Astronea

The Parliamentary Republic of Astronea (commonly called Astronea) is a country located on the south western coast of the continent of Vesperia in Atlas. Home to 98 million citizens, the nation shares land borders with the Volgaria to the west, Ordia to the east and Vazandia to the north. Its territorial waters lay claim to part of the Achelian sea.

With an area of 542,652‬ square kilometres, Astronea is divided into four administrative divisions, Kiril, Pirklys, Atliekos and Iontach, each with its own regional capital and administrative council. Astronea is governed as a and    with a democratically elected government and head of state.

The largest city of Astronea is Feldrum, the nation's capital and a megacity with an urban population of 11.5 million people. Despite a number of sprawling urban centres, countryside makes up over 80% of the land, with large swathes of farmland contributing to Astronea's enormous agriculture industry.

The many forests and rivers supply timber and fresh water throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with high levels of both sun and rainfall making the land very green and fertile. The northwestern region is flanked by mountains, with rivers cutting across the eastern coast inland. Its southern islands are more temperate, with a more Mediterranean climate on its largest holding, Atliekos.

Astronea is a highly developed country with a strong, diversified economy dominated by the agriculture, defence and energy sectors. The nation maintains a large, well funded and professional military and is a recognized nuclear state. It is considered a regional power and maintains a large naval presence on the island of Atielkos and a token rotating task force in Altsea.

Previously a monarchy, Astronea's royal family was exiled in 1910. Several prominent relatives of the Paarvo family live abroad. Astronea maintained a large empire between the 17th-20th centuries, slowly dwindling and being abolished completely in 1993. Astronea was ruled by a dictatorship between 1910-1993, and has worked to overturn the oppressive policies enacted under its previous authoritarian government. However, many of the institutions from its imperialist days remain intact to this day.

Etymology
The term Astronea, meaning "a land under the stars," was first used during the 16th century to refer to the Paarvo kingdom and its surrounding lands. As the dominant regional power, the area became known as the Kingdom of Astronea upon its unification. The standard denonym of Astronea is Astronean.

History
Astronea's origins can be traced back to the protohistoric era, when the first Germanic tribes began to settle the region's fertile farmlands along the Iontach river. Some time later, nomadic Celtic groups wandered across the Kiril mountains into the nation's river lands. It was not until the 3rd century that the first kingdoms grew, as feudalism became the dominant system of governance among the Germanic settlements.

National identity can be traced to the 10th century with the Finnic monarchy of House Paarvo first referring to its domain as "Astronea", or "a land under the stars". The Celtic peoples were largely conquered by the Germanic peoples in the Kiril capitulation of 1596, united under the Paarvo crown, by that time the Astronean kingdom.

Astronean expansionism began in 1612 with the dawn of sail. With several overseas possessions by the 17th century, it became the Astronean Empire. This period of colonialism is considered the golden age of Astronean technological advancement.

The Kingdom came to an end as ideals of republicanism took hold of the populace during civil unrest among economic downturn the late 19th century. Armed revolt in 1903 led to a transition to a constitutional monarchy with a newly established parliament. The Astronean Revolution of 1910 exiled the royal family entirely, and the Astronean Republic was declared.

The new government overruled the proposed constitution, which guaranteed a representative democratic system, and instead abolished all other parties, with previously elected Sigriid Tarmo as president of the new totalitarian regime. The Astronean Empire remained, and was not abolished until the Astronean Civil War of 1993.

Geography
Astronea is located in southern Vesparia, considered western Vesparia. It is linked by land border to its neighbours Vazandia, Ordia and Volgaria. Its total land area is 542,652‬ km², of which 94,102 km² is water. Its section of the large mountain range across its western border is known as the Kiril mountains, with the highest peak at 3,480 metres above sea level.

Astronea's largest river is the Irona, 674 km in length, and feeds from the Kiril mountains all the way into the Iontach heart lands, considered the most fertile in all of Astronea and the seat of its capital, Feldrum, stretching to the coast. Much of the southern coastline of Astronea bares evidence of volcanic activity, forming several volcanic islands, the largest being Atliekos.

Politics
Astronea is designated as a presidential parliamentary republic. For 80 years, the parliament existed under a one-party system, as an apparatus for the autocracy of the president to administrate the various territories of Astronea's empire. Today, the parliament is an organ of representative democracy, and is divided among an upper (The National Assembly) and lower (The Court of Provinces) house.

Members of both houses must be elected to their seats by popular vote. The President has powers such as executive authority to appoint cabinet members, and enjoys the support of their party. However, the ruling government must have support of both houses by a general majority. The National Assembly legislates on issues of national importance such as economic, domestic and foreign policy.

The Court of Provinces has more control of local matters and exists to ensure the representation of local communities in parliament. It cannot ultimately stop the passing of bills by way of vote, but it has the right to scrutinize and debate over them, and the Court of Provinces can delay a bill for up to one month. If such a point is reached that the Court of Provinces declares a vote of no confidence, a confirmatory vote must be held in the National Assembly. If the National Assembly returns a majority, the bill can then be ratified into law. The National Assembly can automatically push through any bill that has been delayed by such a vote for up to one year.

The Court Of Provinces represents the interests of various communities, including along ethnic lines. For a number of years those of Celtic descent were not granted a seat in parliament, and the ruling party between 1910-1993 was one of "Astronean" (Finnic/Dutch) nationalism.

The ruling party, the Toolouj party, enjoys a majority of 56% of seats. It is considered a social democratic unity party, with primary focuses on areas of healthcare, education, welfare and income inequality. It frequently rallies against imperialism in all forms, predominantly against the VSO and VP expansionism. The Telagh party is comprised of liberal conservatives, and claims to represent the interests of previously oppressed Celtic peoples. Its key aims are in economic growth, social justice for ethnic minority groups and support for social institutions. It currently holds 33% of seats. The Uhstus is the far left democratic socialist group, that seeks to enact expanded policies of social welfare, redistribution of wealth and higher taxation and regulation of corporations and the wider economy.

There is a distinct absence of far right parties in Astronea, due primarily to its association with fascism and dictatorships, predominantly the previous dictatorship which was responsible for widespread oppression.

Astronea has a vested interest in international affairs, and its foreign policy is largely one of mutual cooperation for the curbing of fascist imperialism, while ensuring national sovereignty for all nations and a strict agenda of non-aggression against neutral or non-aligned nations/groups.

Astronean cooperation with members of ABCDE and the KP goes back around fifteen years. It was previously reliant on its commonwealth as well as cooperation with the VSO and non-aligned movements for diplomacy and trade, however since transitioning to a democracy has sought relations with its more moderate neighbours. In April 2019 Astronea announced it was joining the Kruppstadt Pact in the face of growing VP and VSO aggression. Its primary aims as a member are to bolster Astronea's national defence, as well as increase its power projection globally in order to protect her international interests.

Economy
Astronea's economy is an advanced social market economy. With a GDP of 4.3 trillion USD and a higher purchasing power, is among the largest economies in the world. Despite this, its GDP per capita remains at $37,220, due to a mixture of population and taxation. Wealth inequality is a slight concern, though Astronea has low levels of corruption and expansive welfare systems. While having a diversified economy, Astronea's three largest industries are agriculture, energy and defence, with large contributions from the services and manufacturing sectors.

Astronea is among the largest exporters of natural gas in the world, however relies more heavily on renewable and nuclear energy for domestic production. It is also a hub of technological innovation, and was the primary manufacturer for the recent Sentinel 5A satellites for the Kruppstadt Pact's ACCORD military alliance.

Military
The Astronean Republican Army, Air Force and Navy comprise the Astronean Armed Forces, formed under the Joint Strategic Defence Council. This is comprised of heads of various security institutions, notably the Military Intelligence Directorate, Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces and the Defence Ministry, and is presided over by the President.

Astronea has a defence spending of 3% of its GPD, or $129 billion. It relies on a professional volunteer military, with 600,000 active service members. Its reserve force across all three branches comprises some 2,100,000 volunteer service members, including both previous service and active service reserve members. Reserve members retain their civilian jobs and take part in exercises, of which they are expected to dedicate two weekends every month.

The militia force of Astronea, the Astronean Republican Guard, is to be activated only in times of crisis and comprises some 60,000 volunteer militia members across Astronea. In wartime, they are expected to conduct relief and humanitarian efforts, as well as asymmetric warfare and intelligence gathering. They are funded and directed by the Military Intelligence Directorate.

Astronea has very large domestic state and private defence sectors, responsible for producing a large variety of land, air and naval systems for the Astronean Armed Forces. Many such weapons are sold for international export as well as used in current Astronean service.

Astronea is a recognized nuclear state, and first developed weapons of mass destruction in the 1960s, independently of military alliances. Astronea is known to have possessed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and still maintains an arsenal of over 400 tactical and 100 strategic nuclear weapons, deployed on cruise missiles, submarine launched, inter-regional and inter-continental ballistic missiles. The government refuses to comment on the status of its chemical and biological weapons programs, beyond stating that no such weapons are currently being researched or fielded.

Demographics
Astronea is a multicultural state, though is predominantly divided between an ethnic Finnic and Dutch majority and Celtic minority. Other groups from across the Astronean commonwealth make up the remainder.

Culture
Astronean culture has been shaped by centuries of divide between Finnic and Celtic peoples. Many attempts at unification have been made, with much progress in recent years. Astronea enjoys a strong music scene, national sports teams and a variety of historic institutions.