Administrative divisions of Cartadania

Administrative divisions of Cartadania or political divisions of Cartadania are the various governing entities that together form Cartadania. The first subdivisions are the states and territories. The admission of states into the union is authorized by the Constitution of Cartadania. Most of the states admitted to the union outside of those in the Lusitania Velha region have been formed from territories of Cartadania (that is, land under the sovereignty of the federal government but not part of any state) that were organized by an act or resolution of Congress, subject to the Congress' plenary powers under the territorial clause of Constitution, or from land in an already formed state or annexed nation that was partitioned to form smaller states. The Cartadanian federal and state governments operate within a system of parallel sovereignty, so political states are not technically "divisions" created from Cartadania, but rather units that, together with the capital and territories administered by the federal government, compose Cartadania. Territories of Cartadania are typically lands that have been purchased or annexed and fall under the sovereignty of the federal government. They have essentially all of the same powers of states except that they do not possess the same degree of autonomy as a state and do not maintain their infrastructure networks (Ilhas Bicarianas does maintain all of it's networks due to it's extreme distance).

State and territorial governments within Cartadania may enact their own laws and prosecute crimes pursuant thereto. Member states of Cartadania are then typically subdivided into counties or parishes (Milan and Porta Bianca) which exist at the mercy of the state in which they are located. For Ilhas Bicarianas, each island acts as a single county. This was formerly true for Sanova before Ricardo county split into three forming Ibiza county and the City and County of Lahua alongside Ricardo. Providência is divided into municipalities which, for census purposes, serve the same purpose as a county.

States and territories
The primary political entities of Cartadania are the states (os estados) and the territories (os territórios). Four states—Lombardia, Milan, Porta Bianca and Verona—call themselves commonwealths (comunidade). The word commonwealth in this context refers to the common "wealth", or welfare, of the public. The term has no legal impact.

On numerous occasions the Supreme Court has affirmed that the thirty-one individual states and Cartadania as a whole are each sovereign jurisdictions under the Constitution. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the federal government, Cartadanians are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. States, however, are not sovereign in the Westphalian sense in international law which says that each State has sovereignty over its territory and domestic affairs, to the exclusion of all external powers, on the principle of non-interference in another State's domestic affairs, and that each State (no matter how large or small) is equal in international law. Additionally, the thirty-one states do not possess international legal sovereignty, meaning that they are not recognized by other sovereign states such as, for example, Caphiria or Pelaxia.

Territories are very similar in nature to states except they lack the same degree of autonomy of a state. They operate at the discretion of the federal government but possess many of the same rights and residents of all territories are full citizens of Cartadania. However, like the states, they do not possess international legal sovereignty, meaning that they are not recognized by other sovereign states. Error: Image is invalid or non-existent.

Counties
The states are divided into smaller administrative regions, called counties (comarcas) in all but two states and one territory. In Milan, Montecarlo, Porta Bianca, and Santa Elena, the county equivalents are called parishes while Providência refers to them as municipios (municipalities). These are, nonetheless, treated as counties by the federal government. Counties have varying degrees of political and legal significance. In some states, mainly in Cambria, they are primarily used as judicial districts. In other states, counties have broad powers in housing, education, transportation and recreation.

Counties may contain a number of cities, towns, or villages, or sometimes just a part of a city. Some cities are consolidated with, and coterminous with, their counties, like Lahua—that is to say, these counties consist in their entirety of a single municipality the government of which also operates as the county government. Some counties, such as Malta County, Alexandria, do not have any additional subdivisions. Some states, mainly Acara and Treviso, contain independent cities that are not part of any county.

Cities, towns, and villages
Cities are defined differently by the governments of each state and territory but typically are incorporated municipalities with some urban character of a certain population (e.g., 10k people). Some cities are independent cities, which mean that they are separate from, and independent of, any county they may be near or within. Thus, these cities are the equivalent of counties as they have no higher local government intervening between them and the state government. Independent cities also should not be confused with consolidated city-county governments. An independent city is not part of any county, whereas a consolidated city and county is both a municipal corporation (cidade or city) and an administrative division of the state (comarca or county). There are also incorporated cities, which are a part of and operate under a county system. These are the most common form of city government found in Cartadania. Some incorporated cities overlap county borders. Cities are typically responsible many services in their jurisdiction. Some states are composed solely of cities (i.e., Milan, Venice, and Verona) and contain no towns or villages. Areas outside of cities are unincorporated areas of the county.

Towns are very similar in nature to cities. The difference typically lies in the area and population of the municipality. Towns are always part of a county and cannot form independent governments. Some states allow towns to reincorporate as cities once they achieve a specific population. Some states may say large areas have no general-purpose local government below the county level (as is the case in Sanova despite the existence of some "cities").

Villages are areas of counties that are basically towns but have no general-purpose local government. They may exist in states that don't have subdivisions below the county with an official government or in states that do have cities and towns to fill space that would normally be unincorporated. Santiago is known to have cities, towns, villages, and unincorporated areas, each with different purposes. For this specific case, villages are essentially neighborhoods.