Flying Blind - A world-building exercise

[Immaculate]

Pacong:

Government: Theocratic 'spookocracy'


Economic: Palace economy, Socialist
Social: Fundamentalism, Militarism
Foreign Expansionism, Proselytizing
Domestic: Authoritarianism

Hostory
indonesia and the south Pacific had been struck partiuarily hard by run-away climate change and dwindling energy resources. Serial hurricanes combined with the collapse of world trade and mechanized agriculture and fishing industries saw the region depend into lawlessness, regionalism, and desperate competing warlords.

From these beginnings a new prophet arose, one who preached that he was the fourth in a long line of 'revealers', following the old testament prophets, Jesus, and Muhammad. He preached his own holy book, in a manner similar to Mohamed before him, claiming to speak for God diretly. He won many converts but these, instead of waging war on the unbelievers were net to iniiltrate the institutions of neighboring warlords and chieftains. They formed a sort of shadowy faith that slowly took over the systems of power in a number or neighbors before finally revealing themselves and forming a new theocracy dedicated to the new faith.

 

[talonschild]

Capital city: Pondicherry
Name: Coromandel Regime
Colour: Fairly light tan, i.e. the same colour as a government uniform.

Government: Stratocracy
Ecomonic Policy: Socialism
Social Policy: Liberalism
Foreign Policy: Isolationism

Long after India disappeared, the extreme south of the subcontinent and Sri Lanka made up the Republic of Tamil Nadu. This state had a very high standard of living, but eventually became poorer due to various circumstances, and as the money started to dwindle so did trust in the government. As the government collapsed, the last effective administrative bureaucracy in the state, the military, was vested with the power of government. The government promptly fired the civilians, amended the constitution to cement its claim to power, and transferred the seat of government from Chennai to military headquarters in Pondicherry. The populace was, as a whole, glad of the change, as the military leaders were able to bring stability and a budgetary surplus, and the intellectuals, fearful of a military with essentially unchecked power, found their fears largely unfounded as the new rulers proved surprisingly benevolent.

The government in Coromandel has a Legislative Council, made up of delegates appointed by the Commanders-in-Chief (head of the Army, head of the Navy, head of the Air Force, etc., who take it in turns to be in charge). The executive branch is the the military, headed by the Commanders-in-Chief, who administer the country as a whole, twenty-three Generals and Admirals who govern the twenty-three regions of the country, Major- or Brigadier-Generals, Rear Admirals or Commodores in charge of cities, and further subdivisions down the chain of command. In each case the governor of a region or subdivision is both in charge of governmental affairs and all military forces in the assigned area.

The government's sole concern at the expense of all else is the perpetuation of the high levels of freedom and welfare enjoyed by its citizens, and so foreign entanglements are avoided if at all possible. Success seems likely as long as no major crises rear their heads. It should be noted that unless they join the military, citizens have no real political say, but their other freedoms are largely unhindered.

OOC: I decided to go with a fairly exceptional socialist state... where the military is in charge. Nominally this state would control the southeast coast, some of the interior, and Sri Lanka, but I'll have to stick with Pondicherry for now.

Further, while this may seem like a utopia, I've merely decided to let CivO get creative/sadistic with the challenges I'll face.

 

[Sonereal]

Capital: Chicago
Name: Free City of Chicago
Color: Surprise me

Government: Democracy
Economic Policy: Capitalism
Social Policies: Egalitarianism
Foreign Policy: Imperialism (of the economic variety)

The Free City of Chicago was declared a few years following the Collapse, but has only existed on and off for a century following the Collapse before, finally, a strong cabal of new aristocrats and military strongmen managed to restore order and, more importantly, governance. The Free City of Chicago draws from idealized American ideals such as the equality, liberty, and freedom of commerce. While the Collapse continued all around it, Chicago weathered the storm through rationing and desperate armed expeditions. The success of the city is three parts in part of the skill of her administrators, and two parts luck.

The Free City of Chicago is a democracy with a constitution (or as they call it, a city-charter) based on the old American Constitution. As it stands, all persons over the age of sixteen are franchised. The major deviation from the old system is that the upper house positions are for life or until resignation (the house is largely made up of the aforementioned plutocrats), while the lower house positions are for two-year terms. The Mayor is elected by popular vote every five years.

In recent years, with the standard of living making gains (the SoL has yet to reach pre-Collapse standards), the leadership of the city have been looking out into the world around it for increasingly beneficial trade and tributary relations.

 

[Robert Can't]

The Republic of the Carnarvon Highway

Government: Stratocracy
Economic: Socialism
Social: Liberalism, Egalitarianism
Foreign: Interventionism

Australia had been drawing to a close for decades. The Nation was crumbling under the effects of desertification and other natural hazards caused by the global climate change. However Australia would not receive the killing blow until a group of environmentalists from the city of Melbourne decided to take action against what they saw as the tyranny of humanity. Working with a group of scientists they engineered a virus that would effect the entire population and then in three out of four people would cause a quick and painless death. They cited this as the most humane way to control Humanity. Before they had a chance to release the Virus though the Melbourne police attempted to stop them. A siege was laid on the laboratory which they were working in. However before the police could stabilise the situation fighting broke out - the dissatisfied citizens saw the act as one of oppression, possibly because the true purpose of the siege had been kept hushed to prevent nation panic.
Soon enough the population of Melbourne had completely taken over the city and the Environmentalist group managed to unleash their deadly virus. The carnage wracked on the county was terrible with hundreds dying and not enough left to bury the bodies. Some whole towns were left empty and disorder was taking hold. In the city of Melbourne a group of Anarchists took hold stretching their influence across the area.
During this time the military become fractured and broke off into various faction, many of which were concerned merely for the outcome of their own lot; motivated by greed and a feeling for the need to protect what was theirs. many of these small and fractured splinter groups were scared of the oncoming Anarchists as they presented the only unified force in Australia and thus a threat to the Warlord rule.
One Warlord faction however decided to make a stand. This group had been mainly operating in the north of the Murray-Darling Basin, keeping control of the waterways and the towns upon them. This group decided to call together a meeting of various warlords in the Queensland and New South Wales areas. The Anarchist had advanced fully along the Australian eastern coast and were making their way inland. The end result of the meeting was that the local warlords would band together and make a stand.
They needed a line in the sand of desertified Australia.
They Chose the Carnarvon Highway, making their base of operations the small town of Surat. From here a council of the various Warlords oversaw the defeat of the advancing Anarchists, the line they had drawn had held and they began to push the Anarchists back.
Once the majority of danger for the warlords was passed many mooted that a return to the old system would happen. However a small group of the most powerful warlords suggested a new Centralised state should be put in place to deal with any future threats. Thus was born the Republic of the Carnarvon Highway.

The Republic was reorganised over the years. It reintegrated the old military factions into a single military rather than a bunch of warlords. Power remained in control of the military however it became their prime responsibility was the welfare of the townships under the protection of the Republic. The government opted for a state controlled system of resource distribution and it ensured that equality was at the forefront of that policy.

 

[arya126]

Name: Rus
Capital: Present day St. Petersburg. Apologies for no map.
Color: Dark Red

Government: Dictatorship
Economic Policy: Military-Industrialism
Social Policy: Nationalism and Militarism
Foreign Policy: Expansionism and Imperialism
Domestic Policy: Authoritarianism

Will add more later, but basically a resurgent Russia that dreams of the glory before being communist. Again, will flesh it out more later.

 

[Mosher]

Name: The Hancock Federation
Capital: Ellsworth (location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellsworth,_Maine)

Government: Plutocracy
Economic: Capitalism
Social: Nationalism, Militarism, Fundamentalism
Foreign: Multinationalism, Expansionism
Domestic: Authoritarian

History: The Hancock Federation was built by survivors of the Great Calamity, as it is most commonly known in the Federation. The federation was started as a simple survivalist community, based and entrenched in the city of Ellsworth as they struggled to survive the dual pronged danger of disease and shortages. As the group combed the myriad small towns surrounding Ellsworth for survivors and salvage, however, their population boomed and they eventually managed to put together enough parts, fuel, and personnel to begin launching serious raids into the Maine countryside. The relatively wealthy group brought promises of medicine, food, and shelter to impoverished survivalist groups throughout Maine and, eventually, began to branch out over all of what used to be Hancock County.

This culminated in the official formation of the Hancock Federation a few years after the Great Calamity, centered in the old county seat of Ellsworth. The population has dispersed dramatically in the time since, taking over several small towns surrounding Ellsworth and rebuilding roads and tilling farmland. It wasn't until some time after the formation of the Federation that an official central government was put into place. The people still had a firm belief in democratic tradition and a government was elected: the first, and only, term of President Henry Jordan featured the institution of a constitution, a legislative branch, and the first printing of the Hancock Dollar.

Though President Jordan was largely considered a good president by the general populace, the upper class land-owning, sharecropping bourgeois disliked his left-leaning policies that infringed on their extensive political and economic privileges, especially President Jordan's attempted legislation to legally end sharecropping and revoke some of their extensive rights. After Jordan's term was up, a representative of the bourgeois named Jonathan Schatz was put forward as a puppet for pushing through their needs and wants. Thanks to a series of unfortunate accidents and large amounts of food and Hancock Dollars being passed around, Schatz won a majority of the votes (though at this time only two other candidates were capable of taking office and consisted of an aging, bearded liberal and a doomsday predictor).

Under the leadership of Schatz, the bourgeois flourished as restrictions were lifted and immigrants from outside the Federation continued fuel the growing Hancock agriculture industry. An official, standing military was finally established along with some of the first factories shortly after Schatz's second term and, finally, the Immigration Workforce Act was passed in his third. This bill proposed that all new migrants could earn a Hancock Federation citizenship by serving up to 5 years in the army, 4 years as a farmhand, or 2 years as an industrial worker. This did nothing but further reinforce the power of the bourgeois faction, as the steady flow of immigrants that made up the majority of the Federation's population growth were now firmly underneath their thumb, depending on them for food and shelter. Challengers to this act, and the many other smaller laws that increased the power of the Bourgeois Faction, were crushed and spirited away to labor camps by the Department of Internal Security.

All of this were the ingredients of revolution. A home-grown revolution in one of the agricultural colonies around Ellsworth, a small and isolated town named Waltham, sprung up, led by a communist by the name of Philip Martin. The operation lurked in the desolate woods and lands around Ellsworth, slowly gathering support before they would conduct a storming of the presidential palace, Bastille style. On the eve of the revolution, however, they were struck with treachery, their plan revealed, and the Federal Army was mobilized. The lightly armed, undisciplined, and unorganized rebels didn't stand a chance against Hancock regulars; half were killed or wounded in the first battle, and the rest captured shortly afterwards. After a sham trial and a public execution of Philip Martin, President Schatz announced that the Federation was in a state of emergency, and the Constitution and legislature were suspended.

Culture: The culture is split relatively evenly between two groups; one group, derogatively referred to as Rednecks, are a group who live primarily in the outer reaches of the Federation and generally serve as farmers, soldiers, miners, or other grunt work. They tend to be far more conservative, less educated, and are looked down on by the residents of the larger towns, who tend to be more liberal, more educated, and tend towards the service industry or administrative jobs.

Internal Issues: The Federation isn't particularly stable, and with the end of any semblance of democracy or representation, the common man isn't particularly fond of its government. The bourgeois faction controls things from behind the scenes, focused on cementing their own power and increasing their wealth. The government is staffed by bourgeois puppets (President Schatz and his lackeys) and the large immigrant segment of the population is indebted towards them for a place to sleep and eat while they earned citizenship. Arms production and the military are firmly in the bourgeois' pocket, and regular patrols through the largest towns keep rebel activity down. The Federation has weak industry as well, with little being put out of the factories besides canned food and military goods. Due to the overstep of bourgeois power, communist and socialist sentiment in the Federation have skyrocketed as well, and hushed voices speak of a democratic revolution in bars and workplaces throughout the federation.

 

[Deusselkerr]

WIP in Brazil.


Yo CivOasis--
Are we allowed to screw with the map? I want to have the Amazon be vastly different from what there is today- with there being an Amazon Desert, for example- as a result of great deforestation and global warming, followed by poor attempts at fixing the situation (as well as some somewhat successful attempts to fix regions). So I'll wait for a response before doing anything, as my nation hinges upon my ability to do this.

 

[KaiserElectric]

WIP in general area of Mexico/SW US

 

[Terran Empress]

The Caliphate of Córdoba

Map:

Government:
Caliphate (Theodemocracy)

Policies:
Economic: Capitalism
Social: Liberalism, Fundamentalism
Foreign: Expansionism, Multinationalism


History:
Iberia suffered from the "Collapse" much more than most other areas, with over half its population dying due to the climate changes and pandemics. With most of the population dying around them many people to question their lives around them. Some turned to God, some turned away, some went stark raving mad, and others sought for knowledge of all kinds.

Abd-Allah Umayyad was perhaps a bit of everything at one time or another in his life. Born Jesús Gonzalez in the city of Córdoba, Jesús was a devout Catholic, like his parents, and grandparents, and many of his ancestors. However when the Collapse took both his father and his mother Jesús lost all faith in the Catholic religion, he turned against God and began studding the history of his city and Iberia. One night after a long session of studying Jesús was visited by an angel, the Angel told him that he was a decedent of the long lost Umayyad dynasty and that he was destined to bring back the Caliphate and Unite Islam. After this Jesús began calling himself Abd-Allah, or Servant of God, Umayyad in respect for his heritage. He also began to call himself the Caliph of all Islam in Córdoba. Many people just took him as a nut job, but many people flocked to his banner, which is the old Umayyad White Standard, with the newly created Caliph's Herald, which is a Red and Green Crescent and Star with the Arabic words, Allah Akbar in between them. Abd-Allah's legitimacy as the Caliph skyrocketed when he and his followers overthrew the old government of Córdoba. Abd-Allah had succeeded and with his followers unanimously calling him to be the Caliph non could argue over his power. Over the years many others have flocked to Abd-Allah's banner, and while the majority of Iberia is still Catholic, the Umayyad Dynasty is poised once again to reclaim its lost territory and to unite Islam under one banner once more.

 

[christos200]

State of Sparta:

Spoiler :

Capital: Sparta
Government: Dictatorship
Economic Policy: Military-Industrialism
Social Policy: Nationalism, Militarism
Foreign Policy: Isolationism
Domestic Policy: Authoritarianism

History:

Greece was once a stable democracy. Before the crisis. After many years of economic crisis and and an increase in Taxes, the people had enough. They revolted and Greece collapsed into several small states.

In Sparta, when the revolution begun, Colonel Christoforos, along with 9 Tanks and 1,200 soldiers, managed to put down the revolt and "restore order in the name of the Government". But when he learnt that the Government in Athens had collapsed, Christoforors set up a Government in Sparta.

The Government Christoforos set up was one of absolutism. All opposition was crushed. With Sparta secure, Christoforos begun a campaign against the Peloponnesian Warlords. After many years of war, all of the Peloponnese has been unified under Christoforos' control.

So, he has now declared the State of Sparta. He has closed the borders of his state and no one is allowed to enter the state or leave it. His policy of complete isolation means that there is no diplomatic relations with any other state. No foreigners are allowed. The world for the majority of the Spartans is only the Peloponnese.

 

[W|M]

Name: The Republic of Mali
Location: Timbuktu

Spoiler :

Government: Representative Democracy
Economic Policy: Capitalism
Social Policy: Nationalism, Liberalism, Egaliterianism
Foreign Policy: Expansionism, Multinationalism

The Republic of Mali is a long-standing regional power, known for lying close to vast natural resources in neighbouring regions and profitable trade routes. It is a representative democracy modelled after Western European governments, although the complicated ethnic and religious situation in the area has lead to the Malinese Constitution guaranteeing equal rights for everyone under its jurisdiction as long as they subscribe to a sort of civic nationalism, known as ´´Malinism´´. The Malinese government is unicameral, with the Congress being elected via proportional representation similar to the system used in Weimar Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and the President is simply elected via popular vote. A High Court also exists as the highest juridical part of the government - and the only non-partisan part of it - and members of it are appointed via a council of high-ranking judges. There are 6 parties in Congress - The Traditional Party, the National Renewal Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party, with President Zilalsen Dubois of the Liberal Party currently leading the country, although the Socialists hold a strong plurality in Congress. For a law to be passed, either the President or Congress writes it up, then the issue is put to vote in Congress. It then needs to have at least 50% of the vote, although the President can veto the law if he/she doesn´t like it, as can the collective (but not individual) members of the High Court - However, if over 70% of Congress approves a law, it overrides any veto. Parties often form coalitions to support each other to get their demands made into law - For example, a proposed law which would lower the legal age from 18 to 16 got 73% of the vote after the Liberal and Socialist parties teamed-up against the unpopular Conservative President who tried to veto the law, which helped lead to the Conservative Party taking a huge hit in the next Congressional election and not even standing a chance for the Presidency.

 

[NedimNapoleon]

OP changed.

 

[CivOasis]

As of Nedim's last post, I need the following:

AA: History
Sam: History
Nedim: History
Immaculate: History
Sonereal: History, sign-up
RC: History (I know that's currently unavailable)
Arya: History
Deusselkerr: History, sign-up
KE: History, sign-up
TE: History, sign-up
WIM: HIstory, sign-up
Redspy, Tyo (who haven't posted, but have mentioned to me): History & Sign-ups
Christos, Mosher, AG, Talonschild, Mathalamus, Mrrandomplayer - your signups are considered complete.

Some of you have already discussed this with me, but here's the full list, anyways. We can start once I get a decent number of these submitted.

 

[Double A]

"Some things happened and then some people died."

 

[Immaculate]

So, vis-a-vis history, what year are we in, when did the 'collapse' occur, and how was society changed? I find it hard to write anything concrete with relatively little to go on.

 

[CivOasis]

There isn't a defined year, part of it is seeing what players come up with. To address what is concrete:

The "collapse" occurred at least a few hundred years ago, and involved major climate changes and population collapse. Many larger centers of population continued on, as a sort of city-state system, though this marks the first time true nations are rising again.

Nuclear weapons were not involved, though I'm open to wars as a contributing factor.

 

[BILLSIF]

Deseret

Name: Holy Republic of Deseret.
Capital: New Jerusalem (Salt Lake City)

Government: Theodemocracy

The "Theodemocracy" practiced by Deseret bares little resemblance to the systems long ago envisioned by Josef Smith. Rather, it refers to the relationship shared between the Mormon Church and the leadership of Deseret, the line where the Government ends, and the Church begins are heavily blurred. Furthermore, while non-religious parties & politicians are legal, never has one succeded the without a blessing from the Mormon Church.

Economic: Socialist

Industries regarded as vital to the survival of the State are managed by the members of the Mormon Church. In cooperation with the Mormon Church, the Government provides for the needs of her people.

Social: Fundamentalism, Nationalism
Foreign: Expansionism, Proselytizing

Even the hardships & dangers of the post-Collapse world haven't dampened the Great missionary Spirit of the Mormon Church. Cleared of the Sins of the Old, the Holy Republic sees itself as the small and humble beginnings of a New Great Republic, to rival and surpass the old.

Domestic: Authoritarianism

Mormon religious bans on Alcohol, Beer, Cigarettes have long ago been enacted into the laws of the land, applying even to those belonging to other Christian sects. Little love is shown for criminals or other law-breakers, and punishments are enacted swiftly and harshly. By and large however, the Holy Republic leaves her any law-abiding citizens to their own devices.

History:
Of all the Nations in the World, perhaps none suffered as more so then the United States. At the Epicenter of the Collapse, the United States was devastated, as population centers disappeared or were uprooted overnight by epidemics, and rapid climate change respectively. A series of weak and ineffectual Presidents did little, or were unable to, prevent the worst of these damages. Seeing the final death-tones of the Union, the State of Utah declared secession, closely followed by additional States.

The Church of the Latter-Day Saints preferred to continue its role as a spiritual, rather then enter the political field. Gradually however, the Mormon Church became a stronger and stronger political force in Utah, eventually leading to the Church preforming a political coup on Secular government, and the proclamation of the Holy Republic of Deseret.

 

[Lord_Herobrine]

The Californian Monarchy

Captial City: San Francisco
Golden

Spoiler :

Absolute Monarchy
Capitalism
Nationalism, Liberalism
Proselytizing, Expansionism
Survivalism

History/Bio:
With the Collapse of the world, California too collapsed. The dramatic changes in climate were seen around the entire state. Glaciers in the mountains receded and flooded lower elevations, the desert encroached on the wet pacific coast little by little. When most of the changes were over, and life was settling back down, the desert ceased its advance.

San Francisco, a city largely unaffected by climate change due to its position, continued to survive in the post-collapse environment. Heavily relying on trade routes between local cities and towns, it managed to stay together. About one hundred years after the Collapse, a large 7.8 earthquake tore through the region, leveling blocks of very old buildings. Surprisingly, the skyscrapers that made up the skyline survived the quake with only minor damages, along with many small but well built buildings.

As the rebuilding process began, several different factions fought over what was to be built upon the new ground. Those that still believed that God would help us through this disaster called for several new churches to be constructed. Another portion of the community thought it would be best to build residential apartments, to house the rapidly rising number of peoples in the city. Lastly, it was petitioned that a series of new wind farms would be built there, partially solving the growing cities’ power problem. Despite challenging opinions, the wind farms were chosen over the others and produced more than enough electricity for the city at the time due to the strong winds coming off the pacific. The city was able to sell excess power to smaller communities and gain revenue from that market.

 

[mrrandomplayer]

Oh yeah, and I pick orange as a color.

 

[KaiserElectric]

I already claimed Mexico guys, let's not crowd me here.