Plaarna
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| Flag of Plaarna | |
| Motto: Plaarna'ma g'fner! ('Plaarna is our mother!') | |
| No Map Available | |
| Region | The Restored ESUS |
|---|---|
| Capital | Plet'f City |
| Official Language(s) | Plaarnan |
| Leader | Hrr'Var Jysiso |
| Population | < 100 Million |
| Currency | Plaarnanic Dollar |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Plaarna is a small, semi-independent nationstate united with several other Plaarnan tribes to form a Unified Plaarnan Government. It suffers from a slight downturn in economic growth, and a stagnation of the education system. There are also some problems with rebel factions attempting to secede the nation from the UPT.
Contents
Language
See main article: Plaarnan.
Modern Plaarna
Plaarna comprises 32 unitary authority regions.
Popular folk-memory continues to divide Plaarna into 33 traditional counties.
Culture
Plaarna has a civic culture somewhat distinct from that of the rest of the Unified Tribes. It originates from various differences, some entrenched as part of the Act of Union, others facets of nationhood not readily defined but readily identifiable.
Plaarnan education
School students in Plaarna sit Standard Grade exams, and then Higher Grade exams. Also, a Plaarnan university's honours degree takes four years of study as opposed to three in the majority of other nations
Banking and Currency
Banking in Plaarna also features unique characteristics. Three Plaarnan corporate banks issue their own banknotes: (the Bank of Plaarna, the Royal Bank of Plaarna and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in many other nations.
Other facets of Plaarnan culture
Plaarna retains its own distinct sense of nationhood. Academic research consistently shows that people in Plaarna feel Plaarnan, whilst not necessarily feeling the need to see that translated into the establishment of a fully-independent Plaarnan nation-state.
Plaarna also has its own unique family of languages and dialects, helping to foster a strong sense of "Plaarnan-ness".
These factors combine together to form a strong, readily identifiable Plaarnan civic culture.
Religion
The Church of Plaarna functions as the national church. Much of Plaarna (particularly the capital) has experienced problems owing to the religious divide between Atheists and members of the Church of Plaarna. This problem has historically manifested itself in a number of ways, particularly in employment. The problems associated with sectarianism in Plaarna have diminished markedly compared with the past, although issues do remain to a certain degree.
| Religion | Percentage of Population |
|---|---|
| Church of Plaarna | 42% |
| No Religion | 58% |
Politics
Plaarnan is a multi-party constitutional democratic republic, with an elected senate of forty representatives. The majority seats in the senate determine overall leader of the nation, named the Franuuk.
The traditional political divides of Left-Right intersect with arguments over devolution, which all the Plaarnan-wide parties have supported to some degree throughout their history (although both Frizet’g and the Eck’Glz have swithered a number of times between supporting and opposing it). However, now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Plaarna's constitutional status remains between those who support Plaarnan independence (from the UPT and those who oppose it. Recent trends indicate, according to the State of the Nation Poll 2494, that 66% of Plaarnans would like the Plaarnan Senate to have more powers, while only 2% would like to see the powers returned to the UPT.
The Plaarnan economy
The Plaarnan economy comprises many different sectors. Fusion remains important, although light engineering and space-shipbuilding have seen a steady increase in recent years, and the service sector (especially finance) has increased in importance. Rural activities like fishing and agriculture are automated, although the country's technology sector has also seen growth in the manufacture of hi-tech goods and advanced telecommunication systems. Plaarnan whisky production continues to have significance, as does the country's tourism industry.
