Spirit of Hope

A Nation Created in a Spirit of Hope
Motto: Hope is the Spirit of Freedom
Capital	Haless
Official languages	English
Demonym(s)	Hopians
Government	Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic and Monarchy
• Upper house	House of the Lords
• Lower house	House of the People
Establishment
• Signing the Treaty Creating A Nation in a Spirit of Hope	1653
Population
• 2019 estimate	524,000,000
• 2016 census	523,645,720
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	30.02 Trillion
• Per capita	57,643
HDI (2018)	.932 very high
Currency	Mark
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.soh

A Nation Created in a Spirit of Hope, commonly known as Spirit of Hope (SoH), is a country comprising of 13 kingdoms. The capital is Haless, which also serves as the capital for that kingdom.

The boundaries of Spirit of Hope were created in Antiquity, with the creation of the Fromosian Empire. The Fromosian empire lasted a little over a century before collapsing due to internal power struggles. In it's place thirteen separate nations arose, and began to fight for dominance of the region.

In 1594 the Formation Wars began when X and Y went to war over a disputed bit of territory, the conflict quickly engulfed the entire region, and by 1601 every one of the thirteen nations was involved in the conflict. Over the next fifty years the region was devastated by the war, and the original cause of the war was quickly forgotten. By 1652 all participant nations were exhausted from the war, and due to complicated dynastic marriages, ongoing conflict, and assassinations, most of the royal families had consolidated on King Abelard the First. Starting in 1653 King Abelard held a series of peace negotiations to end the conflict and consolidate his new realm. In 1654 the Treaty Creating A Nation in a Spirit of Hope was signed, creating the modern empire and setting out the government system.

Politics and Government

Spirit of Hope is divided into 13 independent kingdoms, each controlling internal policing and government. The federal government is responsible for governing trade between the kingdoms and foreign policy, however by controlling the distribution of tax money it is able to heavily influence each kingdoms internal policies.

The federal government has three branches:

• The Executive: Formally the Emperor is the head of the Executive Branch, however he has devolved all power to the office of the President. Serving as commander in chief of the armed forces, vetoes legislation, appoints members executive agencies, and Judges.
• Legislator: Made up of the House of the Lords and House of the People, makes federal laws and sets federal taxes.
• Judicial: Interprets laws, and specifically how they interact with the Treaty founding Spirit of Hope.

The House of the People has 500 seats, half are elected by party list proportional representation, with the other half representing districts apportioned by the population. Districts can, and often do, cross kingdom lines and are designed to group geographic and ethnic regions by the Judiciary. Elections are held every 2 years for all seats.

The House of the Lords has 52 seats, four for each Kingdom. Formally they are appointed by the head of state of each kingdom, but for over 100 years all have been elected by their kingdom population at large. They hold their seat for eight years, with one seat being elected every two years.

Military

The President is the commander in chief of the country's armed forces and appoints the heads of the different branches of the armed forces, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Emperor's Own. Total active forces are over 1 million personnel, with reserves bringing the total to around 2 million.

Military service is voluntary, however conscription has been used in the past and in extreme circumstances the President can call for conscription again. Between the Navies amphibious assault ships, and the Air Forces transport capability, the Spirit of Hope armed forces can rapidly deploy anywhere in the world.

The total Budget of the armed forces in 2016 was over $600 Billion. During that time the Spirit of Hope Army has a budget of $251 Billion, composed of 20 active divisions, 10 reserve divisions, the Emperors Own Brigade, and a number of independent smaller units. The Air Force and Navy each have a budget of $203 Billion in 2016.

Spirit of Hope is a declared nuclear power, with it's primary means of delivery being ICBM's carried by the nations submarine force. A limited number of air and surface launched cruise missile warheads are declared. Spirit of Hope denies any chemical or biological weapons, but does carry out defensive research.

Economy

Spirit of Hope is a developed country with a high income and mixed economy. The private sector is estimated to constitute approximately 75% of the economy. Federal spending accounted for roughly 10%, with kingdom funding, including federal transfers, amounting to the remaining 15%. With abundant natural resources and a large industrial base, Spirit of Hope is a net exporter despite its postindustrial economy.

Major finished exports include electronics, cars and parts for cars, and ships and other vessels. Spirit of Hope is also a net exporter of oil and other petroleum products, along with other raw resources such as natural gas, coal, iron, copper, lead, magnesium, tungsten and graphite.

The various governmental level of Spirit of Hope work to maintain low debt and a strong fiscal reserve to counter financial emergencies.

Transportation

Spirit of Hope has a technologically advanced transportation network, consisting of high speed and normal railways, highways, bus routes, river and canal routes, and air routes that crisscross the country.

High speed passenger rail lines connect the major cities of Spirit of Hope, with services at 400 km/h. In addition their is an extensive regular rail network that connects smaller cities and towns, along with providing for the transport of bulk or heavier goods. All major cities have urban subway and rapid transit systems.

There are over fifteen international airports in Spirit of Hope, that regularly support large international flights as well as internal flights, both for passengers as well as freight. Three major domestic airlines dominate the market, however smaller airlines exist and many international flights are owned by international airlines.

River and canal services still support the bulk transfer of some goods, such as iron and some agricultural goods, however they are largely a legacy system that has been overtaken by rail for other markets.

Energy

Nuclear Power produces 80% of Spirit of Hopes electrical power, with the remaining 20% produced by a combination of hydro and solar. Construction of new nuclear power plants is ongoing, with five more reactors scheduled to come online in 2020. Spirit of Hope enriches it's own uranium, however a majority of the uranium is imported.

Renewable energy sources, such as hydro, solar, and wind, have been gaining a larger market share over the last two decades, rising from less than 10% in 2000 to slightly over 20% in 2018.

Science and Technology

Spirit of Hope has been a strong contender in science and technology since the mid 19th century.

The government has helped the development of technology based companies by investing in a better education system and related infrastructure. There are multiple world rated technology corporations.