Hollona and Diorisia
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Union State of Hollona and Diorisia | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Emblem of Hollona and Diorisia
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Motto: Nihil boni sine labore "Nothing achieved without hard work" | |
 Location of Hollona and Diorisia (dark green) in the Levantine Union (light green) and Levantia (gray) | |
| Capital and largest city | Rheydt |
| Official languages | Vandarchine Rhotian |
| Demonym(s) | Holldoner or Diorisian (depending on region of origin) |
| Government | |
• Speaker-President | Ioannes Marcellino |
| State Union Council | |
| Popular Assembly | |
| Establishment | |
• Independence from HLE | 1935 |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 19,958,242 |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Per capita | 39,257 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | 783,496,192,704 |
| Currency | Taler (₮) |
The Union State of Hollona and Diorisia, also known by its unofficial name, the Vandarch Republic, is a country in Levantia. It is located in the extreme northwestern region of Dericania and borders the Vandarch. It is a member of the Levantine Union. Though the united republic was established during the Second Fratricide, the union of Hollona and Diorisia dates to the mid-18th century, when the former Ænglish realm territory of the Duchy of Hollona was inherited by the Elector of Diorisia, giving the much larger territory of Diorisia access to the Vandarch. The Union State is unique within Dericania as having a lasting Ænglish cultural influence, leading to the creation of a heavily Ænglicized Derian culture within the country and a national identity - the Vandarchine people - which largely views itself in contrast to the nearby Rhotians.
Etymology
The Union State of Hollona and Diorisia's origin as two separate feudal entities within the Holy Levantine Empire provided its "fused" name. "Hollona" originates in earliest forms of the Ænglish language. It likely originates in the Gothic term "holtlant", meaning "wooded land". Hollona as a term was first used to refer to the easternmost portion of Anglei very early, possibly as early as the 7th century in the first decades of Ænglish settlement. The name origin for Diorisia is less certain, as the term first appears in Great Levantine literature in the 1st century BC. Its meaning is generally unknown.
Hollona and Diorisia is commonly known as the "Vandarch Republic" rather than its full name. This term first came into common parlance in the 1940s and refers to the country's position at the southeastern most position on the Vandarch. There have been several popular movements to adopt the nickname as the country's official name.
Geography
History
Antiquity and prehistory
Medieval Diorisia
Union established
Moving the court to Rheydt
Fanerian domination
20th century
Establishment of the Republic
The area of present day Hollona and Diorisia was of major strategic advantage during the early phases of the Second Great War, as it was a major potential corridor of resupply of Fiannria from Urcea and Burgundie. The area also controlled the Carolina-Grand Canal, making it an important checkpoint of Vandarch access.
Early uprisings in the Derian revolutionary period of the war lead the Elector of Diorisia to abandon the principality on May 18th, 1934. Following his flight, the territory was reorganized as the Vandarch Autonomous Area of the Deric Republic, though in practice it became the domain of a loosely allied band of Derian nationalist warlords. Until the entry of Faneria into the war, the Vandarch Autonomous Area was largely an ignored theater of the war in Dericania, but with the entry of Faneria and sudden need to resupply Fiannria with Levantine goods, the area became a top priority. On April 17th, 1935, Urcea and Fiannria launched a joint campaign which culminated with the occupation of the country on April 29th, 1935. Rather than restoring the Elector, however, the allied powers reached a negotiated settlement with sympathetic local nationalist groups and established the Provisional Republic of Hollona and Diorisia, reorganizing the former separate duchies (and other Prince-Bishoprics in the area) into a single, united Republic on May 11th, 1935. Though derided by the Deric Republic as a collaborationist state, the Republic maintained its separate ethnic identity from the Derian people. The Republic subsequently claimed neutrality in the conflict but allowed allied forces and supplies to flow through the country. Upon the Republic's proclamation, it entered an intentionally ambiguous state with relationship to the Holy Levantine Empire, withdrawing from its institutional structure but not making any firm determination about its sovereign status with respect to the Republic; the proclamation stated that this ambiguity would continue "until such time when the Republic has fully considered and upon such time of a general peace". The Republic was accordingly removed entirely from its legal obligations to the Empire with the Treaty of Corcra.
In 1952, the Federal Agreement was adopting, binding together the two halves of the state into a unified federation.
Post-Great Wars
Hollona and Diorisia was a founding member of the Deric States organization which was established in 1953.
The MS Hollona sank on Thursday, 18 February 1993 as the ship was crossing the Vandarch Sea, en route from Carlshaven, Hollona, to Gabion, Yonderre. The disaster claimed the lives of 852 people, being one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century. In 1995, several wineries in Hollona and Diorisia were found to have illegally modified their wines using the chemical diethylene glycol, a toxic substance frequently found in antifreeze. The incident became an international scandal which all but destroyed wine export from Hollona and Diorisia for almost two decades.
21st century
Secession from the Deric States
On March 8 2023, Hollona and Diorisia formally informed the Levantine Union of its intention to leave the Deric States organization and become a standalone member of the Union, effective immediately. This decision triggered the first stages of the Dissolution of the Deric States.
Reform movement
In the wake of the Union's secession from the Deric States, the idea of the Vandarchine culture became a centerpiece of popular media and public discourse throughout the 2020s. As part of this movement, significant public interest formed around reforming the state from a federation of two distinctive states into a single unified republic. "Vandarchine Polity", the popular name for this concept, became a rallying cry of activists beginning in 2025. These activists argued that the two-state union was, like the Deric States, an anachronism that did not properly reflect the cultural unity and shared sense of self that Vandarchine people now held. These activists organized the States-Republican Party (SRP). The States-Republican Party won a surprising minority share of the Hollona States-Council in the 2025 elections, and although it was not in government it became the third largest party with about a fifth of all the seats in that body. It followed this with a result that shocked most pundits and observers in the 2026 Popular Assembly election, winning another large minority share of about 16 of 78 seats. The next year, it followed suit in the Diorisia States-Council election, though there it won a third of all seats; the governing Union National Party there formed a coalition with the SRP, putting it into government the first time. The coalition condition required 2 of Diorisia's 5 States Union Council members to be members of the SRP. Now entrenched in all four major legislative bodies, the SRP became the primary organization through which pro-unification activists organize, which it remains to this day. In the 2029 Popular Assembly election, it won 20 seats but was kept out of the majority by a Union National Party - Alliance for the Public Welfare rainbow coalition. It neither gained nor lost seats in the 2030 Hollona election, but its popularity forced the Union National Party to coopt the platform and begin an official study of the matter of unification. In the critical 2032 elections - held in both Diosiria and nationally - the SRP retained its status in Diorisia as a coalition partner and entered a coalition with the Union National Party in the Popular Assembly as well.
The meteoric rise and major victories of the SRP have led to significant progress with respect to the issue of unification, as both Republics are now in the process of studying the matter. Opinion polls generally show Vandarchines as mixed on the issue, though support rises on a yearly basis according to polling.
Government
The politics and administration of Hollona and Diorisia take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. The country is a federation and is governed under the Federal Agreement of 1952, which has statutory power as the country's constitution. The nation's construction as a federation has major implications on how the executive and legislative branches of government are shaped. The Union is divided into two entities, the Republic of Hollona and the Republic of Diorisia, which have significant self-governing powers and control over local policy.
The State Union Council, the upper chamber of the legislature, is represented by five members from each of the two Republics, and from this body the Speaker-President is elected, serving three year terms. This State Union Council serves in a limited executive capacity, voting primarily on matters of state recommended to it by the Popular Assembly. The Speaker-President serves as the head of state of Hollona and Diorisia. Speaker-Presidents may not serve consecutive terms. By convention, the Speaker-President flips between each of the two republics on an alternating basis, though this arrangement is not expressly stated within the Federal Agreement.
The Speaker-President is a unique role inasmuch as it has more authority over foreign affiars than most other heads of state in parliamentary systems. Though the cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats are appointed on the constitutional advice of the Chair of the Popular Assembly, the Speaker-President is otherwise free to direct the diplomatic corps, send missives, conclude draft agreements to be ratified by the Popular Assembly, and most other manners of foreign policy. Within this system, the Speaker-President is seen as corporately representing both republics as opposed to the people of the Union, giving him precedential and constitutional latitude to conduct the nation's foreign affairs. This authority does not extend to the armed forces, however, whose leadership is appointed on advice of the Chair of the Assembly, with whom civilian control of the military rests. The Speaker-President nominally sits as chair person of the nation's cabinet, which consists of fourteen ministers, but this responsibility is largely procedural and symbolic.
The lower chamber, the Popular Assembly, is led by the Chair of the Assembly, and is the nation's chief legislative body, representing 78 proportionally-allocated electoral districts. Assemblymembers six year terms, coinciding with the terms of the Speaker-President. The Assembly considers virutally all matters of state that do not devolve to the constituent Republics, and it has the power to solicit the State Union Council on various legislative issues only under its own request. The Chair of the Assembly is elected at the beginning of each term of the Assembly and serves at its pleasure. The Chair of the Assembly is the head of government within the Vandarchine system, and is responsible for formulating budgets, appointing cabinet ministers, and as the name implies is generally responsible for the conduct and legislative agenda of the Popular Assembly.
Due to the federated nature of the state, the Union Government (that is, the central government) owns or has direct authority over very limited lands, most prominently the Union's capital city of Rheydt. Located in Hollona, Rheydt was the seat of the Elector of Diorisia from 1634 onward. The city, which has a blended character, is an important symbol of the unity of the two halves of the Republic. The Union Government has direct control over the city itself as well as a number of small right of ways of rail lines extending outward from Rheydt, including one to the coast of the Vandarch.
Republics and local governments
As a federation, the two constituent republics are the key political institutions within the Union State. They are the Republic of Hollona and the Republic of Diorisia. These two republics represent the realms controlled by the Elector of Diorisia prior to the Second Great War. Though ruled by the same Elector for centuries, the political and legal systems of the two realms remained distinct. Though they remained distinct, the common ruler and lack of trade or travel boundaries between the two realms created a common culture, and when the Holy Levantine Empire came to an end the people of both Republics decided to remain together.
The Republics are separated by significant differences in legal system and their codes of law, but share similar governments. Both states employ a unicameral legislative body known as States-Council and are both led by powerful executives known as States-Governor. The similarities end there, however. Hollona employs a system of common law and has an extensive court system, with judges appointed by the States-Governor and confirmed by either the States-Council or by local legislative bodies. Diorisia, meanwhile, employs civil law and has only six different major courts in the Republic that hear all cases, with the States-Council of Diorisia ultimately serving as final arbiter. Hollona has a strong system of local governments, each with a degree of municipal home rule, as many of the localities there predate the establishment of either the Duchy or Republic of Hollona. Diorisia on the other hand employs a system that could be described as a unitary republic, with all municipalities serving as "departments" more or less under the direct governance of the Diorisia States-Council. Elections in both countries are held every five years, with Hollona following the Urcean model (years "0" and "5") and Diorisia adopting a different one (years "2" and "7").
Both Republics claim to be sovereign entities that are nonetheless "perpetually joined in union" to one another. Both maintain strong governments and retain significant policy autonomy for themselves in most major policy areas with exception of those specifically asked for by the Popular Assembly as well as foreign affairs and the military. Both Republics maintained independent militaries until 1970.
Politics
There are currently four major political parties within the Union, one of which was established within the last decade while the remainder date to the establishment of the Union. The Union National Party (UNP) is the largest political party in Hollona and Diorisia. It is center-right, generally considered to be pro-Catholic but otherwise cautious and pragmatic on most issues. Though it has long portrayed itself as a defender of the "unique constitution" of Hollona and Diorisia, its pragmatism has led to a recent and unlikely political alliance with the States-Republican Party, and it is increasingly becoming moderately in favor of the unification position; this position remains contentious within the party. It governs in the majority of the Popular Assembly and both States-Councils. The second largest party is the Alliance for the Public Welfare (APW), a center-left party that is largely secular and supports government-based solutions to policy issues. The third largest part is the new States-Republican Party (SRP). The SRP is considered a single issue party due to its overriding aim being the end of the federation and unification of Hollona and Diorisia into a single state. However, this aim leads it to have a wide-reaching, centralist platform on many issues, as the party seeks to concentrate as many issues as it can within the Union Government as a prelude to unification. The fourth major party is the far-right Electors' League (EL), which is a centralist, Catholic party. The party was historically a monarchist party, looking to restore the Elector of Diorisia; though monarchism is still a major ideological strain within the party, it dropped the issue in 1997 and became a more generally hardline right wing party. It has become slightly more successful in recent years due to its pro-unification stance, winning the votes of some pro-unification conservatives.
Culture
Vandarchine identity
The nationality of people from Hollona and Diorisia is "Vandarchine", and Vandarchines consider themselves both a nation and ethnic group. Vandarchines are a relatively newer group of people, originating from Hollona and Diorisia. The 16th century Nordmontaine War and addition of the Ænglish Duchy of Hollona to the relatively equal sized Rhotian Duchy of Diorisia created a cultural interchange between these people, resulting in the creation of a distinct Vandarchine culture speaking Ænglish with many Rhotian cultural traditions. The rulers of the two Duchies were relatively open to the cultural changes the Ænglish brought, leading to a relatively early emergence of this national identity - newspapers and journals from the 1710s speak to residents of the two duchies viewing themselves as a separate and united people. As its national conciousness emerged earlier, Vandarchines never viewed themselves as part of the Derian identity, but nonetheless committed themselves to joining a united Dericanian polity at various times.
Language
Vandarchines speak a regional dialect of the Rhotian language known as Vandarchine Rhotian. It maintains the structure, intonation, and other main features of the Rhotian language but includes a significant vocabulary from the Ænglish language.
Demographics
In 2020, the population of the Vandarch Republic was 19,958,242.
Linguistic Demographics
Religious Demographics
Religious affiliations in Hollona and Diorisia (2030)
Christians of various kinds make up the vast majority of Vandarchine people. Catholics make up nearly three-fourths of the country's population, and the Catholic Church is one of the most important political and social institutions in Vandarchine society, as is the case with many of Hollona's neighbors. Hollona and Diorisia is unique among Levantine Union members, however, for also having a very large minority of adherents of the College of Levantine Churches, who make up about a fifth of Vandarchine society. Most of Hollona and Diorisia's neighbors have a large Catholic majority followed by irreligion as second most popular; irreligion in Hollona and Diorisia is uncommon. Cumulatively, Catholics and Protestants make up almost all of Hollona and Diorisia's population, with religiosity between the combined populations ranking towards the top of Union countries along with Urcea and Lapody.
Economy
Wine
Technology
Military
The Union State Armed Forces is the military of Hollona and Diorisia. Founded in 1935, the USAF is a tri-branch force consisting of Army Ground Forces, the Navy and the Air Corps. As an LUDC member, Hollona and Diorisia partakes in the common defence union of the Levantine Union and is thus under the guarantees of its fellow member states. The USAF in total employs some 53,500 personnel, part of which are conscripts that are enrolled for six months.
The Union State Army Ground Forces is headquartered in Rheydt. The USAGF employs around 39,000 personnel distributed in six brigades designed for foreign deployment that can be consolidated into three combined arms divisions for national defence. The majority of equipment used by the USAGF is foreign-supplied, sourced mostly from fellow LUDC member states Burgundie, Urcea and Yonderre. Military analysts and commentators generally rate the USAGF favourably in terms of training and capabilities, comparable to other LUDC forces.
The Union State Navy is headquartered in Carlshaven and employs some 6,500 personnel. Since the end of the looming threat of the Occidental Cold War, the Navy operates on a basis of "newer but fewer" ships, currently operating 12 larger vessels (displacement > 1,500 t(m)), 4 medium-size vessels (1,500 t(m) > displacement > 500 t(m)), and 38 small vessels (500 t(m) > displacement > 15 t(m)). The flagship of the USN is the support frigate HDS Hollona & Diorisia commissioned in 2012. Since the catastrophic 1993 Sinking of the passenger ship MS Hollona en route between Carlshaven and Gabion, Yonderre, the USN has taken a keen interest in maintaining a high standard of naval search and rescue capabilities.
The Union State Air Corps employs 8,000 and is headquartered in Orkham. The USAC operates some 48 multirole jet aircraft in four squadrons, a number of training aircraft as well as helicopters for the Army Ground Forces and Navy.