by Max Barry

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The Republic of
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

Overview Factbook Policies People Government Economy Rank Trend Cards

1

Citizen Application

  • Display Name: Oceania

  • Capital City: Annheim

  • Territory:

  • Population: 130,331,596

  • Description of Political Environment:
    Finally settling into a new constitution, ratified in 2004, the Oceanian Republic is a federal presidential republic. The President is elected every four years by an electoral college, and is an ex officio member of the lower house of the National Council, the bicameral legislature of the Republic.

    The President is the chief executive of the government, and appoints an 11-member Cabinet from members of the Council. Collectively, the President and the Cabinet constitute the executive branch. While the President has no legal obligation to command a majority of the Council, in the brief history of the current Republic, the President has never failed to build a governing coalition.

    The National Council possesses most legislative powers, though it has delegated much authority relating to trade, foreign policy, and defense to the executive branch. The lower house, the Congress of Deputies, is elected every two years via a mixed-member-proportional system, with the President an ex-officio member, 150 members directly elected from constituencies, and the remaining 300 members elected from party lists, two per constituency. The upper house, the Senate, elects four (technically nonpartisan) members from each of the 25 provinces by single transferable vote for terms of 12 years; elections are held every three years. The Senate cannot initiate, but can amend legislation, in practice giving it the option to kill legislation with amendments that the Deputies will not agree to. 3/5 of both houses are required to override a presidential veto.

    A three-tier court system handles major civil and criminal cases at the federal level. Lowest are the 40 circuit courts, consisting of several judges each — and often several branches each, as some districts can cover huge areas — which have general jurisdiction. Above them are 11 superior courts of appeals, which hear appeals and have subject matter jurisdiction. The court of final appeals is a High Court of seven judges. All judges are nominated by a nonpartisan judicial nominating commission (typically consisting of judges, elected by the National Council) and appointed by the President. A committee of the Senate hears constitutional questions and recommends action (but usually inaction) to the Deputies. Each province also has its own civil and criminal courts, and many communes have established popularly elected communal courts to deal with misdemeanors and small claims.

    The 25 provinces of Oceania make the Republic a federal one, but have a uniform structure prescribed by the Constitution that mirrors that of the federal government, featuring a governor and directly elected cabinet (who govern collectively in many respects), a unicameral legislature, and a two-tier court system. The provinces have all the powers of the federal government, but federal law is supreme. At the smallest level, many municipal powers are constitutionally devolved to 400 incorporated municipalities. Each municipal government consists of a commission (consisting of anywhere from 5 to 120 members, with fewer members being more common) and a directly elected Mayor.

  • Description of the Economy:

      Economy Type: Manufacturing/Service Economy
      GDP: $642 billion

      Specialization
      | Cargo Transportation - Ship | Shipbuilding - Commercial Large | Financial services - Investment management | Locomotive - Freight & Passenger | Cargo Transportation - Rail |
      Major Imports
      Industrial Equipment, Machinery, Food, Agricultural Goods, Petroleum, Raw Ores, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Equipment, Chemical Products, Vehicles

    Logistical operations — particularly maritime logistics, but also rail cargo — powers much of the Oceanian economy, with the investment industry exploiting this specialization. Subsistence agriculture exists to some degree in the northern, rural parts of the country, and there's some subsistence fishing along the coast, but neither exists nearly enough to sustain the overwhelming population.

  • Description of Your Nation's Military:
    Military Doctrine: Balanced

    National Attitude: Projecting

    Military Focus:

      6 :Army
      5 :Navy
      4 :Air force
      2 :Marines/Expeditionary

    Oceania maintains a balanced and capable military, recently reorganized with a long term goal of preserving Oceania’s “duty to democracy.” In peacetime, active forces comprise 521,000 members while there are 260,000 reserve members.

  • History of your Nation:
    Following about two centuries of shifting alliances and wars, dozens of Oceanian tribes were united under a monarchy some six hundred years ago. The monarchy steadily grew the borders, though not by much before, two hundred years ago, it was abolished in a revolution. The First Republic, a unitary parliamentary system, lasted for about two hundred years and, though it introduced massive economic growth and globalization, was plagued with instability as the population grew out of control. A constitutional convention was called in 2003 and it ratified the current constitution of the Second Republic.

The Republic of Vienna Eliot

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