Strathclyde

The People's Democratic Soviet Republic of Strathclyde, also known simply as Strathclyde and Soviet Strathclyde, is a communist nation on the island of Great Britain.

Origins
Strathclyde first formed as a political body shortly before the Roman conquest of Britain. Originally a small and unimportant Celtic kingdom, it grew rapidly under a series of great rulers to overtake most of Scotland, and many argue it eventually became the Scottish Kingdom.

Following the collapse of the world capitalist economy in December 2012 (see "The End of the Line"), a period of anarchy ruled over much of the world. The small population of Scotland was nearly wiped out, leaving room for a new beginning. On 8 August 2013, General Mazur, in charge of a small band of Celtic nomads who had escaped the colapse of the economy, proclaimed the People's Democratic Soviet Republic of Strathclyde, a revolutionary state, at the ruins of Kilmarnock. Soon after, a communist government was elected.

Subcontinental War
In September of 2009, Military conflict arose in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. What should have been a minor conflict in what was an ongoing dispute was escalated by Pakistan's new president, Ahmed Rana, who replaced General Pervez Musharraf following an American invasion to remove him in 2011. Rana, who was installed by the Americans, responded to the presence of Indian forces in Kashmir by deploying a nuclear missile against New Delhi. India's response to the matter was totally lost by the People's Republic of China, who had signed a mutual defense pact with India, neploying nuclear missiles against Pakistan and the United States, who they blamed for the attacks due to the fact that Rana had been installed by them. Although the United States did not respond with nuclear force, the combined use of nuclear bombs was enough to plunge the entire world into a nuclear winter that would last to this day.

"The End of the Line"
In early 2012, distress from the rising cost of living, widespread poverty, and lack of basic necessities led to riots and chaos worldwide. This was in part due to global economic recession, caused by a mixture of natural disasters laregely linked to climate change and the rise in global radiation levels caused by the Subcontinental War, and the polarization of wealth caused by corporate capitalism, a form of free market economy that arose in many states around the world following World War II. This corporate capitalism, which many refered to as 'corporate fascism', focused on the accumulation of wealth in the corporation, at the expense of the individual. This led to corporate cartels raising prices, while the majority of incomes remained static or fell.

With business at a standstill from strikes and the loss of individual disposable income, governments began declaring martial law. The first nation to do so was the United States of America, who, as the only global superpower, influenced many other nations to follow suit. With martial law in place, the American Congress was disbanded, and elections postponed indefinately. This loss of freedom, something held as sacred to the Americans, sparked state and local militias nationwide to begin a resistance movement against the government. Commenting on the riots in Washington, DC, a reporter famously said that “this is the end of the line for America.” She might have said, “this is the end of the line for the world.”

On Friday, 21 December 2012, fears related to the stability of the United States, who remained at war with China, led to huge losses on the New York Stock Exchange. As the day progressed, stock markets around the world followed suit, so that by the close of the New York market on Monday, the entire world was in a deep economic depression. Riots worldwide intensified, and on Christmas Day, American President John Malcolm was assasinated. The nation plunged into civil war, as did various other nations. By January 2013, the world was in a state of total anarchy.

Various militias arose in an attempt to stablize the political scene of various regions. One of these, led by General M Mazur, was the Strathclydian People's Liberation Front. In August, Mazur proclaimed the Strathclydian state at Kilmarnock.

Politics
The Strathclydian Constitution, adopted at independence, provides for a Grand Parliament be elected by the people, on the basis of one Delagate per five hundred persons or portion thereof. While military units are included in the total population, they do not recieve any votes. The Parliament has a fixed term of five years, but may be reelected indefinately. The Parliament also contains Delegates appointed by the President of the same proportion of population plus one. Therefore, the current Grand Parliament is comprised of fifty-five delegates, twenty-seven elected directly by the people, and twenty-eight appointed by the President.

The President is elected seperately, and can only be elected from the party with the largest amount of popular vote. He rules until death or impeachment. Process for impeachment involves a petition of no less than half the total population being presented to the Grand Parliament, who must ratify the petition by a vote of more than two-thirds in favor. The President does not recieve a vote in Parliament, however, he does recieve a vote in case of a deadlock. He also has the sole power to propose legislation and to appoint the Executive Council from the members of Parliament. The President also has the power to declare martial law, but only by the majority vote of the Executive Council. During a period of martial law, the Grand Parliament is disolved, and rule is vested solely in the President at the advice of the Executive Council.

The Executive Council consists of the following persons, who must be appointed from the Parliament (with the exception of the Minister of Defense), and who head the various Ministries or departmnets as denoted by their title:


 * Minister of Defense
 * Minister of Internal Security
 * Minister of Environmental Protection
 * Minister of the Economy
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Ambassador to the Communist Party of CyberNations
 * Head Justice of the Supreme Court

Various other rules and norms apply to the appointment of the Executive Council. The Minister of Defense must be appointed from the Strathclydian Armed Forces, and is to be appointed from Parliament if possible. The Minister of the Economy must be appointed from the Communist Party of Strathclyde, as must the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position of Ambassador to the Communist Party of CyberNations may be filled by anyone, but is traditionally taken by the President himself.

Political Parties
Until recently, Strathclyde enforced no restrictions on political parties. After the events of the Heritage Crisis, however, the Christian Heritage Party was banned by Minister of Internal Security, G J Baker. The main political parties in Strathclyde are shown below, left-wing parties on the left, right-wing parties on the right.

Heritage Crisis
The Strathclydian Constitution, as it was originally adopted, declared that "All political parties shall be trated as equal and hold equal ability to enter the Government... no political faction shall be banned for any reason, unless that faction is unlawful by nature." Soon after the first elections, however, The Strathclydian Christian Heritage Party (SCHP) began directly challenging the Government, protecting the illegality of their doing so by demonstrating how it was sanctioned by their religion, and, as such, protected by the Constitution Articles 155 through 159, which protect freedom of religion. The Government, which has to this day maintained an atheistic perspective, began passing laws that were proposed not by the President, but by the SCHP.

The President, seeing this as the problem it was, proposed a bill to Parliament which would have ammended the Constitution to disallow any political parties affiliated with a religious organization. When the motion was tabled, it was met with great hostility from the SCHP. The entire party vacated the Parliament Hall, and begin equiping its members with weapons. The Christian Liberty Militia was formed, and for a period of approximately one month the Militia fought a guerrila civil war against the Government of Strathclyde. The Minister of Internal Security, G J Baker, immediately declared the entire party a terrorist organization. During the war, mass killings were committed against the majority Druidist population. The last of the Militia was captured on 5 January 2014 at Glasgow Mound. Charged with Treason, Sedition, and Committing Terrorist Acts, the members were executed on 20 January.

Current Government
The current government of Strathclyde is represented below in two sections. The first lists the political parties, how many Delegates they have in the Parliament, and what percentage of the popular vote they recieved. The second section lists the President and the Executive Council and what political party they represent.

Parliament

 * Communist Party of Strathclyde, 37 Delegates, 33.3% of popular vote
 * Strathclydian Social Democratic Party, 5 Delegates, 18.5% of popular vote
 * Strathclydian Conservative Alliance, 4 Delegates, 14.8% of popular vote
 * Marxist Union, 3 Delegates, 11.1% of popular vote
 * National Party of Strathclyde, 3 Delegates, 11.0% of popular vote
 * Liberal Party of Strathclyde, 2 Delegates, 7.0% of popular vote
 * Scottish Capitalist Party, 1 Delegate, 3.7% of popular vote
 * Democratic Alternative, 0 Delegates, 0.6% of popular vote

President and Executive Council

 * President - General M Mazur (CPS)
 * Minister of Defense - Leiutenent General A MacLean (SCA)
 * Minister of Internal Security - The Honorable G J Baker (CPS)
 * Minister of Environmental Protection - The Honorable M Ross (SSDP)
 * Minister of the Economy - The Honorable B Devereaux (CPS)
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs - The Honorable T Hewitt (SSDP)
 * Ambassador to the Communist Party of CyberNations - General M Mazur (CPS)
 * Head Justice of the Supreme Court - His Worship J Lannum (MU)

Government Position
The Government of Strathclyde routinely announces its position on various issues in the state-controlled newspaper Pravda, in the hopes that its citizens shall support the government initiatives and decisions. A selection of the government's edicts are listed below, as well as various laws ratified by the Grand Parliament.

Edicts

 * No nuclear power is to be researched or developed.


 * Strathclyde maintains an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they must first become citizens.


 * Foreign aid is given when available, but the government looks to take care of its own people first.


 * The government will maintain trade relations with any nation, but shall do it secretly.

Legislation

 * Strathclyde has recently passed the Military Non-Involvement Bill, which prohibits war except in extreme circumstances.


 * The use of alcohol and marijuana is legal for everyone over the age of fourteen, however the government has banned the use of tobacco and all other so-called 'hard drugs'. Public awareness campaigns are being ran throughout Strathclyde to educate citizens of the dangers of both legal and illegal drugs.


 * All forms of protest are banned.


 * Any person found to be making slanderous comments regarding the government is guilty of Sedition.

Ethnic Groups
Strathclyde was founded by roaming Celtic nomads who survived the collapse of the world economy in December 2012. To this day, the majority of the population is Celtic, though minority groups of British and Scandinavians do exist. Under the Strathclydian Constitution, all ethnicities are granted equal rights to live in Strathclyde and participate in Strathclydian society. Despite this, many Celts do discriminate against minority groups, citing the fact that the nation was founded as a Celtic state to justify their actions. Despite government attempts to curb such discrimination, it still continues to this day in Strathclyde.

Religion
The Strathclydian Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, and grants every man, woman, and child the right to choose and practice their own faith. The government itself advocates atheism, but does not interfere in the individual practice of any faith, so long as said faith does not advocate hatred or harm towards others. The majority of the population is Druidist, but a significant portion of the population, around 30%, is Christian.

Religious tension has recently become a large problem facing Strathclyde. Although initially citizens of all religions coexisted peacefully, the events of the Heritage Crisis led to increased tension between the Druidist and Christian populations. Today the Government of Strathclyde is attempting to encourage members of both religions, as well as others, to live together peacefully.

National Holidays
Strathclyde celebrates many holidays, none of which are religiously-based. The following is a list of holidays sanctioned by the Strathclydian government:

January
 * 1 - New Year's Day
 * 8 - Emperor Norton Day
 * Although the government does not generally promote monarchal viewpoints, Strathclyde celebrates the death of Joshua A Norton, better known as Emperor Norton I of the United States of America and Protector of Mexico, for directly and successfully challenging the authority of the Government of the United States of America

February
 * 20 - Family Day

March
 * 15 - Ides of March

April
 * 22 - Lenin Day
 * 30 - Presidents' Day

May
 * 5 - Marxism Day

June
 * 9 - Kaveh Day
 * ''Commemorating the foundation of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (also Soviet Republic of Gilan)

July
 * 13 - Civic Holiday

August September
 * 8 - National Day of Strathclyde
 * 14 - Proletariat Day

October
 * 25 - Revolutionary Weeks begin

November
 * 7 - Revolutionary Weeks end

December
 * 21 - Commemoration Day
 * Commemoration Day marks the date commonly accepted to be the beginning of the economic collapse of the world capitalist economy

Revolutionary Weeks
Revolutionary Weeks are held between 25 October and 7 November annually, and mark the Russian Revolution of 1917. The dates chosen signify the date of the Russian Revolution under the Julian Calendar (25 October) and the Gregorian Calendar (7 November). Although commerce continues throughout the weeks, except on the beginning and end days, celebrations commemorating the Revolution are common throughout the fourteen day period. The largest event is on the first Saturday of the holiday, when the October Parade is held. The Parade, organized by the government, actually consists of several parades throughout Strathclyde's settlements occuring simultaneously. The largest of these parades is in Kilmarnock, and is presided over by the President.