States of Delkora

Delkoran States
Also known as: Delkorsk Staaten (Delkoran)
Category	Federated state
Location	Kingdom of Delkora
Number	5 (as of 2019)
Populations	5,182,742 (Norvia) - 28,805,912 (Cybria)
Government	State government
Subdivisions	County Municipality

The Kingdom of Delkora is a federal monarchy consisting of five constituent states that share sovereignty with the federal government. The present day states evolved out of unions of the early Delkoran varden, small agricultural communes, that began emerging around 1500 CE. Each is organized as a constitutional monarchy similar to the federal one.

History

The precursors to the modern Delkoran states were unions consisting of several allied varden in a particular region. Each union typically elected a hoyet herre (lit. "high lord") who was essentially a military commander responsible for coordinating the defense of the association's constituent varden. Different unions often went to war with one another, and over time the most militarily successful ones began amassing significant swaths of territory. Two of the most influential early unions were the Cybrietlanderen centered around the Trydenvar River in central Delkora and the Faureljetlanderen in eastern Delkora, the forerunners of the modern states of Cybria and Faurelia respectively.

By 127 CE, the Cybrietlanderen had emerged as the dominant union after defeating the Faureljetlanderen in a series of wars in the preceding decades that ended with the Cybrians expanding their territory to the Darzenbrom River, which continues to serve as the border between the two states to the present day. The Cybrian high lady Ashild I, hoping to cement Cybrian hegemony, forged an alliance with the Bandoreletlanderen, the forerunner of the modern state of Bandorel, and launched a campaign northward against the Vassenetlanderen and the Norvietlanderen, the forerunners of Vassengaard and Norvia respectively. The resulting Northern Wars lasted two centuries and ultimately ended with the Vassens and Norvians repelling the invaders. These and later conflicts, as well as cultural differences, would help to contribute to a north-south divide in Delkoran society that persists in various ways to the present day.

Infighting between the various Delkoran unions continued until around 300 CE, when the Arkoennite Empire began encroaching on the southern coast of Delkora. The high lords convened in the city of Vydenhelm in 327 and negotiated the Vydenhelm Covenant, an arrangement whereby they would call a temporary truce to unite against the Arkoenns. The Arkoennite Wars stretched several centuries, finally ending with the Cybrian high lord Illyar l leading Delkoran forces to a decisive victory in the Battle of Norenstal in 982. With the Arkoennite threat eliminated, Illyar declared himself King of the Delkorans, an arrangement the high lords accepted on the condition that they would retain sovereignty in their respective states. The city of Norenstal was subsequently established as the capital of the newly formed kingdom.

Much of the Delkoran Middle Ages and Early Modern period were characterized by a vacillation of power between the national monarch and the high lords, with the national monarch sometimes commanding significant power, and at other times relegated to an essentially ceremonial figurehead. In either case, the monarch's reign was inevitably contingent on having the support of the high lords, who frequently moved to oust unfavorable monarchs.

Following the constitutional convention that convened at the conclusion of the Delkoran Civil War, the states continued to function as essentially absolute monarchies even as democratic reforms were adopted at the federal level. This changed with the High Lords Amendment of 1888, which reduced the high lords to constitutional monarchs and shifted power to the state parliaments.

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, severe economic disparities began to emerge between different states as the Sundering Sea states of Bandorel, Cybria, and Faurelia derived major benefits from booming trade, while the northern states of Vassengaard and Norvia experienced high unemployment, neglected infrastructure, and severe population loss as people moved to the booming southern cities. Efforts were made under the New Kingdom program of the 1960's and 70's to remedy these disparities. Major programs included the Federal Equalization Fund Act of 1964, the establishment of the Office of Rural Development in 1965, and the expansion of highway and railroad construction projects sponsored by the Federal Public Works Commission beginning in the late 1960's. These programs helped reduce economic inequality between the states, but some disparities exist to the present.

Regionalism and, in some cases separatism, have been salient issues in recent decades. The state of Faurelia was hit particularly hard by the collapse of the manufacturing sector during the depression of the 1950's, which contributed to a resurgence in Faurelian Nationalism. Faurelia First, founded as a Faurelian separatist party in the 1960's, initially saw some electoral success. In 1997, the federal government authorized the Faurelian Assembly to proceed with an advisory referendum on independence that failed with 72% of respondents in the state opposing independence. As a result of the failed referendum and an advisory opinion from the Federal Constitutional Court in 2010 which held that states cannot secede from the Kingdom, the party has since backed away from advocating separatism, and instead promotes the state's unique economic and cultural interests.

Government

Each Delkoran state is governed by a directly-elected state parliament that has the authority to pass laws related to any of the powers granted to it by the federal Constitution, as well as any not delegated exclusively to the federal government. All five state parliaments are elected using some variation of proportional representation, with elections occurring every four years, typically in years that do not coincide with federal elections. Since the abolition of the Cybrian House of Lands in 1932, all five are unicameral. After an election, parties attempt to form a government in a manner similar to the Federal Parliament. The state executive cabinet is led by a first minister and is collectively responsible to the high lord. The high lords no longer have political power, however, and instead are constitutionally obliged to act on the advice of the elected government.

Subdivisions

Each state is divided into counties, which consist of groups of municipalities. The entire territory of Delkora is divided into municipalities, with no unincorporated areas. As a result, some municipalities consist of only a few small towns and large stretches of uninhabited forests or grasslands.

The exact procedures by which counties and municipalities are formed and governed vary between states. In general, a county is governed by a county council consisting of anywhere between 5 and 30 members. The council proposes ordinances that then have to be approved by the county commission, usually a smaller body with anywhere between 3 and 10 members that serves as the executive branch of county government. Members of both are elected using proportional representation, with council members being elected as representatives of the county's constituent municipalities, while commissioners are elected at-large, representing the entire county.

Municipalities are typically governed collectively by a municipal council elected using proportional representation, with the council president serving as a ceremonial "mayor." The largest municipalities have a separately elected mayor. Large metropolitan areas often have the status of both a county and municipality, with the municipal council in these areas exercising the functions of both a county and municipal council.

As of 2019, there are 573 counties in Delkora and 4,658 municipalities.

List

Coat of Arms	State	Capital	Head of State	Head of Government	Legislature	Population	Chamber of Representatives Seats
File:BandorelSeal.png	Bandorel	Falbaard	High Lord Taeren IV	Vynharm Daerendal (Kon)	Bandorelan Parliament	14,005,519	75
File:CybriaSeal.png	Cybria	Eldenvard	High Lady Æsa VII	Kamila Boerenheim (NL)	Cybrian Parliament	28,805,912	155
File:FaureliaSeal.png	Faurelia	Raikonyr	High Lord Falymyr II	Anjela Austren (L)	Faurelian Assembly	24,735,673	133
File:NorviaSeal.png	Norvia	Grafholmen	High Lady Brette VIII	Tobias Talbengar (L)	Norvish House of Delegates	5,182,742	28
File:VassengaardSeal.png	Vassengaard	Izenhoth	High Lord Drothmar III	Fyörvyn Dorbenger (L)	Vassengaard Parliament	11,785,621	63