There are countless reasons, whey small states used to separate themselves from the rest of the world over and over again – or remain as little fragments. From economic benefit (Special Economic Zones) to social utopia (Christiana) or even artistic ideals (Atelier van Lieshout): almost everything could be a solid reason to cut oneself off. Such entities are nine times out of ten states, which had undergone a long process of being scaled down to tiny territories and nevertheless somehow managed to survive or even turned out to be extremely successful, just like Luxemburg, Monaco or the Vatican. During the symposium “Ministaaten”, these spatial effects are investigated thoroughly and discussed over the course of one day. Featuring academic contribution by Bart Lootsma, Viola Vahrson, Peter Volgger, Panajota Panotopoulou and Andreas Oberprantacher, presentation: Verena Konrad