Sekowo

Sekowo (pronounced English: sɛˈkoʊwoʊ), officially the United Eternal Harmony and Empire Magnificent of Sekowo, is a nation located on the continent of Dovani. It is bordered by Greater Hulstria to the north, Lourenne to the south-west and the Protectorate of Argos to the east.

History
The history of Sekowo is a long and complicated one, reaching back over two-thousand years. A significant amount of Sekowo's history up until the age of Aretism was recorded by various peoples for even more various reasons. Unfortunately an estimated 40% of historical records were destroyed during the Aretic reign, however thanks to preservation efforts during and shortly after the Aretic era around half of this information has been recovered.

Sekowan history is split into several periods: Ancient, Classic, Colonial, Union, Aretic, Commonwealth, First Empire, Second Commonwealth, and Second Empire. Sekowo has no one original peoples, but rather has been comprised of many different cultures and civilizations.

However, while Sekowo has been the home to many different cultures, Sekowan history has only been primarily influenced by three of them. The Orinco culture of the ancient coastal city-states, in which influence can be seen in Bizena, Lorrod, and to a lesser extent North-West Undarro. The Gao-Showa people and there ancestors have lived in the region for over a thousand years, however as Sekowo marked the western most part of the traditional Gao-Showa range Gao-Showan influence has historically only truly been seen in Hasowar and South-East Undarro. The colonial period and mixed marriages have led to the development of th ethird major culture, the Sécowonnais. Another culture that was historically important was the Nordic Sørna, a group related to Kazulians, whom primarily influenced North-East regions of Sekowo, the result of their presence can be seen the most in Hikhala,.

Sekowo has seen significant change, going from the many kingdoms and city-states of the Ancient and Classical eras to the bringing of 'Western' civilization during the Colonial period to the turbulent Union era to the dark days of the Aretic age. The Commonwealth era is considered to have started in the year 2440, though Sekowo did not use Commonwealth in it's name until several decades after this. The era is one of the longest and encompasses great political change, civil and external war and the growth of Sekowos territory to its modern size. The Commonwealth era officially ended in 2723 as a result of the massive change in the government from a semi-presidential Federation into a Federal monarchy, the First Sekowan Empire.

In November 2891 after months of internal political conflict and tension, a semi-presidential parliamentary democracy was created unanimously by the Senate. The government of the time set its goal to regain the respect Sekowo once had before its former government collapsed. However, this did not last, as in February 2925 the Second Empire (the Eternal Harmony and Empire Magnificent) was established, which lasts to this day. This last period is also marked by the intensification of ethnic conflict, and was almost entirely covered by civil war. In January 2935 an Orinco Junta seized power in a coup d'etat, and, due to the resurgence of the Eternal Harmony, power was divided in June 2939 between the Junta-ruled Imperial Dominions in the North and the Ishida loyalist Eternal Harmony in the South. The Eternal Harmony officially annexed the Imperial Dominions in February 2958, however there is continued guerrilla warfare by Communist insurgents in the North. Now Sekowo is ruled by a provisional Shogunate, with martial law still in place.

Government


The Eternal Harmony and Empire Magnificent is a Monarchial Empire ruled by an Emperor or Empress, who delegates the day to day running of the nation to the Gozen Kaigi (literally the Conference Before the Noble Face), which consists of 750 delegates elected by universal suffrage, who in turn select a cabinet of high-ranking ministers headed by the Shogun (literally, Sekowo's "general"). However, the Sekowon civil service is vast and extensive, consisting of many bureaucratic empires and secretive organisations called "Sub-Ministries", who are supposed to simply carry out the wishes of the Gozen Kaigi but often seem to pursue their own agenda, creating what some extreme critics called a state within the state.



Politics


There are no laws against the ideology that parties have in Sekowo, but extremist parties are frowned upon by opposition.

Military
The Imperial Army of Sekowo (IAS), also known simply as the Imperial Army, is comprised of the Legionary Defence Force, Imperial Air Force, Imperial Navy and irregular Paramilitaries.

Geography & Climate
Sekowo is comprised mostly of three different geographic zones.

The Northern part of the country is comprised of high mountains, because of this, the area has a temperate climate in the summer and cold and snowy winters. The middle of the country is comprised of small mountains and mostly hilly terrain. The climate in the area is a mixture of Temperate and Sub-tropic with Summer and Winter temperatures varying year by year, though in all it is a mild and comfortable climate. The Lower South-East of the country is comprised of the Western most part of the Great Dovani plains. The climate in the area tends to be very warm, with summer temperatures reaching as high as 45°C.

Administrative Divisions
The Etenal Harmony and Empire Magnificent of Sekowo has a four-tiered government comprised of the Prefectures, Municipal governments and the City of Nysa.

Provinces
Each State is comprised of five Prefectures. The Provinces of Sekowo are; Hasowar, Hikhala, Undarro, Bizena, Lorrod.

States
States make up the third level administrative division of Sekowo. Each Province is comprised of five States.

States deal with issues primarily effecting the Municipalities and Settlements within them.

Municipalities
Municipalities make up the fourth and smallest administrative division of Sekowo. Municipalities are primarily made up of large cities, towns, villages and hamlets that are close-by each other.

The number of municipalities in the Commonwealth is not a concrete number due to the regular creation, merging and division of them happening every few years.

Protectorates
Sekowo had protectorates sold in March 2874 to the Holy Luthori Empire and March 2875 to the Federation of Zardugal ; Tropica, Argos, Midway and Shiratoku. This decision was overturned by later governments, but the protectorates remain under foreign occupation, a cause of much vexation to Sekowan nationalists.

Economy
Sekowo has a mixed economy, as well as a very developed social protection system. After the economically counter-productive Aretist period, Sekowo began a very long and painful process of regulated market liberalization and modernization quite successfully. Following its first decade of post-Aretist government, when the economic situation was disastrous, Sekowo made an impressive recovery, building a modern and diversified economy. Now the country is classified as a middle-income country, with large possibilities for continued development.

The actions of the cabinets during the following decades began to implement a far-reaching program of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform aimed at maintaining price-stability, creating conditions for sustained growth, and alleviating scarcity are seen as the cause of Sekowo's recent economic growth, as well as the rise of a new dynamic middle-class capable of economic expansion.

The population in extreme poverty has decreased from 54.7% to 1.7% in the general population and from 74.1% to 6.7% in rural areas since the founding of modern Sekowo, and the GDP annual average growth over the long term has averaged 2-7%. Sekowo was a founding member of the Dovani Common Market Area, though it trades with several other countries as well.

Demographics
With a population of 270 million, Sekowo is the 5th most populous country in Dovani and 49th in the world. Sekowo's annual population growth has seen substantial increases as well as slower growth periods, however it is currently increasing at a rate of around 2.35% every five years. The average life expectancy is 95 (92 male, 98 female).

Immigration
Sekowo has been historically home to a number of immigrants from the surrounding countries, mostly from Hulstria (10%), Lourenne (10%) and Kazulia (5%). Many of the other significant immigrant groups are from the various territories of Eastern Dovani, including Gao-Showa and Kli'kut.

A growing number of immigrants have come from Talmoria, Vascania and the Kerisian nations.

Ethnicity
Like most nations in Dovani, Sekowan ethnicity is characterized by being a conglomeration of different peoples both from within the country itself as well as immigrants. The largest ethnicities in Sekowo are the Gao-Showa, who make about 50% of the population, the Sécowonnais, a Metis people, making about 20% of the population, and the Orincos, a native Dovani population, who form about 15%.

Language
Sekowo is one of the most diverse countries in terms of languages.

The four most common first languages in Sekowo are Gao-Showan (50%), Modern Sekowan (15%), French (10%), and Normand (5%)

Infrastructure & Transportation
The infrastructure and transportation systems of Sekowo are extensive and highly developed.

Infrastructure
Sekowo's infrastructure system is extensive do to over a century of government ownership and investment into various areas.

The communications infrastructure system is considered one of the most extensive and developed in Dovani with telecommunications lines connecting every home, office and building. The average Internet connection speed in Sekowo is 25 mb/s.

Transport
The transportation network of Sekowo consists of two primary transport systems, the railways and road system.

While roadways were at one time the most prevalent transport system in Sekowo following decades of environmental regulation laws in place the rail system replaced it as the primary means of transport.

The rail system of Sekowo is unique in that roughly seventy percent of existing rail lines have been converted into MagLev routes connecting much of Sekowo proper and linking the major cities and population centers of the overall Commonwealth.

Culture
Sekowan culture is incredibly diverse do to Sekowo's population being comprised of many different groups from differing cultures. However Sekowan culture is most influenced by the Orinco cultures of the coastal city-states, the Kli'kut and related cultures of the South and the Gao-Showan cultures that permiate the Eastern half of the country.

Holidays
While many holidays are celebrated in different regions there are several national holidays celebrated throughout the nation.

Three multi-day celebrations are also celebrated throughout the country, the Summer Celebration that lasts from June 27th to July 10th, the Winter Holiday that lasts from December 19th to December 31st and the New Years menagerie which lasts from January 1st to the 5th.