Difference between revisions of "Oceania (country)"

Revision as of 21:44, 22 November 2006

The United Kingdom of Oceania

Flag
Motto (English): Excelsior
Anthem: God Save the King
Map of the Home Islands Click here for image Map of Juristan Click here for image Map of the Indian Islands Click here for image Map of Novikov Click here for image
Capital	Imperium (47,689,232)
Five largest cities	Breningrad (56,398,222) Philadelphia (52,745,103) Imperium (47,689,232) Portsmouth (40,312,989) Artega (37,846,408)
Spoken languages  - Official  - Unofficial	English Slovak, Russian, Spanish
Government  - Sovereign  - Prime Minister  - Governing political party	· Constitutional monarchy · Parliamentary democracy King George Marquess of Salisbury Democratic Socialist Party
Establishment  - Treaty of Kingston  - Act of Union	1912 2006
Area  - Total  - Former Azazia  - Novikov	12,922,995 km² 6,542,910 6,380,085
Population  - Total (2006)  - Former Azazia  - Novikov	7,509,000,000 5,017,000,000 2,492,000,000
GDP (FY2006/07)   - Total (USD)   - GDP/capita (USD)	$275,512,300,000,000 $56,227
Currency	1 Oceania Pound (£) = 100 pence (p)
Naval craft classification   - Military   - Civilian	HMS ONC
Internet TLD	.az, .oc

The United Kingdom of Oceania is a country primarily located within and on the periphery of the Pacific Ocean, with significant constituent political units located in the Sea of Japan, the eastern Bay of Bengal and the central Indian Ocean. Although comprised almost entirely of islands, many colonies and overseas territories of the UK border foreign powers, although only one of the four Home Countries actually borders a foreign power.

The United Kingdom is a union of the Home Countries of Juristan, Kingsland, the Indian Islands, Novikov, and Azazia. Outside of these major political units are the various crown colonies, dependencies and non-self-governing territories that comprise the greater Oceanic Empire.

As a developed, post-industrial economic power, the United Kingdom wields a significant amount of economic clout that is slowly transforming itself into a strong diplomatic presence in the world. Although not a signatory to the United Nations, the government of the United Kingdom has consistently upheld civil liberties as paramount to liberal democracies – although some critics warn the erosion of a strong opposition to the governing Democratic Socialist Party as a signal of a possible decline into despotism.

History

In its current form, the United Kingdom of Oceania came into being with the Act of Union 2006, which integrated the former Royal Crown Colony of Novikov into a political union with the United Kingdom of Azazia, Juristan, Kingsland, and the Indian Islands. The need to create a strong and unified national identity led the leaders of the United Kingdom to adopt Oceania as the new name for what became a nation bound not by ethnic or cultural ties but by an ocean that linked each island to the other.

Prior to the Union Act, the United Kingdom had been engaged in a policy of imperial expansion that culminated with the annexation of the former sovereign state of Novikov as a colony in the aftermath of the Novikovian War. Such expansion, however, is not new but rather a definition of the historical development of what had been competing European colonies on the Azazian Archipelago since the 16th century when the first Europeans, shipwrecked Spaniards, ‘discovered’ the archipelago.

Government and Politics

Main Article: Politics of Oceania

The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed by a constitutional monarchy where executive power lays with the sovereign monarch but is executed on his or her behalf by His/Her Majesty’s Government, headed by the Prime Minister and secretaries of state that hold official portfolios of the government. All the ministers of the government are drawn from Parliament, which is not bound by a constitution – as no single text exists – but rather by tradition and individual pieces of constitutional law.

Because of the system of power execution within the United Kingdom, the monarch rules as Head of State while the Prime Minister heads the government. The origin of the system of government is the Westminster system of government, one of the most visible and enduring legacies of the impact of the British Empire in founding and governing the Azazian Archipelago before granting it its independence.

As a unitary state, ultimate authority for all power vested in the state lies with the government based in Imperium. However, to ameliorate those Novikovians distressed with their annexation and integration into the United Kingdom the Parliament of Novikov continues to sit in Poldi'sk where it is allowed by Imperium to legislate on local affairs where the passed legislation does not conflict with UK law.

With the creation of the Oceanic Empire, governed by Imperium, the government created a bureaucracy and a system of managing and governing its vast overseas territorial possessions, variously styled as outright colonies, dependencies, or non self-governing territories. While some political units are governed at the local level, the local executive power is exercised by the Crown’s appointed representatives. For many colonies where insufficient political, transportation, and communication infrastructure hampers self-government Parliament legislates directly.

Geography

Main Article:Geography of Oceania

The Home Islands, the Azazian Archipelago, constitute the bulk of the territorial possessions of the United Kingdom. Amongst the islands in the archipelago, the largest island is New Australia. The archipelago can be grouped into two separate arks running from southeast to northwest with the large Azazian Sea separating the two stretches of islands. In the western portions of the archipelago, most islands exhibit mountainous terrain owing to the still semi-active volcanic features that created many of the islands. The eastern portions, by comparison, feature gently rolling hills, with the only large mountains existing in the New Brittany Mountains, whose highest peaks reach just short of 8000 meters. The northern islands are the flattest of all, owing to the glaciation of the archipelago during the last ice age.

Kingsland, located within the continent of Irathria, exists almost entirely in a large north-south valley between two mountainous ranges on its eastern and western borders. The large cities of Charlotte and Port Marlton lay at the two ends of the valley with Port Marlton existing as a large seaport to the north and Charlotte being a major seaport for the massive body of water that the continent all but encircles.

Novikov consists of two large islands, with somewhat mountainous terrain in the southern portion of the southern island with large inlets and bays characterizing the coastal terrain. The restive region of Lesser Novikov occupies several islands located in the strait that separates the two large islands.

Juristan occupies the northeastern quadrant of the Island of Juristan, located within the Sea of Japan. Two large rivers drain the Home Country and are separated by a large flat plain while hills and mountains constitute the southern border.

The Indian Islands comprise the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the eastern Bay of Bengal. Also of volcanic origin, the islands feature numerous bays and coves that can handle small ships, although currently the harbour of Port Blair is being enlarged and deepened to handle larger shipping traffic.

Demographics

Breakdown of the UK Population by Ethnicity, for larger version Click here

Founded as a commonwealth by the colonial states of several European powers in the early 20th century, the United Kingdom has, since its inception, been an amalgamation of different peoples and cultures. The majority of the population is of British descent, from England, Scotland, or Ireland, while the largest minority is Russian, primarily from the Russian colony in the Azazian Archipelago and the substantial population in Novikov.

One of the longest-serving problems facing the state has been the differing national identities, as few European settlers adopted Azazia as a nation, owing to the long-simmering and violent conflict with the native peoples, the original Azazians. Thus, in 2006, the government reorganised the country as the United Kingdom of Oceania, with Oceanian becoming the official adjective to be given to all citizens – as prior to 2006 no such official distinction had existed.

Nevertheless, the ethnic breakdown of the UK shows that it is a multinational state and as such finds itself concerned with socioeconomic disparities between various groups within the country.

Language

With the original Commonwealth of Azazia dominated by the former British colony, the primary language of the Azazian Archipelago came to be that of English, with most Commonwealth schools teaching English to the decline of other languages – although many non-British descended families do retain their native languages to some degree or capacity. Along with the decision to forge a common ‘national’ identity as Oceanians, the government has also undertaken an effort to install English as the only official language throughout the country and the greater Oceanic Empire.

Religion

The majority religion of the United Kingdom is that of Christianity, although the latest information indicates that only 6% of the population of the UK practices their religion, and most of that comes from the comparatively religious province of Juristan.

As a holdover from the days of the Commonwealth, the Church of Azazia, the imported and modified version of the Church of England, remains the official religion of the United Kingdom although there are no bans on other religions anywhere in the UK. The Church of Azazia is part of the Anglican Communion. Beyond the Church of Azazia, the second largest branch of Christianity within the UK is that of the Russian Orthodox Church while Catholicism is of tertiary importance to the UK’s larger Christian community.

Economy

The United Kingdom’s economy continues to exhibit robust growth as it develops into an international economic powerhouse. Behind the growth rests the cornerstone of UK economic and financial policy: privatisation, deregulation, and low taxation. While much of former state-owned and operated enterprises have been broken up and sold to private investors, the UK does maintain golden shares in companies deemed necessary to national security. Regulation, too, still exists though mostly concentrated on providing quality and safety for the Oceanian and increasingly international consumer. Most regulation within the UK is conducted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which also effects international safety and inspection standards upon UK businesses and foreign businesses operating within the UK.

Fundamentally, the UK economy had long been built on a massive industrial manufacturing sector that has since slipped into decline on the Home Islands. Almost in exchange, UK investors diversified their holdings and spread their capital to create a powerful post-industrial economy aided by statues and laws that have created strong intellectual property rights.

By mid-2006 however, the industrial and manufacturing sectors began to see a revival, as the enormous wealth generated by the UK economy began to be invested into a ruined Novikov, which had been before its devastation in the Azazian-Novikovian War, a leading industrial producer. The low costs of living, and thus lower wages, of the Novikovian labour market, coupled with the UK capital and technology – specifically in areas of cutting manufacturing costs – have left Novikov with the potential to be an extremely profitable industrial centre for the UK.

Culture

International Relations

In many respects, the United Kingdom's foreign policy since its independence in the early 20th century has echoed that of its primary ancestor, the British Empire before the outbreak of World Wars I and II. A long period of political isolation during the formative years of the new nation precluded formal expansion, however, the first tendrils of an informal empire had begun to spread to neighbouring islands and newly sovereign states in the Pacific throughout the middle of the 20th century.

Rapid economic growth in the late 20th century led to what many historians call a neo-British Empire based, almost paradoxically, on the tenets of liberal democracy while maintaining rule through what many critics call thinly veiled dictatorship. This duality in maintaining the United Kingdom's empire had led to a similar duality in the practice of the nation's foreign policy.

Primarily, this duality evinces through moralistic statements calling for nations and governments to follow and adhere to traditional Western values in the exercise of the powers of state and the dealings of business. However, instances abound where the United Kingdom unilaterally eschews such actions in order to further its own interests across the globe.

On the whole, most analysts nonetheless agree that the United Kingdom acts to further expand liberal democracy and defend it where imperiled. Such policies have thus born one of the world's most powerful, if not formal, alliance of nations, the Big Three where the Democratic Capitalist Republic of Pacitalia and the Grand Archduchy of Hamptonshire are the United Kingdom's closest allies.

Outside the close-knit relations between the Big Three, informal as the United Kingdom and the Grand Archduchy have yet to formally establish diplomatic relations, the United Kingdom maintains membership in several international organisations--most predominantly geared towards trade and economic benefits. The most militaristic, and domestically controversial, organisation to which the UK belongs is the New Alliance Treaty Organization, also known as NATO, through which the UK is allied with states such as Automagfreek, perhaps the quintessential antithesis to a liberal democracy like the United Kingdom--another example of the UK's dual nature in foreign affairs.

In large part, however, the United Kingdom prefers to negotiate and maintain bilateral alliances with foreign states so as to avoid entanglement in affairs of state neither relevant nor important to the UK or its greater empire. This primarily can be traced back to the nation's involvement with the Ur Trade Pact--an economic alliance that evolved to include a military component that nearly involved the newly emerging nation in what would have been a disastrous war.