New Carthage was formed as a community for Mutual trade following the dissolution of the IUN. The people are loosely ruled by an elected committee, but most power lies in the hands of the semi-autonomous local governments. The Union is modelled on the Carthage of ancient times, a trading empire, focused on profiting through sea trade. It also acknowledges the Idea of a navy as the most important armed force, although this may be due to the large number of scattered islands that the union contains.
The elections are held every 5 years, and the vote goes to everybody over 17 years of age. This isnt the technical law, but it is the effective law. The votes are used to elect the local government, who elect a ruling committee every 3 years. The Committee than elects 1 person of voting age, from anywhere in the entire Union, to be Prime Minister. The PM is responsible for heading the Committee, and is given the power to grant himself Emergency Powers. This may seem like a system encouraging corruption, but the repealing of these powers takes only 20% of the ministers, so their being granted is extremely rare, having happened only in the formation of the union. Each State (province) has its own local government, each of which is unique, although all are democratic, and carefully monitored to ensure they remain that way. There is 1 minister for each state in the ruling Committee.
Economically the Union encourages free market practices. However certain key industries are nationalised, such as education, healthcare, and defence. The entire economy is examined by the Bureau of Trade, to encourage free market practices and ensure competition. The Bureau is notoriously loose in regulations, but It has near- unlimited power, and the importance of trade to the nation gives it a loud voice, and so the wise do not trifle with it. International trade is encouraged, but the general lack of manufacturing industries mean the union is low on Exports, and reliant on imports, particularly Oil and foodstuffs.
Religiously the Union is a nation of complete religious freedom. The most followed Religion is Christianity, but not by much, and Islam is a very close second. The Ministers take a solemn vow, on their holy book, that they will not allow their religious beliefs to interfere with their job, and all other important officials are required to do the same. However this is the only time religion is even considered by the government.
If you are wondering on the letter of the voting laws you have finally read enough. The vote is given to all people with basic military training. This may seem like very few people, but all adults are legally required to undergo rudimentary military training by the age of 17, and 1 month refresher courses are given every 5 years. Every year a 3 day course is given again, so as to ensure that the citizens can all fight, should an invasion occur. The strategy of citizen soldiers was adopted from ancient roman and Greek society, as the low population of the Unions Islands would never be enough for a conventional military to be deployed. A small standing army exists scattered about the mainland areas, and the Navy and Air force are almost entirely Professional, but the majority of the army is drafted in times of emergency.
The citizens are given training primarily in guerrilla warfare, and are little use in offensive action. However their first session is given with the original recording of a famous speech by a famous British leader. The words of Sir Winston Churchill: We Will NEVER Surrender! were adopted as the army motto, and his words are generally accepted as the army creed. In the event of Invasion the militia forces fight tooth and nail against the attackers, and the ability to mobilize and arm the entire population makes invading the Union a certain kind of hell.
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