Arcadian Senatorial Republic

Arcadian Senatorial Republic Repubblica Senatoriale D'Arcadica
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Per Dio e la Patria For God and Country
Anthem: Marzo Nazionale (National March)
Capital	Porta Libera
Largest	Vitris
Official languages	Arcadian
Recognized Languages	Irassian
Ethnic groups (2015)Arcadian National Census Bureau	79.2% Arcadian 10.7% Various 7.2% Irassian 2.9% Culmian
Religion (2015)Arcadian National Census Bureau	70.1% Catholic 19.5% Irreligious 3.7% Protestantism 3.6% Arcadian-Culmian Pagan 3.1% Other
Demonym(s)	Arcadian
Government	Unitary Parliamentary Republic
• President	Aurelio D'Libero
• Speaker of the Senate	Cristoforo Giacomo
• Parliamentarian of the Senate	Azelia Capo
• Chief Justice	Andri Paluva
Legislature	Senate
Formation
• Establishment of Arcadian Kingdom	10th Century
• Unification under Arcadian Monarch	12th Century
• Conquest of Irassia and Culmia	1470-1492
• New Year's Revolution	1 January 1901
• Fall of the Arcadian Socialist Republic	3 July 1971
• First Free Elections	12 April 1974
• Sovereignty dispute with Culmia	Ongoing
Population
• 2021 estimate	169,037,122 (8th)
• 2015 census	Arcadian National Census Bureau
Currency	Bronzella (฿) (ABR)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy and yyyy-mm-dd AD
Driving side	right
Calling code	+71
Internet TLD	.as

Arcadia or formally the Arcadian Senatorial Republic (Arcadian: Repubblica Senatoriale D'Arcadica) is a country primarily located on Normerra, on the Meredonne continent. Bordering the Paisi Ocean to the north, the Aestas Sea to the south, and the countries of Lativa and Sarremaa, Austilos, and Layfet to the east and southeast. Also to the east is the Culmia Region, which currently forms a conflict over perceived sovereignty and land rights. It makes up the largest share of land on Normerra, and the vast majority of the population of Normerra lives in Arcadia or Arcadian-administered territories. Additionally, several large islands in the Aestas Sea (called the Large Aestas Islands)

Modern humans arrived in the area thousands of years ago, but it is unknown exactly when. At one point, a series of local tribal chiefs formed a kingdom. Additionally, languages similar to OTHER ROMANCE LANGUAGE or OTHER ROMANCE LANGUAGE migrated to the region via unknown means and became the dominant language of the population. These languages would morph to become modern Arcadian. This kingdom, now called the Kingdom of Arcadia (allegedly named for the Arcadian Valley) became the dominating force of the region.

The kingdom remained more or less stable and seized control of much of the territory in modern Arcadia, including a brief venture into Irassia and the conquest of Culmia. During this time, Catholicism became the dominant religion in most of the country, and became the sole state religion in 1370. A communist revolution in 1901 overthrew the monarch, and saw the adult males of the royal family executed and the women and children deported and exiled. The Socialist Republic would last until 1971, where after two and a half years of civil war it was formally deposed and a provisional government was formed. In 1974, the first free elections for a new government were held.

Today Arcadia is a parliamentary republic with a mostly ceremonial head of state in the president, with most practical governing power belonging to the Senate Speaker. It is considered a highly developed country with high income and GDP per capita, with the DEVELOP RANK highest GDP in the world. In foreign relations, Arcadia is heavily involved in the Culmian Conflict and is often blamed for the conflict. Arcadia remains allied with the Protectorate of Culmia and the Culmian National Council, and is in conflict with the Culmian Children of Fanthar. It is also a member of the UN EQUIVALENT? and INSERT INTL ORGS PLS.

Geography

At AREA, Arcadia is the RANK largest country in the world by area, and is the largest country on Normerra. The volcano Mt. Tomás is the highest mountain in the country. The country lies nearly entirely in Meredonne, with a chain of islands in the Aestas Sea being the only non-mainland directly administered Arcadian territory.

Arcadia primarily lies between latitudes 19°N and 31°N and longitudes 112°E and 126°E.

Bordering the Paisi Ocean to the north, the Aestas Sea to the south, with the countries of Lativa and Sarremaa, Austilos, and Layfet lying to the east and southeast. Also to the east is the Culmia Region. It shares a maritime border with Nicersdah as well.

Climate

Most of Arcadia is dominated by the humid subtropical climate (Cfa/Cwa). As one nears the western tip of the country, the climate gradually becomes slightly less humid and is more arid. As one moves further south, the weather become slightly more tropical. The Aestas Islands, near the equator, qualify as tropical. as the winter season and all months have a mean temperature above 18.0 °C (the defined coldest monthly mean temperature of tropical climates).

Seasonally, summers are generally hot and humid throughout the entire country. Air currents pump hot and moist air mass from the tropical Aestas Sea and Paisi Ocean towards Normerra as whole, creating the typical sultry tropical summers. Daytime highs are often in the upper 20s to the mid 30s celsius. Rainfall is summer concentrated along the southern coast. Sunshine is abundant across the country in summer, as the rainfall often comes in quick, but intense downpours. The summer months are by far the wettest portion of the year for the majority of the country. The Aestas Islands on the other hand are much wetter, qualifying as a tropical rainforest climate, receiving more than 60mm of rain every month.

Winters are colder in the western tip, with average highs in the 7 °C range in January. Farther east, winters become milder, with average January highs in the 12 °C range. As one nears the Aestas Sea, coastal plain, and coastal areas of the south, winters become warm, with daytime highs near or over 16 °C. Winters tend to be very dry and sunny. In the Aestas Islands, sunny and wet weather is constant year round.

Topography

The country is relatively flat as a whole, with most elevation changes being rolling hills, shallow valleys, and shallow canyons cut by rivers. Springs form the majority of river sources in the country, and many flow north-south or west-east.

Geology

With the Normerran Plate converging into the PLATE NEXT TO ASTARIAX Plate, earthquakes are very common in the northern and western portions of the country.

Politics

Domestic Politics

Arcadia is a parliamentary republic, with an elected legislature in the Senate, while executive functions are preformed by the Senate Speaker.

The legislative branch is made up of the Senate, which consists of 589 seats, elected by mixed-member proportional method. 277 seats are constituent seats, elected by instant-runoff voting. The remaining 300 seats are filled by party vote lists, allocated via the WEBSTER METHOD. An additional 12 seats are reserved for overseas voters, voting in one of of several constituencies by party list method.

The executive branch consists of a Cabinet presided over by the Senate Speaker, who is nominated as candidate by the President after holding consultations with representatives from the different parliamentary groups. The speaker is the de jure presiding officer of the Senate, though this role is mostly relegated to ceremonial occasions. In practice, the speaker operates as the equivalent of what many countries refer to as "prime minister". The heads of the various Cabinet members (who are referred to by various titles) are subordinate to the speaker, who presides over Cabinet functions.

The head of state is legally the president, who is elected by secret ballot in the Senate with a two thirds vote required, but after 5 rounds it moves to a three fifths vote. After 10 rounds, the president is elected by majority between the top three candidates in an STV election. The President serves for up to 20 years and is the ceremonial head of state with little tangible power. The president can be removed by an anonymous three fifths vote for corruption or instability of health.

There is no single apex court in Arcadia, rather there are three to five (disputing interpretations) bodies acting as courts of final resort:

• for judicial cases (i.e. civil and criminal cases): the Attorney's Court (Tribunale Dell'Avvocato)
  
• for administrative cases: the Public Law Court (Tribunale Di Diritto Pubblico)
  
• for constitutional challenges of laws and policy: the Constitutional Court (Tribunale Costituzionale)
  
• for jurisdictional disputes, a temporary court may be assembled: the Provisional Jurisdiction Court (Tribunale di Giurisdizione Provvisoria)
  
• The Senate may also act as a court by two thirds vote in cases involving the Attorney's and Public Law courts.

Political Parties

The Republican Group, the Freedom Party, Christian Union, and the Central Liberal Party have, in modern times, been considered the four major political parties of the Senate, representing the traditions of capitalist conservatism, social democracy, Christian democracy, and liberalism, respectively, though other smaller parties exist. Most remaining seats are won by four smaller and more specific parties that rarely contest party list elections: Culmian Freedom Front (majority-Culmian eastern regions only); Citrus Belt Party (interior regions only); and the Democratic Party and Centrist Party (majority-Arcadian eastern regions only). In accordance with party policy, no elected Culmian Freedom Front members of the Senate have ever attended meetings of the Senate to speak on behalf of their constituents because of the requirement to take an oath of allegiance to the government and Senate. Most political coalitions are formed between 1-2 of the major parties in addition to any number of smaller parties necessary to attain a majority.

Administrative Divisions

Arcadia is organized under a "top down" approach. The national government (or central government) has the power to override any lower decision made, and any law or court decision by a national level institution immediately overrides all lower institutions. For administrative reasons, the country is divided into first order administrative divisions. These first order divisions can be either "regions" representing the historical provinces of the Arcadian Kingdom without the name. These regions were formed from a variety of "departments" from the socialist era. They can also be "independent cities", representing city-states which do not operate under any one region. There are currently four such cities, along with seven regions. Further divisions are altered soley by the preceding divison (i.e. a region can decide second order but is limited in third order divisions), with most regions having second and third order divisions, whereas independent cities merely skipped to fourth order divisions. All regions have "second cities" which, while not independent from the region, are their own second order division.

There exist currently 11 first order divisions, 7 regions and 4 cities. First order divisions handle broad police powers, are responsible for handling education and healthcare, and construct intradivision infrastructure. Some divisions share or completely defer to even lower levels of government on these issues. First order divisions must have wholly elected legislatures and executives, in separated branches.

Regions

• Penacos
  
• Verhilterra
  
• Arcadian Valley (Valle d'Arcadia)
  
• Lomarche
  
• Duscano (Duscana)
  
• Umbraneto
  
• Corlily (Corilia)

Independent Cities

• Porta Libera
  
• Vitris
  
• Zarasia
  
• Ad Novas

Second order divisions commonly fill subregional roles, such as local power or water. Of all the divisions, the second order is the most ambiguous. These are referred to as a county (contea) in Penacos, Arcadian Valley, and Duscano and as a province (provincia) in Verhilterra, Lomarche, and Corlily. Umbraneto's name is unique, department (dipartimento). Second order divisions must be democratically elected, but face no government restrictions. Second order divisions frequently operate under executive councils, where a single body forms both the legislature and executive committee.

Third order divisions commonly hold municipal roles, and frequently account for most day to day laws experienced by Arcadians. With the exception of Lomarche, all third order divisions in every region are referred to as a municipality (comune). In Lomarche, a third order division is called a community (comunità). Third order divisions vary wildly in government.

Fourth order divisions once held the most basic government functions, but their usage as governing bodies have been mostly abolished in six regions, with only Lomarche, which has the neighborhood (quartiere), the local area of a large city with any real nonceremonial power. All four independent cities have the term community (comunità) for their fourth order division. The "district" (distretto) is nothing more than a navigational aid in most regions.

Associated State

Under Arcadian law, a single associated state exists: The Republic of Irassia. Irassia was formerly independent until the mid-18th century, where a series of conflicts allowed Arcadia to take control of the small feudal kingdom. During the Arcadian Civil War, Irassia declared independence, with limited recognition. Despite some rhetoric from more radical members of the provisional government, Irassian militia groups were too dug in to make invasion a viable option. A series of agreements established a new relationship between the two states, with Irassia operating as an extension of Arcadia globally:

• Irassia would be totally autonomous in domestic affairs, but would cede foreign policy to Arcadia.
  
• Irassia would be allowed a militia for internal defense, all matters of protection would belong to Arcadia.
  
• A common market would be established between the two, with free movement of people, goods, and capital.
  
• A common currency, controlled by the Arcadian government (though with Irassian representation in the central bank) would be established.

Dependent Territory

Under the Dependent Territory Act of 1999, a new "dependent territory" was created out of the territory directly annexed by Arcadia from Culmia. The Protectorate of Culmia operates as an autonomous nation under the protection of Arcadia, although critics say the relationship amounts to the POC being a de facto puppet state of Arcadia. The extent to which the relationship between Arcadia and the POC follows the Dependent Territory Act is hotly debated in international circles.

Economy

With a GDP per capita of MATHS, Arcadia ranks RANK in the world and RANK in Meredonne. By pure GDP, Arcadia ranks RANK in the world and RANK in Meredonne, with a GDP of MATHS. The Arcadian economy is fairly unique in that manufacturing and agricultural sectors account for a much higher share of workers than other economies of comparable development. Mining is, while declining, another signifigant industry. Other large economic industries include the service and trade industries. The economy is overall diverse, but is heavily concentrated according to geographic location.

The Arcadian manufacturing industry is characterised by a smaller number of global multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises, and is clustered in coastal cities. This has produced a manufacturing sector often focused on the export of niche market and luxury products, that if on one side is less capable to compete on the quantity, on the other side is more capable of reducing job and profit loss to smaller and poorer nations. Former Minister of the Economy Mario Saranelli has been quoted as saying that Arcadian manufacturing is ...small, expensive, and luxurious. Its closest trade ties are with FIND WILLING VOLUNTEERS. Manufactured goods include clothing and apparel alongside luxury vehicles and products.

Also concentrated in coastal cities is the trade industry. Conveniently located along Astariax-Olivacia-Meredonne trade routes, Arcadian ports are frequented by cargo ships and form crucial transportation hubs, refueling stops, and oftentimes an area to pick up goods for export. With nearly NUMBER billion Int'l currency?? worth of goods exported in 2019, Arcadia ranks RANK in the world by exports.

Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the rural interior, is a large industry as well, with the Arcadian "Citrus Belt" growing large quantities of lemons, grapefruit, and oranges. Additionally, pineapples, bananas, and blueberries are common products for export. However, a signifigant portion of pineapple, banana, and blueberry production instead goes to the production of Arcadian brandy: a sweet and strong alcoholic beverage made from distilling a mixture of pineapple, banana, and blueberry wine. Coffee is another export, but much like Arcadian manufacturing it is conducted by smaller and medium sized firms, and concentrates on quality over quantity. Verhilterra coffee is widely considered a delicacy, and is a sought after product.

Culture

Folklore

The folklore of Arcadia