Empire of Elysium

"Elysium" redirects here. For other uses, see Elysium (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Duchy of Elysium.

Empire of Elysium
Flag Greater Arms
Motto: Unity, Peace, Prosperity
National Animal Timber rattlesnake
Map of the Empire
Location	Located within the US
Capital	Josephina, Elyria
Official languages	English
Recognised regional languages	Scots, Polish
Ethnic groups	Franco-American, Scots-Irish Americans, German American, Irish People, Anglo-American
Religion	Presbyterianism unofficial
Demonym(s)	Elysiumite
Government	Federal parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy
• Grand Emperor	Robert II
• Chancellor	Elliot Doe
• Deputy Chancellor	Johann Kümmel
• Senate Speaker	Christoph Billung
• Emperors' Hand	Kyle Smith
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Council of Imperial Delegates
• Lower house	Grand Senate
Establishment
• Founding of Elyria	1 July 2011
• Unification into Elysium	1 September 2015
• Republic established	8 July 2020
• Monarchy re-established	12 December 2021
Population
• Estimate	270
• 2021 census	312

Elysium, officially the Empire of Elysium, known as the Republic of Elysium from July 2020 to December 2021, is a micronation with claims in North America and Europe. Elysium's capital is the city of Josephina, an city located in the High Kingdom of Elyria.

The Empire was originally founded as the Republic of Elyria, a unitary and republican state, in 2011. The current federal model was created after the First Unification, in which various micronations in the Upcountry of South Carolina united to form the Empire of Elysium. Since then, Elysium has admitted a number of new members, although some did not join as new Commonwealths. Leo and Salibaic are the only major examples of a Commonwealth leaving the union, although both of these states are largely inactive now. The government is described as a mix of American federalism with a German-style semi-presidential system; in addition, the nation holds regular Senatorial elections. The nation is primarily Presbyterian and Baptist, with a strong atheist and Catholic minority. The culture of Elysium has been descibed as a mix of various western european and Dixie culture.

Elysium has operated under a system of a federal parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchism since the restoration of the monarchy in late 2021. The head of state is a elector chosen Grand Emperor. The head of government is a parliamentary elected Chancellor. There is seven Commonwealths which make up Elysium. The various Commonwealths each vary in government, with four being a monarchial parliamentary democracies, one being a semi-presidential system, one being a Semi-direct democracy, and another being a traditional gubernatorial system. The Grand Senate is the lower house of the federal legislature that selects the Chancellor and formally executes nearly all legislative authority. Robert Smith II of Elyria serves as Grand Emperor and Elliot Doe of the Elysiumite Nationalist Democrats is the Chancellor.

Etymology

Elysium is derived from Elyria, which was the predecessor to Elysium. When the many smaller nations voted to join a Empire and choose a name, Elysium was the most popular choice, leading to it becoming the name.

The official name of Elysium is the Empire of Elysium, although most documents just refer to the nation as Elysium. Internally, the “Empireof Elysium” is often times shorten to “the Empire”. There has been attempts to rename Elysium to Savannah but this movement has gained little to no traction.

History

Main article: History of Elysium

First Empire

On 1 September 2015, the Empire of Elysium was established through the unification of several micronations in the Savannah River area. Following this, Robert Smith was unanimously elected as its Grand Emperor, with Riley Nim being appointed Emperor's Hand. The early years of Elysium saw two "factions" being established: the Tilities, who supported the Minister of Defense, FPM, and the Rilites, who supported Riley Nim. Numerous forts were also constructed during this time, the largest of which was Fort Brim.

By early 2019, two political parties had been formed; the Tilities formed the Vox Party, which campaigned for Christian values and states' rights, while the Rilites formed the Democracy Now Party, which campaigned for constitutionalism and had centrist ideals. Following the formation of the office of Prime Minister, the Vox Party won the office, mainly due to accusations of Riley Nim calling for secession in Quincet, a member state of Elysium. During FPM's ministry, Elysium's organic culture was replaced with that from other nations, mainly the Byzantine Empire, while the construction of forts was paused. Towards the end of her ministry, a scandal broke out when the Vox Party removed Kyle Smith, a member of Elysium's legislature and an independent who had won the elections for Prime Minister, from office. The scandal, named Tillgate, resulting in the office of Prime Minister being replaced with an elected Chancellor and a national Parliament being created.

During Kyle Smith's tenure, a Discord server for Elysium was created in April 2019, which saw rapid growth in Elysium. In addition, a constitution inspired off of that of the United States was written. Following the 2019 I senatorial election, 3 Progressives and 2 Democratic Traditionalists were appointed to the Grand Senate; they would pass numerous major acts, including the Judiciary Act of Adam Johnston and Marriage Act, the latter of which ensured equality in marriage. During this period, Adam Johnston, as well as Spooky Johnston, would begin their careers in the Grand Senate.

In May 2019, Salibaic temporarily joined Elysium; it would leave following a referendum that the imperial government regarded as fake. As a result of the referendum, Adam and Spooky Johnston were removed from the Grand Senate, with Spooky having his citizenship revoked. Despite this scandal, Kyle was re-elected to Chancellor. Between this re-election and the following election, Tau Barclay joined Elysium and gained a reputation for being an active legislator.

In July, the Great Elysium Council was opened in response to Stanley Appleby calling for various reforms, which had resulted in the near-resignation of Robert as Grand Emperor. The Council resulted in major reforms being passed; afterwards, Tau's Libertarian Party and Adam Johnston's Progressives merged to form the Libertarian-Progressive Party. In August, a crisis ensued when a pro-Elysiumite government was installed in Clamatoa, which resulted in the resignation of Kyle Smith on 2 September. As a result, Tau Barclay became Chancellor.

Tau's ministry saw the first time that taxes were collected in Elysium, albeit optionally. In addition, he called for the formation of more private companies and saw Elysium apply to the Grand Unified Micronational, as well as the annexation of Leo and Greymont into the Empire. The September 2019 senatorial election saw Kyle Smith's DTs win a landslide; after this victory, Tau called for a snap election and left the Libertarian-Progressive Party to form the Reform Party. After this, he would write the second constitution of Elysium, which narrowly passed the Grand Senate. In early December, Tau announced his resignation as Chancellor.

Kyle Smith was re-elected the same month; his re-election was followed by plans being leaked for Vox Populi being used to eventually annex its member states into Elysium. Despite numerous micronations denouncing Elysium and its reputation being tarnished, none of Elysium's allies were lost in the process. However, Leo seceded during the scandal, resulting in Tau going into exile following backlash for doing so. During Kyle Smith's term, he created a Elysiumite military alongside Robert Smith and Brandon Mierzwa, also creating a citizenship application and localization quotas being introduced as a response to the population of local citizens falling. His fourth term, which followed the January 2020 senatorial election, continued the policies he put into effect.

In March 2020, the Reform and Progressive Parties merged to form the New Elysium Party; the NEP replaced Elysium's electoral system of single transferable vote with mixed-member proportional representation, as most seats contested had only one person running for them. In the following March 2020 senatorial election, the NEP won 95%, with the EVP - an enviromentalist party - winning the other 5%. Sometime following this, Tau and his followers were exiled again for planning to make Elysium a republic.

Kyle's sixth term saw him release the Imperial Development Plan alongside Robert Smith, which outlined numerous problems within the Empire and the beginning of a golden age of democracy. Following this, The Imperialist declared that a "minor conservative revival" was occurring within Elysium. However, on 14 April 2020, he resigned as Chancellor; he was replaced with Adam Johnston, who became the first openly gay Chancellor in Elysiumite history.

Adam's first term saw the Elysiumite government undermining Ringston - which had briefly joined Elysium in April 2020 - resulting in its eventual dissolution. In addition, given Adam's left-wing policies, the "conservative revival" eventually died out, with Elysium becoming more left-wing. The Transparency Act was passed during this first term, which required the Chancellor's cabinet to produce agendas and reports, as well as the introduction of Chancellor's Questions. However, this burst of activity died by late May, and a Second Great Elysium Council was called but failed due to gridlock. As a result, Robert Smith released an address that dissolved the NEP and called for the centralization of Elysium around its Southern commonwealths.

Following this address, the NEP split into 4 different parties, including the previous Progressive Party. In July 2020, Elysium became a republic following the ratification of a new constitution.

Geography

The Empire is composed of a number of non-contiguous areas on the U.S. eastern seaboard and in Scotland. In particular Elysium has localities in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Quebec, and Fife. The exact location of the areas within the Empire is only known to certain members of the government, in the interest of personal privacy.

All of the Empire's territory is either rural or suburban. Even most suburban areas tend to be rather expansive and either include or are near natural features. The Empire, particularly in Elyria, is dotted with numerous smaller ponds and creeks. Another part of Elyria is adjacent to Lake Murray. There is also a number of dirt dams in Elyria to control the flow of water from one pond to another.

Government and politics

Elysium is a parliamentary democracy in the context of a constiutional monarchy, as described in its constitution. The nation is headed by the Grand Emperor of Elysium, with the successor to the imperial crown, being selected by the Council of Imperial Delegates at the request of Grand Emperor. The basic laws of the Empire are prescribed in the Constitution. The current Constitution was adopted in 2020, and amended significantly in December 2021 to remove the republican provisions from the constitution. The constitution divides executive powers between the Grand Emperor and the government of Elysium, officially the His Imperial Majesty's Government or simply the Imperial Government. The government is composed of various Ministers and Cabinet ranking advisors and secretaries. The Chancellors leads the cabinet, and is head of government, due to this the Chancellor is responsible for the day to day affairs of the Empire and enforcing the law. The Chancellor is aided by the Deputy Chancellor, typically an individual from another party, and his Ministers.

Structure

The Emperor is the head of state of the Empire and is represented through the legal institutions of The Crown and The Throne, which in turn is the legal embodiment of all aspects of the state including the executive, legislature, and judiciary branches. The Emperor approves of Ministers and other executive officials nominated to him by the Chancellor. The Emperor is advised on matters of state by the Chancellor and the Cabinet of Elysium. The Emperor is a constitutional monarch as the Emperor is subjected to the laws of the Empire. Traditionally, though constitutional, the monarchy exercises significant political influence, particularly in the early Empire when the Emperor outright endorsed candidates and joined political parties.

Serving at the pleasure of the Emperor is the Imperial government, which provides for the daily governance of the Empire and the well-being of its citizens.

Legislative branch

Main article: Grand Senate (Elysium)

The legislative branch is a unicameral institution and is composed of only the Grand Senate. The Grand Senate is made up of twenty-eight Grand Senators, more commonly referred to as Senators, and elections take place using a system of MMP. Fourteen Senators are elected in constituencies using single transferable vote, three are reserved for locals, and the remaining eleven seats are disrupted to make the Senate proportional. By-elections occur for constituency seats, list seats parties fail to fill, or if a Senator defects from the party they where elected under they're subject to a by-election. The Grand Senate is also a parliamentary institution and as such the Prime Minister is the leader of which ever party, or coalition, has a majority in the Grand Senate. As of the 2021 II Senatorial Election the Progressives hold an outright majority. The functions of the Grand Senate, besides deciding the Prime Minister, include proposing, debating, and passing legislation. Upon the passage of legislation the act must be then signed into law by the Chancellor, veto's are a rare occurrence and usually only occur if the Chancellor believes the act to be unconstitutional or unfeasible. Other functions include electing the Speaker, approving Commonwealth Constitutions, passing resolutions, approving petitions, and impeaching officials. The Grand Senate is also divided into various committees with the job of holding Ministers and civil servants accountable. The final major function of the Grand Senate is to hold Grand Senate Questions, more commonly known as GSQs and PMQs, every other week. The Prime Minister, Ministers, Opposition Leader, Shadow Cabinet, and various political party leaders may be questioned during GSQs.

Judicial branch

The judicial branch is composed of the Union Court and of the Regional and Circuit Courts. The Union Court's three justices are elected every year and justices are not allowed to seek re-election. Upon declaring candidacy Judicial candidates are required to renounce and political party affiliation and political parties may not campaign for the Justices. Traditional forms of campaigning such as attack ads are also not allowed in judicial elections. The Judges upon being elected choose amongst themselves one to act as Chief Justice who selects a jury, breaks tied votes, and leads court functions. This role also comes with the responsibility of ensuring records are maintained.

Political parties

Main article: Politics of Elysium

Senatorial elections are active events due to everyone who has held citizenship for over two weeks being able to vote. Senate elections occur every three months, as such there is four elections in just one year. Until recently elections for the head of government occurred on a six month basis. Chancellor elections occur every two years although used to occur every six months until the monarchy was abolished. Most Chancellor elections, while a major cause of activity, are less active than Senate elections due to the incumbent almost always having a major lead by election day.

Political parties in Elysium are very active with a large emphasis on party poltics. The oldest existing party is the Progressive Party established on 24 April 2019, although the predecessors to the Nationalist Democrats where founded on the same day. Elysiumite political history is divided into Four Ages, namely: The Age of Independents (2011-2017), The Political Age (2017-2019) The Third Political Age (2019-2020) and The Fourth Political Age (2020-present). Since the third party age the political system has revolved around a major party of the left, a major party of the right, and various smaller parties.

Federal parties

Party			Logo	Party Leader	Membership	Ideology	Grand Senators	Imperial Delegates
Parties represented in the Grand Senate of Elysium
	Nationalist Democrats	ND		Elliot Doe	~25	Kylite democracy	13 / 25	37 / 64
	Progressives	Pro.		Thomas Bainbridge	~25	Democratic socialism, Left-wing libertarianism, Left-wing nationalism	8 / 25	0 / 64
	Social Democratic Party of Elysium	SDP		Warren Wright	~15	Libertarianism, Parliamentarianism, Social democracy	2 / 25	0 / 64
	Elysiumite Patriots Front	EPF		Yummera	2	Absolute monarchism, social conservatism, States rights	2 / 25	0 / 65
	Pirate Party	PPE		Johann Kümmel	~10	Pirate politics, Libertarianism	1 / 25	3 / 64
Parties represented in regional legislatures
	Agrarian Socialist Union	AGU		Jackson Bree	unknown	Jeffersonian democracy, agrarianism, Political Presbyterianism	In an electoral alliance with Progressives on federal level	0 / 64
	Yedinist Party	Yed.		Zech O’Hair	2	Yedinism, Constitutional monarchism, Localism	No federal affiliation	0 / 64

Commonwealth Parties

Logo		Name		Aff.	Ideology	Spectrum	Leader	Seats
Elyria								Elyrian Senate	GS Delegation
		Elyrian Progressive Populist	EPP	P/AS	Syndicalism Leftist nationalism, Agrarianism	Left to far-left	Jayden Attlee	4 / 13	4 / 6
		Elyrian Upcountry Nationalist & Democrats	EUND	ND	Kylite Democracy, Traditionalism	S: Centre-right F: Centre-left	Elliot Doe	3 / 13	1 / 6
		Agrarian Socialist Party of Elyria	ASP	P/AS	Agrarian socialism, Jeffersonian democracy	Left to far-left	Jackson Bree	2 / 13	4 / 6
		Elyrian Patriots Front	EPF	EPF	Ultranationalism, Social conservatism	Far-right	Yummera	2 / 13	0 / 6
		Elyrian Social Democrats	ESD	SDP	Social democracy, Modern liberalism, Parliamentarianism	Left	James Christian	1 / 13	1 / 6
Ticronvidia								Ticronvidian Senate	GS Delegation
		Ticronvidian Progressives	TPP	P/AS	Social democracy leftist libertarianism	Left	Jax Lex	2 / 5	2 / 4

Economy

The first attempts to create an Elysiumite economy was during the chancellorship of Tau Barclay; it included the creation of a Ethereum token on the Ropsten test network known as ElysiumToken (or EYMT) in 2019.

Media

The earliest media outlet in Elysium was the Josephina Times, a newspaper that published its first issue in 2019. Later newspapers included The Unionist (also known as The Gazette), as well as political newspapers such as The National Tribune and the Liberty Papers (formerly The Worker's Post).