Knootoss

Knootoss

Flag of Knootoss
Motto: "Libertate unanimus" ("Unified by freedom")
National Anthem: Anthem of the DDR
Map of Knootoss Proper
Region	Free Trade Zone
Capital	Knootcap
Official Language(s)	Knootian-Dutch, Knootian-Frisian
Leader	Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan
Population	Approaching 3 billion (Sept 2004)
Currency	1 Euro = 100 Eurocents
NS Sunset XML

The Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss is a post-modern developed democracy o­n the European continent, inhabited by a highly educated population of just over 3 billion. Its territories encompass the Netherlands and several reclaimed land projects (called ‘polders’) in the North Sea. The nation is noted for these huge ‘polders’ which consist most of the new land, giving room for expansion while the historic territories can remain relatively untouched.

Knootians are a multicultural and socially libertarian people who have grown used to the many visiting foreigners, including many non-humans. Knootoss is noted by many foreigners for its liberal social policies including legal drugs, prostitution and gambling. The nation sees itself as part of the Western world: its people are oriented o­n free and open trade, and there is a wide consensus o­n the advantages of the free market. The nation is run by coalition governments usually involving liberals. Currently a conservative/liberal coalition is in power under the Elvish Prime Minister Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan.

The Knootian people are peaceful to the point of pacifism even if their multilateralist and sometimes militantly pro-capitalist government has been known to engage in foreign adventures. The Knootian Defence Force used to have a feeble reputation, but it has grown more effective since the Shadow War devastated the country.

The Dutch Democratic Republic is part of the ‘Knootian Federation’, which includes dependent areas which have a great deal of autonomy. Ale-Yarok (or "green leaf") is a protectorate in Israel while Knootian Colombia is a sector assigned to the Knootians in a Baron/Knootian mission to restore order to the nation that was plagued by insurgency.

The DDR is bordered to the south by the Kingdom of Serenity State.

Geography

Terrain features, urbanisation and climate

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Major cities in 'Knootoss proper' (excluding North Sea polders). The star denotes the heart of the Knootcap area.

The terrain consists mostly of coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders) with some hills in southeast. Most land is below sea level. The urban population in the ‘old land’ is spread out in a decentralised web of historic cities. ‘Knootcap’ is the name given to the cities in the west of the country which have grown into a single agglomeration that is officially the capital. (See: Knootian Cities) In the reclaimed lands, cities are set up according to strict building plans leaving room for different forms of inhabitation o­nly o­n the designated spots. The nation has few natural resources besides some arable land. Natural gas is won in the north of the country and there are corporations drilling for oil in the North Sea.

The Dutch Democratic Republic is highly urbanised. There are many cities in Knootoss, bust the most important cities are part of a giant 'network city' called Knootcap. Knootcap encompasses the west and centre of the country, including the old cities of The Hague (the centre of government), Amsterdam (the old capital), Rotterdam (the economic heart) and Utrecht.

As a result of this high urbanisation, its land use focusses on non-agricultural uses:

• Arable land: 26.53%
• Permanent crops: 0,5%
• Other: 72.44%

The nation is currently undergoing many Polder projects, building dykes around waters which makes for continues expansion of the Knootian territories. Its maritime claims are:

• Exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
• Territorial sea: 12 NM

Knootoss has a temperate marine climate with cool summers and mild winters. The weather has a tendency to be rainy, humid and cloudy.

Environmental issues

There are several major environmental issues. Water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates threaten the environment. There is air pollution from vehicles and refining activities, resulting in heavy smog concentrations in some areas. Acid rain threatens areas downwind from Rotterdam and Deforestation is almost complete at this point. Controversially, some areas in the northern provinces (notably Friesland and the Waddenpolder) suffer from sinking ground due to extensive winning of natural gas.

Culture

Race and ethnicity

The Knootian population, in number, is currently approaching three billion. The human race, the original inhabitants, account for 80% of the population. Humans are predominantly ethnic Dutch. There is a large and vocal Elvish minority of about 15 percent of the population. The other 5% is made up of of a wide diversity of non-human races.

Life expectancy at birth is rather low for humans, about 60 years. (Mainly due to poor healthcare and a habit of assisted suicide in the case of severe illness or limitations associated with age.) However since the life-expectancy is virtually unlimited for elves and a few other species it is impossible to make a useful total average.

Knootian Culture

Knootoss is not famous for its celebrated heroes, brave soldiers and charismatic revolutionaries, nor are Knootians a people of profound philosophers and great thinkers. Rather, it is a nation of painters, lawyers, politicians and writers, and of course a nation of merchants.

Most non-Knootians have a picture of Knootians as individualistic, sex-crazed, drug-using advocates of free abortion and euthanasia who are tolerant of others and have a liberal attitude to everything that is banned in other countries. While this stereotype is a bit extreme, there is a core of truth to it. The Knootians are, generally speaking, a happy-go-lucky liberal nation and there is a lively contrast between this pragmatic liberalism and the buttoned-up just-so primness of a culture originally founded on Calvinist principles. As a result of this, Knootians tend to feel a sort of moral superiority toward other peoples and cannot resist telling that something in their home-country should be different.

Knootians are informal by the standards of more aristocratic nations in NS and they tend to shy away from ceremony, ostentatiousness or excessive displays of patriotism and personal wealth. Fuss of any kind is regarded as undignified. Personal freedom, on the other hand, is very much written into Knootian Law and any transgression is likely to be fiercely resisted. People are very direct and foreigners can be expected to be asked things that may not necessarily be considered "done" in some other countries.

While people may be informal on a personal level they are not casual when it comes to rules. Knootoss is a highly regulated society with rules for just about everything. Procedures need to be followed and a consensus achieved before decisions are finally taken. On an individual level too people tend to be organised into what some have called an agenda culture where things rarely happen spontaneously (although of course there are exceptions to every rule.)

Religion

Knootians are, o­n the whole, very anti-religious in their convictions, their approaches to ethical issues such as euthanasia and in terms of values. A recent survey amongst the humans showed that over 95 percent of the human population is either avowedly atheist or sympathetic to some form of secular humanism.This is also reflected in their voting behaviour (the nation lacks a viable Christian-Democrat party)

There are still small Christian communities who cling to the old faiths in the northern provinces (Dutch Reformed) and in the extreme south (Catholic) 0,79% of the population is protestant, 0,21 percent is Roman Catholic. The Holy Vatican See has re-established an effecitive church organisation. The nation was originally in majority protestant, the Dutch Reformed religion being the state religion. Political conflicts between religious groups played a major role in Nineteenth century Knootoss.

The number of former churches that have been converted into art galleries or supermarkets is the most obvious sign of today's attitude to religion and art. Several years ago Sirithilism, a cult worshipping the Lady Sirithil nos Fëanor of Menelmacar has been sweeping through the country gaining immense popularity amongst the population but this cult is fading away.

The Order of the Invisible Hand is not exactly a religion, but it does have religous aspects. It is rapidly gaining in popularity amongst the elite.

History

The history section of Knootoss has been divided into several subsections dealing with major eras for ease of reading. Each article can be read independently. For an overview leaders throughout history refer to the List of Knootian Heads of State.

• Knootian independence (1500-1581) gives a historic account of the Knootian Declaration of Independence, 1581. A more practical account of the so-called Knootian Revolt is given in the Start of the Knootian Revolt section of the article on William of Knootcap.
• United Provinces of Knootoss (1600-1800) deals with the rise and subsequent decline of Knootoss in the 17th and 18th century. Apart from historic events it also focusses on culture, religion, science and art in what was Knootoss' golden age.
• Nineteenth century Knootoss (1800-1900) gives a detailed account of the rule of the Stewards as well as democratisation and industrialisation in the 19th century.
• Tanah Burung Independence (Early 20th century) deals with the independence of the Knootian East Indies and the Knootian 'police actions'

Later events of 'pre-RP history' have not yet been fully determined but will be added later. Recent Knootian history can be read in the subsequent entries of Prime Ministers.

• Roel Vogels - formed the Knootian Federation and introduced many fundamental reforms.
• Dick Tator - unsuccesfully tried to assume power during the Shadow War.
• Lousewies van der Laan - headed two (relatively) left-wing governments.
• Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan - was elected twice as a conservative.

Politics

The DDR has a multi-party system with many different parties forming different coalitions. These coalitions usually involve the liberal SLP either governing with the right-wing RCPK or with the left wing greens, sometimes with a junior partner. The unicameral parliament (called the "Staten-Generaal") has 200 seats. The latest election results of the Staten-Generaal are:

• RCPK: Realistische Conservatieve Partij Knootoss: 69 seats (conservative) (government party)
• SLP: Sociaal-Liberale Partij: 63 seats (liberal)(government party)
• KGP: Knootiaanse Groene Partij: 62 seats (green)(opposition party)
• SP: Socialistische Partij: 4 seats (socialist)(opposition party)
• KEP: Knootiaanse Elven Partij: 1 seat (elvish interests)("opposition" party - follows RCPK)
• IP: Imperialistische Partij: 1 seat (imperialist)(opposition party)

A new anthem was established after the Shadow War. It can be downloaded in the 'downloads' section of the DDR's official website. The text, in various languages, can be found here.

Economy

General information

Knootoss has a prosperous and open powerhouse economy depending heavily o­n foreign trade. The service-oriented economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, and a small current account deficit. Benefiting from the complete absence of drug laws, an extremely prosperous export sector is up and running. Due to scale advantages, the prices are significantly lower then illegal produce, making Knootoss extremely competitive in this industry. Other industrial activity is predominantly in Information Technology (IT) and various media but o­n the whole the industrial sector is very diverse and competitive in areas from arms manufacturing to cheese exports. Research and development is o­ne of the main service industries in Knootoss and great emphasis is placed o­n R&D by the government.

Recently, large investments have been made by foreign investors in Automobile Manufacturing, Poultry, Electrical items and drone technology. A Knootian corporation is also the official distributor of Pink Bunny Cola™ and related products. Knootoss uses the Euro along with several other nations and the country continues to be o­ne of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Tax levels in Knootoss are relatively low and the government has a pro-business attitude.

The economic and industrial heart of the nation is in the city of Rotterdam and the surrounding area, whereas distant provinces such as Friesland have to rely on tourism and related activities for additional income.

Some Macro-economic figures:
GDP per Capita: $45,771.43

GDP composition by sector:

• Agriculture: 1%
• Industries: 21%
• Services: 78%

Unemployment rate: 0,8% - 5,1% depending on the definition used.

Communication and infrastructure

Knootoss boasts a highly advanced communications and transport network. There is a an extremely dense network of highways and (mono)rail, connecting all mayor cities. The National Railways have recently been privatised. Waterways are also very important as they are being used to ship bulk goods over long distances. Rotterdam is o­ne of the biggest ports in the world in terms of cargo transfer. Schiphol Int. Airport is a civilian mainport handling an enormous amount of air traffic, but most military air operations take place from Balmora Airbase.

Internet access is primarily, though not exclusively through Bunnynet™, the Internet access provider of Pink Bunny Cola Incorporated. The national Internet fix is ".kn"

Actors

The Ministry of Economic Affairs is one of the largest ministries in the DDR. Only the ministry of Education has more employees. The ministry has its own intelligence agency, the EIVD, which reports directly to the minister. The ministry is seen as having close ties to the major corporations. It is very influential in decision-making in all fields of government. It establishes consulates abroad that rival the embassies set up by the ministry of Foreign Affairs. The current Minister of Economic Affairs is Mr. L.J. Brinkhorst of the SLP.

Despite strict anti-cartel laws, several major corporations have cornered large parts of Knootian markets. The multinationals that are most well-known abroad are Bonifatius Recreational Drugs Incorporated, Caesar SuperComputer Inc, the Knootoss News Network and Pink Bunny Cola Incorporated

The Order of the Invisible Hand is generally seen as having a huge infuence on Knootian economic thinking, especially amongst the economic elite. Many corporate executives and higher-level civil servants and political administrators in the government are seen as sympathetic to the ideas of the Order and many in it are rumoured to be members. Their influence is especially pervasive in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister.

Trade and Development policy

The mayor trade partners of Knootoss are the signatories to the KIST treaty, the WBO and (former) Ur Trade Pact member states and the nations in the regions of Nederland and Holland. The import commodities are machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing and weapons. Knootoss is a major proponent of free trade.

Knootoss is an economic aid donor, donating to various development aid programmes, both through the ministry of Economic Affairs and through private donations, in total amounting to about 0,6% of the GDP. The government co-funded the DNAC. The recent conservative administrations have strongly cut aid programmes and changed their nature. Some nations have cynically described the reformed Knootian economic programme aid as being "either for geopolitical purposes, or extortions in exchange for trade concessions".

One of the main recipients of Knootian economic aid is New York and Jersey, a first-world nation which, in turn, funds the DDR the same amount of military aid.

After leaving the NS United Nations, a policy has been established to encourage the "development of rendering the NSUN even more irrelevant then it already is". The DDR ministry of Economic Affairs has cut all economic and humanitarian aid to NSUN member nations with the exception of structural adjustment funding programmes, disaster relief and reciprocating aid.

Education

General information

Education in Knootoss is obligatory between age 6 and 16, and partially obligatory between 16 and 18. There are public and private schools in Knootoss but all school types are inspected by a governmental agency called the Onderwijsinspectie (Education Inspection) and they can be closed by this agency if quality is found lacking. Education is the main spending post of the government. (Almost half of all government spending is allocated to the Ministry of Education.) As a result, the quality of education in Knootoss is considered to be very high by the United Nations (scoring top percentiles in world rankings)

The goal of Knootian education is to make students as self-sufficient as possible from an early age, using the concept of "self-learning". Emphasis is placed on developing practical and social skills such as computer skills and working in groups. The role of the teacher in this process is more that of a coach, especially at the higher levels of education. Instead of gaining huge in-depth knowledge, students learn to cope with learning how to deal with huge quantities of information and processing them independently. Education on the higher levels tends to focus on broad knowledge with many interdependencies between different subjects.

Pre-school and Primary education

Pre-school education is popular with more affluent parents, and sometimes children attend pre-school facilities even from the age of two. Between 4 and 12 years old, children are obliged to go to the basisschool (elementary school; lit. "basic school"). This school has eight grades. The first and second grade used to be called kleuterschool (kindergarten), and many people still refer to both grades as such. From group 3 on, children will start to learn reading and doing maths. When a child has not advanced enough in a year, he/she has to do the whole year again. Government-sponsored elementary education is officially free of charge, but many schools ask a "parental contribution" from parents that can amount to a significant sum for the higher levels of education.

Secondary education

After attending elementary education, children from 12 years old go to the middelbare school (middle school) which has between four and six grades (depending on the type). VMBO is the least theoretical, followed by HAVO and VWO. The first year of secondary education is called brugklas ("bridge class"), where the school determines what type of secondary education should be followed. In practice, the brugklas is almost always already divided between the VMBO-brugklas, HAVO/VWO-brugklas and gymnasium-brugklas (gymnasium is part of the VWO).

Most are only specialised in one or two types of education. This is especially true for the gymnasium, which takes only the most promising students. Usually, children spend time only with people from their own 'education class' after they have been selected in the 'basisschool'. Because of this, the VMBO children who are destined for the nations industries and manual labour rarely interact with the cream of the cream at the Gymnasium. Some have critisised the system for being class-based and discriminating, pointing to the strong correlation between the income of parents and ethnicity in relation to the education type that a child is usually assigned to. This criticism is usually dismissed by pointing to the rigid testing and meritocratic principles used to select children for a certain education type.

Apart from these levels, there is functional specialisation throughout the secondary education system. There are two 'profiles' for students which provide an education programme with interdependent subjects relating to global sectors in the economy. The first profile is E&M (Economics and Society) which focuses on subjects such as economics, statistical math, history, societal studies, etc. Higher-level first profile students get classes on applied technology as well. The second profile ("Nature, Health and Technology") focuses on subjects such as general maths, biology, physics, chemistry and a subject dealing specifically with technology. Apart from these profiles, students have room for free choice of a number of subjects.

Higher education

With the necessary diploma's a student is granted acces to higher levels of education. This education is usually free, though again some schools ask for 'voluntary' fees that give acces to all sorts of facilities. Students do have to pay for their own books. There are four levels:

• Mbo (Middelbaar Beroeps Onderwijs): medium level vocational education focusing on specific trades.
• Hbo (Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs): higher vocational education. (You need a HAVO diploma.)
• Wo (Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs): universities.
• Bve (Beroepsonderwijs en Volwasseneneducatie): specialised post-school education and education for adults. This type of education, while not free, is rather cheap, as it is heavily sponsored as part of the 'life long learning' programme of the Ministry of Education.

Foreign Affairs and Defence

Military

(Main article: Knootian Defence Force)
The ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence coordinates external relations and controls the military. The Knootian Defence Force (KDF) is seen by Knootians as the military arm of foreign policy, referring to all the branches of the military.

International Organisations

Despite not being a member of the United Nations, the DDR cooperates with several UN organisations, through the UN office.

External links

• Knootoss' official website