Monroe Republic

Situated in Eastern Brigidna, the Monroe Republic is a partly-recognized breakaway republic. A former territory of Carpathia and Moldova, it was annexed by Ashford in 1405. It was founded after a series of economic disasters, coupled with neglect by the central Ashfordian government, combined with ideological and nationalist sentiments pushed the majority Carpathian ethnics in the territory to declare independence on September 3rd, 1564. The name of the republic was initially a derogatory term, used by Ashfordian media to describe the region, due to the fact that troops under Sebastian Monroe, then a General in the Ashfordian army, were the only governmental representatives to attempt to mitigate the effects which Ashford's economic collapse were having on the province. The inhabitants of the territory rallied around the term and on September 1st, they staged a mass protest in the city of Hallowgrove (now Independence) and surrounding settlements, calling for the provincial administration's resignation. The civilian governor of the province, appointed by the central Ashfordian government, reacted harshly to the protest and ordered the police and military to intervene in force. General Monroe, himself an ethnic Carpathian, refused to obey the order, but the police intervened nonetheless, leading to clashes with the protesters which resulted in one hundred and sixty two casualties, most of them civilians. The protesters responded by calling for secession from Ashford and on September 9th, General Monroe's troops marched into Hallowgrove, ousted the Ashfordian governor and signed the declaration of independence, proclaiming the territory as the "Monroe Republic", with its capital in Hallowgrove, which was renamed into Independence, citing abuses by a "corrupt, oligarchic government with fascist ambitions" as the reason. Ashford responded by ordering a mobilization of its armed forces, however, the Allied States of Carpathia and Moldova intervenet, threatening military action against Ashford, forcing the latter to stand down. The Monroe Republic's situation is unique in Brigidna, in the sense that a large number of the world's countries have not officially recognized the independence of the Republic, almost ten years after its secession. Due to this fact, the Monroe Republic has found difficulty in establishing trade relations with other countries and relies heavily on Carpathian aid and income from its freight industry, to survive. Today, its disputed, controversial territorial claims remain a subject of heated debate in eastern Brigidna, with Carpathia aggressively pushing the agenda of Monrovian independence, on the international diplomatic scene, while Ashford and its supporters actively oppose this.

Politics

See Also: Constitution of the Monroe Republic, Political Parties in the Monroe Republic,

File:Monroe parliament diagram.svg

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The constitution and legal system, as well as the penal code, of the Monroe Republic, are very similar to those employed by Carpathia and Moldova. The country classifies itself as a constitutional dictatorship, following the National-Communist ideology. As such, the Monroe Republic is a multi-party communist republic, with a Dictator elected for life, until retirement, or impeachment, being the head of state and with the authority of being the "moral judge" on national politics, having the ability to veto any law, except for People's Edicts. The Dictator is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has the power to declare war, after submitting his request to the Parliament, for approval, which requires a simple majority vote.

The executive is headed by a Prime Minister, currently Maria Vieru, who is appointed by the Parliament and may serve up to two 4-year terms. The Prime Minister appoints Ministers to form a cabinet, which must be approved by the Parliament through a simple majority vote. The legislative branch of the government, is the Monrovian House of Representatives, a unicameral parliament with 250 seats. Representatives are elected through popular elections, every four years, with several parties currently holding seats.

The current Government is headed by the Monrovian Separatist Party, which formed a coalition with the Moderates, Progressives, Extreme Left Alliance and the Veteran League, also forming a parliamentary majority, while the opposition is largely dominated by the coalition consisting of the Golden Peace Party, Capitalist Party and the Liberal Party.

The most controversial political party currently holding seats in the House of Representatives, is the Ashfordian Sovereignty Party, a faction which caters to the Ashfordian minority and militates against the Monroe Republic's secession, advocating a return to Ashfordian occupation. The party has been accused several times of harboring far-right sympathies and has nearly been banned twice, because of this reason.

Military

Main Article: Monroe Militia
See Also: Directorate of National Security

File:Monroe new camo.png

Monroe Militia soldiers near Ashfordian border

The military of the Monroe Republic is the Monroe Militia. Founded in 2010 around a core of defecting Ashfordian soldiers under the command of General Sebastian Monroe and a cadre of local paramilitaries, it has since grown into one of the most ferocious, well trained and disciplined forces in Brigidna, well respected for their efficiency and victories in combat.

The equipment of the Monroe Militia consists mostly of old, outdated armament and vehicles and there is a shortage of heavy armor, which is compensated by a high degree of mobility and a large amount of self-propelled multiple missile launch systems. The forces of the Monroe Militia have been deployed in Wadyiah for the entire duration of the Wadyian Civil War and have distinguished themselves with several important victories, such as the Battle for Asaha, when a force of five thousand soldiers of the Militia's Task Force 3 "Immortals", took the city from an army of fifty thousand entrenched Akhadist State in Wadyiah fighters.

The Republic maintains an Air Force consisting of three transport planes and a squadron of fourteen CMF X-15 "Warsong" fourth generation multirole fighters, donated by the Allied States of Carpathia and Moldova, all integrated into the 1st Air Wing of the Monroe Militia.

The Monroe Republic is a landlocked country and it does not possess any naval assets at all, except for a small force of river patrol boats, which it uses for border policing.

External Politics

The Monroe Republic is in an unusual diplomatic situation. It is a member of the Trilateral Alliance along its closest ally, Carpathia and Moldova and the members of the alliance have recognized it as a sovereign state.

However, several states, notably Ashford, refuse to acknowledge the independence of the Monroe Republic, to the present day, while a large number of nations in Siora maintain a grey-area policy in regards to the Monroe Republic, neither refusing, nor acknowledging it as an independent nation. This has led to several complicated diplomatic incidents, as some nations regard the Monroe Republic as an illegitimate, terrorist organization and view the Allied States' and the Trilateral Alliance's backing, as actions supporting terrorist activities, but neither can they intervene to support Ashford, for fear of massive retaliation by the Trilateral Alliance, for what the organization would consider an attack on one of its members.

So far, the Republic remains in an ambiguous situation, with continued conflict against Ashford frozen and peace maintained only due to the influence of the neighboring Carpathian state, since, given the fact that Ashford never recognized the Monroe Republic's declaration of independence, a peace treaty between the two nations, was never signed. Tensions are perpetually high and many fear that the Monrovian-Ashfordian war may resume at any time, with the most recent incident being a series of nationalizations by the Monrovian government, of businesses which the Ashfordian regime considers to be the property of upper-class Ashfordian citizens, a situation which has prompted the regime in Ashford to "vow to annihilate the Monrovian terrorist threat, once and for all", in the words of Ashford's defense Minister.

History

Prehistory

File:412px-Ganditorul de la Hamangia.jpg

The Hamangia Thinker of the neolithic Hamangia culture

The oldest traces of human habitation in the Monroe Republic can be found near the city of Arăbești and date back to 40.000 BC. Bones and cave paintings found all across the northwestern part of the Republic, prove the fact that during later neolithic times, there was a large population belonging to the Hamangia Culture, which existed in the south of modern-day Carpathia and Moldova and the northern part of the Monroe Republic. The presence of several other cultures dating back from this period, has also been confirmed, but it is believed that they were gradually wiped out by the more aggressive Hamangia culture, through inter-tribal conflict.

Dark Ages

Messanism in the Monroe Republic

Main Article: Messanism in Carpathia and Moldova