In 2022 Hobbs and Williams published a book for a broader audience, How to Rule Your Own Country: The Weird and Wonderful World of Micronations.
Micronations are political entities that claim independence and mimic acts of sovereignty as if they were a sovereign state, but lack any legal recognition.
[9][14] This was followed by two French-language publications—L'Etat c'est moi: histoire des monarchies privées, principautés de fantaisie et autres républiques pirates in 1997 by writer and historian Bruno Fuligni and Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU in 2000 by founder and head of the French Institute of Micropatrology, Fabrice O'Driscoll, which details over 600 micronations.
[9][17] Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty was published by Cambridge University Press as an ebook on 23 December 2021, and in hardcover and paperback formats in January 2022.
They draw a distinction from states with limited recognition, quasi-states and autonomous Indigenous nations as, according to them, micronations lack the legal basis within international law for their existence.
Hobbs and Williams write that most micronations are ignored as they pose little threat to their country's sovereignty, whereas micronationalists who individually commit crimes, such as tax evasion, are dealt with in court as citizens rather than receiving any recognition as being part of a secessionist movement.
[9] Both Fletcher and de Castro lauded Hobbs and Williams' definition of micronation as helpful, although Jack Corbett, professor of politics at the University of Southampton and reviewing the book for Small States & Territories, disliked that the work offered only a surface analysis on the definition of sovereignty while mostly implying the subjectivity of statehood.
[9] Fletcher stated that Hobbs and Williams did an admirable job analysing a large amount of grey literature to gather enough material for an "academic discussion" on micronations.
[13] On 15 August 2022, Hobbs gave an online seminar hosted by the Australian National University's College of Law in which he discussed and summarised Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty.