Barrettstia

The Federal Union of Barrettstia was a large, democratic nation, remarkable for its devotion to social welfare and civil freedoms. Often called the 'Federation of Barrettstia', 'The Federation' or simply 'Barrettstia' although the latter is inaccurate, Barrettstia itself being only one of three regions that make up the federation. It existed in a formulative state since at least the late 12th century, and came into it's most recent sovereign form in 1952, before disintegrating into a devastating multi-faction revolt in late 2009 that has left the area, and all of it's former citizens, in dis-unified chaotic state. Ruled unceremoniously by warring mercenary groups, steadily growing criminal organisations, and some scattered townships of former citizens attempting to retain some level of localised order.

Barrettstians were well known for their intelligence and open-mindedness, but even more so for their devotion to politics. Considered to be a nation of negotiators, with any past regional conflict it was unusual not to have a representative of the Federal Senate present at the peace talks. More than one international incident had been resolved without bloodshed largely thanks to the actions of Barrettstian ambassadors and negotiators. Sometimes to the annoyance of the more warlike nations in Melivorica.

A democratic nation known for their high regard it placed on the welfare of it's people. It's national motto, "Welfare; Freedom; Democracy!" reflected the priorities of it's government, and is a reference to the first provision of the nation's constitution:

"Above all else, the state's primary responsibility is to protect and promote the welfare of the individual. Second to this are the rights and freedoms of the individual, which the state may infringe upon only if it is ultimately in the greater interest of their welfare.  Lastly is the state's responsibility to preserve democracy, which is to be upheld always, unless it is contrary to the welfare or rights of the individual."

These three tenants; welfare, freedom and democracy, are the foundation upon which Barrettstia was built. They were deliberately intended to be general provisions, and are explained in greater depth later in the constitution. This principle can be seen in nearly all aspects of Barrettstian politics.

Perhaps Barrettstia's major failing, prior to it's dissolution, was social equality. Though the government sank millions of Barrs into welfare projects every year Barrettstia still ranked far down the regional scales for income equality and other social measures. Though the government has been attempting to remedy this, little success was made as many senators were reluctant to introduce the necessary economic legislation to bring about the changes.

In late 2009, Barrettstia would collapse into several warring states, which had been urged into a state of violence by the turmoil of the recent Democratic Army Conflict. In this war, Barrettsia was blamed by a number of Autocratic states in Melivorica for the actions of a Democracy-centric terrorist organisation known as The Democratic Army, and promptly invaded as a consequence. Barrettsia's current form is that of several warring factions vying for control, and slowly spilling out into the other disputed territories around it's old borders. Recognition of Barrettstia as a sovereign state by any other nation of Melivorica ceased at the point of this devastating revolt. Concerns that the responsible region-wide war could be started anew has held back what could be seen as the victors, in Barrettsia's destruction, from taking any spoils from it's old territory.

Origins
The nation which would become Barrettstia began as a small settlement on an island at the mouth of the River An. The land around Anburgh, as it was known, was very fertile thanks to the river and being on an island made it easily defensible. Trade with other cities was good thanks to the port that faced onto the Chekvor Sea and the boats which came from settlements further up the river. The town had several strong industries, including fishing, agriculture and animal husbandry. The city grew quickly in size and in influence.

Expansion
As the city-state grew more powerful and influential it began to expand beyond the confines of its island. Progress was somewhat slow initially. Anburgh's army was primarily trained to defend the city from marauding warbands with it's fortifications, siege weapons and the natural defences offered by the river on either side, and was ill-suited to fighting sword to sword on open ground in a war of expansion. For a long time, the Barrettstian border shifted only very little.

Barrett and the Birth of the Republic
This changed with the death of Tsar David II. His only son, David III took to the throne, but fell ill shortly afterwards and died without an heir. The next person in line to the throne was an unpopular choice; a young man called Barrett who was a distant nephew of David II. Indeed, he was so distant that he was barely considered royalty, coming from a middle class background and being next to oblivious to his heritage. His ascension to the throne sparked outrage among the aristocracy, but he became immensely popular with the common citizens of Anburgh. For Barrett himself was not a supporter of the monarchy, and as soon as he was able to he imposed numerous radical reforms, two of which are seen of as having key importance:

First, Barrett abolished the crown and imposed a democratic system of electing a leader. Of course, he had to abdicate as Tsar in the process but this made little difference when with the massive support of the lower classes he was immediately elected as the first Premier of the Republic of Anburgh.

This prompted Barrett's second great reform; the creation of the Constitution. This cemented the position of the Premier and insured a return to monarchic rule would never be possible. It also imposed the rules by which the nation would be governed for centuries afterwards.

Under Barrett's leadership the nation grew rapidly, aided in part by the somewhat unpopular National Service Act, which doubled the size of it's military. Within a year the upriver city of Tollan had been taken, securing the hold of Anburgh on what was a major trade route in the area. From there the spread North to the Kingdom of Christa and South to the mountains that were the border of Pederland. By the time Barrett was assassinated by conspiring elements of the dwindling aristocracy the Republic stretched from the Chekvor Sea to Lake Salamander, with the town of Seadragon opening up new trade routes to countries undiscovered and guaranteeing the nation's survival.

Upon his election Barrett's successor had the country's name changed to honour the man who became regarded as the Father of the Republic of Barrettstia.

Formation of the Union
The Federal Union of Barrettstia as it is known today was formed from the republic and its two neighbours, Pederland and Christa. What would later be referred to as the Formation War broke out between Pederland and Christa. Barrettstia remained neutral to the conflict, which ultimately ended with the assassination of Christa's royal family shortly after a missile strike killed the entire Pederite parliament, leaving both nations leaderless and resulting in a ceasefire agreement being reached a few days later.

The two nations were in tatters following the war and as they both lacked any cohesive form of government Barrettstia stepped in providing interim leadership to ease the dispensing of humanitarian aid. Even after the first elections following the war were held in Pederland and Christa both countries maintained a close partnership with Barrettstia and a year later agreed to consolidate the three countries into a singe nation.

Geography
Barrettstia sits in the North-West of Melivorica. It was once bordered to the North by the Grand Duchy of TroisMots, before this nation had a similar dissolution into anarchic militant territories, which Barrettsia would later echo. To it's South was the Republic of Violataria, which has also since collapsed. It held Lake Salamander, directly to it's East, to be under Barrettstian ownership, and considered the island within this lake, Salamander Island, to be Barrettstian territory. To it's immediate West is the coastal Chevkor Sea, which meets the Sea of Manic Depression in the south, the Motrian Sea in the North, and the Pacific Ocean out further West.

Environment
Barrettstia's environment is considered one of the most beautiful in Melivorica, with the Fjordlands around Pederton in particular being of international interest. It was home to extensive swathes of both coniferous and broad leaf forests, outside of the urban centres, and most of it's animals were not under any concern of extinction, including the national animal, Silvertip bears.

Government
''This section deals with the Barrettstian government prior to the dissolution of the state. For the current political environs, see'' Disputed territories in Melivorica

Always considered politically minded, Barrettstia was consistently ranked high on World Assembly surveys of political apathy. This was attributed partly to the compulsory voting system which is in force in Barrettstia, but also to the general love for democracy which was endemic to Barrettstian society. Compared to the other nations in Melivorica, Barrettstia was also considered a very uncorrupted state, ranking among the top 10 percent of the world in this, while the regional average was somewhere beyond the top 25 percent.

Political parties
See also Barrettstian politicians

Most Barrettstian senators and congressmen belonged to a certain political party although there are also some independent representatives. In the last term before Barrettstia's fall there were four main political parties, the Civil Democrats, the Conservatives, the United Centrists and the National Party of Christa.

The Civil Democrats ('Civ Dems') were the governing party in the Federal Union of Barrettstia, controlling 56% of seats in the Senate and varying majorities in the congresses of each of the three states with the exception of Christa, where it shared a coalition government with the National Party of Christa ('NPC'). The Premier, Chris B Chikin, was also a member of the Civil Democrats. Civ Dem policies were largely liberal when it came to civil and political rights with centrist attitudes to economic issues. However, notable exceptions exist, such as their support for compulsory national service and a crime policy which some said bordered on intrusive.

The main opposition to the Civ Dems came from the right-of-centre Conservative party, nicknamed the 'Tories', the United Centrists ('Centrists')and the NPC. NPC was a party with largely similar policies to the Civ Dems but were notable for the fact that they also sought independence for Christa, the northernmost of the country's three states. They are also against compulsory national service, this became something of a contested issue within the nation. In late 2009, resentment from the NPC would overflow into the disruption that caused the complete breakup of the Barrettstian state, and with it the state of Christa as well.

In addition to these main three were numerous smaller parties. The Socialist party was considered too radical to gain much support and the Barrettstian National Party ('BNP') was criticized heavily for its attitudes towards immigration, deemed by many to be heavily racist and what support it had tends to be centred around small coastal villages whose inhabitants saw illegal immigration as a major problem. Other fringe parties also existed, such as the Pensioners Party, which sought better treatment of Barrettstia's elderly; the Moral Values party, which worked for closer integration of religious values with political policy; and the Green party, which pushed for greater consideration of environmental issues. Most of these parties were largely ignored, at least in the major elections, for being seen as single issue policy makers.

Separation of Powers
In accordance with the duty to preserve democracy, the Barrettstian political system was based firmly on the concept of separation of powers. The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches are kept entirely separate from each other though they all form the same state. This is recognised on the flags of both the state and union of Barrettstia as three eight-pointed red stars. On the Union Flag the addition of the white circle signified the united purpose of the three branches.

The Executive Branch comprised the Premier and his subordinate officers. Where the Premier is the leader of the party which wins the most seats in the Senate after an election. His duty was to ensure that the laws of the nation are enforced, and also has the power to veto a bill from the senate before it goes under scrutiny by the courts.

The Legislative Branch comprised two organisations. The first was the Barrettstian Senate which was made up of six-hundred senators (two-hundred from each region) which were re-elected every four years using the Additional Member System. The Senate legislated on matters which concerned and bound the entire nation, such as tax, foreign policy, defence and amendments to the constitution, the latter of which required a 75% majority to enact instead of the usual >50%. Before it was enacted all legislation passed by the Senate must have beeen scrutinised and accepted by the Judiciary to ensure its legality. Prior to this it may also be vetoed by the Premier, but this veto can be overruled by a 75% majority in the senate. The Senate also had the power to impeach the Premier if he/she was suspected of wrongdoing.

The second organisation is the Regional Congress. Each region had its own congress comprising three-hundred representatives which were re-elected every four years using the Additional Member System. Each Congress legislated on less important or "devolved" issues such as health, education and crime. Whilst each region had sovereignty over these matters subject to the constitution and senatorial legislation there seemed to be little difference in the approach taken by each region towards various issues and most laws remained largely the same throughout the nation. Prior to its enactment all congressional legislation must be ratified by the judiciary to ensure its legality.

The Judicial Branch comprised the courts, it's judges, and its staff. Courts in Barrettstia followed a hierarchy, which heard cases depending on their level of importance. Small matters were are dealt with in the Lower Courts before a single judge or, in some cases, a jury of 15. More important cases were delegated to the Middle Courts with three judges, and cases of great importance are heard by five judges in of of the High Courts, of which there is one for each region. Cases dealing with constitutional matters, such as human rights, were heard before seven judges in the Supreme Court in Anburgh. Cases which go to appeal were heard in the next highest court in the hierarchy, so a decision made in the Lower courts would be appealed to the Middle courts, then to the High Court and from there to the Supreme Court.

As well as hearing cases on constitutional matters, it was also the duty of the Supreme Court Judges to scrutinise every bill passed by the Senate, once it had been accepted by the premier, to ensure it was in line with the constitution and existing law. A similar process was undergone by the High Courts Judges with regard to Congressional legislation, though in some cases they may defer the decision to the Supreme Court. Once a bill has been accepted by the courts it is returned to the Premier to be assigned and become law.

Christan Independence
Before 2009, there was a growing movement among the population in the northern region of Barrettstia which sought independence from the federation. A political party known as the National Party of Christa (or NPC) was formed under the leadership of Philipe DuPhont, who claimed to be a surviving member of the Christan royal family, though this itself was unsubstantiated. The party believed that as the royal family was not entirely wiped out during the endgame of the Pederland-Christa war there was no basis for the nation becoming part of Barrettstia and therefore they should have remained independent. If successful, the NPC planned to appoint DuPhont as king of an independent Christa. However, before this it was agreed that the region's population would have to agree to independence in a referendum. The irony that the return of a nation to a dictatorship would require the aid of democracy had not escaped the notice of several opposition party members.

The party gained considerable popularity in the few years after the beginning of the 21st century, but there was still not enough support among Christa's population to achieve independence through a referendum. However, in late 2009, mid-way through the Democratic Army Conflict, the National Party of Christa staged a coup, reputedly with Rexian backing, in an attempt for independence while the opposition was busy with fighting off invaders in Pederton. The coup, supposedly intended as a call to show theoretical solidarity to the prospect, had a much more disastrous effect.

Hearing the news, despite attempts to stop it reaching the front line, soldiers from Christa aligned to the ideas of the NPC attempted to return to "their sovereign nation", which it was stated was not opposed to the invading forces. Division within the Barrettstian military caused absolute chaos, which quickly spread across the country to such an extent that foreign invaders and allied defenders of Barrettstia alike could not make any ground on the situation, and chose to call the war to an end.

Law
"If it were my choice I would abolish the law. Do away with every precedent; every statute, and decide each individual case based solely upon its fact and its principles. If only human nature could allow such a thing to come to pass... Lord Gregory Sverov, Justice of the supreme court of Barrettstia

Crime was virtually unknown in Barrettstia. This was largely thanks to the introduction of bar-coding and identity cards for citizens along with a national database of the DNA, fingerprints and other details of every citizen. The database was similar to those of criminal records in other countries except that it contains the details of every citizen in Barrettstia. Thanks to this, the perpetrator of any criminal offence could usually be speedily identified from fingerprint or biological evidence.

The system was not without it's critics, however. Numerous Barrettstians saw it as an intrusion upon their human rights and in one case even attempted to take the government to court over a perceived violation of the constitution. However, it was held that the creation of the database was done to improve the welfare of the citizens, and therefore this came before their rights according to the first provision of the constitution.

After the abolition of the state, this database was scrutinised and exploited by several parties seeking to gain confidential and potentially harmful information about their new rivals in the field of territorial conquests. Copies of the database have filtered into foreign hands, and attempts have been made to limit the amount of potentially dangerous refugees let into the borders of receptive countries.

Foreign relations
Like many nations in Melivorica, Barrettstia was quick to resign from the World Assembly once it was perceived that modern usage of the organisation by global parties was unsatisfactory. Though it once temporarily served as the region's delegate to the Assembly, it would later be vocal in it's condemning of the shoddy nature of the organisation. Later, it would re-apply for a part in the WA, in order to endorse Castleclose as a potential Melivorican delegate.

Barrettstia attempted to maintain good diplomatic relations with most neighbouring nations, and stayed a member of the Oceanic Defence Coalition (ODECON) alliance until Barrettstia's end. During the events leading up to the confrontation in the Democratic Army Conflict, the favourable relations between many foreign nations, particularly the many dictatorships in Melivorica, broke down almost completely.

Military
Defence spending in mid 2009 for Barrettstia took up around 8 percent of the government budget. The aim of the Barrettstian military was to have a well equipped and trained professional fighting force. The reasoning for this relatively high military spending was that in order to have any leverage on matters of diplomacy, especially in regards to potential or realised open conflicts between nations, that a negotiating neutral, as Barrettstia often was, would need some "weight behind them" in order to not be ignored.

By law, Barrettstian youths were required to do one compulsory year of national service. Additionally, the draft was a considered and accepted plan for Barrettstian defence, in the event of full scale war with another sovereign nation.