Oddly enough, this sounds, but in the modern world there are quite a lot of paradoxes when you can come across such concepts as “the state within the state” and “the country within the country”. The difference between them is quite substantial. Now we will try to see how a state within a state (a country inside another) can exist and be governed.
The concept of enclaves and semi-enclaves
To begin with, it is necessary to clearly distinguish the basic concepts. As a rule, states or countries that are in the territorial affiliation of other countries are called enclaves (so far, we are not talking about what constitutes the supremacy of state power within a country). From the point of view of territorial dependence, striking examples are countries such as San Marino, surrounded on all sides by Italy, and Lesotho - a country completely surrounded by South Africa.
In general, this concept comes from the Latin inclavare or from the French term enclave, which literally means "key lock".
Semi-enclaves are countries that have access to the sea, but are surrounded by other states on all other sides. Such can be called Portugal, Brunei, etc.
On the other hand, if we approach the issue of local self-government, often some states may not be subject to the general laws of the countries in which they are located. Most often this is due to religious activity. However, even in this case, a country within a country may have official or unofficial status and even complete or partial independence.
Religious considerations
As for religion, here are two of the most striking examples. These are the Vatican (an independent state) and Christiania in the area of the Danish capital Copenhagen - Christianshavn - with a semi-legal status. Sometimes it is also called: The Free City of Christiania.
Of course, the Order of Malta could also be attributed to enclaves , but in this case the distinction by status or self-government is very conditional, so it should not be confused with the state of Malta itself. It is rather a non-governmental organization, even without territorial affiliation.
Vatican
The Vatican, as you know, is an independent state within the country of Italy, more precisely, inside its capital - the city of Rome. It is clear that the borders here practically do not exist. Another thing is that the Vatican has limited access at certain times.
In terms of religion, the Vatican is the seat of the papal throne of the Roman Catholic Church. This is the smallest state in the world and does not obey Italian laws, although there is much in common between them. However, the Vatican has its own army, police, etc.
Christiania
Now a few words about Christiania. This country is inside the country, and its independence exists purely conditionally, so to speak, in a semi-legal form.
It is believed that there are laws and orders, and the country itself, if you can call it that, is not officially recognized by Denmark. Another thing is that tourists like this exotic most of all.
What is most sad, despite some religious considerations, the main street called Pusher Street is actively trading in soft drugs, but there are bans on photography, hard drugs, bulletproof vests, weapons and cars. In addition, theft is prohibited here. Agree, such a double-edged sword.
It would seem that in common can be between drugs and Christians? After all, the canons of the Church clearly indicate a ban. It rather resembles not even a state, but a certain society of individuals, fenced off from reality and professing individual freedom, as hippies did in the 60s of the last century.
San marino
San Marino is the smallest country within the country recognized at the official level. As for the laws, yes, they are here, but if we talk about borders, then, as already understood, they do not exist at all. According to the laws of the European Union, free movement is carried out inside it without any passport control.
The country is headed by two regent captains, elected for six months (from April 1 to October 1 and from October 1 to April 1). Although they are heads of state, nevertheless, it also has a parliament of 60 deputies, represented in the form of the Great General Council. By the way, despite its small population, this country even has seven political parties inside the country, and the Collegium of Guarantees of Constitutional Standards supervises compliance with the law.
Lesotho
Another striking example of a country completely located on the territory of another state is Lesotho. This country is surrounded on all sides by the territory of South Africa.
Despite this, there is a constitutional monarchy, the head of which is the king. This decision was adopted in 1993. As already clear, in the absence, illness or death of the monarch, the regent rules the state. But the king himself is rather a purely ceremonial person, rather than having real power, which is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister, the bicameral parliament and the National Assembly, which performs the functions of the executive branch.
Conclusion
We have given only the most striking examples of clean enclaves, which differ among themselves according to the principles of territorial affiliation, according to our own canons of building a political system, and also the adoption and observance of constitutional norms.
Of course, states like Christiania can be called just some conventions, because in fact they are not recognized either by the countries where they proclaimed independence, or by the world community. From the point of view of the scientific approach, one should clearly understand the existing difference between these enclaves and pseudo-states, which occur almost every year in the world.