Difference between revisions of "Belarum"
(→Overview) |
(→Government) |
||
| Line 79: | Line 79: | ||
In December of 2005, [[Franklin Carter]] of Belarum was elected UN Delegate for the EU. In January of 2006, the Federal Republic was elected to the EU's new [[European Union Security Council|Security Council]]. Belarum celebrated it's centenial on May 1 in 2006. On June 1 of 2006, Franklin Carter resigned from service as UN Delegate for the EU, shortly after which Belarum withdrew from the [[United Nations]] altogether. | In December of 2005, [[Franklin Carter]] of Belarum was elected UN Delegate for the EU. In January of 2006, the Federal Republic was elected to the EU's new [[European Union Security Council|Security Council]]. Belarum celebrated it's centenial on May 1 in 2006. On June 1 of 2006, Franklin Carter resigned from service as UN Delegate for the EU, shortly after which Belarum withdrew from the [[United Nations]] altogether. | ||
| − | == Government | + | == Government & Politics== |
| − | + | Under Construction. | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | Under Construction | + | |
==Political Parties== | ==Political Parties== | ||
Revision as of 19:58, 11 March 2007
| ||||
| Motto : With Justice For All | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Region | European Union | |||
| Capital | Bastia (pop. 15 million) | |||
| Five largest cities | Bastia, Costanja, Oristano, Prezhnov, Marzen | |||
| Spoken languages - Official |
English | |||
| Government - President - Vice President - Senate Leader - Governing Party |
Federal Republic Viktor Draugen (DS) Alan Mengela (DS) Fredrick Savinoy (L) Liberal-DemSoc Coalition | |||
| Population (2007) - NS population - Roleplay population |
2.75 billion 275 million | |||
| GDP (FY2006/07) - Total (USD) - Roleplay (USD) - GDP/capita (USD) |
$100 trillion $10 trillion $37,000 | |||
| National animal |
Eagle | |||
| Currency | Euro (€) | |||
| Abbreviations - sport - government |
BEL FRB | |||
| Internet TLD | .bel, .fr | |||
| NS NSEconomy Pipian Sunset XML | ||||
Contents
Overview
Belarum, officially the Federal Republic of Belarum, is a country in the European Union. It is the third-largest country by geographical area in the EU, as well as one of the more populous liberal democracies in the region. The Federal Republic, most notably, borders the nations of Aesop Rocks, Triera, Mortal Thunder, Jantonio, Saint Joseph, and the regional governing district of Europolis. It also shares the Pas De Calais with Peace-Loving States, and borders the Arctic Ocean to the northwest. Belarum is in the vicinity of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. More specifically, Belarum is a constitutional federal republic, with its capital in Bastia.
Belarum emerged as a major regional power in 1930’s after the end of the Great Depression and the Baltan War, which saw the expansion of Belarian manufactured goods spread throughout the EU. During the post war years, Belarum become a dominant force in the political and economic events in the region, and even today wields significant sway in international affairs. Domestic terrorism became an issue in 1989 when the Oristano subway system was attacked in what would come to be known as the Gorzowan Incident. In recent years, the nation has emerged as an active force in regional politics, with both Franklin Carter and currently Marcus Tristan serving as heads of regional government (the former as UN Delegate, the later as EU President with delegate status).
The nation today has one of the most powerful economies in the region in terms of purchasing power, with a GDP of roughly 10 trillion USD. It is one of the more popular in the European Union with 275 million inhabitants. The nation is represented in the European Union Security Council (EUSC) as well as the European Treaty Organization (ETO), and uses its economic, political, and cultural clout to influence regional happenings on a modest scale.
History
Unification of Belarum (1906-1923)
On the first of May in the year 1906, several diplomats from the small nations of Sarbonia, Galati, Gorzowa, Anatusia, Kaunus, Kalma, and Zamora convened on the city of Oristano to discuss their unification in order to create a single, powerful nation which could combine it's economies and create a regional superpower. The diplomats carved out the new nation and decided on the creation of a republic. A legislature and executive office was created, as well as a judicial court to provide for checks and balances in the central government. The old nations were turned into new principalities. A new city was created in order to accomodate the new central government, and construction quickly began in 1907. By 1913, the legislature settled on the name Bastia for the capitol.
Anatusian Liberation Front (1923-1929)
Very rapdily, the principalities soon lost their once great powers in favor of centralized control from the federal government. In 1923, General Marcus Budechenko led a violent splinter faction in Anatusia's principal military forces, which named themselves the Anatusian Liberation Force (ALF). For a little over four years, Budechenko's forces committed assassinations, kidnappings, and several bombings in Bastia and other regions which grew complacent and supportive of central rule. Marcus Budechenko was captured on June 19, 1927 in an apartment in Prezhnov, Zamora. He attempted to escape custody several days later, and was killed. The ALF quickly crumbled, and Belarum had regained control over the principalities. In order to combat such future actions, President Khaskovo signed an executive order, resulting in the creation of the State Security Bureau, which would ultimately become the Belarian Intelligence Office.
Ideological Shift and the Baltan War (1929-1947)
The economy, which was based entirely on corporate control at the time, soon took a horrid turn beginning in the 1930's because of the Great Depression. The Belarian Communist Party soon seized control of the government, and rapidly took control of commerce and what industry was available at the time. The government quickly instituted New Deal-esque policies, and the Great Depression went out with a whimper by 1935. Belarum quickly rose in the European Union as a regional power, as it rapidly mechanized and industrialized the economy. The military of the Federal Republic would be revamped as well because of the open hostility of the Baltan Empire, a fascist empire which openly sought to expand it's borders under the leadership of Imperial Emperor Gustav Harster.
By the year 1941, the Baltan Empire declared war on the Federal Republic of Belarum. Other nations would join the fight against the Baltan Empire and Gustav Harster, most notably the Imperium of Triera and the Soviet Union. Belarum, the USSR, and Triera banded together to form the Grand Alliance, in order to defeat the hostile Baltans. In perhaps one of the most brutal wars in the history of the European Union, the Grand Alliance was victorious over the Baltan Empire by the end of the year 1947.
The devestation of the war was felt across the whole European Union. Billions of dollars of damage had occurred, almost 47% of all economic capabilities in the region were destroyed, and over 134 million lives were lost. The Baltan Empire was quickly absorbed by surrounding nations, including Belarum, and the healing process was starting.
Post War Years and Democratic Socialism (1947-1989)
The economy surged in the post war years, as GDP per capita in Belarum rose sharply and new markets emerged, including arms manufacturing (private ownership of firearms was legalized in Belarum in 1940's; gun control would be instituted and repealed several times in the nation's history). As economic prosperity in Belarum skyrocketed, it created an unnatural dominance of Belarian markets acrossed the ravaged private sectors of the European Union. From 1949 to 1979, Belarum became a dominant force politically and economicaly in the EU.
Democratic Socialism became very popular in the late 70's, and soon large chunks of the Belarian Communist Party melded with parts of the Centrist Party to create the Democratic Socialist Party, which seized 76% of the popular vote in the presidential election in 1980 after an advertising blitz for the past three years. This also allowed the party to gain many seats in the legislature. Since 1984, Democratic Socialism has become extraordinarily popular, and seems very likely to last as a dominant force in Belarum's political machine. The party quickly moved to support more privatization in Belarum's economy, but kept the "main pillars" (railroads, utilities, energy, and to some extent agriculture) under state control, while using public funding to create social safety nets for those working in the private sector by creating masive public works administered on the local level.
Gorzowan Incident to the Present (1989-Present)
Belarum pursued isolationist policies after mild turmoil in Gorzowa exploded in national headlines when an ethnic Gorzowan terrorist group led by Andre Vikza detonated a large explosive device in the Oristano subway system in 1989, killing hundreds of innocent civilians and prompting action from the Belarian Intelligence Office. Shortly after, the same group kidnapped three senators and executed one, leading to a dizzying array of arrests and raids on the terrorist group that would come to be known as Black Winter. The group's leaders were captured by the BIO, and have since been sentenced to life inprisonment.
In December of 2005, Franklin Carter of Belarum was elected UN Delegate for the EU. In January of 2006, the Federal Republic was elected to the EU's new Security Council. Belarum celebrated it's centenial on May 1 in 2006. On June 1 of 2006, Franklin Carter resigned from service as UN Delegate for the EU, shortly after which Belarum withdrew from the United Nations altogether.
Government & Politics
Under Construction.
Political Parties
Political parties in the Federal Republic have a long and interesting history. Almost as soon as the Federal Republic was created in the early years of the 20th century, political affiliations began to spring up. Between the creation of the FRB and the Great Depression, the two main political affiliations which arose became known as Federalists and Conservatives. Federalists favored a strong central government with the ability to dictate authority to the administrative divisions which were once their own nations, while Conservatives were weary of such power concentrated in a central government. Conservatives preferred smaller federal government and states rights.
At first, Federalists dominated the executive branch of the Federal Republic for 16 years, from 1908 to 1924, until a series of missteps and power grabs on the part of the second President of the Federal Republic, Mans Huskvarna. This led to a sweeping Conservative victory in the 1924 elections, making Jameson Khaskovo the holder of executive power until the Great Depression hit. Khaskovo’s perceived callousness and ineffectiveness in dealing with the severe economic downturn cost him the election in 1932, which went to Patrick Alesund, a member of the Communist Party. His sweeping election led to a Communist plurality in the Senate as well, making them a dominant party in the years to come.
Factions in the Federalist and Conservative parties, realizing that Communism would be a formidable ideology to contend with in the years to come, broke off with their main parties in order to create the Centrist Party, one which sought to balance moderate social, economic, and fiscal beliefs. After this move, the Federalists faltered and the Conservatives were greatly diminished in power.
During Communist control of the Executive and Legislature, the size of the federal government grew dramatically in order to cope with the failing economy. Social welfare, healthcare, commerce, and defence spending grew dramatically during this period, especially during the Baltan War. The entire economy was placed under central government control in order to fight the Baltans, but after victory was ensured, the economy was transferred back to mainly private holdings.
Centrists, in order to capture the executive office, nominated Alfred Jigger, a war hero and believer in moderate government. Jigger won in a landslide, and followed a popular policy course. During the Post War Years, Centrists and Communists traded off control of the Executive and Legislative branches until the 1980 elections, when the Communists merged with members of the Centrists in order to create the Democratic Socialist Party, which sought a leftist economic course and moderate social policy.
Until the emergence of the Liberal Party, the Democratic Socialists dominated the branches of government. However, during the midterm 2006 elections in the Senate, the newly created Liberal Party won a plurality of the Senate, and share power with the Democratic Socialists. In March of 2007, it was announced that the Centrists and the sorely outnumbered Conservatives would form a new political party, the National Right Party. In this bold move, the outnumbered Centrists and Conservatives became the second largest holder of seats in the Senate, in front of the Democratic Socialists.
| Political Party | Party Chairman | Description | Percentage of Seats in the Senate | Seats in the Senate of 563 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party | Kevin Carmikael | The Liberal Party of Belarum (LPB) has recently become the major political party in the nation. The new party, backed by the Liberal Party of the European Union, was created a few months before the 2006 Senate Elections, and perhaps managed to swing many Centrist and a few Democratic Socialist voters because of the simultaneous running of native Belarian Marcus Tristan for the Presidency of the European Union under the same party banner. The party is economically centrist, socially liberal, and committed internationalists in matters of foreign policy. The LPB now controls a plurality in the Senate. | 39% | 219 |
| National Right Party | Fredrik Hatcher | The National Right Party (NRP) is a brand new party, created in March of 2007 in order to fight the Liberal-DemSoc alliance in the Senate. The party, made up of old Centrists and Conservatives, advocates free markets with few government restrictions, reduction of the welfare state, and a return to traditional social values. They are somewhat hawkish in foreign policy, and hold fiscally conservative views. | 36% | 203 |
| Democratic Socialist Party | Viktor Draugen | The Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) was created in the late 1970’s, after center-left members of the CPBR left and merged with the old Communist Party to create the new DSP. Its members advocate socially moderate philosophy and economically leftist ideals, while maintaining tariffs in order to protect the labor force. The party has been a force to be reckoned with, controlling more than half the Senate until the 2000 Elections, which saw the Centrist Party take a plurality of the legislature. The current President, Viktor Draugen, is a member of the Democratic Socialist Party, and has remained very popular since his 2000 election to the office and re-election in 2004. This has been true mainly because of his ability to work with the Senate in order to get things done, most recently a free trade agreement between regional allies and fellow economic powers Triera and Peace-Loving States. | 25% | 141 |
Administrative Divisions
Economy
Belarum has one of the most powerful economies in the European Union in real terms. It also has one of the highest GDP per capita in the region, at $36,000 USD.
Belarum has a social market economy, much like many other nations in the European Union. Since the Great Depression of the 1930's, Belarum had shifted significantly to the left, but in recent years has successfully straddled between capitalism and communism. This social market economy (or mixed economy) aims at balancing high economic growth and low inflation with full employment, social welfare and equality, public services, and good working conditions. Results on a large scale have been highly favorable.
