Faction overview: Columbia
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Politics and Administration
As a federal republic, Columbia's head of state is the President who is the representative of the Federal Government under the Union Congress. The power of the Columbian Government System is balanced by two integral parts: The various State Governments who govern the respective states through their main Nomadic Cities, and the Federal Government headquartered in Max D.C., enabling a system of check-and-balance. [1]While on paper, every party is under the supervision of others, in reality, corruption is prevalent where the government could be abusive to the people. In fact, there seemingly exists a "deep state" which is rumored to be spearheaded by Maylander since the nation's foundation.[2]
Despite the nation being run by the President democratically, surprisingly, there is simply no term limit for its one and only President since the nation's foundation – President Mark Max – due to his extreme popularity.[2] As a matter of fact, the Columbians are fine for President Max to stay in his office as long as he wants while not knowing his true nature. In turn, it is the Vice President who carries out the will of President Max, and this position is subject to public elections. The "Father of the Union" himself, Maylander Selenne, believed that an even stronger entity that the pioneering zones' City-state Alliance could further resist Victoria's threat.[3]
The idea of a presidential government was first proposed by Mark Max himself in order to replace the royal governor with a federal head of state, letting the tradition of the pioneer zones' autonomy to be used to help Columbia elect its presidential candidates through popular vote. This concept would lay the foundation of Columbia´s States. [3] The Columbian main order of precedence consists of:
- President
- Vice President
- State Governor
- Senator
- Congressman
- Councillor
- Deputy
- Spokesman of the House of Representatives
- Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
- Secretary of Defense
The Federal Government is divided into three branches under the principle of the separation of powers: The Legislative Branch led by the Union Congress, an Executive Branch by the President, and a Judiciary Branch by the Union Supreme Court.
Union Congress
The Union Congress, full name Union Congress of the Free Cities of Columbia, is the maximum authority of the legislative branch. Its functions consist on formulating federal laws, overseeing the Department of Defense and the Federal Executive Branch, and representing the will of Columbian citizens. It also has complete authority to reject any motions from the Executive Branch and the DOD, and begin impeachment process of any federal politician.[1]
The Union Congress' rigid structure draws inspiration from Victoria, and is divided into a Senate, the highest chamber of the Congress, and the Columbian House of Representatives. The Senate is headed by the Vice President, and the Senators represent the interests of the states and nomadic cities alike. On the other hand, the Spokesman of the House of Representatives is elected by its members, who have connections with diverse social institutions and business groups from all over Columbia.[1]
Government Agencies/Subbranches
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units and Originium (ATAO): The law enforcement organization of the Columbian government. It specifically regulates the manufacture and import of Arts units and Originium devices. Behind the scenes however, ATAO is trying to arouse conflicts within Sargon in order to earn profit through bloodshed.[4]
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): A national agency tasked with ensuring public health, as well as prevention and control of diseases. They have a toxicity database containing hazard levels of various materials, such as Originium.[5]
- Columbia's Custom and Border Protection (CBP): A federal agency that safeguards the country's borders and regulates customs activity.[6]
- Columbian Tax Bureau: Headed by Commissioner Steve, it is the federal agency that administrates internal revenue from individuals and companies within the country, headquartered in the city of Bunkerhill. At one point they arrested Big Bob for alleged tax and insurance evasion, as many of his employees were Infected individuals who hadn't even received their monthly insurance premium payments from him, thus violating Bunkerhill's laws. They later tried to excoriate him for money laundering.[7][8]
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Military
The Columbian Union Department of Defense (C.U.D.O.D. or just DOD) is the sole military department of Columbia and falls under the Executive Branch. It has the power to mobilize all federal military forces after the President has declared a state of war.[1] The army itself is called the Union Army. It wields some of the latest technologies in Terra, such as power-driven armors. Despite its incompatibility with its relatively small population, Columbia maintained a professional army since the Revolutionary War. Only about one in five citizens qualified for military service has served in the Union Army. The Union Army's spiritual predecessor was the Duke of Gododdin's Pioneer Army, which served as the main rebel force against the Duke's offensive during the Revolutionary War. After Columbia's independence, they were regarded as a representative of federal heroism and independent spirit, and their leaders have become the high-rank leaders in the DOD.[9]
The DOD has been in disagreement with the Federal Government for years. Unlike other government branches, the DOD firmly believes in "might makes right" and yearns to expand Columbia's influence via military means. Prior to 1056, the de facto commander-in-chief of the DOD was the Secretary of Defense, who even took care of foreign affairs. However, following the failed invasion of Bolívar in the late 40s and the incompetence of the Coalition Government, the DOD completely fell from grace in both the Federal Government and the public, exposing all subjects of criticism within the military, and forcing the Secretary of Defense to make concessions to the President and the Congress. The Federal War Preparation Act passed by the Congress in 1056 even completely restrained the military's power and responsibilities, which were handed to the President .[10][11][1]
The modern Union Army's main strategy is the Preemptive Contention, proposed in 1058 after the Preparation Act. This strategy consists on mobilizing all Columbian armed forces and implement multi-level proactive intervention in hot spot areas that are no longer restricted to military means, aiming to curb the threat of potential war in advance and further ensuring the federal defense. Ever since its approval from the President and the Congress, it has become the Union Army's first choice of basic national strategy for nearly half a century, and has proven to be effective in the Sargon and Bolívar battlefields.[12]
In order to regain favor, the DOD started looking for business cooperation with many technological corporations like Rhine Lab in exchange for latest technologies for military applications. Following the Victorian Crisis, the Army reaffirms their decision, fearing that they will be overpowered by superweapons like the Shard.[13] The DOD's influence could be found in many programs and scientific misconduct incidents such as the "Project Diαbolic," the "Loken Watertank Incident," and the "Horizon Arc Project."
Mobile Cavalry Unit
| “ | Come on, you burdenbeasts! Do you want to live two hundred years from now? | ” |
| —An unknown Mobile Cavalry Second Lieutenant, 1079 |
The Federal Mobile Cavalry Unit is a notable Spec Ops division within the Union Army famous for its use of power armors and employment of fast-in and fast-out tactics in sensitive environments, as well as forming an intergal part of Columbia's Preemptive Containment strategy. They're composed of qualified Columbian volunteers who have to undergo several weeks of rigorous selection processes. They also require a "Graduate Qualification" from the Federal Mobile Cavalry Academy at Ironforge City. As the nation's most lethal soldiers, the Mobile Cavalry Unit is equipped with some of the most advanced military hardware available, including the C-Series Power Armor, AWS, and other experimental weapons and technologies.[9]
Notable personnel
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- General Barry: A DOD general who lead the armed forces deployed in Max D.C. during the "Trimounts Arc incident", ensuring the President's safety in case Kristen decided to target the city.[14]
- Commander Colette: A DOD commander briefly mentioned by Justin Jr., whom he had a phone call with.[15]
- Mark Green: A corporal and acquaintance of Dur-nar.[16]
Judiciary
The Articles of Confederation signed in 1019 represent the most important instrument in the Columbian Legal System. The Judiciary Branch and law enforcement agencies are divided into two entities: the Union Supreme Court of Justice, which possess final appellate jurisdiction over all cases within the federal territory, and the District Courts, whose scope of actions determine all citizen and criminal actions within a specific region based on the state laws. Specialized agencies from the Federal Branch, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units and Originium, enforce federal laws. Municipal or State laws on the other hand are enforced by local law enforcement groups organized by nomadic cities or states. In case of cross-state of foreign-related crimes , or crimes that involve the Federal Government, federal agents and/or task forces will be dispatched to directly intervene, or even take over the investigation by assigning law enforcement.[9]
Administrative Divisions
The Federal land administration is divided into 10 different States, several "Free States", and one administrative capital (Max D.C.). The States, headed by State governors, represent Columbia's first level of local administration, and are composed by several nomadic cities and urban settlements around them. Their power is only surpassed by the Federal Government and it's not a subordinate agency under its jurisdiction. They enjoy limited legislative and juridical autonomy, which derives from the old pioneer zones' tradition.[9]
The Free States on the other hand are overseas enclaves of the Columbian Union, usually City-states with complete autonomy. The most notable example is Siesta.[9]
Geography
Columbia is located in the Northwestern Terran hemisphere, neighboring Bolívar to the west, Kazimierz to the east, and its lands are similar to modern-day Victoria. The mountain ranges of Kjerag block Victoria's offshore to the southeast.
While the Eastern fringes are mostly composed by barrenlands filled with sandstone canyons and large plains, the more central regions are rich in mountains and rivers flowing from all directions, providing with abundant water resources from the Great Lakes located in the north and south respectively. The westernmost regions on the other hand are topographically similar to the east, bordering the Great Bolívarian Plain. Due to the Kollosal Prime Vein passing through, Western Columbia possess the most concentrations of on Originium depots on the country.[17]
Economy
Corporations
Spanning in all fields, Columbia's corporations are both pioneers of latest technology and science and rich tycoons. As a result, they could be found almost every corner of Terra. These corporations do not shy away from exploiting the populace, especially those in the frontiers. Some large companies practice lobbying to implement laws that are favorable to their business, while others work alongside the Columbian government to secretly aid in its imperialism. Competition and rivalry between them can be fierce and sometimes even lead to violence and death, yet the authority usually glossed over such conflict unless the interests of certain important lobbyists are threatened.
Pharmaceutical/science
- Blaine Formative: A science institute where Elliot's professor belonged to. Twenty-two years ago, the company sent a technician group, the "Sand Soldiers," into the Ibut Region of Sargon in order to conduct research on an Originium-based weapon there. However, no one managed to survive except young Elliot after the weapon was preyed by a Sargonian Padishah. Behind the scene, the institute was hijacked by the Columbian military in order to arouse conflict within the district.[18]
- Haydn Pharmaceutical: A pharmaceutical company run by the eponymous director Hayden Ramt that acts as R.L.'s investment partner. It provided its facilities, namely the Lab-1 for R.L. to conduct experiment on Ifrit. During the Diαbolic Crisis, the company's director was killed in action and Lab-1 was completely burnt down by Ifrit.[19]
- Loken Watertank Laboratory: Run by the mad scientist Loken Williams, it is notorious for its unethical experimentations and secret financial supports by the DOD. After Rosmontis' rampage, the building was totally laid waste and Loken himself was immediately incarcerated for his crime.
- Beachbrella: A pharmaceutical company that Jesselton Williams is working for, led by the mysterious "Mr. K".[20] The institute seems to provide support to Loken Watertank,[21] as well as medical equipment for Mama John's.[6] It also attempted to experiment with Collapsal corruption by feeding contaminated meat to other animals, which led to the corruption of the lab the scientists who were in.[22]
- Fonterra Bioresearching: A pharmaceutical company that recieves funding from the Department of Defense, rumored to conduct experiments aiming for the use of Originium Arts to control animals for their potential use in Originium weapon transportation. One of their labs, located in Ironforge, was being investigated by Blacksteel, which lead to a confrontation with unknown armed forces, leading to an incident culminating in an Originium leakage where Franka became Infected. The officials sources however state that it was just a leakage, which is actually a coverup from BSW's higher-ups under an agreement of the Federal Goverment.[23]
Military-industrial complex
- Westin Security: A private mercenary company where Kal'tsit once worked for as an advisor and Arts trainer. Twenty years ago, it was hired by Blaine Formative in order to rescue the remaining "Sand Soldiers" technicians. However, the team faced betrayal by other groups and was totally annihilated after Kal'tsit and young Elliot left them. The company was shut down after the incident in the Ibut Region.[24]
Commerce
- Simon Co.: Owned by the Simon family, this company started as a logistic company and gradually grew into a construction supply corporation. Due to a business rivalry against HydeBro, the corporation was fallen from grace and the CEO, Smith Simon, was falsely imprisoned.[25][26]
- HydeBro: A construction firm founded by brothers Val and Leo Hyde, which started from scratch in the world of business, eventually becoming the most famous construction firm at the time.[27] It was the rival company of Simon Co. in Bunkerhill City that caused the downfall and imprisonment of the Simon family. As a result of this, it enjoyed a monopoly in Bunkerhill and its surrounding cities,[25] even having connections with the Rhine Lab Energy Section, acting as one of their main suppliers.[28] However, at some point after the Mansfield incident, the Hyde Brothers were arrested and sent to court due to corruption and hostile business practice allegations, leading the company to declare bankruptcy.[29]
Demographics
According to statistics from 1083, Columbia has a total population of 16.000.000 people, with about half of whom living in nomadic cities. However, due to its large-scale pioneering efforts and frequent immigration, these numbers have been rising on a constant, yet alarming rate.[9] As a result of the constant rates of immigration, Columbia possesses a large racial diversity, ranging from common races like Felines and Perros, to more rare ones such as Pythians. However, a considerable amount of the Columbian population is composed by Liberi, which are descended from immigrants from around the world, especially Gaul. According to a Liberi immigrant census published by Columbian authorities, the reason why many of them decide to settle in Columbia is not only for the possibility of starting a new life, but also the popularity that Mark Max has on the Liberi community.[30]
Lupos descended from Siracusan immigrants can also be found, as well as Sarkaz communities who escaped from the chaos that engulfs Kazdel. However, they're subject of constant discrimination and exploitation like elsewhere on Terra, and local Pro-Sarkaz social movements are few and far between.
References
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