Deianira
| |
| Flag of Deianira | |
| Motto: From the People comes all Power | |
| None Presently Available | |
| Region | Paradoxia |
|---|---|
| Capital | Chiron |
| Official Language(s) | English |
| Leader | Matthew Anderson |
| Population | Over 2 Billion |
| Currency | Dollar |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Present Information
The Democratic Republic of Deianira is presently recovering from a civil war which devastated the outer regions of the Deianiran Plains, and repairing the damage done to civil and environmental agencies under its prior rulers.
At the present time, elections have just been held to the Presidency and Congress, sweeping in the Social Democratic party in a landslide victory.
Politics
The Deianiran government is composed of a three-branch system under an American tradition. The bi-cameral Congress is made up of 70 Senators in the Senate, and 280 Representatives in the Representative House. The Executive Branch is dominated by the President and Cabinet. After the First Deianiran Civil War, much power was delegated to the Cabinet, including absolute authority over the Armed Forces (Secretary of Defense) and Deianiran Intelligence Network Center (Secretary of Espionage). While the President was allowed to select his Cabinet members, the combined Congress had the authority to veto any of his choices and offer their own candidate. In practice, however, this has not been done since Matthew Anderson's second term. The Supreme Court contains 8 Justices and a Chief Justice, chosen by the Secretary of Interior and confirmed by the Representative House.
The major political parties of the country are the Social Democrats, Libertarians, Conservatives, International Socialist Party (Usually only referred to as Communist), and the Precursor Party. The Social Democratic Party, based out of Eurytion, favours increased government intervention to prevent excesses related to overwhelming economic power or tyrrany of the majority, and enjoys a strong following among Greens and middle class, which had seen its rights steadily eroded under old Fascist administration in favour of the upper classes. The Libertarian Party, based out of Chiron, favours minimal government intervention in any affairs except human rights, where they see it as the duty of the government to uphold the lowest of people, and enjoys a strong following among the downtrodden. The Conservative Party, based out of Nessus, is effectively a party of the businessmen, and favours government intervention to protect the Deianiran economy. It had recently drawn a lot of support from the unemployed, but was dramatically reduced in political influence after the actions of Presidents Victor Herald and Charles Greene. The International Socialist Party, based out of Nessus, similarily favours government intervention in the economy, but to ensure equality among the workers within. As a moderately Stalinist party, it none-the-less favours light and electronics industries over the Stalinist heavy manufacturing plants. Finally, the Precursor Party, based out of Chiron, favours an end to the 'moral decay' of Deianira, and a very Orwellian method of ending crime. Under the Social Democratic progressive policies to reduce crime under Anderson's first and second terms, it saw most of its support eroded, and only the influence of its leader, Minister Klaus Garland, kept in power. When he retired from politics at the close of the Second Deianiran Civil War, it effectively lost all power, and is expected to be increasingly coopted by the now-defunct National Purity Party, successor to the old National Fascist Party.
History
Colonial Era
The first Deianiran settlements date back to 1630, when French settlers arrived along the Mnesimache Channel and settled it at Noveau Bourdeaux, almost directly north of what is today Chiron. Shortly thereafter, English settlers arrived at the Eurytion peninsula and set up their first settlement in the region. French settlements in the region remained sparse and were ultimately absorbed by the larger growth rate of their English counterparts. The English settlements continued growing along the fertile Deianiran Plains, but growing discontent with the British administration began to manifest. Ultimately, during the height of the Boer Wars, the Chiron Colonial Congress declared the region's independence from the British Empire on September 18, adopting the name of the plains it had grown on. Quick negotiations still secured the British continuing favourable trade rights and most other economic bonuses of colonialism, and the threat of a second guerrilla insurrection like that of the Dutch of South Africa was enough to press the British into accepting what seemed to be only a de jure independence at the time.
The first president of the Democratic Republic of Deianira, Thomas Grant, instituted far-sweeping reforms throughout the nation, and began to lay the framework for colonial expansion into the Pholus Ridge and Achaean Forest. As well, he established the Deianiran naval tradition that would be carried on by the Social Democrats and Libertarians, citing that like its mother country, Deianira's destiny was out on the oceans beyond the Mnesimache Channel.
Successive administrations would exert more and more of their independence from British policy, culminating in the First World War, when declaration of war on the Central Powers alongside the British Empire was intentionally delayed by several months. It was purely a symbolic gesture, as Deianira lacked the means to contribute to the war to any great margin, but signified the last break with their former kin.
The Empire of Deianira and the First Civil War
By 1972, the Deianiran government had begun to show signs of fracturing. The major political parties of the era mostly corresponded to their present-day kin, the Social Democrats, Libertarians, International Socialist Party (Communist, bears no relation to the National Socialist Party of Germany), Conservative, and National Fascist Party. Following a narrow loss by the National Fascist Party to the Libertarian party in the 1972 elections, Orwell Muric called upon a covertly trained army to sweep into the major cities and launch a coup in the Social Democrats name (who had placed a distant third), crushing the Libertarian party leadership in Chiron, and their headquarters in Naxos. Then, using his strong ties to the Deianiran Army leadership, he launched a counter-coup, placing himself as the Premier and disbanding the democratic institutions of the country.
For 17 years, the National Fascist Party maintained an iron grip on the now-styled Empire of Deianira, attempting military action against Rockadia and Corvos in the west, and the smaller powers to its eastern borders. Similarily, he began and completed a nuclear arms program, and sponsored insurgents in countries across Paradoxia. However, on December 7, 1989, a rebellion spread like wildfire in the southern city of Naxos. Recalling his military, he began a full-scale attempt to resubjugate the rebellious citizens, but every attempt was bloodily repulsed. Following the failure of his elite Centaurian Guard to retake the city, and the death of his two sons in the battle, it is believed he became mentally unhinged, and he ordered a nuclear strike to be launched against the city. While the nuclear launch did destroy the rebel stronghold, it ended any chance of controlling the long-simmering resentment among the civilian and military populaces.
The First Deianiran Civil War began in Chiron, where the underground General Soviet, made up of members of the former International Socialist Party, launched a coup against the Fascist leadership. Taking advantage of the military's absence and their own ties to the enlisted, they rapidly consolidated power, taking Premier Orwell Muric prisoner in the State House. Unfortunately, serious rifts soon emerged in the General Soviet, and even the most powerful faction within, led by Peter Anderson, could not do much. The result was a power vacuum, and factions across the country soon emerged to attempt to fill it. In Nessus, fascist symphasizers fought brutally with the remnants of the Conservative Party in vicious urban warfare that would be likened to gang warfare, or in later years, Stalingrad. In Eurytion, the entire Deianiran Navy defected and joined a growing Democratic movement, while in Pholus, a political alliance was forged between the dramatically Libertarian or Social Democratic student populace and the staunchly Conservative mining hinterlands that would have been seen as impossible in any era, past or future.
The brutal war would continue for almost three years, and neighbouring countries would support various sides with munitions and other aid. Ultimately, however, the Freedom Army of Eurytion, composed of civilians and naval crew, would march on Chiron by way of Nessus, threatening from the north and east, while the Liberation Army, composed mostly of disaffected Army soldiers, from Pholus dislodged Fascist elements from the Ithaca Base (Air/Space Force), and pressed them into Chiron from the south and west. The devastated Fascists surrendered on September 18, 1992, Independence Day. Threatened from all sides, exhausted and unwilling to continue the war, the General Soviet surrendered one day later.
Rebuilding the Republic
After the war, the Chiron Trials would result in the execution of almost every member of the General Soviet and Fascist party, in an attempt to purge the country of its worst political agencies, including former Premier Orwell Muric (Who, by this point, was extremely paranoid-delusional and barely coherent), and Peter Anderson and Mary Anderson of the General Soviet. The Senate was reconstituted as a prelude to restoring the Constitution, and members from every political party except the National Fascist and International Socialist Parties were included. The Senate Chair, Jacob Bailey, forged a political alliance between the two greatest of the surviving parties, the Libertarians and Social Democrats, and successfully ensured the restoration of the old Constitution almost as it had been. The power of the Executive branch was limited by delegating some formerly Presidential powers to the Cabinet and increasing Congressional oversight, but this would be the only concession to the Conservative Party, which had ironically suffered the most under their more radical kin in the National Fascist Party.
After the Split Senate had disbanded in the wake of the first elections in Deianira, the next administration, Libertarian in affiliation, would attempt to pursue a policy of ending the rampant crime rate, restoring the rights of the people, rebuilding social and environmental institutions, and repairing the devastated economy, but the situation was beyond their capabilities, as the business-dominated Congress attempted repeatedly to subvert the executive authority. The Social Democratic party was made a political pariah and laughing-stock after several scandals, and began its own internal program to end corruption within the party.
The elections of 1996 would yield several great surprises. Only the second free elections in the decade, most of the political candidates were not surprising, as Senate Chair Daniel Carver ran for the Conservative Party and President Incumbent Richard Leighton ran for the Libertarian ticket. The newly formed Precursor and National Purity Parties, constituted out of the remains of the old National Fascist Party and appealing to different consitutents, ran relative unknowns. However, the Social Democratic ticket was headed by Matthew Anderson for the Presidency, most famous for his parents in the General Soviet, though he had been the mastermind behind the Social Democratic program to end its internal corruption. The election campaign ran vitrolic, as both the Conservative and Libertarian parties attempted to paint Anderson and the Social Democrats with the same blood-red brush of the General Soviet. However, this very slander campaign alienated the voters, who had been disenchanted by the failure of the Leighton administration to solve the problems in the government and had hoped to move past the war. The Social Democratic campaign mostly ignored their enemies, and focused on Anderson's accomplishments, especially his anti-corruption and anti-crime programs. He won by a 3% margin, barely carrying much of the Deianiran Plains.
The Anderson Administrations
The first Anderson administration was marked by brutal infighting within the government. While Richard Leighton had at least enjoyed a Libertarian party majority in the Senate and Representative House, Matthew Anderson had neither. His nominees for his Cabinet were universally rejected, and he was given a Cabinet that could only be counted on to support Congress in their actions. However, he began strengthening his base among the Justices of the Supreme Court, particularily Francis Neumark, Chief Justice, and the media of the nation. His charismatic style and never-tiring crusade to restore the Deianiran government drew the attention of the people, and the Senators and Representatives began to see their support erode. When Anderson finally proposed his first bill to reduce political contributions by companies, it saw a massive swell of popular support, and Congress was swept along. More revelations began to come to light as the Deianira Bureau of Investigation, under Secretary of Interior Arisa Girand, proved to be not quite the Congressional puppet it was supposed to be. Much of Congress would be impeached for illegal campaign contributions or other shading dealings, in part greased by Anderson's support among the Supreme Court Justices. Many of these seats would be filled by Social Democrats, who were beginning to enjoy their return to political strength.
The outside world reacted with dismay at what seemed to be the systematic destruction of the opposition parties, led by the son of two Stalinist totalitarian revolutionaries, and the behind-the-scenes dealing of the Foreign Secretary to manipulate foreign opinion toward this end only harmed Deianira's standing. Trade dramatically dropped with every neighbour, but during all addresses to the nation, Anderson intentionally underplayed the failing foreign situation, attempting to avoid turning Deianira toward xenophobia.
As the economic situation worsed, the plight of the people lessened greatly. Educational and public assistance programs reached new highs, and by the end of Anderson's first term, his popularity was at a record high. The Conservative and Libertarian parties had begun mimicking his programs, reforming in an attempt to stem the growing power of the Social Democrats.
The elections of 2000 would see Matthew Anderson running against relative unknowns in from the Conservatives and Libertarians. Much of their leadership had been implicated in corruption and graft scandals and been forced by public opinion to retire. However, the Libertarian party under its new chair, Hope Nanasawa, was seeing remarkable progress in its own efforts to end internal corruption, and gave a decent showing in the Congressional elections. In the spirit of cooperation, Anderson himself approached Nanasawa and offered a political alliance. The resulting Liberty Coalition would dominate the next four years of Deianiran politics, as Anderson brought his anti-corruption campaigns to their conclusion and began to restore foreign affairs.
His second term would see cooperation from all parts of government, most especially the Department of Foreign Affairs. With the creation of the Paradox Trade Organization, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Bryan DuMont would see his efforts come to fruition when the Democratic Republic of Deianira was admitted. Deianiran trade soared, though the economy saw little direct gain during his administration. Civil rights reached record highs, even if political rights suffered a little under his efforts to end corporate dominance over the political process. His decision to not run for a third term would thus devastate the Social Democratic Party.
The Herald Administration and the Corvos-Deianiran War
The 2004 elections was primarily a competition between Roger Brighton, the Social Democratic Vice President incumbet, against Victor Herald, former governor of Nessus and the Conservative candidate. Victor Herald's landslide victory was primarily attributed to Brighton's increasingly radical stance and his inability to address the economic issues during debates. Similarily, the Conservative party seized absolute majorities in the Senate and Representative House, dramatically shifting the entire political picture literally overnight. The formation of the Garland Coalition, uniting the Conservative, Precursor, and National Purity Parties only worsened the situation.
The Herald Administration was marked by massive corporate support and military buildup. The Zeus class orbital battleship program, theorized by former Secretary of Space Himiko Shizuhara (Anderson administration, second term), was brought to fruition by Secretary of Space Tyler Brandt, and the diplomatic negotiations of the Deianiran administration took on more menacing overtones in the south and east. On September 8, 2004, Herald announced a new Deianiran nuclear arms program to rebuild the weapons that had been destroyed after the First Civil War. In the late night of September 9, an assassination attempt was foiled against President Herad, and on the next day, he called in the army. Shutting down the free media, disbanding the opposition parties, and revealing to the world the perpetrators of the conspiracy, including the former President and Vice President, half of the former Cabinet, and several key figures in the Congress and Supreme Court. The massacres of Pholus, where student protestors were attacked by miners encouraged by Minister Klaus Garland, Secretary of Religion, and Naxos, where peaceful protesters were gunned down by military forces. It is not believed the assassination attempt was real, though Herald's injuries were. It is mostly believed, now, that the entire situation, from nuclear program to coup, was orchestrated by Victor Herald as President and Conservative representative, Minister Klaus Garland as Secretary of Religion and Precursor representative, Jack Dodinas as Secretary of Interior and NPP representative, and Michael Taylor as Secretary of Espionage.
The country would be referred to as the Popular Republic of Deianira for the duration of his administration, only a sign of the worse symptoms pervading the country. Bryan DuMont, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and a named conspirator, escaped Deianira via Rockadia and set up a government in exile in Inkfishinch. Former Vice President Roger Brighton led a insurrection in Chiron and fed intelligence to the PTO even after Herald withdrew Deianira from the organization. The Navy was shut down entirely and its senior staff treated to grueling interrogations to ensure their loyalty, as well as the creation of the position of People's Advisor. Herald drew his country closer to Nurcia under Keldon Nurcin, despite his own privately-expressed distaste for their sometimes brutal methods (This dichtomy has not yet been reconciled with the Naxos and Pholus Massacres).
The revelation of the Taylor Reports would come as a shock to the world. Victor Herald had been unable to fulfill his obligations as President due to his injuries for the first month of his administration, and his return coincided with the completion of Secretary of Espionage Michael Taylor's investigation. Though ficticious, it revealed Qordathic involvement in the assassination and was used as pretext for Deianira to support Nurcia in declaring war on Qordalis. Pressure was employed against Inkfishinch and Rockadia to prevent either from entering the war, and though Inkfishinch remained loyal to their allies, Rockadia was forced to accept neutrality. Pressure was also employed against Corvos, in a series of unreasonable demands designed to force the country to either accept Deianiran dominace or declare war. It chose the latter.
The Corvos-Deianiran War was marked by a series of breakthroughs in the Dexamenus Forest in combat similar to the First World War, as tanks could not operate in the forest, then a massive blitz against central Corvos. While Deianira quickly subjugated much of Corvos, the Minington Heights remained untouched in part due to Deianiran unwillingness to enter the poor terrain and engage the defenders. However, General Oliver Harmonn would practice a policy of peace, reconciliation, and quiet strength that sapped the ability of the Corvosians to recruit new guerilla operatives. Even in the face of the continuing insurrection, he maintained his policies and began to orchestrate the entry of Deianiran settlers into the largely abandoned northwest of Corvos.
The entry of Pizzaiata into the war and its successful coastal invasion at Fort Ashford, coinciding with a massive uprising that trapped General Oliver Harmonn in Hartfordsleigh, led to a dramatic shift in operational tempo. Secretary of Defense Charles Greene, upset at being cut out of the region and fresh from several discussions regarding the inferior foreigners with the by-this-point deceased Secretary of Interior Jack Dodinas, took charge and ordered the destruction of Hartfordsleigh on October 31, and Colonel Louis Peterson gladly complied. A massive airbombing campaign would level the entire city and kill over 90% of its populace, including Oliver Harmonn, and the region was sealed off to all others, Deianirans included. A massive extermination campaign of all suspected Corvosian insurgents was begun, and was increased to include all related to those suspected. When news finally leaked, it took the combined forces of Colonels George Ward, Patrick Montray, and Richard Chase in a massive invasion to stop Peterson, which dramatically weakened the entire front.
Governmental Infighting and the Second Civil War
The administration saw a gradual polarization between the expansionist Congress and the limited-goal Presidency, with the Cabinet more and more split. The mysterious death of Secretary of Interior Jack Dodinas and his replacement by Social Democrat Lisa Chase did little to relieve tensions, and the ascendence of Secretary of Defense Charles Greene was assured. Secretary of Religion Klaus Garland had begun maneuvering since before the Corvos-Deianiran war to ensure both Charles Greene and Michael Taylor, both distrusted, remained isolated by ensuring Harmonn was granted direct and full authority over Corvos, superceding Greene's own, and by forming his own intelligence network out of the old Social Democratic DINC networks formed under Edward Nassau.
Hartfordsleigh was not only a symptom of the political dysfunction forming in Herald's administration, but would trigger its ultimate outcome too early. Herald, when he pressed Greene to resign in the wake of Peterson's collapse, only drove Greene to the Congress, where a vote of impeachment was passed overwhelmingly against Herald for war crimes against humanity. The officers of the local Army had been systematically replaced by Greene with loyalists, and coinciding with the impeachment, the Army was called in to take Herald prisoner or kill him. Similarily, Michael Taylor, another supporter of Greene, attempted to hold Herald hostage to keep the Cabinet from escaping, but was killed by Lisa Chase. The administration escaped to Alcmene, an isolated frontier city, as Greene was selected for the Presidency by the Congress out of the Cabinet.
The war in Corvos was quickly brought to a close. The Deianiran plan for an independent, democratic state occupying a small section of the country was implemented too quickly, and the Republic of the Wathorn quickly collapsed into a military dictatorship, as the Deianiran forces, all loyal to Herald, withdrew to the pre-war border. The front lines had been drawn in Deianira, with Greene's forces occupying the fertile, populous, and rich Deianiran Plains while Herald's forces held the poor east and mineral-rich, but industrially lacking west, including Pholus. Eurytion quickly declared its support of DuMont, the isolated government-in-exile in Inkfishinch, and fortified the peninsula to a singularly expansive degree. Similarily, the Deianiran southeast declared its neutrality in the conflict.
Greene's early attempts to crush Herald failed, for though he had numeric superiority, his troops were green while the Heraldic forces were well-experienced from Corvos. Espionage led him into an alliance with Jr'dok of Nurcia, and their support allowed him to damage the DSS Athena with a biological weapon. Similarly, their forces burned Pholus from the face of the earth in a recreation of Hartfordsleigh and crippled Lieutenant General Patrick Montray's defensive line. He was then encircled at Ithaca Base and forced to surrender.
Greene's espionage through the deceased Michael Taylor also allowed him to sneak the equivalent of a battalion of Marines onto the DSS Hera, seizing the ship and crippling the DSS Zeus. Furthermore, the Hera successfully ambushed and destroyed the DSS Athena, then moved south to support Greene's western forces in their planned offensive into Corvos. When Pizzaiatan forces in the region launched a preemptive in conjunction with Herald's forces in the Pholus Ridge, the DSS Hera was instrumental in blunting their offensive and destroying the Pizzaiatan army, ending any chance of alliance between Herald and Pizzaiata. Even its recapture by Himiko Shizuhara, working under Garland and Nassau, could not undo the damage it had done to Herald's cause in space and foreign affars.
The conclusion of the civil war would only come about through the collapse of both sides. In a planned operation, Greene decimated the Congress, killing or imprisoning every Congressman. While it ended the threat they had posed, it also irreversably antagonized the people of Chiron and Nessus. Similarily, Herald's Cabinet issued a vote of no-confidence in him and requested his resignation. His replacement was Matthew Anderson, who had been brought in as an advisor by Herald and Garland. As news spread, Greene's forces began massive defections, and he grew desperate. When his own Cabinet turned against him, he killed them and fled Chiron one step ahead of Brighton's mobs, heading for the occupied Mount Thessalonika to launch Herald's nuclear arsenal and destroy Alcmene. In an unusual move of self-sacrifice, his Secretary of Espionage, Kenneth Rolston, killed him. The resulting firefight between Rolston and Greene's guards killed the pilot and crashed the transport, with no survivors. The Second Civil War had ended.
Aftermath - Present Day
Matthew Anderson had only coopted the Herald administration to save his country and prevent an extended, brutal war like the First Civil War, but was quickly convinced to run for a third term by the Herald Cabinet and his own party. He ensured the dismantlement of the biological weaponry facilities formed by Greene across the Deianiran Plains, and oversaw the quarantine and treatment of the nation when Greene's erstwhile allies launched a campaign of biological warfare against Deianira in revenge for his fall. While the cure had a fatality rate of over 20%, he ensured the infection rate was lower than it could have been, and saved the lives of many by nationalizing many biological laboratories and similar production facilities for the duration of the crisis.
In addition, he began an intervention in the war between Corvos and the Wathorn Republic, later Nurcia, by taking the unprecedented step of actually deploying the Deianiran SDI network over another country's territory after a nuclear assault by Corvos against the Wathorn. While Herald had taken a similar action, he had limited his deployment pattern to cover the possible approaches, never leaving what he had believed to be Deianiran space or over international waters.
Economy
See the NS Economy page for more details.
Important Organizations
The Democratic Republic of Deianira contains several important government and civilian organizations. Several are highlighted below.
DESMA: (Deianiran Economic Stock Market Average) Provides a fairly accurate marker of Deianiran economic health by averaging the performance of 50 major stocks in the market, including Valkyrion Motors, Marche Weapons, Inc., and the Pholus Energy Company.
Valkyrion Motors: The foremost automobile producer in Deianira, its tireless work toward hybrid-car and fuel cell technology is renowned even if it is considered by many to be a drain on the company’s resources, which has begged the question of how powerful the company would be if they did not possess this weight on their ledgers. Based out of Eurytion. CEO is Richard Bailey.
Marche Weapons, Incorporated: The primary armaments R&D and production firm. It is one of the best in the business within Deianiran borders, and is the favored company by the Armed Forces. Based out of Nessus. CEO is Bill Hanover.
Pholus Energy Corporation: The only electric company within Deianira, its pricing remains heavily regulated to prevent any abuse of its granted monopoly. As it is effectively under state oversight, the government has frequently stepped in to prevent an accumulation of bureaucracy that would neutralize the efficiency advantages of only one company.
Deianiran Intelligence Network Center: Instituted with the National Fascists, it was founded to identify potential threats to the nation’s security before they became threats in truth. It survived the purges of the post-war climate, though most of its internal functions were spun off into the Deianiran Bureau of Investigation. Located 5 kilometers east of Chiron. Led by the Secretary of Espionage.
Deianiran Bureau of Investigation: The Federal police force, led by the Secretary of Interior.
