Ericrea

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The small, coastal nation of Ericrea is well-known for its controversial take on personal freedom. While certain civil liberties are granted to a higher degree than many other countries, there are constant accusations from the world community of the Ericrean government taking on a "Big Brother" sort of role to ensure that the citizenry keep in line with the government's ideals. This concept of "forced freedom" has been both celebrated and criticized by the world at large, and is usually the single reason the average person has heard of the otherwise inconspicuous nation.

Ericrea

Flag of Ericrea
Motto: "Veritas Vos Liberatis"
None Available
Region	Averencia
Capital	Dionopolis
Official Language(s)	Taberick, English
Leader	Kelin E. Rudico
Population	About 12 Million
Currency	Ericrean Dollar
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Geography

Ericrea is the westernmost nation on the Averencian continent. About a sixth of the country's area comes from a large island just offshore to the northwest. The mainland is surrounded on three sides by water, while the eastern border, which separates Ericrea from the Sabrelands, is partially formed by a large river. Ericrea's interior is characterized by rolling hills near the mountains in the east that fade into plains as one moves west. It is in these plains that Ericrea's capital, Bin Dorida, is located. Bin Dorida is situated on the major Ericrean waterway, the Rebit River. Just south of the city is the large Ekul Lake. Ericrea is divided into seven provinces.

History

The area now known as Ericrea has enjoyed a peaceful history rare among nations, due in part to its geographic location as well as its political ties throughout the years. Indeed, the very formation of the present-day nation would not likely have come about if not for the unusual circumstances of the region.

Beginnings

Archaeological evidence suggests that the area now occupied by Ericrea was at one point a part of the ancient Tabreki Empire (modern-day Tabikrion). It is likely that the Empire did not extend far beyond the current Western border of Ericrea, meaning that the area probably would have experienced a good deal of exchange in people, goods, and ideas between the Empire and the outside world; historians attribute much of modern Ericrea's cultural diversity to this fact. Tabreki writings from the time refer to a province known as Dartun that bears resemblance to the area, and it is generally agreed upon among historians that this was the ancient name for Ericrea.

The people of Dartun were regarded as simple and industrious, with a high respect for the arts. When the Tabreki Empire fell, Dartun found itself isolated from the rest of the splintered city-states, largely due to the boundaries, both physical and cultural, provided by the Sabrelands. Dartun would remain much the same over the next few centuries, protected from large-scale invasion due to its natural mountain borders and its lingering relations to the once-great Tabreki Empire, the remnants of which still layed claim to the Dartun area.

Confederation & Unification

Dartun, by this time known as Dirtuun, was for the most part exempt from the Confederation of the Tabreks. While the neighboring Sabrelands were rich in resources, Dirtuun was regarded by most to be little more than rolling hills and impenetrable forest. As such, the Confederation made its claim to Dirtuun as a territory known, but did little more than have some Tabarmat units stationed nearby in the event of invasion. The Dirtuuni people were left to govern themselves, which they came do by dividing the area into small, mostly autonomous provinces.

It was not until the Great Unification that the Tabreks again took an interest in Ericrea. During the decades of the Confederation, the separation of the Dirtuuni provinces created competition among their mostly-independent economies, leading up to a small industrial revolution that would move at an incredible pace to establish Dirtuun as one of the most technologically advanced areas in the region. With the re-emergence of a united Tabreki nation, Dirtuun was reabsorbed during the Unification and declared an unrepresented territory.

Invasion & Westernization

Despite the vision of a new Tabreki Empire during the Unification, things soon fell apart as military conquest slowed to a halt and peacetime tensions began to resurface. It was after a decade of this tension that the Confederation was invaded by a huge Western power. Possessing technology decades beyond even the Dirtuuni people, this invasion force came by sea to sweep through the Confederation in its conquest. The poorly defended coast of Dirtuun itself was used as the corridor of invasion, and the enemy forces moved quickly Eastward toward the center of the Confederation.

Unfortunately for the Western power, the Tabreks were not nearly so weak in war as they were in peace. It took nearly a decade, but the invading army was eventually repulsed. During those years, however, Dirtuun had been used by the invaders as their base of operations in the region, and had indeed been considered a colony during the war. Because of this, the Dirtuuni people were exposed to a great deal of Western culture. Not being especially tied to the rest of the Tabreks, the Dirtuunis were actually quite accepting of this change, and adopted many characteristics of Western culture themselves before the war's end.

When the invading army had abandoned all interest in the region, the war-torn Confederation drew in its borders to rebuild. Being far to the West of the Confederation, Dirtuun was one of the territories still claimed but effectively abandoned by the Tabreks. Free of the oppressive rule of the invaders but retaining their Western advancements, the Dirtuuni people underwent a second technological revolution. Subsequently, they fortified their coastline and borders against further invasion and returned to their peaceful system of independent provinces in isolation for another century.

Formation

For many years the Dirtuuni people kept to themselves, all the while continuing to advance in technology and the arts. Toward the end of this time, however, their isolation began to take its toll, and the many provinces' overly-similar (and therefore overly-competetive) economies began to falter in the absense of foreign trade. The response from the Dirtuuni peoples to this new competition was a survival instinct to become fiercely loyal to their provincial homelands in hopes that theirs might prevail. Militias were bolstered, ultimatums declared, and the outlook seemed grim for the entire region. Despite desperate warnings from those who foresaw the complete destruction of Dirtuun, provincial leaderships were unswayed, most claiming that pre-emptive action was necessary for survival. In desperation, many alternatives to war were brought forward, including plans to make each province an independent nation; none were taken seriously.

One man, however, saw a compromise. Kelin E. Rudico proposed that the provinces split not politically, but economically. Each province would specialize in one sort of industry, increasing trade between them. To maximize the efficiency of this system, he called for an economic council with equal representation from each of the provinces to be convened regularly to concert efforts. Many were alarmed by this sudden shift to communistic ideology, but through Rudico's persuasiveness, the majority soon backed the plan; should the promise of the decision being in the long-term interest of capitalism have been broken, however, a sudden and violent separation of the provinces was almost unavoidable. Within five years a formal charter had been drawn up and Rudico elected as head of the council, within seven years the council had become a political body, and within a decade Rudico had become president, the council a parliament, and the charter a national constitution. In yet another occurance quite unique to the Dirtunni people, Rudico was true to his word and the council/Parliament was stripped of most of its remaining economic powers (a good deal of which had already been surrendered voluntarily over the decade of formation) and the economy was returned its capitalistic state.

During the decade of formation, it did not take long for the Dirtuuni people to realize that their provinces were being consolidated into a rigid and cohesive nation, but they also did not seem to mind. The change was gradual enough and the people involved enough that it was all handled smoothly. Referenda were put forth so that the Dirtuuni people could choose exactly what kind of government they wanted. Among the many issues settled by the referenda: they chose to remain politically isolated, but no longer economically; they chose to have a large standing army to repulse any further invasion and to unite the provinces; they chose to continue their immensely capitalistic tradition; and they chose to change their collective name from Dirtuun (which was derived from the Tabitimor word for "borderland") to Ericrea, which comes from the name of their own language (a combination of Western language and Tabitimor), Taberick. The President did not give the people the opportunity to strip him of his autocratic power, but he also did not use it to intervene a great amount with the country's formation, as a sign of good will and trust.

System of Government

The Ericrean government does not fit easily into present categories. The nation's formal name is The Autocratic Republic of Ericrea, and the government could be compared to Caesarian Rome, with a dictator-for-life working in conjunction with (but still holding power over) a legislature and judicial system, the members of which are elected by the people. There has only been one Ericrean leader, and he is referred to as "President," mainly due to the lack of a better term.

The Ericrean people are allowed to vote on issues and leaders, though these are almost always restricted to local affairs. Every so often, Ericreans are allowed to vote on issues of national importance, including the election of top officials, though the president retains the power to dismiss the results of these votes and do as he pleases. The Ericrean Constitution, created by the nation's founder and experts in the fields of government, law, and economy, lays out strict laws and codes of conduct to be adhered to by the Ericrean people.

The Constitution does not, however, specify the term length for Ericrea's leaders. The current president is expected to remain in office until either his death or the point where he considers himself incapable, but it is not known whether the next leader will be appointed or elected.

The UN has designated Ericrea an "inoffensive centrist democracy."

Civil Rights

Every law-abiding citizen is considered equal in Ericrea. Hate crimes are severely punished, and therefore very uncommon. Every citizen has the right to vote in the aforementioned elections, own property and a home, live in peace, speak freely, and practice any religion they wish. (The Ericrean government tries to downplay religion in any way it can short of putting actual restrictions on it.)

Ericrean citizens are also given the right to purchase and own almost anything they would like (to be further explained in the Economy section). Since Ericrean citizens have so many freedoms given to them by their constitution, the Ericrean government feels that they have little to complain about and so their otherwise all-inclusive freedom of speech is restricted in that public gatherings with the intent of protesting the government as well as private parties are outlawed. Any complaints are expected to be brought forward by more professional and orderly means.

Gay marriage is legal. Abortion and euthanasia are both legal, but special conditions may apply. If the time frame is not satisfactory (in the case of abortion it is past a certain point, and in the case of euthanasia it is before a certain point), a private hearing will be held during which a credible medical source must convince a judge that the procedure is necessary. Suicide is typically frowned upon by the populace; the only government intervention is the strong recommendation for suicidal persons to be admitted to institutions to be monitored and/or rehabilitated.

Voting age is 18 years old. There are no age limits on drinking or the use of other drugs, in an effort to prevent those activities from being taboo and therefore desirable. There is much government-provided material for parents to aid in raising drug-free children. The minimum age for joining the military is also 18.

Economy

One of the only extremes present in the Ericrean way of life is that the economy is almost purely capitalistic. Based upon the idea that if dangerous things aren't taboo there will be no incentive to use them, Ericrean citizens have access to any product within reason (military-grade weapons, human body parts, and other extreme examples are still outlawed, however). But while Ericreans may have access to firearms and drugs, the involvement of items such as these in a crime is considered intolerable (to be further explained in the Justice section). Every Ericrean citizen knows that they are expected to act with a certain amount of responsibility in exchange for their right to buy almost anything they want, and each one knows that they will receive no pity from the government if this trust is breached.

Because of the focus on capitalism, the Ericrean economy is very strong. The nation's coast allows it ample opportunity for foreign trade, and one of the greatest past-times of tourists in Ericrea is making purchases without the restrictions they may experience in their own country. Many of these tourists somehow fail to realize, however, that what they buy still won't be welcomed into their homeland, and a good deal of Ericrean products end up confiscated by foreign governments.

The Ericrean economy is fueled mainly by arms production, agriculture, and high-technology industries such as medical equipment and computers. The currency of Ericrea is the Ericrean Dollar.

Justice

The Ericrean justice system is one based largely on the concept of "you get what you give," though not in the extreme "eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth" notion of ancient governments. The death sentence, usually performed by a firing squad, is a common punishment for murderers and rapists, but thankfully does not have to be used often thanks to its deterrent nature. Extreme periods of isolation are also exercised as an alternative to the death sentence, often on the request of the victim or the victim's family. Shorter periods of isolation, as well as hefty fines, are used to deter crimes such as theft and inflicting bodily harm.

Because Ericrean citizens have access to a wide variety of products that could be considered dangerous, strict laws are in place to deter advantage being taken of the capitalistic system. While they are legal to own and use responsibly, items such as weapons, drugs, and other potentially harmful products that are used in crimes can have a huge effect on the sentencing of a criminal. Even the mere presence of these items at the crime scene can multiply the terms of a punishment many times over. The use of such an item in a crime can mean the difference between whether or not a criminal will ever see the light of day again. This has proven to be an effective method for keeping violent crimes to a bare minimum.

Foreign Policy

One of the principal values upon which Ericrea was founded is that of isolationism. Ericreans see little need to get involved in the global community, feeling that it is no one's responsibility but their own to handle their internal problems. Only in an extreme case would Ericrean request foreign military aid. The only matter which Ericrea has petitioned to the rest of the world is environmental protection, as that is an issue Ericrea believes affects everyone and everything on the planet.

Defense

Though the nation of Ericrea has never in its short history been actively involved in any international conflicts, it maintains a large and well-trained military to ensure the protection of its ideals. This military, which is normally considered excessive in size given the nation's size and political stance, is refered to as the Ericrean Homeland Defense Force, or EHDF. A large percentage of government funds are put towards military research, maintenance, and training to ensure that the military is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible.

The EHDF is comprised of (in order of size and spending) the Ground Corps, Air Corps, and Sea Corps.

The main emphasis of the military is on a strong infantry force. The ground soldier is regarded as the most critical part of the Ericrean military, and so most funding for the Ground Corps goes to training, equipping, and supporting the infantry. Aside from Armored Personnel Carriers, ground combat vehicles such as tanks and artillery play a less prominent role in the Ericrean military than in most modern armies.

The Air Corps is comprised mostly of rotary-winged aircraft, with fixed-wing aircraft being minimalized to mostly transport roles. The EHDF touts its huge helicopter force with great pride. Most of the gunships are modified AH-1 Cobras, though WAH-64 Apaches are a new and coveted addition. The transport helicopter fleet is dominated by Eurocopter Cougars and Sikorsky Super Stallions. The Ericrean government has also put considerable funds into developing tilt-rotor aircraft, but all such projects are still in the development stages.

The Sea Corps is the smallest branch of the EHDF, and is focused almost entirely on coastal policing and defense instead of maritime offense. The Ericrean fleet is small even for the nation's size, but the ships relatively well equipped individually. Developing nuclear-powered ships is currently a priority for the Sea Corps, as the nation feels it is lagging behind the rest of the world in that regard.

Probably one of the most controversial aspects of the nation in any regard is the fact that military service is compulsory. Every man and woman is required by law to serve their nation's military or government in some way, with their time of service starting between the ages of 18 and 25 and lasting for a minimum of 18 months. Contrary to the belief of the world at large, a combat role is not necessary, and jobs can range from ambulance driver to traffic officer to gunship pilot, as well as any number of government desk jobs. The danger inherent in the particular job does affect compensation, but with all jobs the minimum amount of time can be surpassed for added benefits including compensation for education and pension plans.

The military is an ever-present part of Ericrean life. Armed soldiers regularly patrol the streets, and military aircraft are a common sight overhead. Almost all the members of the Ground Corps are trained as police officers and are regularly rotated into patrol duty to complement local sheriff's departments. The constant military presence is one of the major points put forward by those who may consider the Ericrean government overbearing or intimidatory. There seems to be little complaint from the general populous; whether or not this is indicative of a sense of contentness is difficult to prove or disprove.

The current standard issue weapon of all branches of the Ericrean military is the FN FAL assault rifle or its carbine variant. Tank and helicopter crews are issued the FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon when not on patrol. The current standard sidearm is the M9 Beretta. After a failed attempt to receive the FN SCAR along with the United States, the Ericrean government has set up a collaborative effort between its own arms manufacturers and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal to create a new assault rifle based on the P90. It has been designated the FN-AR101, and the first shipments have just begun arriving for Special Forces use; whether or not the weapon will replace the FAL as the standard assault rifle has yet to be seen. As part of the AR101 deal, the EHDF may soon replace the M9 with FN-manufactured sidearms.

Rank in the Ericrean military follows the same pattern as many other modern militaries, consisting of several pay-grades within the enlisted, non-commissioned officer, and commissioned officer categories. Ericrea has a single military academy that provides almost seamless transition to officer status.

The standard infantry and patrol uniform of the EHDF is designed to be simple and sleek, and is influenced by the uniforms of many nations' special forces and SWAT uniforms. A black Kevlar and ceramic bulletproof and tactical vest is worn over a dark blue BDU. In combat or combat training situations, a balaclava is required to be worn; in patrol situations, it is prohibited from being worn. The helmet resembles a common skateboarding or hockey helmet in that it is relatively small. The helmets are standardly equipped with a communications headset, battlefield videocamera, and IFF transponder. In the event of damage or loss of the helmet, a secondary activatable IFF transponder is located in the heel of each soldier's right boot. Rank is denoted on the front of the helmet and the front of the vest, while unit is denoted on the sleeves of the BDU, along with the Ericrean Seal.

Public Relations

The Ericrean government makes great effort to be on good terms with its citizens. Patriotic events are often held and patriotic messages often transmitted. The Ericrean people seem to enjoy this greatly. Founding Day, the primary Ericrean national holiday, is one of the most anticipated and festive days of the year. (The lack of a dominant religion may also add to the popularity of Founding Day.)

The Ericrean government plays some part in the media. They offer an official news channel, but private news channels are readily available, in accoradance with the government's approval of free speech. The government also offers several public access and special interest channels. Their ratings fare just above half of those achieved by the average independent network.

The strong military presence is also one of the government's main public relations tools. It is a sign of the government's on-going care for its people when the troops are out patrolling the streets. Soldiers are encouraged to make contact with the citizens during their rounds to increase the trust in those, particularly the young, who have yet to understand the value of a strong and dedicated military.

Education

Education is very important to the Ericrean people, as reflected in their national motto, "Veritas Vos Liberatis" ("The Truth Shall Set You Free"). Science is especially emphasized in Ericrean schools.

Ericrean children spend most of their lives in school. As in many nations, the school year lasts half the calendar year, spread out due to weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) and some small vacations. This leaves the students a couple months in-between school years for rest. Students are required by law to complete twelve grades of school, which is usually finished around age 18.

College is highly encouraged by the government, which hands out millions of dollars to aid students in their academic endeavors. Citizens that choose to forego a college education are often asked to fulfill their duties to the military immediately after graduating from grade twelve. For students that choose to join the military while they go to college, they can usually have the government pay for most or all of their education in exchange for a slightly longer length of service.

Art and Science

Ericrea highly values its creative and intuitive thinkers. The nation provides a place where artists and scientists can practice their trades without having to worry about negative feelings towards expression or progress.

Ericrea boasts several large museums devoted to human creation and learning, including a fine art museum, a natural history museum, and an aerospace museum, among others. These locations are visited by citizens and tourists alike.

As previously stated, scientific industries are a large part of the Ericrean economy. The quality of Ericrean medical equipment and computers systems is recognized around the world. Ericrea also has a fledgling space program, which it hopes to put to good use soon. Ericrean astronauts have already been into space with other nations' space programs, but there are no estimations given for when Ericrea will put a human in space on its own. The government has implied its interest, however, to aid in the further exploration and colonization of space.

The Environment

There is a strong respect for the natural environment among the Ericrean people. The government concurs and there are strict regulations in place to further conservation efforts within Ericrea. The Ericreans realize, however, that unless the rest of the world adopts similar measures, the Ericrean efforts may well have been for nothing. Reducing strain on the planet is one the Ericrean people's major motivations for aiding the extraterrestrial colonization effort.