Ardalia

The Republic of Ardalia Republika Ardaska
Flag
Status	Independent
Capital and largest city	Hran
Official languages	Ardalian
Recognised national languages	Standard Caropsyne, Loslakian
Religion	Orthodox Church
Demonym(s)	Ardalian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
• President	Leno Frikasz
• Premier	Ardor Raszan
Legislature	Skupstina
History
• Monarchy	1000
• First Republic	1912
• Letzek Regime	1947
• Second Republic	1990
• Third Republic	2010
Area
• Total	238,421 km2 (92,055 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.80
Population
• 2020 census	35,910,337
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$342.22 billion
• Per capita	$9,530.00
Gini	33.7 medium
HDI	0.620 medium
Currency	Ardalian Kupon (ARK)
Time zone	UTC +2
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+14
ISO 3166 code	AR
Internet TLD	.ar

Ardalia (Ardalian: Ardaska), officially the Republic of Ardalia (Ardalian: Republika Ardaska) is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic in Southern Thearea. It borders the Caropsyne Pontanore to the northwest, Rygaria to the east, Loslakia to the northeast, and Prassia to the southeast, and shares maritime borders with the Pontanore and Prassia. Its capital and largest city is Hran. The country has a population of 35.9 million. In total, Ardalia covers an area of 238,421 square kilometers organized into fifteen districts.

For over eight hundred years, the country was ruled by a unbroken line of monarchs from the House of Varga. At the start they were seen as benvolent leaders but with each successive century, they had turned into cruel autocrats. The monarchy was overthrown in a popular uprising which brought about the establishment of the First Republic in 1912. Unfortuately, the young republic was mired by political instability where governments rose and fell with shaking the public's confidence but by the beginning of the 1920's, the country was able to find its footing and saw rapid growth. With the outbreak of the Great War, Ardalia joined on the side of the Caropsyne Pontanore against Latagon and Loslakia. After the war, General Ervin Letzek a staged a military coup and toppled the First Republic. He would go on to rule Ardalia with an iron fist for fifty years before being removed from power in 1990 following the disastrous loss in the Ardalian-Caropsyne War. The Second Republic was formed in the aftermath, and marked a high point for the country but ceased in 2006 due to the start of the devasting Ardalian Civil War. Four long years of bloodshed and destruction has brought about the current Third Republic.

Due to Ardalia's geographic location, it has long been considered a crossroads between eastern and western Thearea enabling it to create a unique and vibrant culture. It is a land of rich fertile plains, snow-capped mountains, and illydic scenic coastlines. While the Republic has witnessed economic gains following the Civil War, it is still a developing country, and classified as a middle-income country. Despite that, it is one of the more developed countries due to the sizable amount of foreign assistance and infrastructure investment provided by the Caropsyne Pontanore since the signing of the Treaty of Taerisz and by Loslakia during Letzek's regime. Ardalia's economy is highly dependent on industry and agriculture, particularly grains, livestock, minerals, and timber. Tourism has grown steady in recent years as individuals from across Thearea flock to the beaches of the Dracian Coast and the ski slopes of the Canthasian Mountains. While known for its relatively high gender equality, Ardalia suffers from a high crime rate (attributed mostly to drug usage, drug trafficking and corruption). It's a member of the United Nations, the Organization of Thearean Nations and the Thearean Common Market.

Politics and Government

The Ardalian Republic is a democracy which consists of a unicameral legislature known as the Skupstina which sits in Hran. According to the 1990 Constitution, the President of Ardalia is the ceremonial Head of State but holds no executive power. They are elected in a secret ballot at the start of each five-year term of the legislature by a two-thirds vote of the Assembly. The Premier is the Head of Government and the vested chief executive. They are almost always the leader of the largest single block in the Assembly or it can be the individual who has managed to form a stable coalition government (across all three Republics, there has only been 2 coalitions).

The Skupstina consists of 195 deputies who are elected by party-list proportional representation based on the results of a general election that occurs no later than every five years. Early elections can be called either at the urging of the Premier or in the instance in which the Government in power loses a vote of confidence. All Ardalians over the age of 18 have the right to vote.

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary. The Constitutional Court acts as the interpreter and guardian the nation's fundamental principles. Ardalia's legal system follows the principles of civil law.