New Elkland

The Freelands of New Elkland Elkland
Flag
Capital	Courbagne
Official languages	Elklandian
Recognised national languages	Maissyian
Demonym(s)	Elklander
Government	Parliamentary democracy
• President	Lionel Pieters
Population
• 2020 estimate	34,812,000
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy

The Freelands of New Elkland, more commonly referred to as New Elkland or simply Elkland is a nation on the planet Iearth, located on the continent of Adula, bordered by Durnstaal to the east, Serra Leon to the west, Wyomia to the north, and by the Albarine Sea to the south. The capital, Courbagne, is the administrative center and most populous city in the country at 3.7 million people, as well as the largest port in the nation. The geography in the region is largely flat, with an elevation increase further inland. The border with Durnstaal consists of dense forests in the north, which gradually turn to grassy plains and rocky terrain as it approaches the shore.

Modern humans first arrived in the Elkland Plateau around 35,000 years ago. Elklander cultures and settlements developed on the plateau for tens of thousands of years. In the early eighth century the Vislan Kingdom was conquered by the Emmirian Caliphate. The Muslim rule in the Plateau soon became autonomous from the coastal cities of Courbagne and Altbach. A handful of small Christian pockets in the north were left out of Muslim rule. Over seven centuries, an intermittent southwards expansion of these Christian kingdoms culminated with the Christian seizure of the last Muslim polity in Durnstaal. A process of political conglomeration among the Christian kingdoms also ensued, and the late 15th-century saw the dynastic union of Courbagne in the south and Donelina in the north under the Catholic Monarchs, sometimes considered to be the emergence of Elkland as a unified country.

New Elkland is a secular parliamentary democracy with President Lionel Pieters as head of state. It is a major developed country and a high income country, with one of Adula's largest economies by nominal GDP. It is a member of the Coalition of Crown Albatross and many other international organisations such as the Central Adula Mutual Defense Agreement.

Politics

Legislature

The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies, a lower house with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and the Senate, an upper house with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote, using a limited voting method, and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.

President

President of New Elkland Lionel Pieters.

The executive branch consists of a Council of Secretaries presided over by the President, who is voted in by the members of the lower house during an investiture session and then formally appointed by the Vice-President. The President is the head of state and executive officer of the Government of New Elkland. The government also is helmed by a Vice-President, who is the cheif officer of the Congress of Deputies, deputy secretaries and the rest of secretaries convene at the Council of Secretaries.

Military

EAFN Jaques Mourian, a Elkland Navy's EDL class frigate incorporating a Zamastanian-produced Combat System.

The armed forces of New Elkland are known as the Elkland Armed Forces. Their Commander-in-chief is the Presdient of New Elkland, Lionel Pieters. The next military authorities in line are the Vice-President and the Secretary of Defense.

The Elkland Armed Forces are divided into three branches:

• Army
• Navy
• Air Force

Mandatory military conscription was suppressed in 2001. Much of New Elkland's modern day equipment is provided and supplied by the Zamastanian and Emmirian governments.

Foreign Relations

New Elkland is a member of the Coalition of Crown Albatross and many other international organizations, most significant being that of the Central Adula Mutual Defense Agreement and the Central Adula Trade Agreement. It hosts sub-regional offices of the C.C.A. in the capital of Courbagne and Trotetten. New Elkland's closest ally is considered to be Durnstaal, with a close shared history, open trade, and an extensive shared border. Other close allies include Austrolis, Alcarres, and Albarine.

Economy

New Elkland's largest trading partners are Durnstaal, Austrolis, Albarine, and Emmiria. The nation's largest exports are agricultural products such as grain and soy, with a significant sector in cattle products, such as dairy, meat, and leather. New Elkland also has a sizable petroleum industry, with most drilling being made from off-shore deposits.

Agriculture

Citrus fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, and wine, New Elkland's traditional agricultural products, represents 12%, 12%, 24%, 6%, and 4%, respectively, of the country's agricultural production. Because of the changed diet of an increasingly affluent population, there was a notable increase in the consumption of livestock, poultry, and dairy products. Meat production for domestic consumption became the single most important agricultural activity, accounting for 30% of all farm-related production in 2015. Increased attention to livestock was the reason that New Elkland became a net importer of oils and wines, making any grown in Elkland considered a delicacy. Ideal growing conditions, combined with proximity to important central Adulan markets, made citrus fruits and grains New Elkland's leading export. Fresh vegetables and fruits produced through intensive irrigation farming also became important export commodities, as did sunflower seed oil that was produced to compete with the more expensive olive oils in oversupply throughout the East-Central Adulan region.