Aidia

The Imperial Dominion of Aidia (Augustene: Dominatio Imperialis de Aidia), more commonly refered to as Aidia is an island country off the southeastern coast of Korasha. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Epileo) and the South Island (Arci)—and over 15 smaller islands. Aidia is about DISTANCE kilometres (DISTANCE mi) east of NATION across the Aidian Sea. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Pearly Spires, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. Aidia's capital city, financial center, and most populous city is Cor Urbis.

The islands of Aidia were one of the last places in Korasha to be colonized by the Avanoran powers. During or before the mid first millennium, the first people to settle the islands, presumably arriving on outrigger canoes from present-day South Korasha. The South Korashan settlers began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Aidian Culture. In 1502, the Augustene explorer Manius Pontilienus Cornicen became the first Avanoran to sight and record Aidia. In 1528, representatives of the Augustine Republic and the various Aidian Leaders signed the Treaty of Omich, which in its Augustene version declared Aidia to be a colony of the Augustine Republic, and several Augustene trading posts were established on the islands, including one in the largest city, which was renamed Cor Urbis. In 1815, Aidia became a colony within the Caliantene Empire. Aidia became a dominion in 1858 with the signing of the Edict of Calise, and has remained a dominion since. Today, the majority of Aidia's population of 11.8 million is of native descent; the Caliantene Immigrants are the largest minority, followed by Augustenes and Korashan Mainlanders. However, despite this, Aidia's culture is mainly derived from a mixture of Aidian traditions and early Augustene culture, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration. The official languages are Augustene, Caliantene, and Aidian Sign Language, with the local dialect of Augustene being dominant.

A developed country, Aidia ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, government transparency, and economic freedom. The country is most known for its meritocratic attitudes towards both its government and workforce. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and fishing; the international tourism accounts for a significant source of the nation's revenue. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Senate, while executive political power is exercised by the Premier of Aidia, currently Lucius Geganius, who chooses a cabinet to help exercise his or her duties. Emperor Gilliet V is the country's monarch and is represented by the governor-general. In addition, Aidia is organized into five Provincial Governments which are further divided into county governments.

Aidia is a member of Union of Nations and the Caliantene Empire.

Etymology
The Name "Aidia" can be traced back to the original settlers of the islands. Little information has been uncovered on what the word means.

Early period
Traditionally, archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves in outrigger canoes from South Korasha, possibly throughout the period between 350 BCE and 550 CE, while others are cautious about dates earlier than 250 CE. In either case, these dates make Aidia one of the latest major landmasses to be settled by humans. Dates earlier than the mid-first millennium AD are not strongly supported.

Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. Eventually, Mainland Korashan traders first reached the island between the 7th and 9th centuries, and a wave of migrants followed the traders in around 1000 CE, where they began integrating into the Aidian culture. Korashan merchants, mostly coming from modern day Tarkna, arrived around 11th century. They introduced cattle and dogs to the islands. Irrigated wheat fields were developed in the northern flatlands of Arci, the largest island. The populations on the islands formed different tribes and subtribes which would sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete and sometimes fight against each other.

The First Assembly and Augustene Contacts
Around the twelfth century CE, the various tribal powers across the islands held a meeting in modern day Cor Urbis, where they formed the First Aidian Assembly, which was a loose alliance of tribal powers. The First assembly elected its High Chief with votes with the approval of each individual tribe's Chief. The First Assembly fostered a culture of pacifism throughout the islands with its heavy focus on tribal cooperation, much of which is still present to this day. The First Assembly eventually became very centralized, with the tribe located in modern day Cor Urbis becoming the leading force in the assembly. The First Assembly would continue to govern and maintain stability throughout the islands for centuries after its formation.

Augustene Contact
Avanoran contact began in 1502, when the Augustene sea captain Manius Pontilienus Cornicen sighted the islands while exploring the coasts of Korasha. Alai was the first Augustene settlement on the southern coast of the island of Arci. In 1510, settlers there built a village that consisted of a dock, a meeting hall, and many stucco houses, all surrounded by a crude wall for fortification. This settlement was established in 1520 at the behest of the viceroy of Augustene Korasha, INSERT NAME. Contacts continued for the following years until Viceroy NAME proposed the Treaty of Omich, which officially made the islands of Aidia a colony of the Augustine Republic in exchange for greater access to the land for Augustene trade.

Many Aidians revered the newcomers on the island, and began adopting many aspects of their culture. Augustene quickly became the primary language of the islands, along with the Sanctum becoming the most practiced faith among the Aidian peoples. They often traded Avanoran food, metal tools, weapons, and other goods for timber, Aidian food, artefacts, and water. In particular, potatoes provided a reliable food surplus for the First Assembly, now reorganized into the First Aidian Senate because of Augustene Influence. From the early 18th century, Sanctum missionaries began to settle around Aidia, which further increased the number of Sanctum members on the islands.

Government and politics
Aidia is a unitary constitutional monarchy, with significant devolved powers delegated to the local governments by the Senate. The country's governmental framework is laid out in the Constitution of Aidia, which divides the government into three branches. The legislative branch, composed of a unicameral senate of 185 senators, is elected through a system of mixed member proportional representation. The executive branch is led by the Monarch of the Caliantene Empire as the ceremonial head of state, and is represented by the governor-general, whom he appoints on the advice of the premier. The Premier chairs the cabinet, and is directly elected by the people every five years. The judicial branch is composed of the Court of Cassation, which serves as the supreme court of Aidia, and is tasked with ensuring laws of the nation are compatible with imperial and constitutional provisions.

A governmental general election must be called no later than five years after the previous election. Elections happen every decade and halfway between decades, typically in Wintertide, however the month is not specified within the constitution. The Aidian Electoral Commission, a body chosen by the Court of Cassation, decides when the elections are held and hosts the election results. Almost all general elections before 1895 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Since the 1895 election and the subsequent 1895 General Strike, a proportional election system has been used for the Aidian Senate. The Premier is elected using a ranked-choice voting method, and is elected directly by the people.

Elections since the 1900s have been dominated by three political parties (the Social Democrat, People's, and Aidian Democrat parties), with smaller parties getting seats off and on. Issues that shift the balance of power between the the main parties often include economic issues (notably after the 1917 Economic Crisis), government service expansion, and foreign policy. Between 1915 and 1920, the government was dominated by the Aidian Democrat party, with the party holding a majority in the Senate and having the office of Premier.

Aidia's Judiciary System, headed by the Chief Magistrate, includes the Court of Cassation, Court of Appeal, the High Court, and subordinate courts. Magistrates are appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to help maintain judicial independence. This theoretically allows the judiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted by Parliament without other influences on their decisions.

Lucius Geganius was elected as the Premier of Aidia in 1920 and subsequently formed the Geganius I Cabinet afterwards. His Social Democratic Party has ruled Aidia as a centre-left minority government since the elections, and have been regarded by critics as largely ineffective. Elected on a feeling of public dissatisfaction with the former right wing government's response to the 1917 Economic Crisis, Geganius and his Social Democratic Party were elected on a promise to expand welfare availability for low income and vulnerable people; a pledge to phase out fossil fuels in the public sector by 1930; and providing low interest government loans to small enterprises to help mitigate the effects left behind by the 1917 Economic Crisis.

The Geganius I Cabinet has subsequently struggled with its status as a minority government. The cabinet moved in 1920 to propose the government loan scheme mentioned its election manifesto, though were instantly met with resistance from other parliamentary groups. Specifically, the People's Party were against the fact that the loans were restricted to commercial enterprises, and wished for the government to go further and provide assistance to the country's lower classes. The Aidian Democratic Party, however, were against the government's intervention in the free market overall. The negotiations dragged on for 8 months with the other parties, with the bill only passing due to the abstention of the People's Party - highlighting the ineffectiveness of Gegenius as a leader. Furthermore, the government's slow response to the ongoing Korashan Refugee Crisis has led to criticism from left and right wing groups, with one side accusing Geganius of attempting to placate far right members of the senate by refusing to provide any meaningful plans to address the crisis, while the right wing pointed to the government's failure on immigration as a threat to national security and Aidian culture.



Foreign Affairs
As an imperial dominion, Aidia's foreign affairs policy legally is tied with that of the Empire as a whole. As a member of the Empire, Aidia has strong relations with Caliane, as well as other Avanoran nations and the Avanor Union. The government pursues a policy defined as "active neutrality", in which the country attempts to avoid large scale conflict, though works to promote peace and dialogue. This policy has, at times, clashed with the Empire, who holds final authority over Aidia's diplomatic and defense matters.

Aidia has a strong presence among the Southern Korashan Nations. A large porportion of Aidia's aid goes to nations in Central Korasha, however, and many refugees migrate to Aidia due to the country's relaxed immigration and amnesty laws. Aidia is also involved in the Korashan Forum, the Caliantene Empire, and the Union of Nations. It has been described as a middle power in the Korashan Region, however many are quick to discredit the nation due to its pacifistic stances and policies.

Military
The Aidian Constitution mandates that the government maintain a military in order to meet the imperial standards of the Caliantene Empire. As such, the Aidian Defense Forces were established upon the nation's dominion status in 1858. The Aidian Defence Forces, however, have largely been neglected by Aidia's government. A significant portion of the Aidian Senate, as well as the entire Aidian Cabinet, have mostly expressed a distaste for giving the military any funding more than required by the Calientine Empire, and as such the Aidian Defense Forces have remained as small as possible for decades.

The Aidian Defense Forces are comprised of the Aidian Territorial Safeguarding Force (ACPF), the Aidian Sky Guard (ACC), and the Aidian Maritime Protection Force (AMFC). All branches of the Aidian Defense Forces are neglected due to the government's neglect and the improbability of a direct attack on the islands.

Economy
Aidia has an advanced market economy, ranked NUMBER in the 1920 Human Development Index, and NUMBER in the 1922 Index of Economic Freedom. It is a high-income economy with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of ¢50,646. The currency is the Aidian Medallion.

Historically, extractive industries have contributed strongly to Aidia's economy, focusing at different times on sealing, whaling, flax, gold, and native timber. After the invention of refrigerated shipping, Aidia's exports quickly shifted to dairy and meat, a trade which provided another staple in the Aidian economy. Aidia's economy is mostly based on trade between Southern Korasha and the rest of the world, helping Aidians reach a standard of living comparable even to Avanoran nations. At one point, during the 1900s and the 1910s, Aidia achieved a standard of living that rose above many nations in Avanor, however the 1917 Economic Crisis combining with the pressures already existing from the 1880s energy crisis caused the Aidian economy to fall into a severe recession. The Aidian government has since been attempting to uplift the economy, but has been finding it difficult due to a contested senate.

Unemployment peaked just above 10% in 1919 and 1920, following the 1917 Economic Crisis.

Culture
Early Aidian adapted the tropically based South Korashan culture in line with the challenges associated with an island-based environment, eventually developing their own distinctive culture. Social organization was largely based on families. Many early Aidian tribes would pick their chiefs based on a consensus that was decided per family, with the head of the household, often the family matriarch, representing the family during Aidian Anointing Rituals. The Augustene and Caliantene immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to Aidia and also influenced Aidian culture. In particular, the Augustene language spread throughout the country shortly after their trading posts were established, and has since become the most spoken language on the islands even to this day.