Today’s Geo Quiz takes us to Micronesia. That puts us in the western reaches of the Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of islands make up Micronesia. We’re looking for just one of them. It’s a small island, just 8 square miles. It’s also the world’s smallest independent nation. So small in fact, it doesn’t even have an official capital. But Yaren is where most of the island’s 14,000 residents are. As an independent nation this island conducts its own foreign policy. It’s latest move raised some eyebrows.

It became only the fourth nation – after Russia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua – to recognize Abkhazia as an independent country. Can you name the Pacific island nation we’re talking about?

Abkhazia is one of two breakaway regions in Georgia. It was the focus of last year’s brief war between Georgia and Russia. Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and now Nauru recognize it as an independent country.

So the world’s smallest island nation — Nauru — is the answer.

Jack Hitt is a contributor to the New York Times Magazine, Marco Werman talked with him about Nauru’s move.

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Nauru (Photo: courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program)

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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman.  This is The World.  An interesting case of international diplomacy figures in today’s Geo Quiz.  We asked you to name a tiny Pacific island nation,  which this week became just the fourth country to officially recognize Abkhazia.  Abkhazia is one of two breakaway regions in Georgia.  It was the focus of last year’s brief war between Georgia and Russia.  Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and now Nauru recognize it as an independent country. So the world’s smallest island nation, Nauru, is the answer.  Jack Hitt is a contributor to the New York Times Magazine, and Jack your reporting has taken you to  Nauru.  What’s Nauru up to here?

JACK HITT: Well, Nauru is a country that has depleted so many of its natural resources that one of the last few things it has to sell is its sovereignty.  And so what it’s doing here is basically cutting a deal with another country to give it recognition via the United Nations.

WERMAN:  And who’s it cutting the deal with.  Is it cutting a deal with Abkhazia or with Russia?

HITT:  Well, I suspect that the $50 million, which  is what’s rumored in either direct payments or aid, is coming through Abkhazia, but possibly from Russia, sure.

WERMAN:  So Nauru throws its bantam weight behind Abkhazia this week and Georgia’s other breakaway region, South Ossetia won’t be far behind.  Is that how they’re going to make their next millions?

HITT:  Well, only if they know how much they have to come to the bar with, and now they know, roughly $50 million.  Hey look, this could all go the other way.  If Georgia comes up with a little bit more money in the offering, then perhaps South Ossetia won’t get a deal.  This happened a few years ago when Nauru had recognized Taiwan.  And the Chinese stepped up and offered them $130 million to cease recognizing Taiwan.  And Nauru was about to take that bargain, until Taiwan stepped up and offered yet even more.  And so to this day, Nauru recognizes Taiwan as a legitimate independent nation.

WERMAN:  And before selling its sovereignty, what was Nauru’s big export?

HITT:  Well, its original export was phosphate.  They mined the central belly of their island of this natural phosphate, which was the result of a million years of birds flying over the Pacific and taking a rest break on this little tiny eight square mile island.  And at the peak of their mining of the phosphate, they had more money per capita than any other nation on the planet.  Like anybody in the bubble of the ’90s, they were trying to find really lucrative instruments in which to invest and they had a number of them.  One of them was a  London musical based on the love life of Leonardo da Vinci, called “Leonardo!” exclamation point.  It was a total flop and closed after the first night, and they lost millions in that.

WERMAN:  The head of state of Nauru should have spoken to Mel Brooks, because he knows how to turn a flop into an actual success, right?

HITT:  <laughs>  Yeah, well, they sort of had turned to Mel Brooks.  The situation of their nation and their sovereignty now is pretty much almost as if scripted by Mel Brooks right out of “The Producers.”  But there have been a number of different occasions where they seem to have cut deals with the CIA to perform various spying activities.  I don’t know if you remember this, a few years ago, a bunch of refugees from Iraq tried to make an escape towards Australia.  Australia didn’t want them, so they put them on a barge and floated them 3,000 miles to Nauru.

WERMAN:  Oh, I remember that.

HITT:  And just left them there.  And then of course paid the Nauruans $20 something million a year to keep these refugees marooned on a desert island.

WERMAN:  I hope Mel Brooks is listening. I mean, I’m seeing the Marquee now, “Nauru!” exclamation point, on Broadway.

HITT:  They may want to think about funding their own musical about their own nation next time.

WERMAN:  Jack Hitt writes for the New York Times Magazine.  Thanks very much for briefing us on Nauru, Jack.

HITT:  Thank you, Marco.

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