Cantons of Eniarku

The three cantons of Eniarku are the administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Eniarku. Each canton was formerly part of the United States until their territory was annexed by the various incarnations of the state since the establishment of the early republic in May 2009. The cantons have experienced various degrees of autonomy throughout Eniarku's history, and during many periods enjoyed quasi-sovereignty as city-states. Despite the establishment of the grand duchy as a de jure unitary state by the 2024 constitution, the current government has modeled the cantonal system after that of the quartiers of Monaco such that the territories fulfill a primarily statistical function. The name is derived from the French language word canton, meaning corner or district.

History

The original republic and early Democratic People's Republic of Eniarku were made up of three states and two special administrative districts, the latter of which were under the direct control of the national government. As the Central People's Government began consolidating political control in the upper echelons of the Eniarkian Worker's Party, the communist regime abolished the federal structure and governed Eniarku's territory as a single administrative entity. Soon after, the stress of this centralization proved to be a driving force in the government's decision to join the North American Confederation as a member state, and despite moderate expansion of Eniarku's territorial claims during the confederal period, the unitary system remained in place.

The confederation soon began to weaken as its monarch abdicated and two of its three states – Illinois and Ohio – slumped into a state of inactivity. The eventual dissolution of the confederation on 28 April 2011 led to the fall of the domestic communist order and reformation as the Empire of Eniarku, which saw the division of the country into 16 semi-independent polities and three territories. Similar problems of heterogeneous governance that plagued the NAC, however, also proved troublesome for the empire, and the realms were temporarily assimilated as a single unitary state before being once more divided into four cantons and two territories upon the establishment of the Eniarkian Confederation. The Kingdom of Eniarku employed a similar cantonal structure that is also in use by the current grand ducal government, albeit with practically no devolved political power.

Governance and powers

During the time of the Eniarkian Confederation, the cantons maintained semi-sovereign governments that resembled small-scale presidential systems, with the local leaders and councils being popularly elected by the citizens of each canton. Decisions made by the cantons were subject only to the "federal veto," a power reserved by the central confederal government to negate cantonal policies by a simple majority vote, which provided a substantial deal of political autonomy to sub-national officials. Following the transition to and establishment of the Kingdom of Eniarku, local power declined as the cantons began to defer to the policymaking decisions of national governing authorities, a trend codified in the contemporary governing practices of the newly-formed grand duchy. Under the current system, the cantons do not maintain their own local governments or political systems, and are instead administered directly by the grand duke, the Council of State, or appointed representatives thereof.

List

The cantons are listed in alphabetical order.

Code	Name	Population^[a]	Area (mi²)	Density (per mi²)	Notes
GL	Glenora	127,335	75.77	1,680.55	Capital of Eniarku; houses Baldwin House, the official residence of the grand duke and seat of government.
NI	Niles	157,820	69.46	2,272.10	Largest canton by residential population.
PA	Palma	109,402	36.73	2,978.55	Historical administrative capital of Eniarku; oldest continually-held territory in the current grand duchy.
EN	Eniarku	394,557	218.66	1,804.43