Ever find yourself thinking about how society could be – if only you ran it? Now a new book, I Want to Break Free, tells you exactly how to start your own country. I spoke to its author, referendum expert and political scientist Prof Matt Qvortrup.

Even just the word “referendum” makes me feel tired. What keeps you interested in them?
Well, they’re the will of the people. They don’t have to be the last word on the subject; they can just start a negotiation. But you need a referendum to give you the mandate to start a new country.

You mean to secede?
Yes, but also to start an entirely new country. It’s what happened to Italy. It used to be split up – the northern parts were Austrian, the pope was the king of the middle, etc – but it had a number of referendums between 1830 and 1870, and Italy came into being. You could say that Verdi was one of the people who spearheaded that because he shaped Italian identity with his music. As the statesman Massimo d’Azeglio said when Italy was being unified: “We have made Italy. Now we must make Italians.”

Identity sure is a complicated beast. One thing I’ve noticed is regional identities coming to the fore, in Cornwall or in Liverpool – “scouse, not English”, as they say. Could they become countries?
Well, why not? We’ve had a nearly 200% increase in the number of states since the second world war. You need to find something you can rally around, something unique to you, and then create momentum.

Then?
You need friends in high places.

Classic.
Because after a referendum, you need to get other countries to recognise you. Most countries that have become independent have had the support of France, Britain and the US. You need those three. So you need to find a way of saying to them: “What can I give you?” When Norway broke away from Sweden, the British said they’d support it if it had a monarchy. In 1944, when Iceland seceded from Denmark, they offered the Americans an airbase in Keflavik – a useful location as the cold war was warming up.

Just thinking about my joke plan to declare the allotment a republic with my mates. But, alas, we have no natural charm, political friends or money. Speaking of which, how would currency work? There used to be a hyperlocal currency in London – the Brixton pound. And in our age of crypto, starting a new one is easier than ever.
A lot of places use other people’s currency. But let’s use Brixton – say it wanted to become a state, a movement grew, maybe they’d have Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue as the anthem …

OK, I know this is just hypothetical but it sounds amazing! Viva la Brixton Libre!
The tricky bit is being allowed to have a referendum at all. International convention would grant it if you’re being oppressed – hard to argue in Scotland, say. Or there’s the armed uprising route, where instead of a referendum you seize control and then begin lobbying the international community for recognition: “We’re in control now.” Pretty quickly, you’re a state. It’s why I didn’t call the book The Neil Sedaka Theory of Politics – Sedaka has a song titled Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. Because when it comes to nations, breaking up isn’t that hard to do.