The Catawba Indian Nation recently announced the launch of a new kind of special economic zone (SEZ) on its reservation lands in the Carolinas piedmont region. The Catawba Digital Economic Zone (CDEZ) aims to provide “A Jurisdiction Built for the Fintech and Digital Asset Industry.” Federal and state law affirms that the Nation has original and exclusive jurisdiction over two categories of disputes: those arising from contracts to which the Nation or its members are a party…
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Honduras has struggled to attract the investment needed to spur sustained economic growth in recent decades, and as a result remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. To attract greater foreign investment, the Honduran government passed a groundbreaking special economic zone (SEZ) law in 2012 creating Zonas de Empleo y Desarrollo Económico (Zones for Employment and Economic Development) or ZEDEs. Among the most innovative special jurisdictions in the world, ZEDEs grant sweeping legal…
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For the last seven years within the Startup Societies movement, there has been a surge in entrepreneurs, developers and online communities, including Network States, who intended to create autonomous special jurisdictions. But understanding how to create a jurisdiction, let alone an autonomous one, is very different from wanting to create one. Among Startup Societies types, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are one of the most sought models by private developers. After all, SEZs enjoy…
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Founded by the Institute for Competitive Governance (Now Institute for Decentralized Governance) in 2019, the Journal of Special Jurisdictions is an international peer-reviewed journal founded to advance knowledge of Special Economic Zones and other special jurisdictions.
This call for papers invites researchers, practitioners and Startup Society entrepreneurs to explore the concepts, examples, future trajectories, implications, and dynamics of Pop-Up Cities and Network States, and other types of Special Jurisdictions, Special Economic Zones, and Startup Societies, in general.
Vol. 5 No. 1 (2024): Issue V
Published: 2024-12-31
The fifth Issue of the Journal of Special Jurisdictions covers three different, thought-provoking topics. It begins with a a rigorous legal analysis of the Honduran Supreme Court decision concerning their Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDEs), which have become a focal point in the global conversation about zones and Startup Societies. The analysis is followed by an exploration of the Federated Fractal Network-State model, which proposes a decentralized governance system inspired by fractal patterns. The issue concludes with a compelling economic analysis on the concept of a "Lithium Valley" sheds light on the role of special jurisdictions in fostering resource-driven innovation and development in Brazil.
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Founded by the Institute for Competitive Governance in 2019, the Journal of Special Jurisdictions is an international peer-reviewed journal founded to advance knowledge of Special Economic Zones and other special jurisdictions. The Journal of Special Jurisdictions is the only active academic journal focused on Special Economic Zones and other special jurisdictions. It publishes original papers on the theory, history, regulations and development of special jurisdictions. Submissions can be conceptual, qualitative, case studies, quantitative or exploratory.
Worldwide, there are about 4,000 Zones spanning 130 countries. This number continues to grow. SEZs are one of the most consistently used tools for economic development and have become a mainstay for national policy. Special jurisdictions are not limited to SEZs. These include Charter Cities, indigenous tribes, and private communities. Additionally, they include non-territorial systems, such as alternative dispute resolution systems and online or Distributed Ledger Platforms.
The Journal of Special Jurisdictions furthers this area of governmental innovation by generating scholarly work to inform policymakers about special jurisdictions. The Journal maintains a non-partisanship approach to its topic, however, seeking only the universally acceptable goal of improving human communities.
