New Veltorina
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New Veltorine Republic | |
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(3-5)(civil_flag).svg) Flag
 State Emblem
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Motto: Nova Aurora in Nova Terra ("A new dawn in a new land") | |
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| Capital and largest city | New Taxades |
| Official languages | Julian Ænglish Latin |
| Religion | Catholicism |
| Demonym(s) | Veltorine (noun) Veltorine (adjective) |
| Government | Unitary Julian republic |
• State-President | Niko Meletine (PNM) |
• State-Overseer | Niko Meletine (PNM) |
• Majority Leader of the National Convocation | Makis Lucerna (PNM) |
| Legislature | National Convocation of the Veltorine Nation |
| Establishment | |
| 30 September 2024 | |
• Provisional Government established | 16 May 2026 |
• Constitution effective | 1 January 2028 |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 9,904,304 |
| Currency | Taler (₮) |
| Driving side | right |
New Veltorina, officially the New Veltorine Republic, is a country in Crona. It is neighbored by Varshan to the south and Quetzenkel to the east.
New Veltorina is the nation-state of the Veltorine people. Veltorines people began to settle in northwestern Crona in the 1950s as part of a movement to find a new homeland following the conquest of the original Veltorina by Caphiria at the conclusion of the First Great War. Veltorine people initially received significant benefits and unique rights from the government of Zurgite Varshan due to the technical expertise they brought to the declining regime, but these rights gradually declined and the territory in which Veltorines lived - the Brudxaan Province - was conquered by Quetzenkel. Veltorines received some status in Quetzenkel and Veltorines continued to migrate to the territory from Sarpedon. Conditions gradually worsened as political stability in Quetzenkel declined, precipitating the South Nysdra War in the 2010s and Urcean intervention. Following that intervention, the Veltorines established their first independent state in a century with the proclamation of the Principality of Cetsencalia, a declaration which led to precipitous migration of remaining Veltorines from the Occident to the territory. The growth of an Occidental population in northern Crona was particularly offensive to the government and people of Varshan, and when Varshan began the Final War of the Deluge against Urcea, Cetsencalia was its first target. Cetsencalia eventually capitulated to Varshani occupation, beginning a slow-moving genocide of Veltorine people in the territory. The genocide was interrupted by the advanced of Urcean and allied forces, which liberated the territory and placed it under the Veltorine Territories occupation government. Subsequently, popular political movements under the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee participated in the liberation of the country, and following the war the VPDC took control of the country. Negotiations between it and the sometimes-rival Veltorine government-in-exile resulted in a merger and the formation of a new, unified New Veltorine state in 2026 under the New Veltorine Provisional Government. A constitution was subsequently ratified in 2028.
It is a member of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association.
Etymology
The country is the "New Veltorine Republic", signifying both the geographical position of the territory (in Crona, distinct from old Veltorina) as well as a degree of continuity from the original Veltorine Republic. The territory underwent several name changes during the 2010s and 2020s. The first Veltorine state in Crona, Cetsencalia, was a latinization of the name of Quetzenkel, from whom it gained indepenence. After the capitulation of Cetsencalia during the Final War of the Deluge, this name was considered to have negative connotations, and the territory was reorganized as the Urcean military rectory of the Veltorine Territories. Subsequent negotiations between Veltorine factions produced the name "New Veltorine Republic", primarily as a concession to the Veltorine government-in-exile.
Geography
New Veltorina sits on a promontory to the northwest of Crona, adjacent to the large Varshani plain and Sea of Nysdra. The promontory, referred to as the Brudxaan Peninsula, extends approximately 500 miles into the ocean and serves as a primary dividing feature between the Sea of Nysdra and the Sea of St. John. To the northeast of the promontory sits a large coastal plain which serves as New Veltorina's population center, while to the southeast is the country's hinterland region, a plain sitting between the Varshani border mountains and the highlands to the north which backstop the northern plain. The entire country is considered to be in the Oceanic climate.
History
The Diaspora and Cronan settlement
The conquest of Veltorina at the end of the First Great War brought to an end the independence of the nation-state of the Veltorine people, a people native to northeastern Sarpedon. Their conquest by Caphiria led to a century of various efforts by the Veltorine people to reestablish their independence, both in their home territory and, later, abroad. The Veltorine government-in-exile supported efforts to reestablish Veltorine independence, while later movements such as the Life Abroad Movement and 21st century resettlements supported by Urcea sought to establish a new Veltorine state abroad.
Annexation of Brudxaan Province
The territory of what is today New Veltorina was, prior to the 1960s, a territory of Varshan known as the Brudxaan Province. The territory, conquered by Varshan in 1525, was a critical point which allowed Varshan to project its influence across the Nysdra Sea into Venua'tino. The inhabitants of the Brudxaan were ethnically related to the neighboring Quetzen people. In the 20th century, the collapse of Varshan's Yun-harle dynasty critically weakened the state. Several foreign powers, especially Daxia, encouraged Quetzenkel to annex the Brudxaan Province in order to establish a so-called "Varshan gradient" that would buffer Cusinaut from Varshan. The annexation occurred in 1962. The Quetzen acquisition of the territory would begin a six decade process of relative instability and ethnic movement that would eventually result in the establishment of the modern state of New Veltorina.
Deluge developments
Capitulation and resistance
Veltorine unification
Republic established
Government
New Veltorina is a unitary Julian republic with a unicameral legislature. It is governed by the Constitution of 2028, which took effect Jan 1 of that year following a convention and ratification process that took place in 2026-27. As a Julian republic, the Veltorine constitution is modeled on the form of the Urcean government, which employs different offices each for the head of state, the chief executive, and the head of government. Unlike most other Julian systems, New Veltorina employs civil law; accordingly, the National Convocation is the final court of appeal and the judicial system is largely made up of appointed arbitrators rather than a freestanding court system. Some courts are established in the largest cities, such as New Taxades.
New Veltorina is an officially ethnic state, and the Constitution of 2028 provides that it is a state "by and for the Veltorine people". As such, it provides that the three main roles of state can only be held by an individual who has "demonstrable ancestry to the Veltorine people of northeastern Sarpedon", but it provides that indigenous Cronans and others may serve as members of the National Convocation. Although the state is stated to be constructed "for the benefit and protection of Veltorines", the Constitution of 2028 and protocols under the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association provide for civil rights for minority groups. However, the strength of those protections has been questioned by international observers and by authorities within NSTA. Discrimination, though nominally illegal, is viewed to be one of the serious political and governmental problems of the New Veltorine state, though much of this occurs in on an individual or organizational basis rather than at the state level. Protection of indigenous farmers and mountain peoples added to the New Veltorine state by the Treaty of Electorsbourg is an ongoing concern for New Veltorina's foreign allies and partners, especially Urcea.
Executive
The executive branch of New Veltorina is considered to be a conventionally arranged Julian republican system. The State-President serves as the head of state and the symbolic representation of New Veltorine sovereignty, but has somewhat limited day-to-day authority over the affairs of the government. The State-President is responsible for declaring war (with the approval of the National Convocation) appointment of military officers and judicial officials as well as the awarding of honors. Next to the State-President is the State-Overseer, who serves as chief executive. The State-Overseer is responsible for the administration of the state and oversees the national cabinet which answers to the State-Overseer but is appointed by the Majority Leader of the National Convocation. The State-Overseer, accordingly, directs public policy, orders the implementation of executive orders and initiatives, and proposes budgets to be adopted by the Convocation. Unlike many other Julian systems, the New Veltorine constitution enables the same individual to serve as both State-President and State-Overseer, but prohibits either executive officer from serving as the Majority Leader of the Convocation, creating a branch separation that doesn't exist in most other Julian governments. The 2028 Constitution laid out a complex mechanism for the appointment of the State-President. It required the appointment of a Presidential Conference Committee (PCC), composed of the State-Overseer, the Majority Leader of the Convocation, and three individuals selected at random by means of sortition from eligible voters nationwide, with each member having a different weighted vote and the randomly selected members rotating annually. In the PCC, the Overseer held six votes, the Majority Leader three votes, and the randomly selected individuals one vote. The State-President serves so long as they enjoy the confidence of a majority of the PCC. By contrast, the State-Overseer is elected very five years in a nationwide election with the same term and same election year as the National Convocation.
Legislature
In New Veltorina, legislative power is concentrated in the National Convocation, a 282-member legislative body. The Convocation's members are elected in first-past-the-post elections in 250 geographic legislative districts apportioned every decade, as well as a 32 member nationwide constituency which is distributed proportionately based on the share of vote in the 250-seats for each major party. Convocation members serve 5 year terms, with elections following the Urcean calendar of having elections in years 0 and 5. The Constitution of 2028 provides that the National Convocation is the supreme authority of the New Veltorine state. It has the authority to make or unmake laws, appoint or remove government ministers, impeach the State-President or State-Overseer with a two-thirds margin, approve treaties, pass or reject budgets proposed to it by the State-Overseer, remove judges and military officers by a three-fourths margin, and most other matters of state. The leader of the Convocation is the Majority Leader of the National Convocation, who serves at the pleasure of the majority (or coalition) party and who is responsible for the appointment of government ministers as well as the conduct of the legislature.
Local governance
As New Veltorina is a unitary republic, few policy choices are made at the local level. The country is nominally divided into four prefectures whose governments were dissolved at the time of the implementation of the constitution; most of the municipalities or other local administrations are now directly under the central government. Despite this theoretical , the country has a very large patchwork of local administrative systems due to the way in which it was established. A majority of New Veltorina's populace live within Urban Community Areas (UCA), a municipal government which in theory is intended to function democratically but in practice is primarily made up of central government appointments, including, in some cases, continued holdovers of the provisional government municipal committees. A majority of the land area, meanwhile, is directly under the authority of a central government body known as the Parcel Administration, which was responsible for the survey and division of the New Veltorine countryside into parcels to be sold off to Veltorine settlers. The "Parcel Area" consequently collectively refers to all lands divided by the Parcel Authority but not yet sold. When a parcel is sold, it automatically leaves the jurisdiction of the Parcel Authority and becomes subject to the local Urban Community Area (UCA), creating a geographic patchwork of municipal boundaries with some parcels being separated from the cities in which they are a part by hundreds of miles of Parcel Area land. A smaller portion of the country, particularly in the south, are part of various legal entities which predate the Veltorine settlement and are referred to as "antique commons", which are centuries-old village communes of the indigenous Cronan population. Very few antique commons are legally similar to each other, and though national law treats them the same as Urban Community Areas in theory, in practice relations between the communes and the government vary greatly. Significant outside intervention in the form of lobbying and grant-giving, particularly by Urcea but also increasingly by New Harren and Quetzenkel, is required to prevent the encroachment of both the government and private land owners onto antique common areas.
Politics
New Veltorina is a multi-party democracy in theory, with moderately well constructed political systems ensuring free and fair elections. In practice, however, New Veltorina is a dominant-party state, led by the Party for the National Movement (PNM). Most policy disagreements and change in power usually take place within the context of the PNM. The PNM maintains its hold primarily through cultural and social pressures on New Veltorines rather than by state-based intimidation, though isolated incidents of voter intimidation have been recorded. Besides the PNM, there are three other major parties.New Veltorina's major political parties are as follows:
- The Party for the National Movement (PNM) is the ruling political party in New Veltorina. It is a nationalist party that is ostensibly an "organic socialist movement party", but in many senses the Party is a big tent political party; some have observed increasing strains of Restarkism entering the party since the accomodation was reached between Cronan Veltorines and the Veltorine government-in-exile. The PNM was formed out of the political elements of the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee, the wartime military resistance against Varshan. It is avowedly pro-NSTA and was the primary agent behind the current Constitution of 2028, and of all of the political parties it is the one most closely identified with and largest supporter of the notion of New Veltorine being a self-described "ethnic state of Veltorines."
- The Socialist Revolutionary Industrial Progress Party (SRIPP) is the political party which ruled Veltorina prior to its conquest by Caphiria. Then, as now, the party describes itself as constitutional socialist, and states that its aims are to bring about the "constitutional revolution in New Veltorina so as to bring the state in line with the great achievements of our party and people in Sarpedon". In practice, the SRIPP is considered to be a centrist political party. At the end of Veltorina's existence, the SRIPP transformed from a vanguardist left wing party to a big tent party, and in that respect the SRIPP is considered to be the general party of opposition against PNM rule in New Veltorina. Besides its lofty ideological views, the Party has few concrete policy positions beyond a vague commitment to indigenous civil rights, a general opposition to continued membership in NSTA from a nationalist perspective, denunciation of the status of the state as an ethnic state, and reform of the state to follow a modified version of the 1882 Constitution with more liberal elements. The SRIPP was the dominant organization in the Veltorine government-in-exile until the 1970s, after which time it gradually lost position vis a vis independent liberals.
- The International Veltorine Party (IVP) is a centrist liberal party, generally concerned with free trade and reconciliation with Caphiria, but also has a minor focus on enhancing the civil rights of New Veltorina's indigenous Cronan population. The IVP views the existence of the New Veltorine state as an opportunity for Veltorines to denounce their ideological past but also to step onto the world stage as a full participant in international diplomacy rather than, in its words, as a "bitter, defensive minority trapped in a siege mentality." The IVP supports NSTA as a defensive alliance but views its import-ban and exclusive trade policies as harmful to the Veltorine people. The IVP denounces the concept of New Veltorina as an ethnic state and supports its reform as a "multiracial, multiethnic democracy" similar to states such as Cartadania; some factions in the party also support revising or replacing the Julian 2028 Constitution.
- The Party of the Continuing Revolution (PCR) is a far left political party which espouses council communism and denounces the SRIPP and constitutional socialism as revisionist. The PCR-SRIPP split predates the settlement of Veltorines in Crona, being founded among exiles in 1954, and the disagreement between council communists and constitutional socialists dates to before the dissolution of the original Veltorine state. The PCR is generally Urceoskeptic, opposes continued membership in NSTA, opposes New Veltorina's status as an ethnic state, and, as council communists, generally advocates for the dissolution of the state. It is abstentionist in practice, and usually comprises only a handful of members of the National Convocation.
Culture
New Veltorina has a culture extending back several millennia due to the shared history, common traditions, and imported social mores of the Veltorine people, who emerged in Sarpedon during the medieval period from the intersection of Ancient Istroyan civilization and Latinic people. Beyond this longstanding tradition, New Veltorines have taken on a more militaristic and solidaristic worldview due to the effects of the Final War of the Deluge on Cronan Veltorines.
New Veltorines are generally divided into three major cultural groups, the first two of which are ethnically Veltorine (and both of which make up about half of the Veltorine population) while the remainder is the assorted Cronan indigenous persons which are mostly marginalized within New Veltorine life. The first major group is the so called "Brudxi", named for the Varshani province settled by Veltorines first during the 1960s. The Brudxi are Veltorines who relocated to Crona during the middle and late 20th century, and accordingly most are part of multi-generational families that have lived in what is now New Veltorina for decades. The Brudxi are usually observed to have a more rustic character, having shed many of the tastes of high Sarpedonic culture and affluence in the decades since moving to Crona. The Brudxi are also considered to be more world-weary in outlook due to several decades of status as a minority ethnicity; while Sarpedonic Veltorines also share this view of themselves as a minority, the Brudxi were victim to multiple waves of attempted ethnic cleansing before and during the 2010s, which make them observably more suspicious of indigenous Cronans as well as authority in general. The Brudxi tend to have a distinctive accent with some Hieratic Varshani words introduced, particularly as slang. The Brudxi also have a mixed cuisine style, retaining many Veltorine traditional favorites and family recipes while including indigenous meals, which they have eaten for generations. Politically, the Brudxi are more cynical, more populist, and socially conservative. The Brudxi made up a majority of the personnel of the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee during the Final War of the Deluge. Most Brudxi would be considered nationalist in a sense (and most are members of the Party for the National Movement), but scholars have observed that the Brudxi eschew more intellectual or Romantic senses of nationalism in favor of a "defensive" or "possessive" view of nationality. Brudxi mostly have lower levels of educational attainment than their Fero counterparts; though their ancestors were largely technical experts or scientists, the children of those experts were generally not given easy access to education. Economically, many Brudxi occupy working class and agricultural jobs as well as service in the New Veltorine military, though the Brudxi also make up the senior clique in the Party for the National Movement and consequently form the country's political elite.
The "Feros", short for "transfero" (transplant), are the second major Veltorine cultural group in New Veltorina. Feros generally moved to New Veltorina during the 21st century, especially following the establishment of Cetsencalia as a Veltorine principality in 2015. Accordingly, the Feros are first generation immigrants to Crona and retain nearly all of the extant social mores and traditions of Veltorines in Sarpedon, Halfway, and Lariana. Feros are usually highly educated and consider themselves relatively culturally sophisticated, preferring higher level cultural amenities in major cities such as New Taxades. The Feros are diverse in terms of political allegiance but have generally similar outlooks. As the Feros are better educated on average than the Brudxi, they tend to have a more philosophical, ideological, and high-minded view of politics. This takes two main forms: about half of Feros are members of the dominant Party for the National Movement and make up the Romantic nationalist wing of that party, viewing New Veltorine nationalism as a culmination of historical forces and ultimately filling a vacuum on the world stage left by the destruction of old Veltorina. The other half of Feros, meanwhile, hold to modified versions of the ideology of old Veltorina, constitutional socialism, with all of the complex philosophical and sociological frameworks that come with it. Many of the Feros were followers of the Veltorine government-in-exile and then made up virtually all of the membership of the Veltorine Social Council when it was made the governing authority in Cetsencalia. New Veltorina's Fero population considers itself more internationalist in outlook than the Brudxi, and tend to identify themselves as more in favor of civil rights for indigenous Cronans than the Brudxi, though interntional cultural observers have noted that this distinction may be more relevant in self-identity than actual policy proposals or outcomes. Feros make up many of the high level corporate and white-collar positions within New Veltorina as well as the majority of members of the National Convocation, but are outnumbered by Brudxi in senior leadership positions within the state and the ruling Party for the National Movement.
Demographics
In 2030, the population of New Veltorina was 9,904,294. Of these, 72% of the population - 7,131,091 were considered to be Veltorine people, including self-identified Veltorines with one or more indigenous grandparents. As an ethnic state, ethnicity of origin is considered important in New Veltorina, and the state is responsible for taking an annual (rather than decennial) census which tracks not only residency statistics but also self-reported ancestry and relations between household and extended family units. The remaining 28% of the population - 2,773,203 - are of varied indigenous Cronan ancestry. The indigenous population has no single majority ancestry group, with ethnic Varshanis making up a plurality along with Quetzens as the second largest group, with being from other parts of Crona or displaced persons from Cao, Xisheng, and elsewhere.
Linguistic Demographics
Religious Demographics
Religious affiliations in New Veltorina (2034)
Economy
New Veltorina's economy has been called "divergent" by several prominent observers and economists, due to the heavily urbanized and relatively modern economy in and surrounding New Taxades, the capital and socio-economic heart of New Veltorina on the country's northern coast while the southern and interior parts of the country are functionally a developing economy. The primary export of both regions of the country is foodstuff to neighboring Varshan, whose intermittent post-war famines have produced significant demand for food from across Crona. In terms of consumer products, mead is by far the most well known and popular agricultural export of the country.
New Veltorina's most prosperous and productive region is its northern coastal plain, centered on the city of New Taxades.
The northern plain is also a prosperous fishing area, producing major catches often exported to Varshan.
Outside of the major urban corridor, much of New Veltorina is a developing economy, with most of the population living there conducting subsistence agricultural activity and ranching. Some of the New Veltorine hinterlands have become successful and productive farms and ranches, and like the northern coast most of its surplus is sold to Varshan.
Military
The New Veltorine Armed Forces were established first as the Army of New Vetorina. The core of the new Army was made up of the two corps previously organized under the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee Army of National Reclamation, with an additional division organized in January 2028 out of various militia forces and operatives that had been organized by the former Veltorine government-in-exile during the Final War of the Deluge. Much of the army served under Royal and Imperial Army allied command during the Final War of the Deluge, and current defense doctrine calls for them to be subordinated to allied command in the event of another war as part of the Defense Coordination Initiative.
The New Veltorine Government also authorized the creation of the Air Force of New Veltorina, which began its existence on paper as personnel were trained by the Urcean Royal Air Force. Several surplus aircraft have been provided by Urcea to New Veltorina and these vehicles made up the vast majority of the AFNV's fleet by 2030. The New Veltorine Government has begun a project of local aircraft manufacturing, with the government intending to phase out foreign made vehicles by 2050.
In February 2028, New Veltorina joined participation in the Nysdra Sea Guard, the joint naval forces of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association. The Sea Guard was designated the official naval armed force of New Veltorina that month.