Nation/Free Pacific States

Federated Alliance of Free Pacific States
Federated Alliance of Free Pacific States
	Motto: Forged from War, Dedicated to Peace
Capital	Liberty City
Largest city	Faramount
Official languages	None
Recognised national languages	English
Ethnic groups (2015 Estimate)	97% Human 2% Drone 1% Other
Demonym	Free Pacifican
Government	Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic
Legislature	Conclave
History
Population
GDP (PPP)	2015 estimate
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
Gini (2015)	32.2; medium
HDI (2015)	.944; very high
Currency	Dollar (FD)
Date format	MM/DD/YYYY
Drives on the	right (side of road)
Calling code	+9
ISO 3166 code	FPS
Internet TLD	.fps .fa .fafps

The Federated Alliance of Free Pacific States is a federal presidential constitutional republic comprising five states and a federal district. The nation is situated in South Yasteria, just South of Pax Draconica, and just North of East Malaysia. The Federated Alliance shares a land border with Pax Draconica and the Lyon Republic, even though the Free Pacific States is largely comprised of an archipelago. The Federated Alliance is amongst the largest and most highly populated nations on Urth with approximately 341,852,000 persons inhabiting its 1,684,000 square kilometers. It is one of Urth's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.

Codex colonized what is now the Free Pacific States in the mid-ninth century, though indigenous peoples of Asian origin inhabited the area for thousands of years prior to that point. The native population was greatly reduced by disease and warfare after Codexian contact, however, and now comprises only a minority of the population. The Codexians withdrew in the mid seventeenth century, at which point Infinite Loop invaded the area, ruling it until the Packo Empire took it over in the late eighteenth century. In the late nineteenth century, the five current states of the Federated Alliance broke off from the collapsing Packo Empire, forming five independent nations. Those countries slowly unified over the next half century, especially after the Looplite invasion of 1937, and officially formed one nation in 1949. The Federated Alliance remained isolationist until the 1990s, but has subsequently risen to become a major world power.

The Federated Alliance is a developed Country with a high standard of living, a medium level of income inequality, and a sizable global domestic product. The Federated Alliance was a post-industrial until the mid-2000s, when a trade agreement with the Pax reinvigorated Free Pacifican manufacturing and agricultural industries, leading the nation to partially revert to an industrial society. The Federated Alliance is enjoying a decade-long, immense economic boom thanks to the Pax trade agreement, which has driven the nation's GDP to an estimated $23.1 trillion in 2015. The Free Pacifican economy is largely driven by information technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and the service sector.

Etymology

The Codexian historian Walter Resetin coined the term Free Pacific States in 1884, using the phrase in a history textbook when discussing the cultural similarity of the five former Codexian colonies. Resetin noted that despite entirely different political systems, the people of all five nations greatly valued personal freedom, and strongly desired to avoid any future conflict after years of war with the Packo Empire. The expression quickly caught on in academia. Few Free Pacificans used the phrase until the 1920s, when the drafters of the Charter of the Alliance of Free Pacific States adopted it. Most of the authors of the charter hailed from academia, and advised the use of the expression given its wide international acceptance.

History

The Codex Conclave colonized the Free Pacifican archipelago in the ninth century. The Codexians did not attempt to disenfranchise the native inhabitants, but Codexian diseases wiped through most of the original population in months despite the best efforts of the Codexians. Codex ruled the area until 1676, when the increasingly progressive Conclave granted independence to all of its colonies. The now-former Codexian colonies established "New Codex," a constitutional republic that thrived over the next several decades. But Infinite Loop invaded New Codex in 1735, quickly disposing of the republican regime. The Looplites divided the former nation into five territories for administrative purposes, and appointed a governor to oversee government operations in each area. Infinite Loop did not attempt much cultural assimilation during its rule, instead focusing largely on material gains. The Packo Empire captured the archipelago from Infinite Loop in 1787 during the Packo-Looplite War. The Packo Emperor granted de jure independence to the five Looplite territories, but installed puppet governments to ensure de facto loyalty. The Empire dominated the governments until the early 1800s, when it granted the local administrations limited control over certain domestic issues, but retained power over foreign, military, and most economic affairs.

The five puppet states each declared independence during the late nineteenth century. The Packo Empire made a limited attempt to regain control, but recognized each state in 1878 after several failed military campaigns. The Packo Empire collapsed not long after that point, and many of its colonies followed the example set by the Free Pacific States. Despite close cultural and economic ties, the five colonial territories became separate nations, continuing two-hundred year old internal divisions. Faramount and Mangek established absolute monarchies, while Beren created a constitutional monarchy, and Zalebano and Tilden formed constitutional republics. These five nations bickered constantly regarding maritime boundaries, natural resources, and other issues.

Strategic maneuvering amongst the states sparked war in 1912, when Faramount and Mangek invaded Tilden to prevent the formation of a Tilden-Zalebano-Beren military alliance. The Alliance powers (Tilden, Zalebano, and Beren) and the Dual Kingdoms (Faramount and Mangek) spent the next six years locked in the Free Pacifican War. Most of the conflict centered around naval warfare, amphibious warfare, and espionage. The Mangeks ultimately lost the war, failing to address numerous socioeconomic issues that led to a revolution in 1918. The revolutionaries established a republic that immediately sought peace. Faramount fought on for several months until a joint surprise attack on Faramount City led the allies to capture the Faramanian capital. The King of Faramount abdicated, and the new government quickly made peace. Zalebano and Beren negotiated a relatively fair peace deal in order to avoid future war, despite the objections of Tilden, the only state to suffer serious harm in the conflict.

The five nations in 1920 recreated the Alliance of Free Pacific States in order to prevent future conflict. The multinational group initially featured only a council charged with encouraging peace, a court charged with resolving disputes amongst the parties, and a small administration based in Tilden to assuage Tilden's unhappiness with the peace treaty. But the Alliance quickly grew beyond the wildest expectations of its founders. An Alliance working group in 1923 resolved all remaining border issues amongst the parties, and in 1924, established a uniform rule for the use of natural sea resources. The Alliance adopted a free trade program in 1925 that prompted significant economic growth, and in 1929, united each country's postal services. The Alliance achieved another breakthrough in 1933, creating a joint defense force. The five Free pacific States planned a conference for 1936 for the creation of a joint currency.

Infinite Loop interrupted that conference when it invaded in 1936. Looplite forces devastated Free Pacifican defenses in days, captured the Alliance capitol within a week, and soon moved onto capture the capitols of Tilden, Zalebano, and Mangek. The five states panicked amidst the sudden, overwhelming military attack, and coordination fell by the wayside as each leading Free Pacifican official met his death or capture. Alliance Postmaster Michael Grisson took command of Alliance forces in 1937 and, by 1939, had convinced each state to commit all of its forces to his command. The reformed Alliance suffered repeated setbacks in 1940 and 1941 but, between 1942 and 1946, scored numerous victories against the Looplites. In 1946, Infinite Loop signed a peace treaty with the Alliance, formally ending the war.

The five national governments of the Free Pacific States barely existed after ten years of war. Grissom proposed a federalization of the Alliance, so as to facilitate reconstruction, and the vast majority of Free Pacificans voted in favor of a 1948 constitutional proposal. The remnants of the five states ratified that proposal in 1949 and, in 1950, Grissom won election as President of the Federated Alliance of Free Pacific States. Strong supporters of the federal government formed the Unification Party in 1949 and, in 1950, took complete control of the government. Grissom heavily centralized the nation during his term thanks to Unifier support but, by 1954, the coalition collapsed. Grissom decided not to seek a second term, and the Unification Party fell apart as members fought over the specific organization of the country.

The Socialist Party swept the 1954 elections with promises to rebuild the country. The Socialists invested heavily in reconstruction during the 1950s, and significantly raised standards of living by forcing the economy to grow. The Socialists achieved significant popularity during the 1950s, thanks to the reconstruction effort, but lost population in the 1960s due to corruption, waste, and economic stagnation.

A number of opposition parties formed the Reform Coalition to combat the Socialists and, by 1968, effectively controlled the government. The Reformists privatized the government-dominated economy, eliminated most welfare programs, and severely shrunk the central administration. The Reformists' reforms sparked severe economic growth, but also created immense income inequality. The Reformist Coalition slowly lost popularity as a result, and completely collapsed in the late 1970s. A host of small parties rose up to replace the Socialists and Reformists, leading to constant political turmoil in the early 1980s.

Voters soon became disenchanted with the constant partisan gimmicks and, in 1992, billionaire Jackie Suze successfully won the Presidency. Suze and her Centrist Party pursued centre-left policies during the 1990s, which proved both successful and popular. The Centrists completely dominated the government after 1992 and, in 2000, Suze's preferred successor, Matthew Terrus, won the Presidency. Terrus continued Suze's domestic reforms but became famous in his own right by ending the nation's long-standing isolationist foreign policy. Terrus won re-election in 2004, and focused his attention on international affairs. In 2007, Terrus signed a trade deal with the Pax Empire, which prompted an economic boom.

The Pax-Free Pacifican relationship proved highly conflicted, however, and numerous conflicts broke out between the powers even as they became more economically intertwined. Pax Drone residents revolted against the Free Pacifican government in the 2006 Drone Insurrection, wreaking havoc across the nation, and nearly causing a full-scale war. Terrus successfully avoided further conflict through negotiation but, by the time the revolution was quelled, immense damage had been done. The Centrist Party's popularity plummeted as voters lost faith in Terrus' ability to keep the peace.

The new, right-wing Nationalist Party soon rose from the dust to challenge the centrists, led by future President Christopher Arctoris. Arctoris led the Nationalists to seize control of the federal government in a landslide in 2008. The Centrist Party became the opposition party that year, though by 2011, the Centrists had fallen into third place behind the left-wing Liberty Party. President Arctoris won re-election in 2012, and the Nationalists continue to control the executive and legislative branches.

Arctoris took the nation in an entirely new direction in office. The conservative leader reduced Free Pacifican involvement in international affairs, invested heavily in defense, and imposed tariffs on Pax goods. The Nationalist chief required the tracking of all Pax immigrants (except on the Pax reservation created in 2006), attempted to recreate a long-defunct anti-Pax alliance, and significantly expanded federal national security authority. Arctoris most importantly tripled defense spending, and reorganized the army forces to focus almost exclusively on defending against a Pax invasion.

Geography, climate, and environment

Demographics

Government and politics

The Federated Alliance is a federation, constitutional republic, and representative democracy. Governance is regulated by a system of checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution of the Federated Alliance, the supreme legal document of the nation. Citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. A three-branch government usually exists at each level, though local administration is commonly split between counties and municipalities. The state governments possess general police powers, while the federal government and local governments exercise limited authority. Executive officials are usually elected by plurality vote. Legislative officials are varyingly elected through party-list proportional representation, single transferable vote systems, or plurality vote systems for single-member districts. Judicial officials are usually appointed by the executive, often with the required consent of the legislature.

The federal government is composed of three branches:

Legislative: The bicameral Conclave, comprised of the Alliance Council and Representative Assembly, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, possesses the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, possesses the power to veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to Conclave override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Council approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
Judicial: The Constitutional Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Council approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

The Representative Assembly is comprised of 643 representatives, who serve two year terms. Most representatives are elected by plurality vote from single-member districts containing approximately 500,000 persons, but some representatives are elected from multi-member districts using single transferable vote proportional representation. A nonpartisan commission sets the number of districts in each state, determines the nature of the district, and draws the borders of the district. The commission acts when the Conclave proscribes by law a total number of representatives following each decennial census.

The Alliance Council is comprised of 150 councillors, 30 per state, elected at-large through party list proportional elections for six year terms. Ten Council seats are up for election every other year. A party must win more than 2.5 percent of the vote in a state to win a council seat representing that state. The President is elected by plurality vote nationally, and serves a four-year term. A Vice President is elected alongside the President. The Constitutional Court, led by the Chief Arbiter, has nine members, who serve for life.

The five state governments all possess a structure similar to the federal government, though Tilden uniquely has a unicameral legislature. A governor is the chief executive of each state. Some cabinet members in some states are elected, and some judges in some states are elected. Most local governments also possess a structure similar to the federal government, though some local governments use a hybrid executive/legislative branch. Some local governments alternatively have an executive appointed by the legislature.

Political divisions

The Federated Alliance is a federal republic of 5 states, a federal district, three inhabited territories, and a number of uninhabited islands. The states are the principal administrative districts of the country, and are subdivided into counties and municipalities. The federal district is the capital of the Federated Alliance. The federal government directly administers the territories, both inhabited and uninhabited. All citizens aged 18+ are eligible to participate in the presidential election, which is decided by the total national popular vote. The states, federal district, and inhabited territories are all represented in the Representative Assembly, but only the states are represented in the Alliance Council.

The five states of the Federated Alliance are Beren, Faramount, Mangek, Tilden, and Zalebano. Each state has its own constitution, and is largely autonomous with regards to its internal organization. The federal district is Liberty City. The federal government has granted Liberty City self-rule, and the city government exercises substantial autonomy from the federal government. The three territories are Cuttersville, North Lyon, and South Lyon. There are only a few thousand citizens spread amongst these sparsely inhabited territories, which lack self-rule. Citizens in these territories receive an expanded ability to challenge government actions in federal court.

Parties and elections

The Federated Alliance holds elections every year with campaigning usually lasting six to eight months. The federal government holds primary elections in mid-August and general elections in mid-November of every even-numbered year. State and local governments hold primary and general elections along the same schedule, except in odd-numbered years. Referendums will often be held in both even and odd numbered years as will special elections to fill electoral vacancies. Elections are generally considered free and fair. Universal suffrage exists for all citizens aged 18+, and citizens aged 16+ can vote in Tilden elections.

The Federated Alliance operates under a multi-party system. Five parties have dominated politics since 2006: the Centrist Party (founded 1991), the Nationalist Party (founded 2006), the Reform Party (founded 2006), and the Progressive Party (founded 2007 as the Liberty Party). Independent candidates often achieve success in local elections, and occasionally achieve success in state legislative and federal representative assembly elections. Several small parties exist, but usually only achieve success in local and state elections.

Each party possesses an ideological standpoint within the context of Free Pacifican political culture. The Centrist Party supports Western centre-left domestic policies, and a multilateralist foreign policy. The Nationalist Party favors right-wing domestic policies, and a limited, realpolitik foreign policy. The Reform Party advocates libertarianism and isolationism. The Progressive Party favors left-wing domestic policies, and a multilateralist foreign policy. Most independents in government caucus with the Centrist Party.

The Nationalist Party is presently the dominant political party. President Christopher Arctoris is a Nationalist, who won election in 2008 and 2012. The Alliance Council currently consists of 78 Nationalists, 59 Progressives, 9 Centrists, and 4 Reformists. The Representative Assembly currently consists of 347 Nationalists, 204 Progressives, 71 Centrists, 17 Reformists, and 4 independents. Among the five states, two have unified Nationalist governments, one has a unified Progressive government, and two have mixed governments. The Centrists dominate the politics of the federal capital, where a Centrist is Mayor.

Government and finance

Taxes are levied at the federal, state, and local levels in the Federated Alliance. The federal government largely collects income through the progressive federal income tax, though the federal government also imposes import, estate, and gift taxes. Capital gains are treated as regular income, but there is no tax on corporate income. State governments often use a mixture of income and sales taxes. Local governments usually rely upon property taxes. Taxes collected by federal, state, and municipal governments amounted to approximately 39% of GDP in 2015, though the federal government enacted major tax cuts in late 2015 expected to significantly impact 2016 revenue.

Governments at every level in the Federated Alliance make expenditures, usually independently of each other, though sometimes jointly. The federal government spent $7.2 trillion in 2015, and budgeted $7.4 trillion in 2015. Major categories of spending included defense ($1.3 trillion or 17.7%), welfare ($1.3 trillion or 17.6%), healthcare ($1.1 trillion or 15%), education and science ($1.1 trillion or 14.4%), retirement aid ($992.3 billion or 13.5%), infrastructure ($584.3 billion or 7.9%), and debt interest ($442.8 billion or 6%). State and local funding varies wildly depending upon state and local politics. Government spending in the Federated Alliance amounted to approximately 40% of GDP in 2015, though federal and state spending cuts are expected to reduce this percentage in 2016.

The federal government, states, and local authorities all regularly run deficits, issuing bonds to cover debts. The federal government achieved a surplus in 2015 for the first time in three decades, and projects a smaller but still substantial surplus in 2016. The federal government has a public debt of $10.9 trillion, equating to approximately 50.7% of 2015 GDP. Most states and localities run 2%-3% deficits with public debts ranging from 25%-75% of local GDP, but Faramount and Beren have run balanced budgets since 2010. Interest rates for Free Pacifican bonds are relatively low, thanks to high confidence in the Federate dollar.

Foreign affairs

The Federated Alliance is a major Urth power with substantial international influence. The Federated Alliance is the host of the East Pacific Treaty Organization, hosted the 2015 Convention on Diplomacy, and hosts embassies from most Urth nations. The Federated Alliance maintains close relations with Lyon, East Malaysia, Reziel, and Infinite Loop, Kelssek, and Dannistaan. Several nations host Free Pacifican military bases, and most nations host a Free Pacifican embassy. The Federated Alliance appropriated $12.7 billion for foreign aid for 2015, plus $44.9 billion in assistance for Lyon.

Nation/Free Pacific States

Contents

Etymology

History

Geography, climate, and environment

Demographics

Government and politics

Political divisions

Parties and elections

Government and finance

Foreign affairs

Military

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