Lodamun

4th Great Democratic Republic of Lodamun

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Flag of Lodamun Location of Lodamun Motto No foe I fear, no friend I force (Luthorian)
Anthem	"Great Lodamun"
Capital	Port Golavia
Largest city	Lodamun Metropolitan District
Language	Luthorian
Religion	Lodamese Nationalism
Ethnic Groups   main	Lodamese
others	Gao-Showan
Demonym	Lodamese
Government	Parliamentary republic with executive president dependent on the legislature
President	Patton Deneel
Legislature	Presidium
Area	1,590,600 km²
Population	99,707,467 (4347)
GDP   Total:	303,480,953,533 LOD (4347)
per capita	3,044 LOD (4347)
Established	3984 (Current Republic)
Currency	Lodamun Dollar (LOD)
Time Zone	GMT +5
summer	GMT +6
Drives on the	Right
Calling Code	+19
Internet TLD	.lo
Organizations	Seleyan Union

Lodamun, officially the 4th Great Democratic Republic of Lodamun, is a union of five distinct provinces that create a nation of over 99 million people. The country is located on the northern tip of the continent of Seleya and has been in existence since August 2037, making it one of the oldest in the world.

Etymology

The latter part of the name Lodamun: '-mun', may originate from the Akigan word 'mun' meaning 'to beg', or could be a reference to a 'maund' - a small basket held out by beggars for money.

Geography

Lodamun has a wonderfully diverse geography. It is possible for Lodamese to sunbathe on the golden beaches of Andalay before traversing through the semi-tropical jungles of the interior, and finally climbing the snow topped peaks of the Kalistani Mountain Range in southern Kregon.

Physical

Physical Map of Lodamun

Lodamun is broken up by three major mountain ranges. The Andalayan Mountains in eastern Golavia are the lowest range, their rolling slopes covered in terraced farming. The Sorbanikan Mountains, reaching from eastern Valruzia through western Kregon and into Rapula, have historically provided a western bulwark that protected the Kingdom of Kregon from nearly all invaders. Finally, the tallest of the Lodamun mountain ranges are the Kalistani Peaks, which provide a natural border with Baltusia in the south and Kalistan in the east.

Interestingly, the V shape created by the adjoining of the Sorbanikan Mountains and the Kalistani Peaks, bisected by the Lindar River, forms the Kregon Plateau, one of the most intensely cultivated regions in the world, producing a wide variety of crops in perfect agricultural conditions.

The nations largest waterway is the Lindar River, which starts deep in Valruzia, before cutting a path through the valley that separates the Sorbanikan Mountains from the Kalistani Peaks. The river continues through Kregon and Golavia, before reaching the sea near the port of Jorka.

Norstavan is covered with many river deltas and is the gateway for goods entering Lodamun from the east. There are also many shipping industries in Norstavan making it the country's top ship manufacturer.

Golavia has many lush forests and jungles which makes it a prime location for the lumber industry. Farming is also important to eastern Golavians.

Inner Rapula and the whole of Kregon are traditionally much cooler and are home to several mountain ranges. Mountains and valleys are located across the two regions.

Lodamun from space

Climate

As mentioned previously the climate of Lodamun is as varied as its physical geography. Lodamun lies north of the equator, and thus has a fairly warm climate throughout the year. However snow is visible all year round in the Kalistani Peaks. Due to this Lodamun is a popular tourist destination, with its excellent beaches, and all year skiing.

Government and Politics

Lodamun is a quite unique nation on Terra regarding its form of government, in fact, it is a parliamentary republic with an executive president dependent on the legislature. This means that the head of state, the President, like in presidential republics, is also head of government, has a deputy president and chairs the cabinet. Although, like in parliamentary republics, he is elected by the legislature for a fixed term, legislature which has to give its confidence to the cabinet and the tenure of the President depends by the support of the parliament.
The legislative powers rely to an unicameral legislature, the Presidium, which has 599 elected members.

Lodamun has an unofficial upper house, the Central Committee of Lodamun, which is to serve as an advisory body to the President. It consists of all the members of the largest party in each state. This means that if a party doesn't have the highest number of votes in any of the states, they will have no seats on the Central Committee. The size of the Central Committee changes with each election. With the executive branch reforms of 4328, however, the Central Committee lost most of is importance with the shift of power from the President to the Prime Minister.

Lodamun has two traditional parties, the New Green Party of Lodamun (450/599 seats) and the Lodamese Nationalist Comittee (149/599 seats). Since March 4398, six parties joined Lodamun: the Animal Liberation Front, the Ecosocialist Party, the Liberal Party, the Lodamun Labour Party, the Party for the Liberation of the People and the Progressive Socialist Party. All these parties don't have any seats in the Presidium yet.

There are other committees which act as advisory bodies to some of the members of the cabinet.

Foreign relations

Lodamun was once a global power, but is less active in modern international politics. Lodamun still remains the banking center of the world, receiving support from even the Karavs who moved there in the late 35th century.

The Karavs had attracted the attention of Solentia, resulting in a conflict between Solentia and Lodamun. Up to 10 countries imposed a conditional embargo on Solentia to discourage a specific party from being in government. Six countries still maintained the conditional embargo into the mid-3600s, even though the party stopped participating in elections after 3602, 30 years after the treaty was first ratified. The embargo only applies when the Liberals are in government in Solentia, so no hostilities exist between Solentia and the signatories of the treaty, otherwise. Solentia had entered a cold war with Lodamun over the issue, but eventually gave up when not enough countries supported Solentia.

The National Republican Guard, one of Lodamun's long-lasting parties, has aimed to maintain good relations with Indrala, Beluzia, and Keymon.

Administrative divisions

Lodamun consists of five regions, officially known as provinces. They are: Andalay, Golavia, Kregon, Norstavan, and Rapula. They have been united, forming Lodamun, since its creation.

Security Forces

The government of Lodamun contracts paramilitaries and private security firms to enforce law. While on law enforcement duty, these agencies are not allowed to carry lethal weapons (apart from specially trained firearm units). Lodamun's large paramilitary groups, affiliated to political parties, serve as the nation's active military and have powers of arrest as a result.

Economy

Lodamun's location on the continent makes it a key location for trade: it is easily reachable for four other continents. Lodamun remains the banking center of the world. Nationalists in Lodamun have planned to build an industrial hub in Kregon, linking it to other countries in Northern Seleya by a railroad network.

Port Andalay is Lodamun's most lively tourist district. A small amount of eco-tourism happens on the other side of Lodamun, in the forests in Rapula.

Demographics

Religious Makeup of Lodamun

Lodamese Nationalism was officially introduced by the Edwin Fertig administration in May 3515. After that, the government made attempts to suppress all other religious influences. For continuous decades, Lodamese Nationalism was a mandatory religion, and all foreign influence was suppressed by law, weakening other religions. The government eventually purged the members of other religions and forced conversions. The entire population of Lodamun was registered as being members of Lodamese Nationalism.

Culture

Lodamun as a whole does not have a single culture per se; instead, each region has it's own culture and traditions. However, the majority of Lodamese citizens embrace not only the culture and traditions of their own region, but also participate in the culture and traditions of other regions too. Furthermore, Lodamun has a high number of immigrants and people whose ancestors came from abroad which makes Lodamun's culture even more diverse. It could be suggested that Lodamese culture is a blend of not only five cultures, but also a blend of the cultures of many other countries too.

Andalay and Golavia were traditionally royalist due to the large Hulstrian and Hulstrian Lodamese population living there. Large castles and palaces are evident in both regions despite Lodamun traditionally being a republican nation. Ancestors of once royal families that date back to the period of the United Kingdoms of Lodamun still have influence in those areas. The Karavs have based themselves in Kregon instead of Andalay or Golavia. The government has tried to buy castles from families in Golavia for public use, while leaving Andalay as the upper class province.

Nationwide, citizens enjoy the many rivers for them to fish and the Lodamese enjoy the outdoors and rural activities. Furthermore, the majority of the population still live in the countryside or in small, scattered towns, rather than in cities around Lodamun.