Geisenroda

People's Republic of Geisenroda Volksrepublik Geisenroda (Gothic)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Tradition, Sozialismus, Gemeinschaft ("Tradition, Socialism, Community")
Anthem: Ein Soldat hat es nicht leicht
Capital and largest city	Saalfeld
Official languages	Gothic Hendalarskisch
Religion	Coscivian Orthodox Church
Demonym(s)	Geisenrodan Gaisen
Government	Unitary Constitutional Monarchy under a One-Party Socialist Republic
• Kaiser	Ernst Orndorff
• Chancellor	Konrad Ruhl
Legislature	Unicameral
• Upper house	Volkskammer
Establishment
• Declared	1940
Population
• Estimate	181,545,072
• Census	2035
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$4.17 trillion
• Per capita	$22,990
Gini	25.7 low
HDI	0.790 high
Currency	Kaisermark (ℳ︁)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+850
Internet TLD	.gra

Geisenroda, officially the People's Republic of Geisenroda, is a country in Levantia. It is neighbored by Hendalarsk to the north and shares a naval border with Kiravia to its south. Geisenroda has a population of 181 million, largely consisting of Gothic people's though with a sizable minority of both Celts and Coscivians. Religiously, Geisenroda possesses one of the largest populations of Coscivian Orthodox Christians in the world, however, small populations of Gothic pagans still exist in the country, along with various branches of Protestantism. The nation consists of eight states operating in a unitary structure.

Geisenroda's history can be traced back to the various Gothic barbarian tribes that once inhabited the area, the first established kingdoms of the area can be traced back to the Gothic Middle Ages, around 720-730 AD. The first evidence of Coscivian Orthodoxy making its roots in the country can also be found around the same time, however, due to the already rather deep-rooted nature of the faith that is mentioned in many sources describing the kingdoms, it is commonly accepted that the religion can be dated back to the Gothic barbarians' raids on ancient Kiravia's eastern shores, the setting up of outposts on the continent and then bringing the faith back to their tribes is the most commonly accepted version of events. Despite the general trends of increasing approachment to the Levantine Empire and Catholicism becoming more accepted in Gothic societies, the then unified kingdoms of ancient Geisenroda rejected these actions and favored a more isolationist and Gothica-centric policy along with increasing persecution of Catholics in the territories. The kingdom's refusals to modernize lead to them being absorbed into several different kingdoms and empires in its lifespan, until a Kiravian backed insurgency made the country independent again in the late 1500's. TBA

Geisenroda's modern history has been known for the country's diplomatic isolation and widespread though relatively moderate sanctions against it. The country has been under the rule of the United Socialist Party - National Front (USP-NF), as a one-party system, since the late-1990's. The state is one of the worlds few planned economies with state owned companies dominating the economy, alongside heavy protectionism and regulations, though private enterprise at a small level is allowed. Since the countries return to socialism it experienced a period of economic recovery and stability from the depression following the attempts at economic shock therapy, however in the following years the country experienced a sharp economic decline with their voluntary default on their foreign debts followed by slow, often below 1% economic growth following the default and the beginning of the application of sanctions, however in recent years economic growth has returned to normal levels. Kiravia has remained a strong and steadfast ally of the country in recent history however and has assisted the country economically and diplomatically. In 2028 Geisenroda withdrew its member status at the League of Nations, referring to the organization as "Fascist, globalist, and imperialist". The national ideology written into the constitution is Krauszerism, the ideology of the nation's chancellor who reestablished socialism in the country, Otto Krauszer.

Etymology

"Geisenroda" comes from both the name of the largest Gothic ethnic group, the Geisen people from the tribe of the same name, which historically was one of the largest groups to inhabit the area and the one that has been proven to be living in the area the longest, along with the Roda lake and river, the nation's largest body of water and river, which evidence of ancient Geisen people is found most heavily near.

History

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First era

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Second era

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Climate and environment

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Government and Politics

Volkskammer building in Saalfeld.

Geisenroda is a Constitutional monarchy under a socialist republic, the kaiser exists as the head of state with the chancellor as head of government along with the Volkskammer serving as the nation's unicameral legislature. The nation has been ruled as a one-party state since the adoption of the 2000 constitution, with the USP-NF as the country's sole legal party, however, it can allow other parties to exist.

Executive

Executive power in Geisenroda is constitutionally split between the kaiser, currently Urnst Orndorff, and chancellor, currently Konrad Ruhl. However, the chancellor is the only one given constitutional powers with the kaiser as solely a figurehead. The chancellor is chosen by the Volkskammer in a majority vote from among the candidates selected by each party. The chancellor is given the constitutional powers to veto laws in the Volkskammer, propose draft legislation, pass budgets, appoint ministers and supreme court judges, dissolve the Volkskammer, and call early elections, among other powers. The chancellor is also given the roles of commander-in-chief in times of war. The chancellor serves terms of 5 years with no constitutionally mandated term limits.

The Kaiser serves as the nation's head of state and ceremonial monarch, he is responsible for determining the government broad policy guidelines and is also the one who signs bills into laws though he lacks the authority to veto laws and is required to sign all laws on his desk within 24 hours of them arriving. Though lacking any constitutional authority, the kaiser retains a significant decree of influence on the government of Geisenroda through a network of connections with high level officials in the government, allowing the kaiser to work with the through the nation's political agencies in order to intervene in the nation's politics. The Geisenrodan monarchy requires that all kaiser's be able to trace their lineage back 5 generations with no Catholics or non-Gothic, Celtic, or Coscivian ancestors in those 5 generations.

Legislative

The legislature of Geisenroda is the unicameral Volkskammer. The legislature has 450 seats with elections being conducted based with a closed list party-list proportional system, seats are allocated to parties based on their percentage of their vote, and parties distribute seats to members in any way they see fit. The Volkskammer is responsible for proposing and voting on laws with any approved by a majority going to the chancellor, alongside the power to approve constitutional changes with a two-thirds majority vote. Despite once having the power to remove former chancellor's immunity from prosecution and impeach chancellors, these powers were stripped from the Volkskammer in a 2002 constitutional amendment.

Geisenroda's constitution gives universal suffrage to all citizens to vote in elections which take place every 8 years.

Federal subdivisions

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Politics

Once communist rule ended in Geisenroda during the early 1990's one-party rule was abolished and the country had its first free and fair election in its recorded history, the previous Communist Party of Geisenroda was dissolved and the Volkskammer had as many as 12 different parties holding seats. After liberal rule proved unpopular due to economic issues however, a merger of the syncretic United Socialist Party and the right-wing to far-right National Front took place, followed by mergers with three other small parties, gaining a majority in the legislature above the weak and disunified liberal parties. After an attempt by the liberal chancellor to call early elections to strengthen his minority government failed, the USP-NF gained a supermajority in the Volkskammer and impeached the chancellor before instating one of their own and reinstating one-party rule. The USP-NF currently holds 80% of the Volkskammer seats, and, while the only constitutionally recognized party, it allows others to exist in the legislature with its approval. Elections in Geisenroda are almost universally considered by international observers to be neither free nor fair, however accusations of electoral fraud by the ruling party often remain unfounded. Elections in the nation frequently register low voter turnout, with turnout often around 40% in Volkskammer elections.

Political parties represented in the Volkskammer include the syncretic USN-NF, the center-left A Just Geisenroda, the right-wing Union for Geisenroda, the rural interest Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, and the centrist New People Party. Opposition parties in Geisenroda are largely considered to be controlled opposition by the government with every non-USP-NF party in the Volkskammer being in favor of the current government and leadership.

Law

The legal system of Geisenroda is based on a system of a system of Gothic civil law, with judges not being able to create or alter laws through precedent. While a system of civil law Geisenroda's legal system also incorporates religious law and socialist legal theory. Geisenrodan law operates under a system of Orthodox integralism, with the faith being the basis for all secular law in the country, laws are required to go through a vetting process by a group of religious officials chosen by the kaiser, they have the power to demand rewrites of sections of laws that they deem to go against the Coscivian Orthodox faith, they also have the authority to prevent the changing of a law, even if said law is deemed unconstitutional, should they find it necessary for maintaining the nations "fundamentally religious character". Socialist legal theory is also written into the nations legal system and constitution, the constitution mandates social spending by the government in areas "necessary for the general wellbeing and security of the people" and rights to private property, especially intellectual property, are explicitly denied.

Demographics

The population of Geisenroda is largely homogenous both religiously and ethnically, though with large minority groups being present. The nations birth rate currently sits at 2.3 births per woman, exactly at replacement level with national population growth being 1.07%. Geisenroda has one of the lowest rates of both immigration and emigration in the world leading to almost all growth being natural.

Ethnicity

Self-reported ethnic origin in Geisenroda (2035)

  Gothic (80.4%)

  Celtic (8.6%)

  Coscivian (8.3%)

  Khunyer (1.5%)

  Ardmori (0.8%)

  Other (1.4%)

80.4% of the population of Geisenroda consider themselves to be Gothic, the most common minorities in the country are Celts and Coscivians who live throughout the entire country with the south having particularly high numbers of ethnic minorities including almost all of the nation's Ardmori population. The nations Khunyer populations lives primarily in the northeast of the country near the border of Hendalarsk.

The nation makes no distinction in ethnicity between the various Gothic groups instead referring to them all as simply Gothic in an attempt to build up a greater sentiment of Pan-Gothism.

Language

Geisenroda possesses two official languages, both Gothic and Hendalarskisch, while Gothic is used more commonly documents and other important works are required to be available in both languages and the majority of the population is literate in both languages. Non-Gothic languages in Geisenroda are almost universally endangered, with the sole exception of Coscivian, since the passing of the Gothic Only law in 2008, schools and other institutions in the country have been banned from teaching and preforming their functions in any language except Gothic as well as different language documents being banned, however, Coscivian was exempt from these laws and a small Coscivian speaking community has existed in Geisenroda for almost all of its modern history.

Religion

Religious affiliations in Geisenroda (2035)

  Coscivian Orthodox Church (87.5%)

  Protestantism (5.7%)

  Irreligious (4.3%)

  Pagan (.5%)

  Other (2%)

Geisenroda's population overwhelmingly follows the Coscivian Orthodox faith with 75% of believers reporting that they regularly go to church and participate in religious rituals. After Coscivian Orthodoxy the second largest religion is Protestant Christianity, the most common Protestant denomination is Methodism with small and scattered Mennonite communities also making up for a large percentage of Protestants. The irreligious are the 3rd largest religious group, existing primarily around the nation's large cities and primarily being made up of young adults. Gothic pagans are a small minority in Geisenroda, primarily living in small homogenous villages in the nation's countryside.

Education

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Culture and Society

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Education

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Health

Healthcare in Geisenroda is completely public with private healthcare providers being made illegal in 2001, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the management of hospitals as well as providing other health related services such as dentistry and eye tests. The countries medical equipment is regarded as satisfactory and up to date as it is often not targeted in sanctions and the country has special laws that make it exempt from tariffs. The country spends 9.7% of its GDP on its healthcare system with healthcare spending per capita being $2,230 per person. The countries average life expectancy at birth is 77.6 years with 40.8 doctors per 10,000 citizens and 9.3 beds per 1,000 citizens. The nation's healthcare system has been criticized, primarily by outside sources, for complete ban on abortion or contraceptives and for little government support for mental health.

Following the fall of communism the nation saw a surge in drug addiction as people found ways to cope with their collapsing living standards, the current government reports low levels of drug related crime, however, international observers believe that, while numbers are still relatively low compared to drug related crimes in other post-communist states, the government is artificially lowering the numbers along with the numbers of HIV/AIDS cases caused by needle sharing.

Attitudes and worldview

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Kinship and family

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Cuisine

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Religion

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Arts and Literature

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Sports

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Economy and Infrastructure

The economy of Geisenroda experienced severe shocks following the fall of communism in the late 1980's due to the economic shock therapy imposed on the nation, experiencing extreme unemployment, hyperinflation, and a sharp GDP decline. These problems persisted until the reinstatement of socialism in the country where economic indicators once again stabilized. Geisenroda is a centrally planned economy, state-owned enterprises dominate a majority of industries, however, the government allows for the existence of small private at the local level as well as establishing a system of possession for farmers on their land and small business owners. The economy is considered both an emerging and upper-middle-income economy with the state as the largest employer in the nation by a large margin, a large share of the nation's GDP and around one-third of its employment comes from the state-owned manufacturing industry. The economy of Geisenroda is often driven by five-year plans from the central government, directing investment and infrastructure to grow select fields, primarily manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and construction among others.

The country's economy is known for its protectionism and closed off nature in sectors that have strong local presences, even before the introduction of widespread sanctions the government introduced heavy tariffs of up to 20-25% as well as import substitution and strict capital & exchange controls. Upon implementation, these policies had a major impact in reindustrializing the economy after the economic downturn following economic liberalization caused severe industrial decline. The policies have also been credited with helping the country achieve food independence. Foreign trade in the country remains low with most trade primarily on Kiravian products that have been made exempt from several tariffs, price controls for several key goods and a monopoly on foreign trade, alongside the nation's other policies have shown positive results in making the Geisenrodan economy resilient to outside interferences and swings in the global market, however, they have also made the economy of Geisenroda more vulnerable to swings in the domestic and Kiravian markets.

Industries and Sectors

Manufacturing

Geisenroda's industrial base is large and almost universally state-owned, with the production of steel, chemicals, machinery, automobiles, and refined metals (such as aluminum and copper products) being staples of the nation's industry. Though many heavy industrial products are produced in the nation, the electronic manufacturing industry in Geisenroda, and other manufactured products that are associated with electronics such as microchips and semiconductors have been behind the rest of the world by some estimates as much as 10 years. Along with the nations computer manufacturing being outdated and access to modern hardware often requiring being on a waiting list due to the high cost of importing such technology as well as government restrictions and bureaucracy.

Agriculture

Geisenroda's agricultural industry featured both state-owned and collective along with private farms, after the reinstatement of socialism in the country many reforms to agriculture were made to modernize the sector, there were automobile factories and chemical plants that shifted to producing tractors and modern fertilizers along with larger farms owned by wealthy individuals and companies being collectivized while smaller family-owned plots of agricultural land were put in state ownership though with a system of Usufruct put in place, allowing groups and individuals to use and derive property from the land, but not make unsanctioned alterations or destroy the land.

Small and medium sized plots greatly outnumber large-scale collective farms. Most collective farms fall under intensive farming with them often being more export-oriented if local demand is met by smaller farms. The country has around 44% of its total area being used arable land with the country being a large producer of onions, potatoes, tobacco, hops, and various fruits alongside producing a large variety of different grains. Production is able to meet demand very consistently making Geisenroda independent on food.

Mining

Geisenroda's eastern region is abundant in mineral wealth, with the region yielding two-thirds of the country's coal, iron, copper, silicon, nickel, zinc, cobalt, and tin with only potash being produced in higher amounts in other regions of the country. the mining industry in Geisenroda is purely state-owned however in recent times the government has begun encouraging private exploration for deposits by entitling the discoverer to 15% of the mine's profits.

Banking

The banking system of Geisenroda was put into state control shortly after the reinstatement of socialism in the country, currently, five state-owned commercial banking SOEs exist in the country. Following the re-establishment of socialism, the nation's central bank was dissolved, with its functions being taken over by the treasury and a national bank was put in place called the "Geisen Development Bank", the new national bank which was created for the stated purpose of "providing financing for national projects, support the macroeconomic policy of the central government, and support national economic development." The bank works by raising funds for projects deemed as essential and productive and lending money to the respective branch at a low (1-2%) interest rate. State-owned commercial banks are also locked into their roles as commercial banks, with laws preventing any kind of speculative actions by them.

Currency

The currency of Geisenroda is the Kaisermark, after a period of hyperinflation following the government default on international debts in the 2000's the Kaisermark began being issued as a replacement to the previously issued Mark which was almost worthless. The Kaisermark is pegged to the Kiravian Saar at 14 Kaisermark to one Saar. After the dissolvement of the central bank the responsibility of minting and monetary policy was transferred to the treasury of Geisenroda. The government of Geisenroda has taken efforts throughout the years in order to stop the Kaisermark from losing purchasing power and inflating, most efforts in the regard have been successful with Geisenroda having experienced a relatively low inflation rate since the currencies introduction.

Labor

In Geisenroda all workers are required by law to join their respective professions union, all unions are state-run by the Ministry of Labor with independent trade unions being illegal. In sectors that are deemed "essential" by the state workers are not allowed to strike. Workers in Geisenroda participate in forms of workplace democracy with elected managers and mandatory worker representation in state-owned companies. State-Owned companies in Geisenroda are also required to give each worker a share of what their workplace profits on top of their normal wage, this policy was implemented with the intended aim to increase workplace productivity and give more economic power to the nations workers.

Transportation

Geisenroda statistically has some of the lowest levels of car ownership of any developed country and the lowest in Levantia with 205 vehicles per 1,000 citizens. Despite having a large automobile industry, personal cars make up a very small percentage of vehicles produced. Most transportation through cities in Geisenroda is done via free public transportation, primarily busses and trams. Railways in Geisenroda play a large role in transport between cities and different parts of the country, the nation possesses a well-developed road network with almost complete electrification. High-speed rail is seeing an increasing role out, however, still largely remains only between major cities in the country. Maglev rail is seeing an increasing popularity in the country with a maglev rail line connecting the country's three largest cities in a joint Geisen and Kiravian venture with many plans to increase the presence of high-speed maglev rail in the near future.

Freight in the nation is most often moved via rail, however road freight is also very common with the low number of commercial personal cars in the country meaning that the countries roads and highways are often built with freight transport in mind, the country's road system featured much wider roads than is normal and is built to handle heavy loads being put on it. Commercial and passenger airlines and shipping are entirely state-owned with the country's capital, Saalfeld, being the largest hub of air and water commerce as well as possessing the country's largest airport and seaport. The country possesses a well-developed series of canals and waterways, making shipping along them another major source of freight and civilian transport.

Energy

The energy production of Geiseroda is still largely reliant on fossil fuels, however, recent expansions into nuclear energy with the assistance of Kiravia have helped the country slowly transition off of fossil fuels. Geisenroda still receives 45% of its power from coal, natural gas, and oil, 33% from nuclear energy, and 22% from hydroelectric plants. The country has achieved full electrification od residential buildings in the early 2010's and has maintained a stable electric grid, with blackouts rare across cities and towns. The country in a joint venture with Kiravia in the late 2010's to early 2020's began development of nuclear energy which were operational by the end of the 2020's, once the plants were constructed talks began between the governments of Geisenroda and Kiravia about the country exporting energy to assist Kiravia with its energy insecurity one Geisenroda achieved energy independence. Besides hydroelectric power, which has received significant attention from the government, the nation has made little to no effort to transition to renewable "green" energy.

Recently, there has been a substantial series of investments from the Geisen Development Bank towards new projects for the development of pre-existing oil and gas fields, and the building of new processing and refining facilities in line with the country's pushes to achieve energy independence with the help of Kiravia.

Technology

Despite being a large investor into new technologies, particularly in energy and transport, Geisenroda relies on joint technology sharing between it and Kiravia since almost the beginning of the return to socialism, key areas for cross country scientific research include polymer chemistry, single carbon materials, nanoscience, mathematics, software, nuclear technology, and rocketry. The two nations recently have been particularly focusing on nuclear technologies such as fission energy, nuclear desalination plants, and nuclear-powered ships, however, such projects have yet to yield results that can be used in any widespread way. The nation is beginning to make good preogress in the development of robotics technology due to recent technology imports, mainly modern and advanced computers, from Kiravia.

Military

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