Caelapes

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search

The Federation of Caelapes

caelapesflaglo7.png caelapessealjq8.png
National flag National Seal
caelapesmaprh3.png
Motto Dum Spiramus Tuebimur
Anthem Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare
Capital and largest city Caelapes City
Languages
  - Official

English, French
Government
  - Prime Minister
  - Deputy Minister
Federal Republic
Richard Whitney
Florentin Tussaud
Area
 - Total

 - % water

2,474,004 km²
955,218 sq mi
33.2%
Population
 - FY08 Census
 - Density
 

958,000,000
349 /km²
906 /sq mi
GDP (W2 Q1 FY08)
  - Total
  - GDP/capita

31,400,121,748,320 CLM greenarrowupdx8.png
32,777.00 CLM greenarrowupdx8.png
Unemployment: 3.99% greenarrowdownna0.png
National animal
  - English name
Diomedea epomophora
Great albatross
Five largest cities

Caelapes City - 176.4 million
Amberille (Côte d'Ambre) - 133.7 million
Torine - 119.8 million
Alessortown - 98.1 million
Lafayette - 90.3 million

Economy Booming free market (Powerhouse)
Currency 1 Caelapene mark (₵) (CLM) = $1.5601 U.S. dollars greenarrowupdx8.png
Pronunciation (IPA) /ˌkeɪlɑːpeɪz/
International abbreviations
  - Government

CLP, CAE
Naval craft classification
  - Military
  - Civilian

ANC
CMC
Internet TLD .cp, .cae
UNHDI (W2 Q1 FY08) .997 greenarrowupdx8.pngvery high
PDAS rating A greenarrowupdx8.png
Info: NationStates Sunset XML


The Federation of Caelapes is a small island nation located in a central region of the Atlantic Ocean. Though currently a minor nation, Caelapes has grown rapidly since the decision by Prime Minister Michael Finch in April 2007 to lift the veil of secrecy over the nation and bring itself into the international stage.

The current landmasses controlled by Caelapes include three major islands, each with a small local government, and various minor outlying regions. The federal government of Caelapes is small, consisting of an elected prime minister and deputy minister, ten chosen governmental ministers, and fifteen representatives from each isle-state.

Etymology

Caelapes is derived from the Latin caelus, meaning "sky," and lapes, meaning "jewels." Although the story behind its name is uncertain, a popular belief is that the French discoverers were so enchanted by the beauty of the night sky above Caelapes that they began to call it "bijoux du ciel," French for "jewels of the sky." The term was corrupted by the later, poorly educated settlers, who called it "Ciebijoux," a poorly constructed variation of the original French. During the battles for its independance in 1443, scholars in the early Caelapene government retranslated the original French into Latin and combined the two words in a similar fashion to the later settlers, giving the name "Caelapes."

The adjectival form of Caelapes is "Caelapene," which is used to describe anything originating from Caelapes.

Time

During the Whitney administration, the Caelapene government officially changed from the Gregorian calendar to a fiscal calendar. Instead of the classical days and months, the Caelapene fiscal calendar is divided into days, weeks, and quarters, and is written as DD-WW Q#, FY## (Day-Week Quarter, Fiscal Year). For diplomatic purposes, the Caelapene fiscal year is defined as four thirteen-week quarters, with each new fiscal year beginning on October 1. The changes went into effect 01-01 Q1, FY08, or classically, October 1, 2007.

Government and politics

Main article(s): Federal government of Caelapes and Prothero Reformation

The government of Caelapes consists of the Executive Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Deputy Minister, Parliament, the former Office of the United Nations Compliance Ministry (which also housed the Caelapene ICPIN Central National Office) - now vacant, and the following eight ministries:

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Ministry of Finance
  • Ministry of Justice and Information Responsibilities (abbrev. JIS)
  • Ministry of Defense and National Security (abbrev. DNS)
  • Ministry of the Interior
  • Ministry of Social Development (abbrev. SocDev)
  • Ministry of Labor and Commerce (abbrev. LabCom)
  • Ministry of Human Wellbeing
  • Ministry of Energetics (replacing the defunct Ministry of Environmental Affairs)
  • Ministry of Transportation

Reformation

During the May 2007 elections, incumbent Prime Minister Michael Finch was removed by Parliament and succeeded with Gordon Prothero, a young Populist politician from Misley. The major changes to Caelapene government after his elevation to Prime Minister has been termed the "reformation".

The first and most radical change was the abolishment of the Ministries of Defense and Justice, reconstructing them under the banner of Information Responsibilities (the former MoJ) and National Security (formerly MoD). Along with this change was a redesign of the emergency services in Caelapes. The traditional police forces were merged with fire brigades and emergency medical services to form Cri·Stop, short for Crisis/Crime Stop. Furthermore, the Federal Police was expanded, renamed to simply 'Police', and given vast and, in the eyes of some, invasive rights to investigate and apprehend lawbreakers.

Following in the footsteps of the successful merge of the Ministries of Defense and Justice, in mid-June the Caelapene Government announced the merger of the Ministries of Healthcare and Education, with the new name of the Ministry of Human Wellbeing. The refounded ministry received a major funding boost after its creation, whereas the budget of the Ministry of Labor & Commerce was drastically reduced. A small group of angered LabCom clerks protested the budget slashes publicly, and were summarily fired and arrested. The Police later dropped the charges against them and they were released.

The final change made by the Prothero administration was to the Ministry of Social Development. Under the Finch administration, SocDev was a small, unremarkable ministry primarily tasked with the encouragement of the arts and creating standards for the Ministry of Education. The ministry received a substantial budget increase and was re-tasked not only with the encouragement of arts and theatre but also with the encouragement of national pride and patriotism. Some government watchdog groups have labeled the new task as a "giant step toward turning Caelapes into a fascist police state," though these claims have been denied by officials in SocDev and the office of the Prime Minister.

Ministries

The eight ministries of Caelapes are located in a district of Caelapes City known by locals as Bluetown, from the vast amounts of blue in the area provided by the number of Caelapene flags flying in the area. The eight ministries are arranged around each other, with a central plaza providing an area designed for fellowship and relaxation during breaks. The four largest ministries -- IRANS, Foreign Affairs, Social Development, and Finance -- are located opposite each other, with two ministries on either side of the plaza. The four remaining ministries are located between the other four. Since there were ten ministries before the Government Reformation, the Ministries of IRANS and Human Wellbeing continue to occupy the ministry buildings of their constituent ex-Ministries.

Resignation of Gordon Prothero

In August 2007, following a rapidly declining popularity and allegations of criminal activity, Gordon Prothero stepped down from his position as Prime Minister. Although he had only served as Prime Minister for a period of three months, the Prothero Administration has been responsible for the most radical changes to the Caelapene political landscape in its relatively short history. Aggressive reforms to the Federal Police and criminal justice systems have radically decreased crime in Caelapes, but have also raised complaints from some citizens, citing fears of the government restricting privacy and freedoms on an excessively extensive scale. However, supporters of the Prothero Administration cite the fact that changes to the Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Wellbeing) have shown dramatic improvements in school corporations nationwide.

Elections held to replace Prothero resulted in the election of Richard (IPA: /ɹɪʃɑːɹd/) Whitney, a Liberal politician from Torine. Political analysts suggest the election of a Liberal leader as proof of the public's fear of the radically conservative Prothero administration.

Among the first changes carried out by the Whitney administration was to revert the nation's seal and flag, darkened by the Prothero administration, to the original light versions used in historical Caelapes. As of September 2007, only two significant events have transpired during the Whitney administration. The first being the replacement of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs with the Minsitry of Energetics, charged primarily with nuclear and unconventional weapons research. Coinciding with the foundation of the Ministry of Energetics, Caelapes purchased nearly 6.3 million kilograms of uranium from the Tristan Providence -- enough uranium for almost 100,000 weapons similar to the "Little Boy" bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Further changes, effective September 16, involved the re-separation of the Ministry of IRANS, which split into the Ministry of Justice and Information Responsibilities and the Ministry of Defense and National Security. The Ministry of Transportation was founded on September 18, 2007.

Culture and social development

Main article(s): Culture of Caelapes, Policing in Caelapes and Education in Caelapes

This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author.
Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions.
Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page.

Foreign relations and military

Main article(s): Aeronavy of Caelapes

Aeronavy

The Federal Aeronavy of Caelapes is the primary military force in the federation and is tasked with the defense of the islands of Caelapes. Though once funded and commanded by the Tannenmillian Armed Forces, Caelapes has regained unilateral control of its defensive forces. Despite its name, the Aeronavy maintains a respectable army, known as the Landgroup. Similarly, the airborne branch is known as the Aeroforce and the marine branch is known as the Seaforce. The Aeronavy is based off of the French military and widely employs French vehicles and armament. Although once primarily tasked with defense of the Caelapene islands, the Aeronavy is becoming increasingly mobilized outside of Caelapes on peacekeeping missions, allied support, and projection.

Freekish Invasion of British Londinium

During the Freekish invasion of British Londinium, a small selection of soldiers was sent to British Londinium to help the Londinian armed forces in protecting the remaining territories under their control as well as providing humanitarian aid for and evacuating the civilians to safer locations. Upon the Aeronavy's approach to British Londinium, fleet commanders received messages from nearby enemy fleets advising them to turn around and cease activity in the theater. These messages were controversially ignored by the commanding officers of the fleet and the Aeronavy pushed forward to Londinian waters. However, due to delays in diplomatic discussions between the Londinian government and Caelapes, the Caelapene fleet arrived the very day the Londinian government declared its surrender to the Freekish invaders.

Seditian Archipelago Incident

In July 2007, Caelapene bombers discharged bombs containing propaganda posters over the Lenonstallian city of Stallmond. The pamphlets, composed by the Ministry of IRANS, condemned the government of Lenonstall as being a "socialist dictatorship" and encouraged its citizens to take up arms and violently rebel, with Caelapene military support. With a superior military force, Caelapene soldiers were mobilized to strategic points throughout the Seditian Archipelago, blocking similar troop movements out of Lenonstall and blockading trade between Lenonstall and Zowali. Zowali responded by landing a small strike group of special operations soldiers north of the Caelapene city of Crougard. Tipped off by radar, Police swarmed the city, closing it down for six days as the Aeronavy scoured the surrounding forests. During that time, the three nations were at a stalemate, with Caelapes militarily stronger than either Lenonstall and Zowali, but threatened by their combined militaries. By the time Aeronavy scouts had located the Zowalian intruders, the wary nations had cooled enough to agree to peace talks. The meeting took place in the Caelapene city of Torine, and terms of peace were accepted eleven days later. Caelapes released its Zowalian prisoners and recalled its Aeronavy, and was forced to pay tributes to the Lenonstallian Government. Furthermore, the Ministry of IRANS and Prime Minister Prothero issued a public apology for the incident.

The United Nations, of which Caelapes was a member at the time of the incident, condemned the Aeronavy's irresponsible use of military power and Caelapes was subsequently suspended by the UN Security Council. Caelapes has not been reinstated as of September 2007.

Fifth Londinian Civil War

In late September 2007, Caelapes again sent military assistance to its ally of British Londinium to assist the Commonwealth in defeating the rebelling Sabæan Federate. A powerful Caelapene force was assembled, consisting of one hundred twelve naval vessels alone. A squadron of Dassault Rafale fighter jets were launched from the ANC Tueor, the flagship and most powerful aircraft carrier of the Aeronavy, in the Ganapatian Sea. The squadron flew with two E-2 Hawkeyes south toward Invercargill. Both E-2s were lost and all but one Rafale was lost, but the superior Caelapene pilots managed to destroy a majority of their enemy, which both outnumbered them and had the use of a similarly powerful, if not more powerful fighter. Upon its arrival, the powerful Seaforce submarine squadron decimated a Federate destroyer squadron at Invercargill, taking only a small handful of losses. Immediately following the battle, Federate officials announced their complete surrender to the Londinian Commonwealth. Caelapene forces occupied Invercargill during the interim period between the battle and regional stability, keeping peace and projecting the might of the growing Londinian-Caelapene alliance.

Foreign relations

Main article(s): Caelapes Overseas Department Programme

As a former member of the United Nations General Assembly, Caelapes had maintained mostly positive relations with foreign nations following its departure from secrecy in May 2007. However, following the Government Reformation and the Seditian Archipelago Incident, international opinion of Caelapes has fallen dramatically. Economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations following the Incident have hurt the Caelapene economy and its citizens' view of the Prothero administration. Diplomatic relations with Automagfreek and the other Gholgoth nations have been stalled since the British Londinium invasion.

During the Whitney administration, Caelapes joined a small alliance, the Coalition of Allied Powers and formed the Caelapes Overseas Department Programme.

caelapesflagsmalljn3.png Major Topics in the Federation of Caelapes
Main article: Caelapes
Government: FederationProthero ReformationOverseas DepartmentsFlag of CaelapesFederal Information Service Caelapes
Geography: DepartmentOverseas DepartmentCanton
Society: Culture • Languages (English, French) • EducationPolice