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Farewell to Westphalia: Crypto Sovereignty and Post-Nation-State Governance
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia marked the end of the Thirty Years’ War – an event in which Catholics and Protestants had clashed across Northern Europe. The settlement not only ended the conflict but made sovereign nation states a permanent fixture in our world. It was a solution in which everyone agreed that what nation states do internally is their own business.
Sovereign nation states are human technologies that were designed to facilitate the peaceful organisation of human beings, solving for their ideological, political and religious differences. However, they are technologies that are almost 380 years old and, like all technology of that era, perhaps not the optimal solutions available today.
Can we not do better? We believe that we can. Our solution will involve taking a deep dive into developments like blockchain technologies and smart contracts and showing how they can be productively applied to the project of cooperative human governance.
Sovereign nation states are human technologies that were designed to facilitate the peaceful organisation of human beings, solving for their ideological, political and religious differences. However, they are technologies that are almost 380 years old and, like all technology of that era, perhaps not the optimal solutions available today.
Can we not do better? We believe that we can. Our solution will involve taking a deep dive into developments like blockchain technologies and smart contracts and showing how they can be productively applied to the project of cooperative human governance.
404 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 11, 2025
This book was a real eye-opener for me, especially on nation-states. I was worried it might be dense and hard to follow, but I found it actually really clear, well-structured and packed with insights.
September 16, 2025
A sharp, thought-provoking take on crypto sovereignty and post-nation-state governance. Highly Recommended
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September 18, 2025Essential reading for anyone curious about what comes after the nation-state. Highly recommend.
August 21, 2025
I was very excited to get this book ahead of its public release.
This isn’t just another “crypto book.” It’s a wake up call that the nation-state — a political technology born in the 1600s — is becoming obsolete. A clearer, more grounded take on network states as the natural parallel / solution to the failure of centralised governance.
The book pushes past critique into possibility: self-governing regions that don’t need permission from capitals, digitally native communities that act more like societies than mere chat groups, and network states that blur the line between territory and code. It made me think less about “what’s broken” and more about “what’s already forming” in the cracks of the old system. Because, let's face it, governments are on life support and borrowed time.
What I found most compelling is that it doesn’t read like utopian speculation. It’s more of a toolkit — a way of preparing for spaces that are already here but not yet evenly distributed. Enclaves, autonomous guilds, borderless communities: messy, fragile, but alive. Century-old societies like the City of London's square mile, the Order of St John, or even the Vatican are proof that network states exist, with or without a physical territory, and manage to stay relevant.
If you’ve ever felt that today’s governance systems are holding us hostage to the past, this book will spark your imagination for what comes next. You can pair this reading with the classic The Sovereign Individual for a maximised intellectual dialogue across where we were, and where we are going.
This isn’t just another “crypto book.” It’s a wake up call that the nation-state — a political technology born in the 1600s — is becoming obsolete. A clearer, more grounded take on network states as the natural parallel / solution to the failure of centralised governance.
The book pushes past critique into possibility: self-governing regions that don’t need permission from capitals, digitally native communities that act more like societies than mere chat groups, and network states that blur the line between territory and code. It made me think less about “what’s broken” and more about “what’s already forming” in the cracks of the old system. Because, let's face it, governments are on life support and borrowed time.
What I found most compelling is that it doesn’t read like utopian speculation. It’s more of a toolkit — a way of preparing for spaces that are already here but not yet evenly distributed. Enclaves, autonomous guilds, borderless communities: messy, fragile, but alive. Century-old societies like the City of London's square mile, the Order of St John, or even the Vatican are proof that network states exist, with or without a physical territory, and manage to stay relevant.
If you’ve ever felt that today’s governance systems are holding us hostage to the past, this book will spark your imagination for what comes next. You can pair this reading with the classic The Sovereign Individual for a maximised intellectual dialogue across where we were, and where we are going.
September 11, 2025
Farewell to Westphalia is well researched and easy to read. The authors dig into political history and theory, but they present their ideas in a way that doesn’t feel heavy or inaccessible. The book looks at how the nation state is dated technology and ill equipped to tackle the global problems we face today, and makes the case that blockchain will be instrumental in building new forms of governance.
What I appreciated most is that it doesn’t just speculate, it connects past and present in a way that makes the argument feel grounded. You can tell a lot of thought and research went into it, but it’s written so that anyone curious about politics, technology, or the future of society can follow along.
It left me with new questions and a clearer sense of what might be possible beyond the systems we take for granted today.
What I appreciated most is that it doesn’t just speculate, it connects past and present in a way that makes the argument feel grounded. You can tell a lot of thought and research went into it, but it’s written so that anyone curious about politics, technology, or the future of society can follow along.
It left me with new questions and a clearer sense of what might be possible beyond the systems we take for granted today.
September 18, 2025
A thought-provoking reexamination of the Westphalian system, blending history with modern analysis. It questions territorial sovereignty’s relevance today and is essential for anyone exploring global governance and shifting power dynamics. Clear and timely.
September 16, 2025
Farewell to Westphalia gave me a clear answer to why governments worldwide are failing at their most basic responsibility: keeping people safe and protected. The book resonated deeply with my lifelong interests in internet technologies, history, activism, and art - and gave me actionable insights.
Jarrad Hope and Peter Ludlow deliver a message that’s as sharp and urgent as a Banksy mural or a Massive Attack track. They don’t just expose the failures of the nation-state—they show a way forward. The solution isn’t revolution or violence, but the building of parallel structures: resilient, independent, and free from the outdated nation-state narrative.
This isn’t futurism—it’s unfolding right now. By reading and sharing this book, you’re already part of the shift. I recommend it not only to developers and philosophers (for them it’s a must-read), but to anyone who senses that something is profoundly broken in how society officially operates.
It’s time to exit.
Jarrad Hope and Peter Ludlow deliver a message that’s as sharp and urgent as a Banksy mural or a Massive Attack track. They don’t just expose the failures of the nation-state—they show a way forward. The solution isn’t revolution or violence, but the building of parallel structures: resilient, independent, and free from the outdated nation-state narrative.
This isn’t futurism—it’s unfolding right now. By reading and sharing this book, you’re already part of the shift. I recommend it not only to developers and philosophers (for them it’s a must-read), but to anyone who senses that something is profoundly broken in how society officially operates.
It’s time to exit.
September 16, 2025
The Cyberpunk Governance Guide, nice one
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews