Democratic Dictatorship of Oskenia

The Democratic Dictatorship of Oskenia, (shortened: Oskenia) is an island-based nation, lying in the Mediterranean Sea, south of France and Italy, and North of Tunisia and Algeria.

Oskenia includes five independent constituent states, covers an area of 290,196 square miles, and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. It has a population of roughly 22 million, and it is the largest island-based nation in the Mediterranean. The capital city is located on the island of Corsica, and the island is the primary-territory for Oskenia, namely being the oldest part of the extensive empire. Despite having a fairly small population and amount of hospitable land, Oskenia is widely regarded to have the largest naval force in the world by number of ships, which is considered to be Oskenia's most impressive feat.

Etymology
The name of Oskenia derives from the Ancient Greek surname "xénos (Ξένος) xeníā (ξενῐ́ᾱ)", which means "welcoming, a foreigner, a stranger, or guest." Using this definition, plus the name of his wife, Ksenia, the first leader of Oskenia; Kristoffer Kåre the 1st, formed the name "Ksenialand," using the Shænglish word for land, "osk," which translated, combines to be Osk-senia, or shortened, Oskenia. The name embodies the country's values in tourism, foreign trade, and fairness for all.

Formation
Oskenia was formed in 1770 by Kristoffer Kåre the 1st, a French immigrant from Norway. Forming a sizable resistance force, he managed to overthrow the government of the Corsican Republic, which at the time was an independent state of France. Kristoffer's main factors for leading the rebellion were to simply live out the fantasy of leading his own nation, as well as to try and make a fortune for his children to inherit.

After Kristoffer's rise to power, Corsica was renamed "Oskenia," and a never before seen government system, a self-proclaimed Diplomatic Dictatorship, was formed. In the new capital city of Ypaæpilisa, the Constitution of Oskenia on March 14th, 1772 declared the island nation independent from France. With French military influence gone from the country, the English sent troops to Oskenia in 1789 and formed the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom.

First Expansion Period
In 1796, after extensive violence and the inability to control riots, the United Kingdom withdrew from Sardinia, and the nation became independent at last. In 1800, Oskenia was recognized as a sovereign nation. The country was heavily influenced by roots in French, Norwegian, Spanish, and English culture, and as of such the language of Shænglish, which before was just a rudimentary tongue invented by Kristoffer the 1 was formed, a dialect that borrows words, phrases, and gramatical rules from European languages all across the continent.

Second Expansion Period
In 1839, the second leader of Oskenia was elected by the senate, William Olsen, another Norwegian immigrant, who came to Oskenia looking for prosperity and the ability to find a place in government. He was elected at age 35. He ruled until his death in 1889, at the age of 85. Olsen is not known for any major reforms or events during his leadership. He is considered to be Oskenia's "forgotten leader."

Kristoffer Kåre II
Kristoffer's grandson, Kristoffer Kåre the II, was brought into power in 1889, and also governed the nation until his death in 1903 at the age of 59. He was seen as the nation's most impulsive and unpredictable leader, making him a hard leader to deal with, especially for the Alpine Federation. The difficulty in dealing with Kåre ultimately led to the First Sardinian War and his decrease in popularity, which ultimately led to his death.

Kristoffer is remembered for multiple beneficial things for the country happening under his rule. The first being the increase in production for Oskenia. Until 1900, the county was a small, almost colony, with minimal industrial expansion. After Kåre's election, this changed. A radical plan to expand Oskenia's industrial complex, primarily weapons-factories and ship-building industries, was implemented.

The second is the Battleship Initiative, put in place by Kristoffer in 1901. After the Sardinian War, Kåre realized the benefits of a large naval force, and subsequently ordered five battleships to be constructed at the Ypaæpilisa naval yard. They were the Kåre-Class of super-dreadnoughts. Showing his true self-pride, he named them after himself. They were never finished by the time of his death, and his predecessor would finish all five, giving one to the Enkelti Republic.

Lukas Sjöberg


After Kristoffer the II's death in 1903, the fourth and current leader of Oskenia was put into emergency power; Lukas Sjöberg, the Minister of War who acted under Kristoffer the IInd. He is by far the most popular dictator in the nation's history. He is a compassionate and well-spoken leader who cares about his people and the issues surrounding them. His public opinion soared after his new policies of militarization and Naval-superiority, as well as his stance on peace and prosperity. He is a breath of fresh air after the last two impulsive and unpredictable leaders. Under his leadership, Oskenia has the lowest cost of living, largest navy in their history, and highest value of the Argæld, as well as high public opinion of the Oskenian government in Oskenian history.

On top of this, Oskenia has seen the best diplomatic relations between other countries, especially trade agreements, since the early 1800s. Lukas also implemented the first governmental reform program since Kristoffer I's leadership, reducing the power that the dictator has on the state, and improving political decisional power of the Federal Senate and Federal Ministries. He also reduced the use of the death penalty, and is planning on giving the people more power in Federal Elections.

Next to these apparent benefits, however, he is one of the nation's most controversial leaders, having multiple assassination attempts, uprisings, revolutions, and scandals surrounding himself and his Federal ministries. This has led to multiple accusations against Sjöberg that later turned out to be false, but could have led to violence, and possibly war if the situation was not dealt with in a diplomatic way.

In early January 1908, Lukas along with his family went missing, and multiple high-ranking officials from his time in office were found murdered. It was suspected that it had been part of a large conspiracy to remove who some in the government called a ''soft leader. ''Foreign Minister Robert Carta assumed power in mid January 1908, but it was found out that his assumption to power was a political coup and he was promptly removed, re-instating Lukas Sjöberg as dictator, where he currently remains.

Era of Mediterranean Tension
In early 1901, after acquiring the island of Sardinia, Kristoffer found himself in an ever-frustrating spat with Alpine Federation leader Franco Rotallini, who had strong feelings for the citizens of the now oppressed island. After peace talks between the Federation and Oskenia broke down, the Federation presented Kristoffer with three options. Of course, Kristoffer denied all three options, saying that the occupation and subsequent annexation of Sardinia was in a purely humanitarian and supportive role to improve infrastructure and quality of life. Uprisings in the region, however, made this claim for nought, and on February 16th 1901, the Alpine Federation declared war on Oskenia for failing to meet Federal demands. The Stati Agricoli joined the Federation, and soon all-out war began.
 * 1) Resign from power and allow an election to take place for a new dictator.
 * 2) Hold a legal free independence referendum in Sardinia
 * 3) Or grant the Sardinians full autonomy within Oskenia. Under this option, Oskenia can only dictate Sardinian foreign policy and nothing else.

Over the course of thirty-three days, bitter fighting on the island of Sardinia resulted in over 58,000 casualties spread over five nations. The short but brutal war was the beginning of a long-standing period of unpredictability in the region, and ultimately led to the demise of two major countries and hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Governmental System
Oskenia is a Democratic Dictatorship. The political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1772 Constitution of Oskenia. The leader serves out a life term and a new one is elected upon their death. A dictator can be removed from power if over 80% of the Federal Senate votes in favor, and only after an extensive investigative period has been completed. See '''Federal Elections. '''

Oskenia is divided up into six constituent states, which are listed here in order of accession: Each individual state has the authority to make local laws in accordance with the Oskenian constitution. They cannot, however, create federal laws or create any policy that is not in accordance with said constitution. Usually states will change small municipal laws or policies.
 * Corsica
 * Sardinia
 * Sicilian Territories
 * Tunisian State
 * Balears
 * New Chinese Territories

The Benevolent Dictator is the head of state and is given absolute political power over the nation. The second-highest official in the Oskenain Order of Precedence is the Foreign Minister. The Oskenian chain of command is as follows: Many of the ministers in the senate, (omit four out of the 22) are elected by the people, and therefore the citizens of Oskenia do play a part in the election of their next dictator, although it is indirect. The elected dictator serves a life-term unless he abdicates or is removed from power by the senate. in addition to this, there are three ministries that are appointed by the dictator, and not elected by the people. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Homeland Defense, Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of War. All other ministries ranging from state affairs to tourism are elected by the people as a whole and serve a 6-year term.
 * Dictator
 * Minister of foreign affairs
 * Minister of the Interior
 * Minister of War
 * Minister of Homeland Defense

Law Creation
Each minister has certain political powers in their area of government, but they are better described as advisors. Under Lukas's rule, the individual ministers have gained more influence, but are still confined as far as political freedom goes. The dictator has three ways to make a law in Oskenia. The first is a Federal Law. The second is a State Law. The final and third way is the Federal Order.

Federal Law:
A federal law is a law or policy that affects all of the country, including all subsequent states. The dictator can put this law into place with approval from the ministry that the law corresponds to, as well as the Oskenian Federal Senate's passing of the law.

State Law
An Oskenian State Law is a certain policy passed by either a state senate or state minister that affects one of Oskenia's five independent regions. These are usually minor laws or policies such as budget changes; judicial laws related to jail time; infrastructure; etc. The federal level of government still has the authority to create these laws, but they are usually written by either a state governor or state minister. The law is then sent to the state senate to that corresponding region, where it is either passed, or, if necessary, passed on to the federal senate. If the federal senate cannot come to a conclusion, it is showed to the dictator, who gives the final say.

Federal Order
A Federal Order is an Executive decision made by the dictator, that surpasses all levels of government. These are usually things such as marshal law declarations; War-time decisions; emergency humanitarian missions; and crisis intervention. Federal Orders are very rarely used, and are sought as a last-straw, last ditch effort to pass a critical law or policy.

Federal Elections
In Oskenia, federal elections are held in one of four ways.
 * 1) The current dictator can no longer remain in power due to a medical or physical condition.
 * 2) The current dictator dies.
 * 3) The current dictator abdicates.
 * 4) The current dictator is voted out of power by the senate.

Medical and/or Physical Condition
If a leader can no longer fulfill the duties of office, he is removed from power by the senate, and the Foreign Minister is put in charge of the country while the senate votes on a new dictator. Once that new ruler is found, the minister is removed from power and the new dictator is put in power.

Death or Assassination
Once an Oskenian dictator dies or is assassinated, there is a 10 day mourning period, in which no new dictator can be formally elected. Instead, the country comes to a halt. Except for military personnel and the foreign senate, all citizens get paid leave from their jobs and black flags are hung throughout the entire nation. The Foreign Minister takes control of the government until the state of mourning is over, upon which the Senate decides on the new dictator, which they should have determined over the 10 days of mourning.

Abdication
Very rarely, a dictator may choose to abdicate from power due to some sort of reason. A personal affair gets in the way of proper rule of the country; A world event reduces his popularity; or some other reason. Upon an abdication, whoever the dictator chose to take over is put in power. For 30 days they will have limited rule over the country, during which the Federal Senate investigates the new leader and votes on either keeping him in power or electing a new dictator.

Voted out of office
Also very rarely, the Federal Senate may choose to remove a dictator from power because: In any of these cases, the Senate uses the Oskenian Home Guard to forcibly remove the dictator. If the reason is either 3 or 4, the accused leader is put under house arrest, instead of imprisoned, while the Senate investigates. During this period, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is put in charge of the country, like most instances.
 * 1) He is too unstable to reliably run the nation.
 * 2) He Is too corrupt to reliably run the nation.
 * 3) A Federal crime is accused of him.
 * 4) He breaks the Oskenian Constitution.

Amendments
As outlined in the Oskenian Constitution of 1772, Oskenian citizens have (4) basic rights that cannot be infringed on by the government. All four of these amendments have been faithfully followed since the formation of Oskenia. Upon these four amendments, there are additional judiciary rights.
 * 1) Freedom of expression and free will
 * 2) Freedom of religion and culture
 * 3) Freedom to own firearms for the purpose of self and national defense
 * 4) Freedom to life and happiness

Judiciary Rights
Each of these cannot either be infringed or changed upon. Arrested citizens can plead these Judiciary rights in an attempt to get a free and fair trial for their crime. Number 5 refers to the death penalty. If someone is arrested for shoplifting, for example, they won't be shot. This judiciary right was put in place by Lukas Sjöberg, on March 1st, 1904.
 * 1) Right to a fair judge
 * 2) Right to a fair jury
 * 3) right to a lawyer
 * 4) right to a lawful arrest
 * 5) right to a just and humanitarian punishment (Added in March 1904)

Election Rights
Beyond these rights, citizens also hold a place in Federal Elections, although it is a very small amount of influence. The election process is almost 100% handled by the Federal Senate. Public polls find national opinion on the candidates, but citizens do not play any direct role in the election of a new leader.

Federal & State Senates
Oskenia is further broken up by both the Federal and State Senates. In each of these, 22 ministers and six state-wide representatives reside. There are five State Senates and one Federal State. Example:

State Senate:
The Speaker of The Senate is the organizer and head of all Senate meetings. He keeps order, is the final say in decisions, and presides over all representatives in the house.
 * Speaker of The Senate.
 * 22 Ministers ranging from Agriculture to Tourism and others.
 * Five representatives from other constituent states.
 * State Governor of which the Senate presides in

Military
Oksenia's military, the Militære, is organized into Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Reserve Korps, Home Guard, (both the Reserve-Korps & Home Guard are sub-branches of the Army) Air Force, and Naval Marine (sub-branch of the Naval forces) branches. In 1910, military spending per year was §9,500,000 Argæld.

As of 1913, Oskenia employed roughly 628,000 total servicemen spread across all branches, as well as 8,500 Reserve Korps soldiers, which include 9,000 volunteers. In peacetime, the Militære is controlled by the Minister of Homeland Defense. In a state of offensive war, the Minister of War assumes command. If the war is in defense of an Oskenian territory or the country itself, the Minister of Homeland Defense stays in control. The role of the Oskenian Militære is described in the Constitution of Oskenia as purely defensive, but as of Kristoffer the IInd's rule, that definition has evolved to mean "conflict prevention, disaster reaction, and security of Oskenian influence anywhere in the world." As of 1903, Oskenia has roughly 6,200 troops stationed in various foreign countries to fill humanitarian and defense roles.

Until 1903, a minimum of three years military service was required for men from age 16 up to the age of 28. Lukas Sjöberg changed this policy after his introduction into office, and now only a minimum of 6 months is required for men 17 to 28. Officers can remain active to the age of 70.

The Oskenian Navy is considered to be the most advanced and most efficient in the world. With the recently released Subjugator-class, Oskenia is leading the way in automation and gun accuracy, giving them a profound advantage over other vessels. Oskenia ranked number 4 in size of navy by active warships, and ranked number 1 by performance of warships in her fleet.

See Also: List of Active Oskenian Warships

Tourism
Oskenian culture has been shaped by many different nations, but primarily by the native people of Sardinia and Corsica. Craftsmen and fine wine are staples of tourism in the country. Exports are fine food products and fruit. Huge farms on both Sardinia and Corsica, aided by former Italian wineries in Sicily, are popular with citizens and tourists alike. The capital city of Ypaæpilisa, however, is the safest and most popular city in Oskenia, with an extremely low crime rate and estimated 680,000 visitors per year. Tourists can tour warships docked at the ports, walk around historic Ypaæpilisa; a faithfully recreated 1700s era fishing village, or visit the capital or senate buildings. In Oskenian Tunisia, you can soak in the sights of the Mediterranean Sea, take a tour of the desert, or visit native towns.

Quality of Life
A citizen in Oskenia can enjoy: Some things that they may not enjoy are:
 * Low cost of living,
 * the lowest taxes in Oskenian history,
 * low crime in Corsica,
 * high employment,
 * and safe working environments.
 * High violence and rebellion rates in Sardinia,
 * Compulsory military service,
 * Frequent law changes/reforms
 * Long work shifts
 * Bad healthcare

Exports:
By order of production rate, Oskenia's top five exports are:
 * 1) Wine
 * 2) Fruit
 * 3) Food products
 * 4) Oil
 * 5) Warships/Other seagoing vessels

Imports:
By order of acquisition rate, Oskenia's top five imports are:
 * 1) Fuel Oil
 * 2) Kerosene
 * 3) Military Equipment
 * 4) Fertilizer
 * 5) Food products