Tepertopia (Pacifica)
United Protectorate of Tepertopia Geeintes Protektorat Tepertopia | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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Motto: Tenebrae Perient Religione "Darkness Will Fade Through Faith" | |
Anthem: God Guide Our Fair Protector | |
 Location of Tepertopia in the South Pacific | |
| Capital | Happelstein |
| Largest city | Adaca |
| Official languages | Austral |
| Recognised national languages | Alman |
| Demonym(s) | Tepertopian |
| Government | Federal directorial constitutional monarchy |
| Gerhard von Selingen | |
| Legislature | Tepertopian Assembly |
| Formation | |
• First Protectorate | 1024 |
• Interregnum | 1629–1631 |
• Second Protectorate | 1631 |
• Harmonist Tepertopia | 1866 |
• Third Protectorate & Current Constitution | 1889 |
| Area | |
• Total | 12,725 km2 (4,913 sq mi) (32nd) |
| Population | |
• 2020 census | 1,551,411 (30th) |
• Density | 121.9/km2 (315.7/sq mi) (31st) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | TSP-$ 60.598 billion (31st) |
• Per capita | TSP-$ 39,059.93 (20th) |
| Currency | Tepertopian Crown (TTK) |
| Time zone | UTC-1 (CET) |
| Date format | yyyy-mm-dd (AD) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +30 |
| Internet TLD | .tt |
Tepertopia, officially the United Protectorate of Tepertopia (Alman: Geeintes Protektorat Tepertopia, [ɡəˈʔaɪ̯ntəs pʁotɛktoˈʁaːt ˌteːpɐˈtoːpi̯a]) is a federation located on an identically named island off the southern tip of mainland Crabry in the South Pacific, covering the whole of the 12,725km² of the island. Home to about 1.55 million Tepertopians, the country consists of five Constituent States, themselves comprised of a total of 31 administrative units. It has a maritime border with Jakub to the north, and is otherwise surrounded by international waters. Tepertopia's capital is Happelstein, while Adaca is the largest city; other major urban areas are Lotze, Merpor, Schöffelstadt, and Wesford.
History
Geography
Politics
Tepertopia is a federal, directorial, representative constitutional monarchy governed mainly at two levels, Federal and Regional. The political system is organized by the Tepertopian Articles of Union (Tepertopier Bundesakte) of 1889, Tepertopia's constitution.
Federal legislative power is exercised by the unicameral Tepertopian Assembly (Tepertopier Bürgerschaft), whose 100 Assemblypeople are elected triennially in direct elections using the Single Transferable Vote. Its members are representatives of the nation as a whole and have a free mandate, subject only to their conscience and the constitutional order. Under the principles of federalism as prescribed in the Articles, legislative power is reserved to the Constituent States unless explicitly granted to the federal legislature, with the Articles establishing a catalogue of such. Furthermore, the Assembly generally enjoys recall powers against all public officials, with only Councilors and High Court Justices exempt.
The executive is headed by the Council of the Union (Bundesrat), a directory of eight equal Councilors elected to four-year terms in direct elections under the Evaluative Satisfaction System. Each Councilor heads one specific of the eight executive departments, namely Defence, Domestic Affairs, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Progress, Special Affairs, and Welfare. In theory, Councilors have relatively large leeway in running their departments, but due to practical concerns ‒ namely showing outward unity and securing majorities for passing legislation in the Assembly ‒ the Council often decides collectively.
This order is overseen and protected by the High Court of Tepertopia, the federal judiciary, whose administrative, civil, criminal, fiscal, labour, and social senates act as courts of last resort in their fields of law, while a constitutional senate judges the constitutionality of the acts and determinations of any branch of government. Its Justices are elected by the Council and approved by the Assembly, both times requiring a two-thirds supermajority. They serve for ten years or until the age of retirement and are only bound by the law and their conscience.
The monarch and Head of State of Tepertopia is the Protector, who mostly has ceremonial and representative power and responsibility, but through the requirement of their assent to legislation before it enters into force theoretically still wields veto power over new legislation. Succession, triggered by either willing abdication, forced abdication through an act of the Assembly, or death of the incumbent, follows the rules of absolute primogeniture, with the limit that only descendants of the current Protector's parents can ascend the throne. If no possible heir exists, the Protector can have a successor of their choosing get approved by the Assembly, who will then be legally considered the heir apparent. Should the Protector be absent or otherwise incapable of exercising their office, its duties are assumed by the Council collectively.
Constituent States
Tepertopia is a federation, comprising five Constituent States (Bundesstaaten). Each of the states is largely free to determine its own political system, with the federal constitution only mandating basic principles of democracy, the rule of law, and the welfare state. The states themselves consist of a total 31 sub-units, called Districts in all but Pluvy, whose are called Member States due to its own historically federal organization. At the lowest organizational level are the 289 Municipalities of Tepertopia.
| Constituent State | Capital | Area (km²) | Population | Districts | Municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Grimmen |
Happelstein | 1,132.9 | 138,457 | 3 | 22 |
 Lotze |
Lotze | 780.0 | 143,323 | 3 | 17 |
 Pluvy |
Adaca | 4,639.8 | 517,041 | 11 | 106 |
 Valetria |
Merpor | 4,382.7 | 513,515 | 9 | 104 |
 Vickel |
Wesford | 1,789.6 | 239,075 | 5 | 40 |
Law
Tepertopia has a civil law system.
The highest judicial authority is the High Court of Tepertopia, which is divided into several specialized senates for different areas of law. The constitutional senate as a special case wields powers of judicial review over all behaviour of any branch of government, including the ability to strike down laws that contradict the Articles of Union, but also to review judgements of courts and even other High Court senates strictly in consideration of their compatibility with the Articles without regard to other law. The other senates ‒ administrative, civil, criminal, fiscal, and social ‒ act as appellate courts of last resort in matters of law, determining whether the courts of lower instance have correctly applied the law to the facts found in the case at hand.
Political Parties
Federal politics have in recent memory mostly been shaped by three political parties, the Welfare Party (W), The Moderates (M), and the Merchants Guild (GUILD), representing the centre-left, centre, and centre-right respectively. Nonetheless, further parties have attained representation in federal politics: The spiritualist Canon (C) and environmentalist The Future is Ours! (FiO) have consistently been able to win seats in both Assembly and Council; the digitalization-focused Digital Democratic Party (DDP) and senior citizens' interest party The Grays (GRAYS) have also always won seats in the Assembly in the last elections.
A multitude of different other parties and voter groups exists on the Regional and Municipal levels.
Tepertopia's proportional STV voting system almost guarantees that no single party wins more than half the seats in both Assembly and Council, necessitating inter-party dialogue and compromise.