That online reality does not reflect human nature, said Zeynep Tufekci, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore who studies the social impacts of technology.

With entities like Palestine, South Ossetia, Somaliland, and Darfur pushing for sovereignty, Khanna writes, "Within a few decades, we could easily have 300 states in the world."

Anil Gupta, of the University of Maryland at College Park, points out that these markets are among the toughest in the world.