Allied Castarcian States

Republic of Allied Castarcian States
Flag
Motto: "Working Together For A Better Tomorrow"
Anthem: Land of Hope and Glory
The Allied Castarcian States shown in wider Atlas in cream. The Allied Castarcian States shown in wider Atlas in cream.
Capital	Pearsonville
Largest City	Empire Bay
Official languages	English Celtic
Ethnic groups (2013)	87.1% White 5% Black 7.9% Other
Demonym(s)	Castarcian
Government	Representative Democracy
• Chancellor	Adam Whitfield
Legislature	Castarcian Council
Formation
• Abolition of Monarchy	2016
Area
• Total	1,220,580 km2 (471,270 sq mi)
Population
• 2014 estimate	47,632,118
• Density	39.024/km2 (101.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Per capita	$39,500
Gini	31.2 medium
Currency	Castarcian Pound (CPD)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.ACS

The Republic of Allied Castarcian States, commonly known as The Castarcian Republic ,or less commonly as ACS, is a sovereign state in Atlas.

The Castarcian Republic is not a very populous country, with an estimated 47.6 million inhabitants. It is a representative democracy and is governed primarily by an elected Chancellor, who acts as the Head of Government. Its capital city is Pearsonville, a rather small yet pleasant city. The current Chancellor - since 15 June 2016 - is Adam Whitfield.

The Castarcian Republic is a developed country and is considered to have a high-income economy, and it is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was formerly a very isolationist state after its independence and subsequent revolution and has only opened up to foreign affairs under the reign of the last Emperor, Connor I. The Castarcian Republic is a recognised nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure has risen in recent years following the Great Castarcian War against TBA.

Etymology and terminology

The First Imperial Declaration of 1930 under Emperor Jeremy I declared that the nation be referred to as The Empire of Allied Castarcian States from that moment onwards. The name comes from the fact that the nation was formerly composed of several states, who were now allied and united as one, under the overarching banner of Castarcia. Since the abolition of the monarchy after the deaths of Emperor Connor I and Empress Alice I without an heir, the nation has since became a Republic, and is henceforth referred to as The Republic of Allied Castarcian States.

History

Castarcian Imperial Revolution

After achieving independence from Brytene in 1883, the land area of what had once been the Empire of Castarcia was provisionally ruled under a unified government as the Republic of Castarcia. This ill-fated governmental system was disregarded by many from the outset and failed to establish any control over the populace, with most people regarding it as arbitrary and illegitimate. The people mostly reverted back to the ways things had been in 1703 - rightful heirs and heiresses assumed control of their countships, duchies, kingdoms and queendoms. These areas acted predominantly independently, as the Imperial Line of Empresses had died out long ago - thus there was no reformation of the Empire of Castarcia. At the time, there were a few small scale conflicts centred mainly around Kings and Queens enforcing their power over subordinate duchies who wished to resist their influence.

Beginning in 1930, Duke Jeremy of Casturon, well known at the time for his outspoken charismatic personality and rather distinctive political beliefs began to enact his plan of unifying and annexing neighbouring 'states' with the ultimate goal of forging a new and glorious Castarcian Imperial era. He had outlined this concept in his 1927 book in which he wrote at length discussing how a contemporary state could theoretically become a geopolitical power amongst other themes. He began to achieve this goal by putting innovative military theory into practice ; primarily the implementation of a combined arms doctrine in which armoured and mechanized units were complemented with aerial power and shock infantry, simultaneously supported by artillery, similarly to ideas published in 'On A Professional Army', authored by James Mackenzie.

Whilst these forces were met with initial overwhelming successes, the element of surprise quickly wore off after the first few campaigns had came to a close, and the forces of the Duke, who was by now a rightful King by conquest, were heavily outnumbered. Their advances began to slow and gradually grind to a halt. However, after subsequently withstanding a large Spring offensive mounted by a coalition of remaining states, primarily the Queendom of Lyralea, the upper hand had been once again gained and the odds became firmly in favour of Jeremy. His final opponents duly surrendered, not wishing to prolong and draw out a conflict which they had no hope of winning after the decisive defeat in the offensive. Consequently, Jeremy had unified the lands under himself, and declared a new Empire, with him at the head of it.

Reign of Jeremy and Interregnum

Emperor Jeremy I before his death in 1974 had created a highly militarised state, whereby the country had disproportionate military assets for its size. It was almost a policy of armed neutrality that earned the respect of several states internationally. During the latter stages of his reign, Grand Admiral Gerrard Steele was widely recognised as his right-hand man into whom he placed a lot of trust. However, upon the death of Jeremy I, the Grand Admiral seized control of the state and no imperial successor followed. Steele, and to a lesser extent, his successors, actively hunted members of the Imperial Family, who mostly fled and hid, with varying degrees of success.

However, after the death of Steele in 1986, things began to gradually return to how they were. The Imperial Council actually began to have power and influence and actually be democratically elected. After Daniel Carstairs announced that he would be stepping down in 2008, the Imperial Council put forth a referendum to the people, and it was decided to restore the monarchy. Emperor Connor I, a man previously unaware of his distant familial connection to the previous monarch of Castarcia, took the throne.

Politics

Government

The Castarcian Government is led by the incumbent Emperor or Empress, who acts as both Head of State and Head of Government in addition to being Supreme Commander of the Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces. An Emperor or Empress is elected when the previous rule of an Emperor or Empress comes to an end, either because they have been impeached, abdicated, or died. Candidates for the throne usually consist of established members of either the Imperial Council or the Imperial High Council, or in some cases, children or spouses of the previous monarch. These candidates not only have to win over the votes of the general electorate, but also the council too, in order to take the throne.

The Imperial High Council and the Imperial Council exist beneath the monarch. In times where a monarch is not present for any particular reason or simply does not exercise the power they have, the councils have the authority to run the nation as they see fit as long as they have a majority, bar making major decisions, such as going to war. The Imperial Council is composed of councilmen and councilwomen who are chosen by the electorate in local elections. The electorate consists of any Castarcian citizen over the age of 16 (except if they are ineligible to vote, i.e if they were in prison) and every four years (at maximum) each constituency votes from any candidate who wishes to stand and be a part of the council.

The Imperial High Council differs from the Imperial Council as it consists of 20 people who are appointed by the monarch. Typically, the most senior politicians - those who occupy important positions such as the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister of Finance - are appointed to this council. The function of the High Council is to directly and confidentially discuss the most important matters of state with the monarch and act as advisors.

In order for a monarch to be impeached, both councils must reach a 70% majority vote to suspend the current monarch. Once this occurs, it is then left to the common public to vote whether they are satisfied with their current monarch or whether they should be removed from the throne.

Foreign Relations

The Allied Castarcian States aims to take a neutral stance in most foreign matters, and until recently, rarely pursued alliances and treaties with other nations, instead preferring an isolationist standpoint. In recent years, with the rise of Emperor Connor I and his appointment of Alexander Winter to Foreign Minister, the ACS has become much more involved with others. This has proven controversial within the Empire, with many blaming the nations foreign dealings as a primary cause of the Great Castarcian War. However, most welcome the recent changes, especially with regards to stimulation of economic growth. This more active role combined with neutral aims has resulted in a reputation that the ACS will trade anything with anyone for the right price.

Military

File:Eagleland Naval Carrier.jpg

Conquest-class aircraft carrier of the Imperial Castarcian Navy

The armed forces of the Allied Castarcian States (officially known as the Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces) is composed of three main branches, being the Imperial Castarcian Ground Forces, the Imperial Castarcian Navy, and the Imperial Castarcian Air Force. The forces are managed and controlled by Castarcian High Command. Castarcian High Command is itself controlled by the Supreme Commander, Emperor Connor I, to whom all members of the Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces swear an oath of allegiance. The primary goal and objective of the Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces is to protect the Allied Castarcian States from any aggressor, with foreign intervention being a secondary priority. The Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces allows females to serve in any role, and has done since its formation in 1930. The predecessor to the Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces, the Castarcian Armed Forces, historically has always allowed females to serve and at one point in history, it was exclusively female.

The Imperial Castarcian Armed Forces played a key role in repelling the forces of TBA in the Great Castarcian War, and it classes itself as a professional military that can pose a threat to any fighting force in Atlas.

In the aftermath of the Great Castarcian War, military expenditure hit record heights as the Empire began a re-armament process.

Demographics

Languages

In old Castarcia, Celtic and its variants were the de facto official language. Some regions such as Parovea spoke a slightly different dialect to the rest of Castarcia, although it remained mutually intelligible. Close to the end of the 16th century, Castarcia began to anglicise so that it could better interact with other nations, especially Brytene, with whom the Empire signed the Drumhead Treaty with in 1597. After colonisation at the beginning of the 18th century, this trend continued more intensely. Few people can still speak Celtic today, with only 7.3% of Connurists claiming they were able 'to speak Celtic' in the 2011 Census.

Religion

Religion in the ACS
Religion			Percent
Irreligion			33.4%
Adfyr			32.0%
Cathan			8.8%
Christianity			6.0%
Islam			3.3%
Other religions			16.5%

The Allied Castarcian States is home to a mix of diverse religions. Whilst the state has remained secular since 1930, those who take an irreligious path to life only number 1 in 3. Adfyr still persists from the old days of Brytisc colonisation and remains as a popular faith - 1 in 3 Castarcians are also Adfyrians. Other major religious influences come from Cinoth in the form of Cathan, whereas abrahamic monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam are less common.

Marriage

Marriage is an extremely important concept in the Allied Castarcian States. That is not to say that it is not important elsewhere, but more so within the ACS. According to social attitudes surveys carried out nationwide in secondary schools and colleges, the number one ambition of young people is not to be successful or wealthy, but rather to be married happily. This is reflected in statistics concerning the average age of first marriage, where the ACS scores several years lower than most comparable developed countries.

Castarcian tradition has an interesting take on marriage. It typically defines marriage 'as a complete lifelong commitment to someone without whom life is not bearable.' Those who wed each other with a traditional ceremony are considered legally married even beyond death, unless divorced. This leads to the bizarre situation in which if a widow or widower remarries, they are considered married to two people at the same time. Whilst this technically qualifies as polygamy, the practice is not illegal and is considered socially acceptable amongst general society, as one is obliged to assume that the deceased partner would merely wish for their partner to be happy in this world. An example of this can be found in Emperor Connor I, who is considered legally married to both Empress Emily I and Empress Alice I.

Culture

Literature

'Castarcian literature' refers to literary works associated with the Empire of Allied Castarcian States and has also come to be associated with works from the era of the old first Empire of Castarcia and the Republic of Castarcia. The overwhelming majority of Castarcian literature is published in the English language, although there is a noteworthy yet tiny minority of works still published in Celtic forms. Most Castarcian books are love stories.

Sport

Sport is a popular pastime within the ACS. Many sports are very highly competetive even at amateur and beginner levels, yet equally are recognised as activities to be enjoyed regardless of win or loss. In a 2006 poll, the most popular sports within the ACS were found to be football (soccer), baseball, and tennis respectively.

Competetive football in the ACS is overseen by the ACS football association (ACSFA) and differs in rules slightly from other nations. In the ACS, men and women play on the same teams, and a team has unlimited substitutions during a match. Furthermore, fouls are more tightly defined, meaning that many tackles that would result in the stoppage of play in another country do not within the ACS. Baseball is rapidly becoming more and more popular, and tennis has always been a popular game for couples, whether one partner plays another or a couple play another couple.

The popularity of motorsport has been dented in recent years with the addition of more safety regulations, that despite their success in causing less crashes and, by extension, less deaths, have resulted in the races becoming more boring, according to many fans. The popularity of Sensha-dou has also been marred by recent war, which has had the result of the sport becoming regarded as slightly tasteless and inappropriate. However, on the other hand, recent conflicts have equally inspired more people to take up Sensha-dou, as it helps create good soldiers and teaches virtues such as discipline and teamwork to combatants.

Watersports also enjoy considerable popularity within the ACS. Its rich coastlines offer plentiful opportunities to play and practise a wide variety of leisure activities.