Difference between revisions of "Great Britain and Ireland"

Revision as of 22:07, 11 August 2006

This article deals with Great Britain and Ireland as it relates to NationStates. For more general information, see the Wikipedia article on this subject.

Great Britain and Ireland is one of the larger British regions in the game, with a combined total of over 250 nations across all its territories. The people broadly stand for British democratic values and, in game terms, like to play the game in a more realistic geopolitical manner than the raider-defender axis can sometimes allow. They have a history as notable empire builders, having tried to gain regions both through conquest and through foundings, and have increased population and activity to levels that give them significant clout by regional standards. The governmental forums are remarkably open to view and therefore often quite interesting.

The region has a reasonably large (if rarely used) army and a useful intelligence service. There is a Role-Play section and the Great Britain and Ireland Stock Exchange (GBISE). There are many independent regional newspapers, like the Union Jack, the Sovereign, the British Statesman and the Global Enquirer, which keep the citizens up-to-date with local and global news.

Great Britain and Ireland is a member of the Alliance of Capitalists, Conservatives and Economic Libertarians (ACCEL), and the current Secretary-General of that alliance, Posul, is a citizen of GB&I. The region is also a member of the Quadruplex Alliance, along with Global Right Alliance and Flavian Amphitheatre.

Currently there are over 200 nations in Great Britain and Ireland itself. There is a Regional Map which contains the most active nations. The region's name is commonly abbreviated to 'GB&I'.

History

Great Britain and Ireland was founded in the mid part of 2004 by --Great Britain--. The forums opened for business in December 2004, marking the birth of GB&I as it is today. Many of the players who joined the region around that time still play an active role. GB&I first became noticed in the wider NS world when a training mission to take the delegacy of the inactive region of Hong Kong was successfully defended by other British regions, who feared a destructive raid. Nevertheless, GB&I soon joined the very same regions, and others, in the Allied British Isles, a pan-British and Irish mutual defence pact. Unfortunately the alliance became riven with discord owing to an excess of clashing personalities, most obviously The Mighty Pump, Firbolgs, and Cu Mara. When a division arose between broadly left-wing regions and broadly imperialist regions, GB&I tried, but probably failed, not get caught up in it. It became associated with the imperialist wing, mainly because of its actions in Hong Kong and Palestine.

GB&I made its most famous contribution to NationStates history by precipitating the Battle of Palestine in April 2005, in which it was forced out of that region after two months in occupation by a coalition of defender groups summoned by USK, GB&I's erstwhile ally in the Allied British Isles. The battle involved 102 nations from various defender groups such as the RLA and the ADN, and 84 on the side of GB&I, mainly from the Union of Sovereigns, of which GB&I was a protectorate at the time. There has been no larger battle since.

The region was also a member of a new ABI - Allied British Imperialists - the brainchild of the Prime Minister of the time, British Glory, along with Firbolgs of The British Empire and Posul, then of Federal Commonwealth Society. The alliance fell into disuse, and Posul's move to join GB&I after falling out with the FCS founder broke the ties that existed with FCS.

For long since the establishment of the Alliance of Capitalists, Conservatives and Economic Libertarians (ACCEL) there have been discussions on whether GB&I should join this alliance. During 2005 Parliament twice refused to ratify the Treaty of ACCEL after heated debate on both sides, fearing loss of sovereignty and potential pigeon-holing as a capitalist region. GB&I finally joined the alliance in late 2005, with the Treaty of ACCEL being ratified by Parliament on the 3rd of January 2006.

While debates on joining ACCEL were still in progress, negotiations on another alliance were taking place among GB&I, Global Right Alliance, Sangria Sands and Scarfaces, four regions that had a long history of close relations and effective collaboration. These negotiations concluded in the signing of the Quadruplex Alliance Treaty, in December 2005, and the formation of The Quadruplex Alliance. Since then, the alliance's composition has significantly changed, with the withdrawal of Sangria Sands in February 2006 and with the replacement of Scarfaces with Flavian Amphitheatre in April 2006, after the former's dissolution.

On Christmas Day 2005 one of GB&I's dominions, The Falkland Islands, was invaded by a nation called Austria-Hangary. He was endorsed by the Foreign Secretary of FCS at the time, and another member of FCS offered advice. This precipitated a war between the two region that began in January after an ultimatum from GB&I to apologise was not met. FCS was a founderless region, but the delegate had over 100 endorsements. Nevertheless, GB&I, initially using endorsement-swapping, almost succeeded in seizing the region in March. However, basic errors on the GB&I side alerted defenders and meant that fewer allies than had been hoped were available, and the attempt narrowly failed.

The Political System

Great Britain and Ireland is a democratic British region with a political system based around the real-life British Parliamentary model. Parliament consists of the House of the Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch, and is fully sovereign - as there is no embedded constitution it can make and unmake any law that it thinks fit. The region is proud of its extensive Statute Book, both for its quality and depth.

The House of Commons consists of 11 MPs, elected every ten weeks. A majority of those who vote are needed to pass a Bill. The House of Lords consists of long-standing regional members who have retired from front-line politics. They can refuse to pass legislation, but are subject to a 2/3 Commons override. The founder, --Great Britain--, is the Monarch, and must assent to any bill passed by Parliament before it becomes law. As in real life, this role is largely ceremonial and he has never yet refused to sign a Bill.

The Monarch appoints the MP who can command a majority in the Commons as Prime Minister, and he chooses at least four other MPs to be in his Cabinet. That comprises the main executive. Further appointments are then made to other executive posts, in charge of recruitment, ambassadors and so on. Assistants are also appointed below them. Most nations can involve themselves in some way with the running of the region.

The Lord Chief Justice is appointed by the House of Commons, on the nomination of the Prime Minister. The Lord Chief Justice is the only judge of the High Court, which is responsible for the First Degree of Jurisdiction. The Appeals Division of the House of Lords is responsible for the Second Degree of Jurisdiction in the GB&I Judiciary and consists of up to three Lords of Appeal in the Ordinary, with the one in position for longer being the Lord Chancellor.

The Empire

GB&I's empire has been one of the region's defining features. Most governments have been led by imperialists of varying hues, and many outside GB&I know it best for its active foreign policy in this field. The empire is not only GB&I's most ambitious project but would, if its full potential was ever realised, be an achievement that was virtually unique among NationStates regions. Few empires, if any, have survived to become serious powers. That time has not yet come though, and it remains to be seen whether the empire can be the significant asset that successive governments have hoped it would be. It has proved difficult to maintain activity in the off-site forums of the dominions.

Over 1/4 of the total population of the empire currently live outside GB&I itself, in the dominions. The dominions are regions that have been founded by citizens of GB&I and are being built up into regions in their own right, inextricably tied to GB&I. GB&I hopes that the system will enable them to gain extra manpower above the 'natural' ceiling that most regions run into, by giving each person a stake in a more local administration as well as in the main government.

As far as the central government is concerned, citizens in the dominions have exactly the same rights at law as citizens who reside in GB&I. The only distinction is geographical. Dominions also have their own forums and elect their own Governor, either by simple endorsements or by off-site elections, depending on their number of active citizens. GB&I are hoping to reform the dominion systems to make dominion governance more sophisticated so that the dominions can be more autonomous and self-sufficient.

The largest dominion is Ceylon, with 25 nations at the time of writing. The Falkland Islands has over 20 nations. GB&I have not begun to recruit for other dominions as yet, hoping to properly establish the first two before beginning again with others. However, the other dominions include British Honduras, British West Indies, Malaya, British Antarctic Territory, Calcutta, Enfield and St Helena.

GB&I has in the past attempted to build up its empire through the capture of inactive regions already in existence. The theory is that an inactive region can be made active and great. The most famous instance was Palestine, which ended in GB&I's defeat at the hands of a large defender army. While defenders are so numerous and active, even in dead regions, this strategy is unlikely to be successful.

Many citizens of GB&I have consequentially developed an antipathy for defender groups, following the region's messy experiences with them in various places that GB&I tried to take over as part of their imperial project. GB&I cannot match the numbers that the defenders can muster so has been unable to hold any of its acquired territories long enough to make anything of them. Defenders are therefore blamed for the failure one of the region's most ambitious and imaginative ideas, and are seen by many in the region as blindly dogmatic.

GB&I has also attempted several times to expand its Empire by integrating other regions in it. For this purpose, the Commonwealth Realm status for regions that wanted to join the Empire was introduced in the GB&I legal system. Attempts for such status to be granted to the regions Palestine and Enfield in August 2005 failed. The most significant such attempt was made in September 2005, with the signing of the Treaty of Union with FCS. Shortly after, though, the Union was dissolved, due to the events that followed the return of the FCS founder in NationStates. Similar attempts were continued, with the successful admission of City of London, in February 2006, and of Isaac City, in March 2006, to the Empire, though with dominion status being granted this time.

<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand">

The flag of Great Britain and Ireland

The Government and Other Officials of Great Britain and Ireland

MONARCH: --Great Britain--

PRIME MINISTER: Posul

Home Secretary: R3naissanc3r

Foreign Secretary: North East Somerset

Minister of Defence: Killtron

Colonial Secretary: Pending

Immigration Director for GB&I: Bilrow

Culture Councillor: Pending

Head of Ambassadors: Pending

Governor General: Killtron

Commissioner for Constitutional Affairs: Loyal British Columbia

ACCEL Director: Windsor-Bainbridge

Governor of the GBISE: Clemantion

UN Affairs Director: Cupidinia

Lord Chief Justice: Gililand

Lord Chancellor: Westmorlandia

Lords of Appeal in the Ordinary: Stony Stratford

Chief of the Imperial General Staff: --Great Britain--

Quartermaster General: Pending

Adjucant General: Stony Stratford

Directors of Intelligence: --Great Britain--

Chancellor of the University: Los Cielos

Deans of the University: Allmark, North East Somerset, Posul, The Venerable Vendeta