Kirlawa

Kirlawa is a nation in northern Artania, bordering Dorvik, Aloria, Dundorf, Kundrati and the Lievenian Sea.

History
See History of Kirlawa Kirlawa has had a rather mixed history, with distinct periods of major turbulence followed by major calm. The first ideas of a united Kirlawan state date back to the 1300s with Ylana Ghalee's ideas on a 'Kirlawan Oligarchy', with the Kirlawan Democracy Front spearheading moves to unite the region, succeeding partially with the First Kirlawan Confederacy and fully with the Second Kirlawan Confederacy.

The Second Confederacy and Republican periods were generally very stable, with Kirlawa adopting a semi-isolationist stance, politically distancing itself from the outside world and adopting an economic approach that gradually went to the left, particularly in the mid period of the Republic. However, the CandyKids dictatorship that existed from around 2236 to 2245 heralded in much change in the Republic, with the rise of the Leftist Coalition in opposition to the CK and the birth of Kirlawan fascism.

The Republic lasted, drifting constantly leftwards, until 2289 when the Free Democratic period was heralded in. After the brief revival of right-wing economics from 2295 to 2300, the period saw the birth and regrowth of Christian fundamentalist movements, in particular the Veritan Catholic Church, the Church of the Almighty Path and the Orange Order.

The Free Democratic era came to an end in 2333 with the First Kirlawan Civil War which saw the end after 299 years of a unified Kirlawa and the splitting of the nation. It would take until 2369 and the establishment of the People's Republic of Kirlawa after the Second Kirlawan Civil War to reunite the nation.

During the 2400s, Kirlawa underwent a period of sustained growth and stability. Towards the end of the century the growth in non-Artanian population led to the establishment of distinct political movements to further the causes of ethnic minorities, such as the Greater Dundorf Party and An Páirtí Daoine Ceilteach, the latter representing the Celtic community made up of Irish and Welsh émigrés.

President
The President of Kirlawa is not an executive position, and usually the incumbent does not get involved in the politics of the nation. The main function of the President other than as titular Head of State is to hold the casting vote in the Kirlawan Senate.

See Also: List of Presidents of Kirlawa in the 25th century.

Parliament
Kirlawa has a bicameral Parliament, made up of the Kirlawan Senate and the Kirlawan Assembly

Senate
The Kirlawan Senate is a 100-seat body elected from first past the post single-seat constituencies. Each region has a number of seats allocated on a proportional basis, and the boundaries of each seat are determined by an independent commission to ensure roughly equal size. The Senate determines mainly non-Legislative matters, and it has been suggested that it should be able to veto any Constitutional changes.

Assembly
The Kirlawan Assembly is a body of 717 members chosen by proportional regional representation with a maximum term of three-and-a-half years. It is the prime Legislature in Kirlawa, and the Senate does not have the power to repeal Acts passed in the Assembly.

Cabinet
The Cabinet of Kirlawa is a 13-seat body chosen by the Assembly who act as the government. The leader of the Cabinet is the Prime Minister, who is regarded as the most powerful individual politician in Kirlawa. The government is usually based on a coalition of parties forming the majority of Assembly members. The cabinet also currently includes a Deputy Prime Minister.

Provincial Governors
Each Province of Kirlawa has a Governor elected in a simple election with the post going to whoever has the plurality of the votes. The position is mainly symbolic, although the Governor will hold the casting vote in the Provincial Assembly.

Provincial Assemblies
There are also five Provincial Assemblies, each with 100 single-member constituency seats.

See Also Provincial Assemblies (Kirlawa)

Active Parties

 * Christian Socialist Party - Economically socialist, but favours very restrictive social policies. Was ejected from the Leftist Coalition over disagreements on moral issues.
 * Democratic Freedom Movement - A broadly libertarian party. Currently the main party in the Democratic Alliance
 * Fascist Front of Kirlawa - Less inclined to support capitalist policies than the National Fascists, and has joined them in the Rightist Coalition
 * Kirlawa Democratic Labour - A Social Democratic party, formed in the 2240s. A founder member of the Leftist Coalition
 * Kirlawan People's Justice Party - Independents.
 * Kirlawan Popular Front - Calling themselves 'Populist Socialists', and mixing socially liberal policies with a desire for a centralised socialist state, they have been involved in Kirlawan politics since the 2240s. Closely associated with the Popular Militia, which was instrumental in the events of the Kirlawan Civil War. Currently the largest party in the Leftist Coalition.
 * Liberal Progressive Party (Kirlawa) - Founders of the Leftist Coalition, and an influential force in Kirlawan history since the early 23rd Century. Center-Left Liberals.
 * Love Life Happiness - Neoliberal Anarcho-Capitalists with a large composition of ravers. As the political arm of the Brentwood Corporation, the LLH is in place to shape the nation in the best interests of the company in addition to maintaining the tradition of the CandyKids and Kawaii-Meomi movements.
 * National Fascists - Initially the Kirlawa Far Right National Fascist Front at the time the First Kirlawan Civil War started, the Kirlawa fascist movement started up again a while back as the Kirlawa National Fascist Lucasite Loyalist Party, after civil war fascist leader Peter Lucas (later Emporer Peter Lucas I of the Fascist Imperial Empire of Kirlawa.) The party adopts a hardline nationalist stance and has for some time been amoungst Kirlawa's larger political parties.
 * TEA Party

Historic Parties

 * Liberal Democrats - The Liberal Democrats, the largest of Kirlawa's many leftist parties, espuse a doctrine of classical liberalism and personal freedom.
 * Guiding Hand - The largest party, the nationalist, conservative Guiding Hand took Kirlawa by storm as droves of conservative voters finally discovered a party that took a stand against Kirlawa's perceived immorality. The Guiding Hand follows restrictive, fascist doctrine and supports total government control over the nation to ensure the citizens follow a traditional Christian Artanian lifestyle.
 * Kirlawa Greens - A leftist party similar to the Liberal Democrats, but supporting more government regulation of the economy, primarily to ensure environmental safety.
 * Reform-Independent Party - A centrist party that is most notable for being strongly opposed to the Green's environmental policy.
 * Social Liberal Party - A centre-left party, largely supportive of devolution, an internationalist foreign policy, and a strong military to protect Kirlawa's progressive systems and values.
 * Left Socialist Party - A small socialist party that has its roots in the now defunct National Communist Party
 * Social Conservatives - A new, right-wing party that was formed as a compromise between the radical Fascists of the Guiding Hand and the predominantly leftist Kirlawan mainstream, proclaiming a return to the Kirlawa of the 2100's. The party was formed when the young Christian National Front suffered a schism, with the revolutionary Fascists and statists forming the National Socialist Kirlawan Workers' Party and soon joining the Guiding Hand.  In the elections of 2444, they managed to when a plurality of seats, mirroring the rise of the Guiding Hand in the previous election.
 * Social Liberal Party - A centre-left party which was a founder member of the Democratic Alliance.

Demographics
Ethnically, Kirlawa tends to be quite homogenous despite high levels of immigration, with an estimated 83% of the population 'White North Artanian'. There are significant minorities, most notably Majatrans (9%), Dundorfian (5%) and Kundrati (2%). Religiously, the nation is very divided, with no single religious following attracting a majority of Kirlawans - it is estimated that 47% are Christians, 30% agnostic or atheist, 9% Jewish and 6% Buddhist with significant minorities of Muslims, Sikhs and Cattaesists.

Culture
Culturally, Kirlawa is a very multi-cultural nation, with the influence of immigrants from foreign lands over mainly the last century, in particular from areas including Beiteynu, Al'Badara, Dundorf and Dranland, having a great effect on the nation's culture. There is a 'traditional' Kirlawan culture, highly regionalised across the nation. Classical Kirlawa spawned many famous artists, poets and writers and today has a recovering arts movement.

In rural areas, the culture tends to be based more around traditional farming practices in the south and mining practices in areas of the north, particularly west Merkan and Uwakah. The city areas have a very homogenised culture similar to most Artanian and Macon democracies.

In food, the Kirlawan people are not known for their mastery of cooking, but there are a number of foods and dishes including the Gerlan berry of Uwakah and the famous grain-berry rolls of Nuchtmark. The traditional Kirlawan diet consists mainly of fruits, vegetables, fish and juices.

Economy
Kirlawa is a thriving nation economically, generally considered a first-world country, although the economic strength has dropped significantly since 2325. The richest areas are the coastal areas bordering the Lievenian Sea, with the nation as a whole enjoying a fairly high standard of living. Poverty is medium-high owing to the two major wars within a generation, while unemployment is low.

Kirlawa exports more than it imports, creating a trade surplus. Major exports include grain, fruits, electronics, metals and oil, while major imports include meat and weaponry.