Democratic Republic of the United and Continuous Empire

Democratic Republic of the United and Continuous Empire
Flag
Illinois, United States
Capital and largest city	Cabindon
Official languages	English, Dutch, New Drotucian
Recognised regional languages	Old Drotucian
Demonym(s)	Drotucian
Government	Mixed
Legislature	High Council and Senate
• Upper house	High Council
• Lower house	Senate
Establishment	2018
Population
• (as of August 2021) census	156
Currency	Drotucian Roubles
Time zone	UTC-6 (DT)

The Democratic Republic of the United and Continuous Empire, more commonly known as the DRotUCE, is a micronation located in Illinois. It was founded in 2018 as an attempt to create the “perfect country” by combining parts of every government and economic system.

The DRotUCE believes in expanding its borders by allying with other micronations, for the purposes of creating more of a web than a singular empire. As such, it is custom to offer an alliance upon an encounter with another micronation, excepting those which are seen to directly contradict the nation's values.

Etymology

DRotUCE is an acronym, standing for the Democratic Republic of the United and Continuous Empire. The name itself is not indicative of the governmental system of the nation, and is simply meant to demonstrate its founding principle of a “mixed government” structure.

History

The Early Years

There are very few records of the early years of the DRotUCE.  The first event which can be dated for certain is the founding of the nation on 11 November 2018.  This fell upon Veteran's Day in the USA, which the original provinces were a part of before the founding.  This meant the founders had time off from various other requirements, granting them time to formally found the DRotUCE.  The DRotUCE then entered a stage known modernly as Drotucian Tribalism.  This was the period in which The DRotUCE was a largely unofficial organization based out of the future Central American Province which wrote no laws down and enforced even fewer, was more akin to a cult than anything else.  Importantly, the first Drotucian Indigenous Religions (DIRs) developed during this time.  The first was Kirbism, quickly followed by Beavanism.  Several groups popped up to oppose the very early DRotUCE during the tribal stage, notably Catlandia and Beavus (the originators of Beavanism).  These groups are now mostly either defunct and entirely absorbed or remain as DIRs within The DRotUCE.  In addition, the rank system, the High Council, Houses, and an early form of People’s Petitions developed during this time.  During this time, a communist, or more accurately Soviet, aesthetic was very much embraced.  The name of the state was The Democratic Republic of the United Communist Empire, and the Soviet National Anthems was very much in vogue.

As a result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DRotUCE moved most of its functions to a Discord server. This movement of the nation's focus to online membership caused a faster increase in its population. On approximately 11 January 2021, the DRotUCE was added to Disboard, and had an accompanying boost in membership. One of the new members was King Eugene of Serramwen. King Eugene introduced the DRotUCE to a larger web of micronational relations than they had ever seen previously. Previously, the DRotUCE had maintained a small selection of affiliations with other micronations, but none of these relations were very connected to the wider micronational sphere. Soon, the DRotUCE applied to join several intermicronational bodies, including the Grand Unified Micronational (although this application was never accepted and later retracted by the Drotucian administration following a shift in their attitude towards the organization), and expanded their network of relations severalfold.

The Tarnovan Affair

The DRotUCE was also a founding nation of the League of Taarim. The organization placed micronations and political simulations in a fictional world map in which relations between the nations were simulated. One of the founding political simulations was the nation of Tarnova. Reports of its political climate from Drotucian ambassadors to Tarnova were met with severe objection from the DRotUCE due to the Tarnovan administration's high tolerance for extreme political ideologies viewed as dangerous by the Drotucian government. The DRotUCE did not like this, and tried to get the government to change that. It culminated in a covert operation in which a Drotucian spy was granted administrator powers within the Tarnovan Discord server, and was intended to use these powers to purge the politically extreme avenues from the server. Due to poor internal communication and high time pressures, the operation devolved into complete destruction of the server, including the banning of all members deemed politically dangerous by the Drotucian government. This caused the already-tenuous relations between Tarnova and the DRotUCE to sour during and after Tarnova's rebuilding process; however, following the rise of a more DRotUCE-friendly government within Tarnova some time later, the relations between the two were restored.

Rank System

Every citizen of the DRotUCE has a rank assigned, denoting their achievements and significance within the nation. Upon naturalization, one is granted the rank of Citizen, and may rise in ranks by submitting a Promotion Petition to the High Council. At the Council's discretion, the petition is either accepted or denied; upon acceptance, the citizen is granted the next rank in the hierarchy. The ranks are as follows, from lowest to highest:

• Citizen
• Baroneten
• Baronen
• Viscount
• Count
• Duchen
• Arch Duchen
• Monarch

The names of the ranks are derived from common noble titles of other macronations, with classically gendered titles being neutralized via an -en suffix as with nouns in Old Drotucian. In addition to these 8 citizen ranks, there are three ranks reserved for non-PRHC members of the High Council: High Monarch, Emperen, and High Emperen. These ranks are functionally equivalent to one another, with the only difference being implied levels of "respect and command", as termed by former High Monarch Acolol. There were previously several more ranks in addition to these, but they were removed in order to simplify the system and make rank ascension more accessible.

Government Structure

The Petition System

All laws enacted in the DRotUCE are introduced via the Petition System. There are four "branches" to the Petition System - People's Petitions ("PPs"), High Council Petitions ("HCPs"), Senate Petitions ("SPs"), and Legislative Petitions ("LPs"). All branches function the same way, with the only difference being in the groups who can pass petitions by them and the things those petitions can affect - the High Council can pass HCPs, the Senate can pass SPs, both bodies can pass LPs, and all citizens can pass PPs. The process in all branches are as follows:

• A petition is written, named, enumerated, and introduced.
• Voting on the petition opens. This lasts for 24 hours (48 hours for LPs).
• At the end of the voting period, the votes are counted. If more yea votes than nay votes were cast, the petition passes; otherwise, it fails.

For HCPs, SPs, and LPs, if more than half of the body votes the same way before the voting period ends, it may be ended prematurely, with the greater number of votes dictating the outcome of the petition. As it is effectively impossible for more than half of the entire population to vote one way on a single petition, the voting period for PPs is always 24 hours.

HCPs are capable of nullifying passed SPs, and vice versa, with such nullifying petitions being equally subject to a nullification from the body that passed the original petition. LPs can only be nullified by LPs, and can nullify petitions from any body. People's Petitions can be nullified by any body. Amendments to the Drotucian Constitution may only be passed via LP.

The High Council

The DRotUCE is headed primarily by a five-person body called the High Council. At the time of the DRotUCE's founding, the body consisted of six members, tied to the six Major Houses of the time. In 2019, a decision was reached among the High Councillors to create two new Major Houses (Medicine and Education), establishing two new High Council seats to match. On 14 January 2021, the People's Representative on the High Council (a publicly-elected member with equivalent powers to a High Councillor) was established without an attached Major House, bringing the total number of seats up to nine. The seats remained as such until the passage of LP#575.

The Senate

The legislative counterpart to the selectively-appointed High Council is the democratically-elected Senate, established on 2 February 2021. Prior to the passage of LP#575, the Senate was composed of the same number of members as the High Council, each member corresponding to a single Major House which they would represent on the Senate. On 18 May 2021, the position of High Council Representative to the Senate was created in response to the creation of the PRHC several months earlier, serving as a High Council-appointed member of the Senate to represent the interests of the Council in the Senate. However, due to waning interest in Senate positions and fewer candidates applying in general, the body is largely defunct as of writing.

Major Houses

The High Councillors each head a Major House in the DRotUCE, comparable to a compressed set of ministries. The Houses are Justice (responsible for the lower court systems), Defense (responsible for foreign and domestic defensive operations), Finance (responsible for the operation of the economy), Industry (responsible for regulation of the production of goods), and Healthcare (responsible for the wellbeing of the citizenry). Citizens may join and work under up to two Major Houses of their choosing upon entry.

LP#575: The Temporarily Reduced Government Act

In October of 2023, following an extended period of general national inactivity, a Legislative Petition was introduced known as the Temporarily Reduced Government Act. The primary function of this Petition was to reduce the scope of the high bodies of government, including the merging of several former Major Houses into House-Secretariats (still classified as Major Houses legally). These merges were as follows:

• House of Justice and House of Industry remain unaffected.
• House of War becomes the Secretariat of War under the House of Defense.
• House of Marketing becomes the Secretariat of Marketing under the House of Finance.
• Houses of Health and Education merge into the House-Secretariat of Healthcare.

The High Council was also reduced by this same Petition from 9 members to 5, removing the PRHC, one Emperen, and three High Monarchs (the removed Emperen was made a High Monarch, staying on the Council). The standing PRHC was returned to his previous rank, while two of the High Monarchs were made heads of the newly-established Secretariats. The third High Monarch was instead moved to a position on the Supreme Court of his own volition. The Senate was also reduced from 9 seats to 5, with the remaining seats being detached from the Major Houses. This Act also purged the standing Senate members, leaving the body inoperable until the following election cycle, beginning on 1 November 2023.

LP#575 passed by a vote of 8-0 on 13 October 2023.

Political-Economic System

The DRotUCE’s political and economic structures are a mix of several aspects of many established systems, barring what the administration considers “inherently negative” systems such as anarchy or fascism. For example, their economy is largely influenced by communism and capitalism; wages are determined based on ability instead of position as in communism, but people are granted the right to private property as in a capitalist system. Their government system is developed similarly.

Law and Order

The policing system is largely internet-based, targeting cybercriminals more than anything else, and contained in the House of Defense. There is also a Supreme Court, able to veto motions from any legislative body, but it is inactive as of writing. The Justices are appointed by the High Council, and it functions almost identically to the American equivalent.

Foreign Relations

The DRotUCE has historically allied nearly every nation they come in contact with, as they believe in expanding the reaches of the empire through allied nations over conquest.

Military

The structure and ranks of the House of Defense are largely based on the Roman military, with very few changes; their primary duties are enforcing Drotucian policy abroad where applicable, though they can interact with the police system under certain circumstances.

Geography and Climate

The Central American Province of the DRotUCE experiences the same climate as any other place in Illinois - extreme summers and winters, with a tendency towards colder temperatures in between. The land is largely flat and urbanized, with few notable topographical features.

Economy

The DRotUCE’s currency, the rouble, is similar in appearance to poker chips, being rounded coins of varying colors, with symbols on the top and bottom. The value of the Dona - otherwise known as the red rouble, the lowest value coin - is equivalent to that of one US cent, and their value is based on color, with red Dona being the lowest and black Dalo being the highest. Not every coin is named, however, instead referred to by color; only the red (Dona), green (Dema), and black (Dalo). The names are based on the Old Drotucian words for bronze, silver, and gold.

Around the time of the first Conclave, a unique rouble known as the "S Rouble" was temporarily introduced by the Councillor of Finance for the purposes of financing the functions of the event. The name of the S Rouble was derived from the S-shaped marking that denoted its value. It was reportedly stated to be worth the equivalent of 10,000 Dona, but was never traded outside of the Conclave at which it was introduced.

Culture and Media

Drotucian culture is heavily influenced by that of America, but its archaic language is a mix of corrupted English words, Celtic and Germanic-style words, and completely original creations (the modern language pulls heavily from Germanic origins, maintaining the phonetics of Old Drotucian). The majority of the unique culture comes from their internet presence, which is arguably stronger than their physical one; their Discord server is their main source of members, and thus influences its culture more than anything else. The DRotUCE also observes several national holidays, most notably Founders' Day on 11 November in commemoration of the founding of the nation.

Conclave

Prior to the formal establishment of the DRotUCE, the members who would eventually form the first High Council agreed to meet for an overnight convention to discuss concepts for the nation's structure. This convention was termed the Conclave (later, the First Conclave, or Conclave I). 2 months later, soon after the nation's official founding, a second Conclave was held amongst the standing High Council to discuss plans for the nation; the duration between these two Conclaves was responsible for the definition of the Drotucian Year. However, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic following the Second Conclave, no Conclaves were held between late 2019 and mid-2021. Due to the shift of the nation's functions online between the Second and Third Conclaves, the political nature of Conclave began to deteriorate in favor of becoming a cultural festival of sorts. This shift was mirrored in the admittance of non-Councillors to all Conclaves following the Third (although not every further Conclave has had non-Council attendants, nor has every standing Councillor attended every Conclave during their term).

External links

Discord server: https://bit.ly/drotucediscord

Wiki (highly archaic): https://drotuce.fandom.com