Olmeria

Olmeria, officially the Democratic Republic of Olmeria (Cordish: Demokratica Rendǿ Olmeria), is a island nation in the far reaching northern Continent of Kiroborea, although it is widely considered to be geopolitically closer to northern Levantia and the Ultmar region. Sitting on the north coast of the Sea of Nordska, Olmeria has no permanent land borders, but is connected to the Arctic to its north by seasonal ice for much of the year. To the south, the island of Weiss Insel (FI) can be found across the Olmerian Straights before reaching mainland Fiannria and the port city and capital of Brídhavn on the southern Nordska coast. Due west, around 2,500 km of ocean separate Olmeria from it's most culturally similar neighbour Vithinja. Between the two lies the isle of Vonein followed by the northeast coast of Caergwynn, roughly 2,000km from the Olmerian coast. To the east, little is found besides the expansive Levantine Ocean, although if travelling far enough one will eventually reach the Sea of Capelan and later the west coast of Crona.

The capital of Olmeria is its largest city, Neuvesto, a commercial and technological hub on the east coast. Other notable settlements include Lundholm, Olmeria's so called industrial capital in the northern regions of the nation, and Aalberg, the nations biggest trading city on the south coast. In total,

Etymology
Olmeria (oʊl/mɪ/ri/ə˞ˈ), is a Cordish word loosely translating to "oneness" in the context of a large body of people or organisations. The origins of the word are a contentious matter for modern historians but it is widely agreed that the name stems from pre-Cordish native languages as old as 100BC. Use of the ancient word "Olne" (oʊln) picked up around the 3rd century AD and can be seen regularly in old writings by 420 AD. The words meaning however was unclear and appears to have varied wildly between the different tribes that used it, with historians best guesses suggesting it was the name for a wide range of ancient rituals, usually involving some sort of hurling of rocks. This appears to later have developed into a word describing violent collisions (presumably derived from the impact of said rocks on their target).

To complicate things, the similar sounding word "Elmne", (pronounced ɜ˞lm) came into wider usage a century or so later, with the distinct meaning of "together, as one". Linguists have long struggled to explain how such similarly sounding words developed almost simultaneously, but regardless of the reasons for the linearity, it has certainly created substantial difficulties for historians in determining the distinct origins of the current word.

The trail of both words goes cold from around 650 - 800 AD, with the next tangible evidence of the phonetically similar word "Olm" emerging soon after the turn of the 9th century. From here it's clear the word became widely used to mean "one", referencing the unity of a tribe, family or people. This slowly developed into the word "Olme" (see below) that can still be seen in modern Cordish language as the word for both "one" the numeric value and in it's other meanings.

The postfix -eria had experienced a surge in popularity from around 750 onwards, particularly amongst the warrior class, where warriors began to use the term "upheria" to describe feelings of adrenaline and hysteria associated with combat. This trend spread quickly amongst the lower class divisions affecting many existing words such as "but seemingly failed to influences the law-making classes until the mid 9th Century.

The term Olmeria itself can first be seen in in writings from the Great Chieftain Marco Reud in 856. Reud writes about the loss off "Olmeria" in the national community, seemingly referring to unity or national spirit. His use of the postfix -eria is the first such recorded example outside of soldiers and their families. Presumably Reud had picked up the trend from his men (who he was famously close to) and was attempting encapture the idea of "oneness" or "feeling of being one" by using a postfix that had become so commonly associated with such abstract concepts.

The concept of "Olmeria" was not regularly revisited over the next few centuries until it came to the official establishment of the nation sometime in XXXX. At this point, senior chieftains and intellectuals revisited Reud's work looking for inspiration from the nations history to embed into the early constitution (a fact easily noted by historians for the clear annotations in the margins of many copies of Reud's works). What they found instead was a solution to the long running debate over the name of the newly established nation, one which had been raging for almost 3 years as various historic tribes and families vied to have their titles acknowledged in the modern country (a fact which lead several early drafts of the nation name to be over 3 pages in length). The idea of "Olmeria" or "Oneness" appealed greatly to those leader and intellectuals who desperately craved a clean sheet from the simultaneously troubled, violent and stagnant early history of the land. In fact the contempary chronicler Loke Åberg (who was also a senior advisor in the Council of Chieftains) noted how "the incessant roar of conflict that have plagued these halls for so many months were, so suddenly, cut to silence by the shouts of one, junior, advisor, who cried at the topmost end of his voice that he had found the perfect solution". Little more is know about the exact events that immediately followed this but drafts of the constitution dated just a few days later began to use Olmeria in the title and text. suggesting the response was at least close to unanimously in favour of the new name.

Curiously, following the adoption of Olmeria as the nations title, the use of postfix -eria once again dropped of a cliff and is now rarely, if ever, seen in the modern Cordish language.

As for which of the early words were the true predecessors to Olmeria, there are more schools of thought than people in the country to believe them. Many Olmerian historians argue the differences in meaning between "Olne" and "Olm" were substantial enough that, despite the phonetic similarities, it's impossible for the world to have evolved so quickly, thereby discounting Olne as a legitimate predecessor. They say it's plausible that the pronunciation of "Elmne" could have lead to a rapid change in spelling over just a few centuries with little change in meaning.

However other historians argue that such a change in spelling is itself impossible, discounting "Elmne" as a legitimate predecessor. Many suggest that in the ancient world the meaning of "violent collision" would be closer than a contempary audience may imagine, given much of the religious imagery of the time focussed on worship by throwing rocks at idols to establish some sort of spiritual connection. While little is known about the old faiths to confirm this, it is plausible that the association between collision and spiritual worship allowed "Olne" to develop it's meaning faster than many other words at the time. Others suggest there was a reference to a senior deity as "The Great One" or similar, once again associating the two concepts. This is, however, contradicted heavily by the fact use of the word Olme to mean the numerical value one was not predominant in its early use, or in fact until much later in the 2nd millennia.

Yet more historians are on the fence, claiming that the phonetics, meaning and spelling of both origins combined to eventually result in the world "Olm". They argue the lack of recordings from the time suggest a literacy rate so low that any level of meaningful change in the language would almost certainly be passed on verbally, suggesting the similarly sounding words could have become confused with each other, with the resulting term adopting the phonetically logical spelling "Olne" along with the unified meaning. Historians in this category still hold widely split views on what proportion of influence each word held over the final meaning.

Some marginalised historians even argue that both words died out and were replaced by the new one with purely coincidental similarities, fabricated largely by historians in an attempt to explain the etymology more comprehensively.

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Government and Politics
Main Article: Olmerian Politics

Olmeria is a Unicameral Democratic Republic, divided into the executive Council of Chiefs (presided over by the President of Olmeria), and legislative body The People's Senate. The nation is split into 200 Multi-Member Constituencies which elect representatives according to the STV voting system. Olmeria also has 82 administrative districts managed by regional and local councils, in addition to 4 metropolitan zones. General elections are held after every set 4 year term to elect the Senate and President, while local elections are held annually (excluding General Election years) with 1/3 of councillors up for election each time.

The President
Main Article: The President of Olmeria

The democratically elected post of President of Olmeria combines the traditional roles and duties of both the Head of State and Head of Government, meaning the President is responsible for a combination of executive legislative decisions and ceremonial and diplomatic representation of the nation. The president is elected concordantly with the legislative body as the leader and representative of a certain political party.

While the president can be deemed the highest power in the state, in accordance with the 2nd Olmerian Constitution the power of the President is fully accountable to veto by the Council of Chiefs and People's Senate by a series of constitutional safeguards. Any one President is limited to a maximum of four consecutive terms in office and a total of 6 in their lifetime.

Olmeria has had a total of XX Presidents since the post was adopted in XXXX. The current President of Olmeria is President Këil Frieden.

The Council of Chiefs
Main Article: Council of Chiefs

Specific government departments within Olmeria are headed up by traditionally entitled "Chiefs"(Honorific Chf), responsible for making up the bulk of a government and coordinating government policy within their area. 20 of these Chiefs are appointed form a cabinet like Council which advises the president on matters of significance. Of these 20, 15 are appointed directly by the current president from elected representatives in The People's Senate, almost always from their party. This includes the Great Chieftain who fulfils a vice president type role as chair of the Council in the presidents absence and second in command of the nation. The Council also includes 4 specialist advisors on Military, Industry, Health and Finance who are unelected and not bound by a presidents term limit. These individuals are selected from the top of various government departments or relevant organisations based on their expertise and fulfil an entirely advisory role to the president and Chiefs of their respective department. The final position on the Council is filled by the Olmerian Ambassador to the League of Nations, a senior diplomat appointed by promotion within the Foreign Affairs government departments.

The Speaker of the Senate (see below) is not constitutionally considered a member of the Council of Chiefs, however is formally responsible for communications between the council and the Senate, such that many political experts consider the role effectively that of a chief.

Throughout it's history a total of XXX people have held a role on the Council of Chiefs. The current Great Chieftain is Chf Esmë Droido.

The People's Senate
Main Articles: The People's Senate, Speaker of the Senate

The People's Senate is the legislative body of Olmeria, responsible for drafting, debating, and voting on legislation affecting the nation. Due to the Unilateral nature of the Olmerian constitution, the Senate combines the traditional roles of both upper and lower chambers, holding legislative powers as well as the constitutional and review based roles usually fulfilled by a second, upper, chamber. Amongst other things, the Senate is responsible for voting on budgets, new laws, confidence in government and The senate has 800 seats elected from 100 multi-member constituencies (each electing 8 Senators) by single transferable vote (STV) voting. Members of the Senate, called Practicing Senators, or commonly just Senators (Honorific Prs), form the basic recruitment pool for government personal, represent regional interests nationally, and vote on legislation.

The Senate is chaired by the Speaker of the Senate, commonly just "the speaker", responsible for organising debate, presenting legislation, formally reporting the Senate's conclusions to the Council of Chiefs, and fulfilling several ceremonial functions such as the Opening of the Senate and announcement of the budget. The current speaker is Prs Orvar Göransson.

The Senate currently contains representatives from 9 political bodies (including 3 formal coalition pacts), and 1 independent Senator.

Administrative Divisions
Main Article: Administrative Districts of Olmeria

Local government in Olmeria is organised into two tiers. Upper tier authorities consist of regional boards presiding over the the nations 16 official provinces, usually encompassing a substantial area, and metropolitan councils presiding over the nations 4 designated metropolitan zones. These authorities hold responsibility for enacting government initiatives, allocating money for larger spending projects, and managing province wide networks such as high speed rail links. Lower tier authorities sit underneath their relevant upper tier authority, and consist of local councils presiding over much smaller local municipalities. These authorities are responsible for more menial management of local affairs such as road maintenance and local public transport. Local government below these two tiers, such as town and village councils, are not considered part of the national government structure and as such are named "sub-state authorities".

There are 20 upper tier authorities in Olmeria, and 62 lower tier authorities, making a total of 82 administrative districts. These districts are run by elected councillors, or regional representatives (shorthand: regional reps) in the case of regional boards, and metropolitan councillors in the case of metropolitan councils.

Politics
Main Article: Olmerian Politics

The political background and history of Olmeria is complex, with multiple reforms creating defining moments in the growth and decline in support for specific parties and individuals. Ideologically, despite the name of Olmeria's legislative body appearing to be typical of a socialist nation, the country is not, constitutionally at least, particularly politically biased either way. However it is true to say that left wing politics have experienced significant success and popularity within the nation, although recent trends indicate an increase in support for both centrist and extreme right policies.

History
Historically, Olmeria used to operate a First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system, a well known system renowned for it's tendency to create a two party system. As such, the nations political landscape for the first X centuries after the formal establishment of the democratic system, were defined predominantly by the competition between the center-left Unity Party and the more extreme socialist Olmerian Socialist Union (OSU), which dominated party politics for more than XXX years. In XXXX, Olmeria transitioned to the revolutionary STV voting system (pioneered by political philosopher Wilhelm Svensson), threatening the dominance of these two parties. Over the following X decades, both parties went on to form long-term parliamentary agreements, with the Unity party adopting the Liberal Party, and later the CDU, to form the more centrist Unity Coalition, and the OSU joining with the original Olmerian Workers Party (now reformed under the same name), and the TUSC to form the similarly left wing Progress Coalition.

Modern Political Landscape
Now, due to the use of highly proportional voting system single transferable vote (STV), Olmerian politics are nuanced and variable, usually relying on some form of power sharing agreement. In fact in the XX years since the modern voting system was adopted, only 3 governments have ruled with an outright majority, with 2 of these including existing party agreements. The most recent of these majority rules was by the Progress Coalition, following it's inaugural election success in XXXX.

The biggest parties in the current Senate are the Unity and Progress Coalitions, with the liberal Justice Party and conservative Jönsson Pact also holding significant presence. After winning the most seats in the XXXX elections, the Unity Coalition is currently the major partner in a centrist coalition government with the Justice Party, together holding a 44 seat majority in the Senate. President Këil Frieden, Speaker Prs Orvar Göransson and 11 of the 15 appointed chiefs are all Unity Party Senators, while Great Chieftain Chf Esmë Droido and 3 other chiefs represent the Justice Party.

Current smaller parties holding seats in the Senate include the reformed far-left Olmerian Workers Party (OWP), the far-right Olmerian Nationalist Party (ONP), the Centrist Party, the Green Party, and the CPRO.

The Legal and Justice System
Main Articles: Olmerian Justice System, Supreme Court of Olmeria, Olmerian Laws

The legal system of Olmerian is tiered according to severity of cases and the need for political impartiality. The system is managed by the Olmerian Executive Justice Board (OEJB) fully independently of the government.

Supreme Court of Olmeria
The SCO (Supreme Court of Olmeria) is the official judiciary of the nation, holding the highest authority on legal rulings. The SCO rules primarily on cases pertaining to political queries over the application of constitutional or common law in governance, in addition to politicians facing criminal trials relating to their work, and any serious political offenses. The SCO is also the final court of appeal for all criminal and civil cases.

The SCO is completely independent of government to protect its integrity. In fact, the government is constitutionally required to refrain from interfering in court proceedings, adhere to Supreme Court rulings, and refer any relevant matters promptly to the SCO. SCO judges and senior staff are selected based on competence and prior experience by the recruitment board of the OEJB.

Lower Legal Framework
Beneath the SCO, Olmeria's court system is divided into two distinct, parallel systems ruling over administrative and general (civil and criminal) matters respectively. All criminal and civil cases will in most circumstances first be referred to a local district court for review, of which there are more than 50 in the country. If the case is low-level it will be heard and ruled on in the district court. If it is a more serious criminal or civil offence, the case will be passed on to a regional court (of which there are 16), and heard and rules on there. If the case is appealed, the court of appeal will review the case and determine if there is enough evidence for an appeal. If they deem there is enough evidence, the case will be heard again in the court of appeal and a new verdict reached on whether or not to uphold the original sentence. Cases can only be appealed to the Supreme Court if they are deemed to have no precedent in current legislature.

Laws
Olmeria's laws are reasonably liberal

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Sports
Main Article: Sports in Olmeria

Olmeria, despite it's size, is a proud, and successful (although never dominant) sporting nation. The nation has senior professional divisions and a national team in 6 major team sports, in addition to being well renowned for it's prowess in winter sport competitions, particularly track events and biathlon skiing. In fact, Olmeria is the birthplace of the first winter track sport, bobsleigh, invented in peculiar circumstances in XXXX. Since it's independence in XXXX, several Olmerian athletes have gained substantial status and fame within their fields, most recognisably bobsleigh captain and later TV personality Melker Bergius, footballer Olle Aberg and F1 driver Viktor Stenström.

The sporting industry in Olmeria, and the media sector that goes alongside it, is estimated to be worth around Ⱡ1.5bn. Sponsorship and television rights play a large part in the commercial factor of this revenue, however the majority still comes from grassroots purchases of matchday tickets and sporting equipment by the Olmerian populace. Football (aka soccer in some regions of the world) is the most popular sport both in terms of viewing figures and commercial success, with ice hockey a close competitor for household viewership. In fact the rivalry between the two sports is so strong that most Olmerians watch and follow just one of the OHL and the Første Liga (although this feud doesn't extend to international competitions which garner the support of the whole nation).

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