard." He also emphasized that the other aims "...are the crux of the existence of this organization". He claimed that the reforms introduced in July 2010 refuted this argument.

Responding also to claims that the OAM existed only to jeopardize and attack the GUM, Freeman stated that such criticisms were "without foundation" and that the public attacks made "were not a representation of any sort of policy or stance ever adopted by the OAM, as clearly stated by those involved," as said attacks came from individual OAM members and were not officially sanctioned by the OAM as a whole.

Gordon Freeman also argued against the claims by Sœrgèl, pointing out that the OAM was established "...riding the wave of respect for sovereignty by intermicronational organization" and has "never violated the sovereignty of any micronation, whether they be a member or not." However, by early 2011 Freeman had become well known amongst some circles for his statements denouncing the claims to sovereignty of all micronations by definition. Freeman also mentioned that he, the founder of the OAM and multiple-term-serving Secretary-General, believed in A1ism, a far-left ideology, for much of his micronational career.

A new hope

On October 31st, 2021, the Kingdom of Unixploria decided to brush up on the battered organization and renew its aims. Unixploria uses the logo as a kind of certification of a micronation's validity and activity. By being rewarded with this certificate, we want to encourage micronations to create lasting sustainable nations.

The former political profile of the organization is now gone, and the aim is purely to be an inspirational voice in the micronational sphere. The logo signifies a viable micronation with active citizens who create and live life fully within their cultural and national identity. 

We encourage micronations to be more ambitious in creating a national identity. We encourage all micronations to start universities, found museums, newspapers, and other creative aspects necessary for a nation to thrive.