Popular Republic of Malivia

The Gerajan Protectorates of Malivia are located on the southern most tip of the continent of Artania. It shares a land border with the Republic of Hobrazia to the north east and the Republic of Lusitania to the north west. The country is a religious state with the leader of the Geraja religion assuming the role of Maharaja - the Head of State. Since the late 2500s, this hereditary position has belonged to the Hunter Dynasty.

Under the reign of Joseph Hunter II and Joseph Hunter III Malivia grew into a colonial superpower with colonies in Vascania and Dovani. Its fortunes have typically been linked with their allies the Kennedy family of Jelbania. When Jelbania withdrew from the international scene in 2692, Malivia grew isolationist as well.

Geography
Malivia is a tropical nation, lying just north of the equator. Its central wilayah protectorate, Walkunia, is dominated by a wide central mountain range, with highlands stretching into the neighboring wilayah protectorates. Rain forests stretch across the country, thanks to careful management by the federal and local governments, and many rare and endangered species make their home in Malivia's protected forest lands.

History
See: Malivian History

Theocratic Monarchy
In 2587, the Theocratic Monarchy was established by the Supporters of Science in Design. Aside from brief interuptions the Hunter Dynasty has guided Malivia as the Maharaja for approximately 200 years (as of the early 2800s). They focus on maintaining their families control of Malivia, and on promoting the Gerajan Faith as a pretext for military expansion.

Their relatives are royalty across Terra, most notably in the former Jeltarian Empire. The Supporters of Science in Design Party continues to be the Hunter Dynasty's main political vehicle, however, they have often been aided by fellow members of the Imperial Protectorate (IP) party bloc, such as the liberal One-Voice Party. To provide an insurance policy to protect the Malivian theocratic monarchy, the nation's foreign policy has tended to be friendly towards fellow monarchs, to court their aid if the Malivians ever need it.

Government
Malivia has a nationally elected Governor General, whose power is severely limited by the Maharaja (head of the state and of the Gerajan Church) and by the Parliament of the Jawatankuasa, the nation's national legislature. The nation is divided into 5 governmental districts referred to as Wilayah Protectorates. Members of the Jawatankuasa are elected by the Wilayahs through direct election, with each Wilayah receiving a proportion of seats based on its population. In 2809 there were 75 members of the Jawatanquasa. Terms in the Jawatanquasa are six years long, for the SSD and its aligned parties are not fans of democracy.

For the past two centuries (as of the early 2800s) Malivia has typically been a two-party nation with the Supporters of Science in Design holding the conservative portion of the political spectrum, and numerous temporary parties have acted as the representative of the liberals. Most of the time these liberal parties have been supportive of the monarchy.

Wilayah Protectorates
The five political divisions of Malivia are:
 * Itaki
 * Walkunia
 * Polkana
 * Dendars
 * Washibar

Geraja: A Sub-Continent’s Faith
Certainly one of the oldest religions on Terra, many Malivian scholars contend it is in fact the oldest. The earliest written records of the Binnu tribes, descendants of the ethnic Malivs that came to occupy Walkunia, show an already well developed pantheon of gods and demi-gods, rituals and temple hierarchy, lending weight to the argument that Geraja indeed predates written history. Though largely limited to Malivia, Gerajan pockets can be found in countries bordering the Carak Ocean, and Gejeran myths have influenced the cultural stories of many ethnic groups in those areas.

Geraja is a polytheistic religion based around a pantheon of 7 gods, one godhead, and a host of demi-gods, demons and spirits that differ from community to community. The official Gerajan church, which merged with the state during the 2200’s, has undergone many radical changes in its practices during that time in an effort to appeal to increasingly jaded and uninterested generations of Malivians. Many theologians have accused the church’s involvement in politics for the changes, but these remain minority voices within the church, and are largely confined to university temples and independent scholars.

In the international community Gerajan evangelicalism has been criticized for being a pretext to Malivian territorial expansion, particularly in the late 2500s and early 2600s.

See: Geraja

Minor Religions
Along with Geraja (which is practiced by 75% of Malivians), Lutheranism (15%) and Jeltarian Catholicism (5%) are also officially recognized religions by the Malivian government. Tolerance towards adherents of these beliefs is promoted by the Jawatanquasa. The remaining 5% (2% Duntrekker Calvinism, 3% athiesm, Terran Catholism, Judaism, Scientology) are quietly shunned by the state.

The Carless Society: Malivian Arcologies
Other than Geraja, the most important aspect of Malivia is its environmental ethos. Malivia is one of only two countries on Terra that has outlawed private ownership of automobiles. Malivia’s campaign to do away with the car began with environmentalist concerns, but grew into a new vision for the country as a whole and the lives of its citizens. The strength of the campaign has waned from time to time, but the carless dream has been promoted for much of the time period between 2291 and the 2800s.

The 23rd century saw Malivian cities coping with the anti-car laws by growing super-dense walkable communities connected by mass public transit. After this new urban schema was established, the majority of Malivian buildings built in cities were arcologies in style. During the chaos of the 2720s Malvian anarchy, most major pre-arcological settlements that remained in non urban areas were destroyed. As such the modern Malivian population (of the 2800s) nearly entirely lives in arcologies.

Self-sufficient arcologies allow for much of Malivian land to be used for maintaining rainforests, and for producing agricultural goods used for export. It has been speculated by prominent non-Malivians that should a nuclear war occur on Terra, Malivia would be one of the last nations safe to live in due to the internal ecosystems of the arcologies.

See: Malivan Arcologies