Ceorana

The Congressional Republic of Ceorana, also known as simply Ceorana (IPA: [Siəɹænə]), is a democratic republic located in the region of the International Democratic Union. Its economic power is concentrated in the giant metropolis of Tzatzing, while political power is concentrated in New Boston, the capital and northernmost city.

Ceorana is devoted to pacifism, although it does maintain a small military for minor operations and for defense. It is generally open to other nations, especially in terms of trade; Ceorana is devoid of virtually all protectionist barriers. This has led Ceorana to be on acceptable terms with most nations, and very good ones with other members of the International Democratic Union.

History

Main article(s): History of Ceorana

Ceorana was founded in 1959 from members of several tribes. It has moved through several regions, most of which have collapsed with the exception of its current one, the International Democratic Union. It was previously very active in international radical liberalism, especially extreme communism, but when the communist government was found to be corrupt, this ended and a more reasonable republic was put in place by a group known as "The Reformers" in 2030 - 31. In 1932, once Ceorana was already in the International Democratic Union, it moved the capital from Tzatzing to New Boston in an attempt to curb the power of Tzatzing, which still wields a large amount.

Politics

Main article(s): Ceoranan Constitution

Ceorana's government, defined in the Constitution of Ceorana, is broken up into three parts: a bicameral legislature, known as the Congress, an executive, and a judiciary. They are separate in terms of power, but they are close together in terms of operations, as detailed below.

Congress

The Ceoranan Congress is a large part of the Ceoranan government. It consists of 512 members, divided into two houses. The upper house, known as the House of Delegates, has 120 members, elected using a single transferable vote system with 20 members from each province, plus 20 at-large members. The lower house, known as the House of Representatives, has 262 members, elected from "areas" drawn randomly by population every 10 years. Delegates serve five year terms and Representatives serve three year terms.

Both houses in the Congress are divided into committees of around 10 to 20 members each (a Congressman can be on more than one committee), which fall under categories which correspond to the departments of the Executive Branch. Each committee corresponds with a committtee in the other house, and also an office in the Executive Branch.

The Congressmen elect officers in each house, who run business and decide the agenda. Each house has a Speaker, and the houses together elect a Joint Speaker of Congress (JSC). The Joint Speaker of Congress is the most powerful person in the legislative branch. His or her duties are mainly negotiating with the Executive Branch, but they can also take over being the presiding officer of either house if they have the time or inclination. The position of JSC is currently held by Alexander Klaus.

Executive Branch

The Executive Branch of Ceorana consists of a President and the Department Secretaries. The president is elected by popular vote to a four year term and appoints the secretaries, who must be approved by the Congress. The president is currently Björn Cooper, Jr. and the most important secretary, the Secretary of State, is currently Benjamin Qiro. The Secretary of State also succeeds the president in case of death or emergency.

The Executive Branch has several departments, each led by a Department Secretary. Each department has several offices, which correspond with Congressional committees. Offices are in charge of executing laws made by their corresponding committee in the Congress.

List of Departments and Categories

What follows is a list of all the departments/categories and offices/committees in the Ceoranan government. Since each department in the Executive Branch corresponds to a committee in the Congress and vice versa, and each office in the Executive Branch corresponds to a committee in the Congress, only one list is necessary.

State Diplomacy International Trade UN Affairs

Law and Government Operations Census Government Ethics Law Government Facilities and Equipment

Environment, Recreation and Sport International Sports (oversees the Ceoranan Olympic Council) Environment Parks and Recreation Land and Forest Management

Treasury Budget Management Internal Revenue

Domestic Affairs Education (very large) Healthcare Management (oversees Ceorana's national healthcare system) Social Services (includes social welfare and child protection) Commerce

War and National Security National Security Intellegence Ceorana Emergency Workforce Management (military)

Judiciary

Main article(s): Judiciary of Ceorana

Ceorana's judicial branch consists of a provincial court system, which is administered by each individual province. Above that system is the Court of Ceorana, which also handles constitutional law of Ceorana. The judiciary is the least prestegious of the three branches, but generally just as powerful.

Administrative divisions

Ceorana is divided into five provinces, all centered around a city, which functions as the province capital. The provinces are named after the cities. A map of the provinces is shown here. As shown, Tzatzing Province occupies all of Kelvin Island (see Geography section) to the west while the other four. occupy the mainland in north-south succession.

Foreign affairs

See also: Ceorana and the United Nations

Foreign affairs in Ceorana are handled by the Department of State. It has strong relations with most nations in the International Democratic Union. The Ceoranan Immigration Policy places nations into categories for immigration purposes, which generally reflects Ceorana's relations with them.

Ceorana is very active in the United Nations. The nation is the author of one UN resolution, UN Patent Law, and is currently drafting, with varying levels of commitment, several more. It is also a United Nations forum regular and member of UNOG, FAIRTRADE and Reclamation.

Ceorana was also a participant at the First Winter Olympics. The nation won one gold and one bronze medal, coming in 26th place overall. It is also planning on competing in further Olympic Games.

Political parties

Ceorana Liberal Party

The Ceorana Liberal Party (CLP) is the largest party in Ceorana, holding 53.45% of the seats in the Congress. It is lead by the charismatic Frederick Rolf Origato Gonzalez, known to supporters as President F.R.O.G.. This has lead to certain newspapers crying corruption, but this has so far been unsubstantiated. The CLP favors more government services than the CRWA as well as increased international trade.

Ceorana Right-Wing Alliance

The Ceorana Right-Wing Alliance (CRWA), led is the smaller and more conservative party, holding 45% of the seats in the Congress. Led by Heidi King, considered a "living saint" by the Church of the Holy Violet (which is not affiliated with the party), the CRWA favors more conservative ideals. Some members have called for the privatization of the education system, although they tend to get voted out pretty quickly, due to most Ceoranans' pride in the University of Ceorana.

Law

Main article(s): Ceoranan Law

Although the highest law in Ceorana is the Constitution, there are other laws as well: Meta Law, which governs how the government works (more specific than the Constitution), Uncommon Law, which governs things that most Ceoranans don't use in their daily lives (taxes, business law, etc.), Common Law, which governs criminal acts, and Civil Law, which governs civil suits and other related occurences.

Geography

Main article(s): Geography of Ceorana

Ceorana is fairly cold and mountainous, especially in New Boston up north. However, it has a very valuable natural phenomenon: hot springs. For this reason geothermal energy is the top source of energy in Ceorana, accounting for 85% of Ceorana's total energy production. In addition, certain areas around large hot springs form a small and contained biome, where tropical fruits can be grown, even oranges to make orange juice, Ceorana's national drink.

New Boston is separated from the rest of the nation by the Konvensjon Mountains, which mean that access would be difficult if not aided by a plane or monorail. There are no roads across the mountains, which makes sense due to the difficulty of building them and the low number of cars, so public transportation makes a special effort to be reliable in that area. The monorail is popular in that area, as well as short, cheap flights to New Boston from other cities in the nation.

Economy

Before the revolution, Ceorana was a well-functioning communist state. But once the elected government was found to be completely corrupt, it was decided that reforms were needed. Ceorana still favors government doing much of the work, and in fact is still recovering from a bad economy, but is trying to move towards a good mix of socialism and capitalism.

Currency

Main article(s): Gnor

Ceorana's currency is the gnor (both singular and plural), with the currency code CEGN. It is abbreviated in front of a number as ∂, as in ∂4,949 for 4,949 gnor. It is minted both in coins and paper money. Credit cards are almost never used and have towering interest rates due to the massive amount of identity fraud. Debit cards are somewhat more common, although they require extensive verification for use.

Industry

Ceorana's largest industry is book publishing. There are three major competing companies which sprung up after the capitalist revolution: Fischer Books, Cap Publishing, and Sierra Furguson Publishing Company. Although all three are going strong, Fischer currently possesses the most market share at 43%. News media is also strong. Previously, the Ceorana Herald (at one point written for by both Björn Cooper, Jr. and his father) led the pack in newspapers, but then was bought out by the Ceorana News Wire. Unfortunately for the CNW, it declared bankrupcy after circulation declined because of some controversial articles and editorials regarding international relations. Due to the lack of a major news source, other newspapers were able to spring up: the New Boston Times National Edition is currently considered the newspaper of record for Ceorana. Television is not as widespread, although there are a few smaller sources. Ceorana also produces a large amount of cheese and orange juice, which are its two largest exports besides books.

People

Social classes

Although the government of Ceorana treats all people equally under the law, Ceoranans generally break down the different social classes as follows, from top to bottom. Note that the classes are mostly based on work, and, by extension, education, rather than family heritage or religion.

1. Leaders (politicians, CEOs, etc.)
2. Professionals & unofficial leaders (lawyers, doctors, columnists, newspaper editors, etc.)
3. Innovators (inventors, programmers, etc.)
4. Entrepreneurs, Business Owners & White collar workers (accountants, businesspeople, executives, office workers, farmers, etc.)
5. Blue collar workers (factory workers, farmworkers, etc.)
6. Unemployed people

Standard of living information

• CHDI: .947
• Life expectancy: 76.9 years
• GDP per capita: ∂16,970.53
• Unemployment rate: 5.19%
• Literacy rate: 99%

Food

Ceorana's two main food exports are orange juice and cheese, especially Kolatch Gouda. It imports large amounts of tropical fruits for producing smoothies, a popular drink in Ceorana.

Kolatch gouda

Main article(s): Kolatch Gouda

Kolatch Gouda is a sharp cheese originally manufactured by the Kolatch Tribe. It is a traditional gouda, preserved over the winter to go with smoked salmon. Old Kolatch Gouda is considered a delicacy, and served at formal events. Today, it is manufactured both in the traditional method and through industrialized machines.

Orange juice

Orange Juice is the national drink of Ceorana. It is prized along with Kolatch Gouda as a symbol of the nation. It was originally produced as a refreshing alternative to ox milk in the tribes living near the Konvensjon Mountains. Orange juice is produced using Agriqo oranges, a breed of orange that can grow in cold climates.

Education

Ceoranans are generally recognized as very intellegent, probably because of the comprehensive education system. Schooling is mandated up to completion of high school, and can continue upwards. The main university is the University of Ceorana, located in Tzatzing. Correspondingly, the Education Department is the largest department in the Ceorana government, receiving over 40% of the budget.

Cities

Ceorana contains five main cities, which are also the capitals of their corresponding provinces.

• Tzatzing – the largest city, home to the Ceorana News Wire and the University of Ceorana
• New Boston – the second largest and the capital, the main industry is the government
• Fjord City – Ceorana's major port
• Agriqo – an agricultural town
• Komosit – industrial, has the largest area but a low population

Transportation

Most of Ceorana's transportation is done through a national monorail system, based in Tzatzing and having many in-city routes, but also having long-distance routes to connect the whole of Ceorana. The system is free for in-city commuting and charges a nominal fee for long-distance travel. The monorail uses tunnels built through the Konvensjon Mountains in order to access New Boston from the rest of the nation.

Air travel is also widespread. There are two main airports in Ceorana: Ceorana-Tzatzing International Airport (CTZ) and New Boston International Airport (NBS), of which Ceorana-Tzatzing is the larger. The two major airlines, SkyCeo and Ceair, also fly to main destinations in the International Democratic Union.

Flag

Main article(s): Flag of Ceorana

Design

The flag of Ceorana consists of a canton and a striped field. The canton contains two white crossed quill pens (symbolizing learning, knowledge, and challenge), flanked by two white five-pointed stars (representing the five provinces and five constitutional values of Ceorana) and above a white key (representing rule of law). The field consists of eleven horizontal red and white stripes, symbolizing energy (red) and peace (white). The number eleven is one for each province, one for each constitutional value, and one for a universal, amorphous value.

Flag customs

Unlike the real world American flag, customs involving the Ceoranan flag are much looser, since the flag is meant to be simply a symbol of the nation and not a sacred item. For this reason, it is often printed on various items for use by the Ceoranan government. The preferred method of disposal is reuse in some other form, such as a patch for an item of cloth. If this is not possible, the flag should be burned. If an honored person dies or is killed, the flag is flown five-eighths of the way up the pole. Although these courtesies are usually observed when using the flag, Ceoranan law does not mandate it, and the flag can be burned or desecrated in protest.

Seal

Main article(s): Seal of Ceorana

The Seal of Ceorana is, like all seals, circular, and contains various text and graphics that have immense symbolism for the nation. The stylized bear is the national animal, and represents the environment as well as the nation as a whole. On a scroll under the bear is the national motto "Ad Servo Medium": Latin for "To Serve the Common Good". Under the bear on the border is the key, symbolizing rule of law, and above it on the border are two crossed quills, representing freedom of expression, learning, and wisdom. The rainbow shooting into space represents goals and achievements, while the mountain represents challenge. The Big Dipper is both another reference to the bear, a symbol of Ceorana's northern location, and a symbol of a guiding presence.

International Membership

• International Democratic Union (region)
• United Nations
• NationStates Olympic Committee
• United Nations Old Guard
• FAIRTRADE
• Reclamation
• United International Congress
• Green Think Tank

See Also

• Factbook Category (Contains all pages relating to Ceorana.)

External Links

• NationStates Page
• Ceorana XML Feed