Sorrenian Federation

Sorrenian Federation
Contoutā Sorreniyācā
Sorrenian Federation ; Contoutā Sorreniyācā
	; Flag Flag ; National emblem Coat of arms
	Motto: Toutolāmā, Samaliyā, Oinotūs (Democracy, Equality, Unity)
	Anthem: Highland Cathedral
	County Durham, North East England, United Kingdom
Capital	Levaria
Official languages	English and Sorrenian Cumbric ; Various regional languages
Demonym(s)	Sorrenian
Government	Semi-presidential federation
• President	Martin Aquinas (first) ; Rilgar Ompastre (last)
• Prime Minister	Lewis Wild (first) ; Martin Aquinas (last)
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment	03/11/13
Population
• Census	33
Currency	Sorrenian Rosmerta
Time zone	Sorrenian Standard Time
	Website; .sf
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Democratic People's Republic of Kozlova
Kingdom of Sorrenia

Sorrenia, officially the Sorrenian Federation (Sorrenian Cumbric: Contoutā Sorreniyācā) was a self-declared independent nation-state, often referred to as a micronation, with claims mostly located in the County Durham area of the United Kingdom.

The Sorrenian Federation, as its name indicates, was a federation of states and a semi-presidential system with the head of state - the President - also possessing a seat in the unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, and the power to appoint the head of government - the Prime Minister.

Sorrenia's primary micronational predecessor was the Democratic People's Republic of Kozlova which existed between 2012 and 2013. The Republic of Dradelia also came to be seen as an important second predecessor to the Sorrenian Federation.

The Sorrenian Federation existed for a total of six years, during which time it reached a maximum population of 40 and claimed territory in Europe, North America and South America. Notable micronationalists who were Sorrenian include Martin Aquinas, Rilgar Ompastre, Harry Jones, Rozalia Janiszewski, Elizabeth Lewis and Richard of Clyro.

The Sorrenian Federation was active in the micronational community, and maintained friendly relations with other micronations including Zirconic, Akebar, Hortania, Mercia and Sandus. It was a signatory of the Union Against Micronational War, helped create the Levaria Treaty, and at several points considered joining the Grand Unified Micronational.

Etymology

The name "Sorrenia" is an adaptation of "Sorrento", the name of a small town in southern Italy, near Naples.

History

Democratic People's Republic of Kozlova

Sorrenia's direct predecessor was the Democratic People's Republic of Kozlova, founded in June 2012. The idea of micronationalism was first introduced to the founders of Sorrenia by Rilgar Ompastre, a friend from school who had earlier founded Dalton, which later became Dradelia.

Martin Aquinas, Dominik of Kozlova, and Lewis Wild were enthused by the idea, and founded Kozlova together. Intended to be a communist nation, Kozlova was nevertheless generally dismissive of soviet-style politics, and open to multi-party elections.

Kozlova saw an immediate burst of activity, and reached a population of ten citizens. By the end of 2012 however, Kozlova had entered into a period of inactivity. This was exacerbated when Lewis Wild and Harry Jones left, founding Yavaria and Aztoka respectively as anti-Kozlovan micronations; Dominik followed suit, leaving micronationalism altogether. Kozlova entered into a period of dormancy, and was plagued by online vandalism and secession.

By the summer of 2013, the remaining Kozlovan rump state entered into negotiations with the rebel micronations, who collectively agreed to disband their micronations and form a new one. This new micronation, named Sorrenia, was to retain an egalitarian and multi-party ethos while abandoning references to communism. The Sorrenian Federation was officially created in November 2013.

Republic of Dradelia

Dradelia is often seen as a second predecessor to the Sorrenian Federation. Dradelia was founded in 2013 as a unitary republic, and was preceded by Dalton, a small micronation created by Rilgar Ompastre and his uncle in 2011 and usually seen as a forerunner to Dradelia. Dradelia at this time was mostly seen as a way to experiment with conlanging and the creation of flags and emblems, rather than as a serious attempt to secure statehood.

Eventually Dradelia became defunct, as Rilgar Ompastre's attentions turned to the Sorrenian Federation and the Republic of Akebar. The Dradelian government ceded most of their territory to the Ashukov Federation, with the exception of a small allotment of land which became the Viadalvian Republic of Dradelia. This micronation was short-lived however, and just a few weeks later was ceded to the Sorrenian Federation. It became one of two devolved regions within the Sorrenian Federation, and was granted a number of unique powers concerning language, culture and social policy.

Early growth (2013 - 2014)

Sorrenia began with a smaller population than Kozlova, consisting of just four citizens. But thanks in part to its non-communism and its activity in the micronational community, Sorrenia was able to grow at an impressive rate, acquiring a population of 20 within just a few months of its formation. Creation of Sorrenia's early institutions, culture and identity was aided by this influx of citizens, many of whom had some experience in micronationalism. To a significant degree, Sorrenia's early years set the tone for the micronation's entire history, entrenching a fierce tradition of partisan contestation and an outward-looking approach which sought to secure relations with other micronations and grow further.

A number of important constitutional and legal precedents also emerged during this time, which were to become controversial features of Sorrenia triggering debate throughout its entire life. The Sorrenian Constitution was created in early 2014, and included the controversial 'Article 48', which granted the President the right to create emergency powers during times of national emergency which could be used for up to two weeks without the consent of the National Assembly. These powers were used in total three times, and during their third usage triggered a significant backlash.

The Sorrenian Golden Age (2014 - 2016)

Janiszewski's presidency (2014 - 2015)

The Sorrenian Cultural Revolution (2016 - 2017)

Stagnation and decline (2017 - 2018)

Administrative Divisons

Flag	Name	Population (total inhabitants, not all Sorrenian citizens)	Area Claimed (km²)	Capital
Federal Districts
	Principality of Doppeland	4	<0.01	Doppeland
	Sorrenian Federal District of Levaria	No permanent population	0.06	Levaria
States
	Eurania	24,000	14.73	Saklar City
	Filostonia	8000	16.22	Bretona City
	West Sorrenia
	North Durham	40,000	9.54	Neville's Cross
	South Durham	40,000	15.29	Lenin's Square
	Bowburn	5000	11.87	New Havana
Provinces
	Republic of Erem	13,000	10.32	Ezia City
	The Democratic Kingdom of Amon Lasgalen	6000	41.06	Eryn Galen
	Sorrenian Dradelia	100	6.14
Territories
	Sorrenian Federal Territory of Ertawa	14,000	25.37
	The Outermost Territory
	Sorrenian Federal Territory of East Sorrenia	5000	11.35	Sherburn Village
	Sorrenian Federal Territory of Scotton	0.28	500
	Sorrenian Federal Territory of Gran Pais	33.31	3000	Lurako City

Government

Political Parties

Party Name	Emblem	Leader	Position	Seats in the Legislature
Party Name	Emblem	Leader	Position	Seats in the National Assembly	Seats in the Executive Assembly
Sorrenian Workers Party		Robert Garside	Left to far-left	8 / 13	6 / 10
National Unity Party of Sorrenia		Damian Billbrough	Centre	5 / 13	3 / 10
Sorrenian Commonwealth Party		Richard Hytholoday	Centre-right	0 / 13	1 / 10

Military

Sorrenians value their Newspapers and Radio Stations. Also, Many Sorrenians enjoy going to Games Workshop, to play multiple strategy games. Because of this, Tabletop Gaming has become an integral part of Sorrenian culture, with many Sorrenians going regularly, and even competing in tournaments on behalf of Sorrenia.

Geography

Culture

Celticism

Developments in culture and language were overshadowed in Sorrenia by partisan divisions for the first several years of its existence. During this time, the semi-autonomous state of Amon Lasgalen, founded by Llewelyn Lawton, developed a unique syncretic blend of Sorrenian, English, and Welsh culture. Located around 34 miles from the Sorrenian mainland, Amon Lasgalen became a hub of distinct cultural practices, easily differentiable from Sorrenia's mainland and overseas territories.

By late 2014, the Sorrenian government took note of these developments in Amon Lasgalen, and suggested utilising it as a case study for the development of micronational identity. This began what is generally referred to as the Celtic Revolution, a period of time which saw an explosion in Sorrenian cultural images, language, art, and identity. Welsh became the second language, and a celtic triquetra was introduced to the national flag. Later, Rilgar Ompastre developed a unique Cumbric language, based on surviving texts written in the old Brittonic language of Cumbric, spoken in the north-east of England until the 12th century.

Sorrenians passionately took to the Celtic Revolution, which offered a non-partisan way of showing pride in the micronation. The Revolution lasted until Sorrenia's abandonment in late 2016.

Religion

Almost from its inception, Sorrenia established a strict code of secularism, allowing private citizens to practice religion freely, while prohibiting any inclusion of religious messaging within the public sphere. This attracted controversy on two accounts, when the government banned the Centrist Anglican Party, and later, when the religion minister demanded the NDLP change their logo, which contained a pentagram. This policy was later moderated, allowing a select number of semi-autonomous states to set a state religion.

For most of Sorrenia's history, religion was a wholly private affair. Most Sorrenians came from a nominally christian background, and a small majority of Sorrenians described themselves as christian in censuses. A small number of muslims were also present throughout most of Sorrenia's existence.

It was only in the final year of Sorrenia's life that religious practice became somewhat more organised within Sorrenia. This began in late 2015, when the government allowed citizens to form religious organisations. In December, Elizabeth Lewis founded the Sorrenian Mosque, welcoming of both Shi'a and Sunni muslims. Several Christian churches were also founded, alongside the spoof 'Church of Mar'.

Media

Sorrenia had a proud tradition of print media. The first newspaper to form was the People's Pravda, a partisan web piece owned by the Sorrenian Workers Party. The Pravda quickly attracted an avid readership, both within and outside Sorrenia, and reported on a whole host of affairs. It was also known to receive exclusive information sourced from the Workers Party, who were almost always part of the government. The Pravda remained Sorrenia's most widely read newspaper.

Due to the success of the People's Pravda, the first state-owned newspaper was formed; named the Military Tribune, the organisation reported exclusively on military affairs, often publishing exclusive photographs from the many hiking expeditions held by the Sorrenian armed forces. Due however to the restricted topics covered, the Tribune released pieces only sporadically.

The monopoly on coverage held by the People's Pravda quickly attracted an upswell of other partisan newspapers. Notable among these organisations was the party-ran New Democratic Times (of the NDLP), the Commonwealth Gazette (of the Commonwealth Party), and the privately ran Libery Action News, SPP and the Micronational Spoof.

Alongside the private newspapers, a second state-owned newspaper called Llais y Gwirionedd (Voice of Truth) was established, to provide Sorrenians with an unbiased source of information. The newspaper received critical acclaim, and was commended for its exclusive pieces; Llais y Gwirionedd was the second-most read newspaper in Sorrenia, behind only the Pravda.

Alongside print media, Sorrenia also developed an intricate series of radio services; the first, aptly named Sorrenia Radio 1, was a broadcast service intended to deliver Sorrenians critical news and information. This was quickly followed up by Sorrenian Radio 2, which delivered longer pieces such as election debates. Several music radios were also established, broadcasting an array of musical genres such as rock, house, techno, and hip hop. Must successful out of these private ventures was Sorrenia Rap Radio.

Foreign Policy

Foreign Relations

Throughout its existence, Sorrenia was open to micro-international relations, signing many treaties of recognition and alliances. It operated a generally liberal approach to recognition of foreign nations, accepting as legitimate the claims of most de facto states.

Nations with which Sorrenia signed an alliance treaty

Nations with which Sorrenia signed a treaty of mutual recognition

Socialist Republic of Marksovka
Union of South London Soviet Socialist Republics
Mercia
Democratic Commonwealth Union
Republic of Suntrain
State of Sandus
Republic of Chico

Recognized, no relations

Gran Pais Conflict

Within its first month of existence, Sorrenia was contacted by Devon Kearney, the President of a small American micronation named Gran Pais. Initially suggesting a treaty of recognition, Kearney began to demand the integration of Sorrenia under Gran Pais, despite Sorrenia at this point being larger in both territorial claim and population.

The Sorrenian government rejected the offer, and ceased all communication with Gran Pais, resulting in the latter declaring war. This was widely denounced by the micronational community, who viewed Kearney's actions as childish and immature.

Kearney's actions also attracted opposition from within Gran Pais; Emmanuel Terranova, then vice-president, contacted the Sorrenian government to mediate the conflict, and ultimately formed the Unified Socialist Party of Gran Pais, with the intention of ousting Kearney from the presidency.

In response, Kearney announced the dissolution of the presidency and the establishment of a new dictatorship, attracting further criticism from the micronational community. Within a day of its formation, the USPGP successfully forced Kearney from office. The new Gran Paisan president, Emmanuel, in turn signed an agreement with the Sorrenian Federation, joining it as an automomous state; Terranova ultimately became the second Prime Minister of Sorrenia.

Around a month after the end of the conflict, the fraudelent Kingdom of Catan attempted to claim Gran Pais had in fact been ceded to them, though this claim was quickly debunked after the Sorrenian government released the official signed treaties.

Milinton Affair

Sorrenia maintained a complicated relationship with Devon Kearney. Though he became a Sorrenian citizen, he attempted to rebel and reform Gran Pais, though was unsuccessful. In 2013, Kearney decided to form a new micronation by the name of Milinton, located in a forested region close to Gran Pais.

Milinton almost immediately struggled with inactivity, and so Kearney went on a citizen drive. Many of these new citizens decided to coalece and form a communist party, headed by Martin Aquinas and Elizabeth Lewis. Early elections however erupted into controversy, when Kearney, narrowly beating Lewis for the presidency, preemptively closed the polls and announced victory. Lewis and the communists quickly called foul, noting that Kearney was winning by only a handful of votes, and the polls were meant to remain open for at least six more hours.

Kearney reacted by banning all communists from Milinton, and once again declared war on Sorrenia and a number of other micronations, again attracting widespread criticism from the micronational community. He in turn claimed that so-called 'Milinton nationalists' had taken control of his Facebook page, and he had in fact been unaware of the recent happenings. This claim however was almost universally doubted; Kearney offered to rehold elections, but the communists refused to run, citing clear electoral irregularities. The Milinton crisis reached a zenith when respected micronationalist Donald West, vice-president of Milinton, resigned and left Milinton.

To halt Kearney's actions, Milinton entered into an agreement with Chico, becoming one of its territories, though Kearney quickly abandoned this deal, reasserting independence. After much instability, a coalition of micronations, led by Sorrenia and Chico, also including Zirconic and Armlania, agreed to divide Milinton between themselves.

After several weeks of this agreement, the micronational suzereins agreed to collectively cease their claims, cojoining Milintonian land into a new 'Union of Milintonian People's Republics', ruled by Lewis and a Supreme Soviet.

Around this time, Kearney rejoined Milinton, and was granted a minor position under the supervision of the Soviet. Kearney however increasingly began to ignore Soviet commands, attempting to pass decisions within his own state of Ostport. On the 18th of April, Kearney rebelled against the Soviet, forming the 'Former Milintonian States'. This status quo lasted for several weeks, while Kearney and the Soviet attempted to mediate affairs.

Ultimately, a reunification treaty was signed, but just four hours after Kearney's agreement, he cancelled the treaty, once again claiming the interference in his Facebook. This was debunked however by private screenshots sent to Damian Billbrough, and Kearney again left Milinton in disgrace.

Once more, Kearney attempted to re-enter micronationalism, forming the so-called 'Kingdom of Whitia' in Milinton under the alias of his uncle. Several weeks after this, Kearney claimed his uncle passed away, leaving Whitia to him. This was widely rejected by the micronational community, who felt Kearney had reached new levels of disgrace with the claim; Kearney left micronationalism altogether after the Whitia affair. Milinton ultimately became a territory of Sorrenia.

Levaria Treaty

The Levaria Treaty was perhaps Sorrenia's most notable foray into the wider micronational community. In July 2014, Gaius Soergel Publicola and Charlotte Katrínsdóttir co-authored the Denton Protocol. The treaty was as a response to discrimination faced by LGBT+ diplomats and officials within the micronational sphere. The Protocol received four signatories, but also attracted widespread criticism, as it called on signatories to take action against those micronations who were perceived to discriminate against LGBT+ diplomats.

In a meeting of the National Assembly, the Sorrenian government announced their decision to create a separate Treaty, committing the signatories to non-discrimination, while avoiding the action-clause of the Denton Protocol. The resultant Levaria treaty, named after the Sorrenian capital of Levaria, was released four days after the Denton Protocol. Sorrenia officially ratified the Treaty on the second of August, alongside the Republic of Wensleydale, and was followed by Mercia, Hortania, Suntrain, Derskov-Viadalvia, Lundy and the Komitet SSR. The most recent signatory is the Amissopian Federation, who ratified the agreement on the 15th of July, 2018.

Chicean Cold War

The Republic of Chico was a South American micronation, located in Peru. Formed around the same time as Sorrenia, both micronations steadily grew in population and influence, and by 2014, constituted middling micronational powers.

Initially, Sorrenia and Chico maintained friendly relations, and cooperated on several international affairs, most notably the various Milintonian affairs. Within the first year and a half of existence, Sorrenia considered Chico among its closest allies.

Chicean-Sorrenian relations however were soured around April 2014, when the president of Sorrenia received a cryptic Facebook message from a newly created account. The account, named 'Joshua Chico', stated they were a representative of the Chicean Socialist Party, and sought support from Sorrenia in toppling the Chicean government. Almost immediately, the suspicions of the president were raised, and he brought the matter to the attention of the National Assembly. In turn, Joshua Chico's account was 'hacked' by the Chicean secret service, further arousing suspicison.

This event marked a significant deterioration of relations; president Amesquita of Chico expressed dismay at Sorrenia's lack of support for the Chicean government's cause, suggesting Sorrenia's ambivalence on the matter constituted de facto support of the rebels. The Sorrenian government suggested the entire event was fabricated by Chico, potentially to test Sorrenian loyalty.

Over the successive months, relations continued to worsen, as each government released news reports to express their grievances. This reached a crux when the Sorrenian People's Pravda released a leaked conversation between the Sorrenian president and the Prince of Doppeland, in which the president suggested Chico was entirely a fabrication, with only one citizen and a number of sockpuppet accounts. It was later learned that the president had in fact purposefully leaked the conversation to the Pravda.

Chico later re-emerged as the Fraughtian Community

This had a devastating effect on Chico's perceived legitimacy within the micronational community. Previously a leader, several micronations began to express doubt regarding Chico's actual existence. Sorrenia, Zirconic, Hortania and others demanded evidence for the existence of Chico's population, which Al Ugarte - the only Chicean present on any social media - claimed to number above 500. After evidence was not provided, Chico was expelled from the International Micronational Court of Justice, and previous allies attempted to distance themselves from Chico. Chico initially hoped to repair relations with Sorrenia once Rozalia Janiszewski became president, though this did not occur.

Though Chico persisted for about a year after these speculations, the doubt relating to its existence is often cited as the reason Chico dissapeared from micronationalism.

GUM Membership

The Grand Unified Micronational (GUM) is often considered to be the only successful intermicronational organisation, and existed throughout the Sorrenian Federation's entire life. Sorrenia considered joining the GUM a total of three times - once under Martin Aquinas' third term as president, once under Rozalia Janiszewski's presidency, and once under Rilgar Ompastre's. Each time, the petition to request membership was supported vocally by Richard Hytholoday, a monarchist politican in Sorrenia, alongside most of the Sorrenian right-wing. It also at times received support from those on the left.

The second and third suggested petitions were the closest to seeing success. Under Janiszewski's tenure, the recommendation received widespread support from the left, though Janiszewski himself was sceptical, and sought a longer debate on the matter. Ultimately Sorrenia chose to focus on its internal affairs, as it was at that time undergoing a significant upheaval in the form of the Celtic Revolution.

Under Rilgar Ompastre the suggestion again emerged, and was seriously considered and almost passed the Sorrenian National Assembly. At this time however, activity in Sorrenia had began to steadily decline, and so the National Assembly ultimately failed to pass the motion.

Demography

A total of three censuses were held during the Sorrenian Federation. The Sorrenian population was reliably majority white, male, and from at least a nominal christian background. A small majority of Sorrenians described themselves as christian, followed by atheist, agnostic, muslim, and a select number of other religions.

Most Sorrenians lived in the United Kingdom, and were from a mixed Anglo-Saxon/Celtic background. Early on, Amon Lasgalen was founded as a state of Sorrenia explicitly built on its Welsh heritage, and after the Celtic Revolution, Celtic identity became common among Sorrenians. A large diapsora of Sorrenians existed throughout the world, predominantly in North America and Continental Europe.

The second largest ethnic community in Sorrenia were slavs, most notably represented by president Rozalia Janiszewski. Small numbers of Sorrenians were also Arab and Scandinavian.