Fascist Caldera
Fascist Caldera or Oligarch Caldera, is the term for the political status of Austro-Caldera from 1600 until 2034. The term was first coined by former Volin Reform Party leader Den Fox in 1926, as he predicted a future where the Volkspartei would no longer be in control of the majority Indigeno-Calderan population. This period of time is characterized by absolute control of the country by the Volkspartei, where only a male person of Gothic origin could be elected as head of state. For most of the country's history, all politicians had to be male and Gothic as well.
Bundesland Ceuldeland Ceuldeland (Gothic) | |||||||||
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 Flag (1600-1944)
 Seal
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Motto: "Ceuldeland das Geliebte" (Gothic) "Caldera the beloved" | |||||||||
| Status | Sovereign state | ||||||||
| Capital | Little Caldera | ||||||||
| Largest city | Neu Maessen | ||||||||
| Official languages | Gothic | ||||||||
| Religion | None (officially) Christianity | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Ceulde | ||||||||
| Government | Oligarchy | ||||||||
| Premierführer | |||||||||
• 1600–1615 | Sigrid Dauk | ||||||||
• 2005–2034 | Adian Vandal | ||||||||
| Legislature | Volkshaus | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Joseph Seuber organizes Caldera | 1585 | ||||||||
• Volkspartei Establishment | 16 February 1600 | ||||||||
• End of Volkspartei rule | 18 June 2034 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 250 km2 (97 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1600 | 2,532,432 | ||||||||
• 2034 | 10,265,117 | ||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2030 estimate | ||||||||
• Total | $135.277 billion | ||||||||
| HDI (1944 estimate) | 0.406 low | ||||||||
| Currency | Bundesmark | ||||||||
| Time zone | (UTC-11) | ||||||||
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Name
This period of Volkspartei control is often referred to in Ænglish as "Fascist Caldera", referencing the political system of fascism in which a single leader maintains absolute control of the entire nation, however, another term, "Oligarch Caldera", is used to more aptly describe the Volkspartei's influence on the Premierführer.
Indigenous Cronan countries also called Fascist Caldera "Nagazh", which means "abandoned land". Sometimes this implies "abandoned by god (or gods)".
History
In Yonderre, there existed a tiered level of superiority based on race, with Burgoignesc people at the highest and Gothic at the lowest. In search of a better life, many Gothics spread around Crona. Starting in 1585, Joeseph Seuber began traveling accross Crona to gather up Gothic migrants, and unite them on the island of Caldera. Prior to Gothic settlement, during the time period where the country was known as Volinia, the indigenous population had already adopted a form of dictatorship in which the leader of the nation is decided by the gods through various trials. This is why the indigenous population was not opposed to Joeseph Seuber's attempts to make himself King, but Yonderians who had just fled from a monarchy were not happy with the idea. Seuber compromised by establishing in the Calderan constitution that only the first political party could be head of state, and as an independent before the first political party was established, Seuber served as head of state for life, which was 15 years after he took power. The first political party to immediately establish power was the Volkspartei. The Volkspartei promised to make Caldera similar to Yonderre but with a Gothic ruling class.
The ruling class of Gothics caused by this was legally entirely political, as there were no formal laws to specifically segregate or otherwise make the two ethnicities unequal. However, having a Gothic local government allowed government officials to favor Gothic businesses and investors while shunning Volins of the like. This was not true in Bavogia, where the vast number of Volins resulted in pro-Volin local government which often violated federal laws about who could be elected to local government. It's also notable that before 2003, only persons of Gothic descent could vote outside of Bavogia.
Volin Resistance
The first formal example of Volin resistance came decades after the Volkspartei came to power, in the 1650s, crowds of Volins began to gather in Gothic cities demanding a form of representation. In 1658, this resulted in the Volkspartei creating the 3 provinces of Austro-Caldera.
This satisfied Volin populations for awhile, but rioting and protesting continued until 1735, when the Volkspartei passed a law to allow any political party to run for any political position besides Premierführer.
The largest and most devastating organized riot was the Siege of Little Caldera, in which the Volin assaulted the capital of Austro-Caldera with assistance from other militias and the Bavogian Provincial Guard with the goal in mind of forcing the Volkspartei to allow anybody to vote for any position. While the siege was an eventual failure, after the dust had settled, the Volkspartei did pass a law allowing voters to be of any ethnicity.
The final nail in the coffin for Volkspartei control would come in 2034, when the Congressional Company of Canespa threatened to annex Bavogia for Volin rights. In June of the same year, the Volkspartei would come to an agreement with Canespa to allow any political party to run for Premierführer, and strip the Volkspartei of its special political status.
Second Great War
During the Second Great War, Caldera was occupied by Daxia, which held the majority of the island until the end of the war. Due to a lack of a formal military, (the Volkspartei only having its personal Volkspartei Defense paramilitary force) the Volkspartei ordered the controversial conscription of all Volins, also known as Native Conscription. Native Conscription was highly controversial, but there were no major movements to revoke the decision, as major Volin leaders argued that Native Conscription would please the Volinist god Ferris. While Native Conscription didn't end until 2034, many Volins escaped forced conscription by fleeing to Bavogia. During the SGW, the Volkspartei created the Calderan Armed Forces, which struggled during the war to procure high quality equipment, and still didn't have high quality equipment at the time of Fascist Caldera's dissolution.
Ideology
The Volkspartei is a far-right fascist party based on Gothic nationalism, which was able to take control of Caldera by taking advantage of Yonderian immigrants concerns about living in a country where Gothics would be below the ruling class again.
The party made various attempts to deport Volins from Caldera, taking the forms of dividing land into Volin specific provinces, attempting to bribe Volins into leaving, and even sending Volins to work in Canespa. Evidently, none of these methods were vastly successful.
Government
The constitution of Austro-Caldera also provided the Premierführer (Ænglish: Prime Leader) with absolute control of the country, sometimes referred to as the führerprinzip (Ænglish: Leader principle). While absolute control was certain, the Premierführer was also kept in check by the Volkspartei itself, which could potentially replace the Premierführer via voting through the Volkshaus if the Premierführer didn't obey party wishes.
Law
After 1935, civil servants and members of the military were required to swear an oath of support to the Volkspartei. This became the basis for the belief that the Volkspartei is more important than the nation, and should be protected at all costs. Trials involving Volins in the Western and Southeastern provinces were known to result in much harsher punishments, with some trials reportedly giving the death penalty for insulting the Volkspartei. In the Western province, similar trials also protected Ænglish people on the same level as Gothics, only sentencing criminals to short periods in jail for crimes that would result in years in prison.
In 1989, Saint Antoine prison was founded in the Western province specifically for holding the worst criminals in Caldera, which sometimes included Volins who committed murder or made some form of egregious display against the Volkspartei.
Military and paramilitary
Calderan Armed Forces
The unified armed forces of Fascist Caldera were simply called the Calderan Armed Forces, and this organization included an air force, navy, and army. While the CAF is considered to be completely separate from the Volkspartei, the basis for the CAF and its organization was all determined by the Volkspartei, and thus the military would have a generally pro-Volkspartei view, and would attempt to protect the Volkspartei in an attempted coup d'état. This would also guarantee protection of the Volkspartei in the event of a foreign invasion (such as during the SGW). However, as the CAF grew to include more Volins, the Volkspartei would rely on a paramilitary group more readily associated with the Volkspartei and with only Gothic soldiers.
Volkspartei Defense
Founding around the same time as the Calderan Armed Forces, the Volkspartei Defense (Gothic: Volksparteiverteidigung) was created as a personal guard to the Volkspartei in case the Calderan Armed Forces were to fail. The most important distinction between the two is that the Calderan Armed Forces ultimately protects Caldera as a whole, while the Volkspartei Defense only protects the Volkspartei. After the Second Great War ended, the Volkspartei allowed the Commander of the Army to have a form of control over the Volkspartei Defense, and this resulted in the Volkspartei Defense becoming an elite anti-terrorist fighting force, performing various operations at the request of the CAF. This ended once the Volkspartei lost control of the government, and the Volkspartei Defense discontinued association with the Calderan Armed Forces, which would then serve the new state.
Economy
The Volkspartei supported a capitalist economy modeled after Levantine countries which persists in modern day Austro-Caldera. Private property and land ownership was allowed under the unspoken agreement that the government could seize it at any time for any reason, but this very rarely occurred. The land for the Volksport was once farmland, and it was purchased by the Volkspartei despite being able to legally seize it.
Forced Labor
While the Volkspartei never passed any laws to create vast forced labor in Caldera, the most prominent uses of forced labor occurred in Calderan prisons where prisoners would be forced to help construct boats, weaponry, and even items like flags, mostly concentrated in the Western province. Leading into the final months of Fascist Caldera, the Volkspartei sent hundreds of thousands of Volin prisoners to Canespa for forced labor there.
Racial policy
Racism
Racism was one of the core beliefs of the Volkspartei, which divided Caldera into 3 social tiers.
Worthy Politicians
Gothics were believed to be the only ethnicity worthy of leading government, hence why so many laws were put into place to secure that position. It is also believed by Volkspartei members that Gothics are simply more intelligent than other ethnicities, further implying that other ethnicities are unfit to lead.
Average Person
Any other ethnicity that wasn't Volin was simply seen as "average", being that they weren't fit to lead or participate in government, but could otherwise enjoy a life free of anti-sentiment.
Worthless cannon fodder
Volins, the ethnic group native to Caldera, were seen by Volkspartei members as the worst race. This resulted in Native Conscription and efforts to relocate Volins.
Volin Relocation Efforts
The proportion of Volins outnumbering Gothics resulted in a passive government which struggled to relocate Volins without using excessive force or extrajudicial means. Originally, the Volkspartei would pay Volins to settle in mainland Crona, but this would not be enough incentive to move many. Native Conscription was done in the hopes of either killing Volins in war or encouraging them to move elsewhere. In 2034, Canespa agreed to accept Volin prisoners as its own citizens, but this policy would only last a few short months as Fascist Caldera soon collapsed afterwards.
Society
Education
In the Western and Southeastern provinces, children would attend mandatory public schooling from the age of 6 until the age of 18. Curriculum was generally very generic for schooling, with additions for courses on Calderan history and Gothic history. The Volkspartei considered schooling to be incredibly important for the cultivation of free thinkers, so genuine education as a whole was treated with the utmost respect, with a series of propaganda posters promoting secondary education. Alongside generic classes, secondary education would also offer a variety of political classes relating to the Volkspartei. This resulted in a lot of secondary education graduates pursuing careers in politics, especially Volins.
Role of women
The Volkspartei never passed any laws banning women in the workforce or otherwise denouncing their role in society. Many Volkspartei officials supported feminist movements, suggesting that the treatment of women as equal to men is vital to a growing society. The Volkspartei also worked to destigmatize illegitimate births and abortion, similar to Volin relationships prior to Gothic settlement, the Volkspartei took on the official policy of families coming in many forms, and promoted anything that would increase the population of healthy Calderan children.
Health
The Fascist Calderan state prioritized public health as a top issue, denouncing tobacco products, banning lead and mercury, as well as encouraging women to be regularly screened for breast cancer.
A government run health care plan called "The Finch Promise" was instituted in 1955 to offer free high quality treatment for any ailments, although Volins were banned from this program.
Environmentalism
Coinciding with Volinist beliefs, the natural environment was heavily cared for by the Volkspartei, with provisions to curb air pollution and prevent over-development of land. It was believed that a strong natural world coincided with a strong society.
Religion
The Volkspartei believed that the enforcement of religion through politics was inherently immoral, and thus endeavored to be as neutral with religion as possible. However, many Volkspartei members were Christian, and made biased decisions towards Christianity.
Culture
The Volkspartei promoted a strong Gothic community and foreign aspects of culture were shunned. The government funded numerous movies and songs promoting a Gothic Calderan identity while banning the majority of popular books and movies not from Caldera. In the Western province, a strong Ænglish identity was also promoted.
Legacy
Fascist Caldera is widely hated, especially in Crona, and it's often looked at as an example of why one political party should never be allowed absolute control. Some countries are more tolerant towards Fascist Caldera, instead seeing it as an example of a strong willed people controlling a government for the betterment of their own people. Prime Leader LeMieux has recounted that he's glad to be the first head of state after Fascist Caldera's end, and he plans to be much more open to the international community and promoting all ethnicities in Caldera.