Commonwealth of Calaran States

The Calaran Commonwealth (officially the Commonwealth of Calaran States; Calaran: Comunwelt de Éstat de Calara) is a constitutional, parliamentary republic located on the Southern continent. One of the first proper Republics in modern history, Calara is one of the larger nations on the continent and one of the most stable owing to its relatively well equipped and trained armed forces as well as its stable economy.

History
The territory that would become the modern Calaran Commonwealth initially consisted of roughly 13 Duchies, Principalities and Kingdoms that would be unified by 1785 through skillful diplomacy and conquest by King Gilbert IV of the Kingdom of Sordes. However, the ideals of the age of enlightenment were already affecting the new United Kingdom of Calara and, by the 1830s, there were calls by the nation's intellectuals for true democracy. This was met poorly by some of Calara's final monarchs, most notably Philippe IX who resorted to arresting notable "National Republicans". The tensions caused by this would eventually escalate into the Calaran Civil War (1853-1856) between the National Republicans and the forces loyal to the Monarchy. The conflict ended following the death of Philippe IX, the abdication of his only daughter, Queen Marie III, and the official establishment of the Commonwealth of Calaran States.

Government
The Commonwealth consists of 13 States. Each State corresponds to a former Duchy and Principality that once existed in the region prior to unification under the Ardeux Monarchy in 1782. The modern Calaran government did not come about until the Revolution of 1853-1856, otherwise known as the Calaran Civil War. The government is a federal parliamentary democratic republic with both a Commonwealth President and a Prime Minister as the heads of State and Government, respectively.

The Calaran Parliament (Parlemant de Calara) is the nation’s Bicameral Legislative Branch and consists of the National Council (Consill Nationale), serving as the upper house, and the National Assembly (Asembli Nationale), serving as the lower house.

The Asembli Nationale consists of members representing the people of Calara and contains at least 628 seats. However, due to the existence of overhang and compensation seats, this number may be flexible. For instance, in the 36th Asembli Nationale, elected in 1996, there were 746 seats. The members of the Asembli Nationale are elected via a Mixed-Member Proportional representation (MMP) system, where eligible citizens first vote for a representative for their constituency in a First Past the Post system, and then for a Political party. Roughly 314 of the 628 seats are filled by members voted directly by their constituency whilst the rest are allocated to the various political parties based on percentage of the second vote. The Asembli Nationale also sends representatives to the National Convention (Convention Nationale) and approves the Prime Minister nominated by the Commonwealth President.

In comparison to the Asembli Nationale where members are voted upon directly by the people, the members of the Consill Nationale, known as Consillier Nationale (National Councillor), are appointed by the State Government and are allotted a certain number of votes depending on the State’s population, with no State exceeding 6 votes. Unlike the Asembli Nationale, the Consilliers of the Consill Federat must cast their votes en bloc.

Both the Asembli Nationale and the Consill Federat work together to appoint members of the Commonwealth Constitutional Court and create legislation.

Each State in the Commonwealth also maintains their own State Assemblies (Asembli Éstat) whose members are voted upon directly by the people. These Asembli Éstat also appoint the members of the State Constitutional Courts and the State Governors as well as representatives to the Convention Nationale. The State Governor then appoints the State Cabinet and, together with them, appoints representatives to the Consill Nationale.

The Convention Nationale is the body that elects the Commonwealth President, who has the ability to nominate a new Prime Minister as well as dismiss a Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The President also holds veto power over both Parliament’s legislation and the NationalCabinet created by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is chosen by nomination of the Commonwealth President and the approval of the Asembli Nationale. The Prime Minister is responsible for most facets of government and for appointing members to the National Cabinet.

Military
The Military Forces of the Calaran Commonwealth (Forzé Militar de Comunwelt de Calara; FMCC) is the unified military of the Commonwealth of Calaran States. Tracing its heritage to the National Republican Army that fought in the Calaran Civil War, the modern Calaran Military is a well equipped and highly trained volunteer force comprising land, sea and air elements referred to as the Calaran Commonwealth Army (Armaté de Comunwelt de Calara; ACC), Calaran Commonwealth Navy (Mariné de Comunwelt de Calara; MCC) and Calaran Air Force (Armaté de Arja de Calara; AAC). As of December 1999, the Forzé Militar has a total strength of roughly 450,000 active duty personnel with 600,000 reserves, bringing the total forces that can be called up at any given time to roughly 1.05 Million.

The Calaran Commonwealth Army (Armaté de Comunwelt de Calara; ACC) is the largest of the three branches, employing roughly 200,000 active duty personnel. Tracing its heritage to the Calaran Revolutionary Army (Armaté Revolutionari de Calara), the Calaran Commonwealth Army is divided into roughly 14 Divisions (4 Infantry Divisions, 2 Motorised Divisions, 2 Mechanised Divisions, 1 Armoured Divisions, 2 Air Assault Divisions, 2 Mountain Divisions and 1 Airborne Division), each with around 10,000 personnel, as well as a collection of independent, organically motorised Rapid Response Brigades. Alongside these major formations, the Calaran Commonwealth Army also has its own aviation wings that operate the branch’s rotary wing aircraft.

The Calaran Commonwealth Navy (Mariné de Comunwelt de Calara; MCC) is the naval branch of the Calaran military. Consisting of around 150,000 personnel, the Calaran Navy is tasked primarily with the defence of Calara’s territorial waters whilst also engaging in limited power projection alongside allied naval forces. As of 1999, the Calaran Navy’s surface assets included 2 Helicopter Carriers, 6 Destroyers, 12 Frigates and 16 Corvettes. This was further complimented by a squadron of 8 Diesel Electric Attack Submarines as well as an assortment of support ships and smaller craft. The Navy also maintains a Naval Air Arm (Arma Arja de Mariné) that’s responsible for the operation of the branch’s rotary and fixed wing aircraft.

The Calaran Air Force (Armaté de Arja de Calara; AAC) is the aerial warfare branch of the Calaran military. Of the 3 branches, the Calaran Air Force is by far the smallest, consisting of 100,000 personnel. Despite this, the AAC is still well equipped and highly trained, boasting a sizeable fleet of combat aircraft of both foreign and local make, ranging from supersonic fighters to heavy transport aircraft.