Now there is a difference between a nation and a state. A state has a monopoly on force and coerces people. A nation however is something I advocate for. That is a culturally homogenous society, such as the Kurds. They have no state yet are able to organize, have solidarity, and even has been the only effective resistance to IS. Not bad for a people without a state huh? With IS, they are getting the opportunity to gain sovereignty from the states that occupy their territory. This opportunity arose very suddenly for the Kurds, but they were prepared. It's about preparation, and I think Cascadia has a prime opportunity to prepare if they wanted to.
Furthermore, history has not been dominated by states that impose their will on other peoples. That is only very recent history. Here is a discussion about medieval towns that maintained anarchy. Many people throughout the Americas maintained similarly autonomous communities. Are you going to argue that those communities weren't civilized?
And when I talk about community, I talk about real community, not a bunch of $#@!s living within close proximity to each other.
I think there is much evidence to extrapolate of a future with more localized communities that aren't controlled by states. Technology is the main reason. Technology makes it way easier to localize because of better efficiency and communications, and that is something that is new to our generation that hasn't existed before. Remember, nothing is constant except change itself. You just have to be ready to seize opportunities.