Mobius

Mobius, officially the Mobian Confederation, and known to the rest of the world as Moebius until 1998, is a country in Western Europe. It is situated in the Bay of Biscay off the coasts of France to the east, Spain to the south, and with the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It covers an area of 65835 km2 and has a population of more than 21.1 million, making it the 28th most densely populated country in the world and the 7th most densely populated in Europe with a density of 312 /km2. The capital is Jesston with Mobotropolis (Mergiston) being the largest city; Other major cities include Larson and Hambug.

Pan-Mobian nationalism dates back to the Revolutions of 1848 with calls to unite the many Mobian nations under one flag. Beginning in the early 20th Century, the Mobian nations would form an economic union under a common currency, though nothing much would happen until the late 1960s. The overthrow of Albion by the psychotic technocratic Robotnikist regime would spark pan-Mobian nationalism once again, which would culminate in Knothole Accords in 1976 after the overthrow of the Robotnikist regime, finally uniting the Mobian nations under one flag.

After the establishment of the Mobian Confederation, the young nation was put under a quasi-authoritarian regime. The country would be placed under two years of left-wing miltary rule after the Lavender Revolution in 1994. Democracy would be restored in 1996 in time for the congressional election, resulting in the implementation of social democratic reforms under prime minister Geoffrey St. John from 1997 and beyond.

Mobius is a sovereign state and a federal semi-elective constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. The country is a member of the Francophonie and officially trilingual at the federal level. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education.

A developed country, Mobius has the highest nominal per-capita income globally as well as the highest ranking in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is the fifth-largest in the world. Mobius is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the G8, the Group of Eleven, the G21, and NATO as of July 2022.

Etymology
Mobius is the anglicized form of Möbius which derived from the name Bartholomäus which is the German form of Bartholomew which is the English form of Βαρθολομαίος (Bartholomaios) which is the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "son of Talmai" with Talmai either deriving from tellum "furrow" or the Hebrew name for "Ptolemy" which means that the Aramaic name either means "son of furrows" (rich in soil) or "son of Ptolemy". Although the correct French translation of Möbius is Mœbius, which was the basis of the exonym Moebius, the French translation in Mobius wound up becoming Möbius due to its close proximity to Germanic-speaking peoples on the archipelago.

Prior to the 19th Century
Mobius was one of the last European landmasses settled by humans. Radiocarbon dating, evidence of deforestation and mitochondrial DNA variability within German Mobian populations suggest Mobius was first settled by Germanic tribes sometime during the 2nd Century, concluding migrations from what's now Germany through Western Europe before finally reaching the archipelago. Over the centuries, these settlers developed distinct Mobian cultures which were influenced by countries such as the Kingdom of Castille, the Kingdom of France, and the Kingdom of England. The various Mobian states were rather isolated throughout the centuries except for during the Hundred Years War in which the English occupied the largest island to use as a launchpad for an invasion of France. They would relinquish control once the war ended.

Napoleonic Wars
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Mobian archipelago went under direct French rule by Napoleon Bonaparte after the Battle of Biscay in 1802. The first sparks of pan-Mobian nationalism is said to have originated from the unified resistance against the French and the Germanic background of the many Mobian cultures. The archipelago would be liberated by the British in 1814, which then resulted in the restoration of the status quo in the archipelago with the many Mobian nations and the suppression of pan-Mobian nationalism.

Rise of Pan-Mobian Nationalism
The Revolutions of 1848 was a turbulent time for the archipelago with pan-Mobian nationalist uprisings occurring across the archipelago. One notable example was when the Kingdom of Acorn was used as a launchpad for a unified liberal Mobian kingdom with the King of Acorn being offered the crown. He refused, and the uprising fell apart shortly afterward, with the status quo being restored again. However, unlike what happened after the Napoleonic Wars, pan-Mobian nationalism remained strong, and would dictate Mobian history for the next 125 years and beyond.

Mobian Economic Union
The idea of an economic union in Mobius can be traced back to the mid-19th Century, but serious consideration within the Mobian states wouldn't happen until the early 20th Century with the Mobian Economic Union (MEU) finally becoming a thing in 1932 as a solution to alleviate the worst effects of the Great Depression. Immediate changes included the gold standard being abolished, and the Mobian Ring becoming the common currency for the archipelago, yet the old bulky ring-shaped coinage remained as legal tender due to the insistence of various nationalist groups both moderate and radical.

World War II
The Mobian archipelago escaped the ravages of war due to the Mobian states adopting strict neutrality, though most fascist groups still openly advocated for the Mobian states to go to war on the side of the Axis with King Frederick of Acorn openly cooperating with fascists, making Acorn the only Mobian nation to have been ruled by a fascist party. However, the fall of the Axis would lead to the fascists being expelled from power with King Frederick being pressured to abdicate in 1959, thus putting his son Crown Prince Maximillian on the throne.

Robotnik Era
A technocrat by the name of Ivo Robotnik overthrew the Kingdom of Albion in a coup in 1968. Robotnik's intentions were to takeover every nation one by one until all were beneath his rule.

Mobian Provisional Union & End of Robotnik
The rise of Robotnik ended up sparking pan-Mobian nationalism again, rejuvenating an interest in uniting the Mobian nations under one flag which culminated in the Mobian Liberation Army in 1972, and the establishment of the Mobian Provisional Union in 1974. Originally, a unitary republic, the provisional government became a federal monarchy in 1975 after a referendum with Myles McCloud being chosen to become the first King of the Mobians, with the results being confirmed in another referendum in 1976. The MLA would overthrow the Robotnik regime on 21 May 1976, thus uniting the Mobian nations under one flag.

First Confederation Era (1976-1994)
With the fall of the Robotnik Regime, the first task of the new nation was to ensure the security of the nation at all costs, with the constitution being partially-suspended in favour of a quasi-authoritarian regime with the government having much more control over the lives of the citizenry in order to keep perceived radicals from both the left and the right from ever being able to be politically-active, and even limited elections to three government-approved candidates, one from each of the democratic parties that have sworn to uphold democratic values. This also limited the ideologies to christian democrats, social conservatives, market liberals, classical liberals, and social liberals while social democrats were allowed limited participation due to their reformist stance that could potentially threaten national security.

During the 1980s, the Mobian economy experienced unprecedented economic growth, causing the standard of living to rise alongside the GDP and the fall of unemployment rates. This would put the quasi-authoritarian regime in a very good light for years to come. However, there was the Rorschach incident of 1988 which, due to the lack of government response, lead to the rise of calls for reform, which the government refused to answer to, fearing a far-left takeover could follow. Once it became clear that the government wouldn't implement reforms at all, talks within the left-wing elements of the Royal Mobian Army began about launching a coup to forcefully implement reforms to bring in a true multi-party democracy.

Lavender Revolution (1994-1997)
The Mobian government resisted initial attempts for reforms until April 1994, when a bloodless left-wing military coup, known as the Lavender Revolution, led to the implementation of a true multi-party democracy after two years of a transitional period known as MRP (Mobian Revolutionary Process). This period was characterized by social turmoil and power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces.

Mobius continued to be governed by a National Reconstruction Council until the Mobian congressional election of 1996. It was won by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Geoffrey St. John, its leader, became Prime Minister of the 6th Session of the Jesston State Hall on 20 January 1997. Geoffrey St. John would remain Prime Minister ever since.

Second Confederation Era (1997-present)
The over two-decades rule of the PDP began with the inauguration of Geoffrey St. John on 20 January 1997, starting the Second Confederation era. This era has been marked by the transition towards the Nordic model as well as the creation of the Jesston District, and creating some new states to reflect differing demographics and geographical areas, thus reallocating the seats in the House of Congress and the House of Peers. Another aspect is the rise of Euroscepticism, which lead to the fall of the Mobian Liberal Democrats (MLD) as a major party with most members and voters moving to either the PDP or the Mobian Justice Party (MJP).

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has lead to the St. John government declaring a national lockdown on March 2020 as a pre-emptive measure to limit the possibility of the virus spreading into the country. This move was widely approved by public opinion in spite of the restoration of powers never seen since the days of the First Confederation era. Mobius has the least amount of cases and deaths in the pandemic.

Mobian support for NATO had rose sharply after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 9 May 2022, Mobius entered into a mutual security pact with France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. On 10 May, Mobius' king called for NATO membership "without delay." Subsequently, on 14 May, the Jesston State Hall decided by an overwhelmingly majority in both houses that it supported Mobius' accession into NATO. On 15 May the king submitted the application for membership. With no objection, Mobius was formally invited into NATO on 28 June, with the accession protocol signed off on 5 July, and the nation formally joining NATO on 21 July after parliamentary ratification.

Politics
Mobius is a federal parliamentary semi-elective semi-constitutional monarchy. It is one of the world's youngest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. The Mobian system of government combines elements derived from the political systems of the United Kingdom (a fused executive, constitutional monarchy, an upper house that consists of members of the peerage, and strong party discipline), the United States (Federalism, a written constitution, and an elected upper house), and some unique features (indirectly-elected upper house, semi-elective monarchy, and a federal monarchy).

The federal government is separated into three branches:
 * Legislature: the bicameral Jesston State Hall, comprising the House of Peers, and the House of Congress;
 * Executive: the monarch, and the Privy council, which in practice gives legal effect to the decisions of the cabinet, comprising the prime minister and other ministers of state appointed by the monarch at the advice of Jesston State Hall;
 * Judicial: the Supreme Court of Mobius and other high courts whose judges are appointed by the monarch on advice of Jesston State Hall

Myles reigns as King of the Mobians and is represented by presidents and other monarchs at the state level, who by convention act on the advice of his ministers alongside their ministers. In practice, the monarch is one of the two leaders of the executive branch, and may call for a reconsideration of Bills or sections of bills, may call a referenda with advice and consent of the Privy council, and even dissolve the Jesston State Hall after consulting the prime minister and the speakers of both legislative houses. The monarch has extraordinary reserve powers which may be exercised outside the prime minister's request in rare and limited circumstances, such powers give the monarch the ability to declare a royal dictatorship in a time of extreme crisis with the explicit expectation that the monarch is to relinquish his power back to the democratically-elected government once the crisis ends. The Mobian monarchy is unique in that it's a semi-elective position in which the monarch is elected for life in a complex electoral machinery, which is series of ten rounds alternating between sortition and elections to decide who gets to elect the monarch. Prior to 2023, the monarch was elected for life in a direct instant-runoff vote with all living descendants of Myles over the age of 18 automatically becoming candidates with the option to opt-out if they wish; a result of the 1975 election of the Mobian monarch which also established a popular monarchy.

In the House of Peers (the upper house), there are 133 Peers Temporal with seven from each state including the Jesston District, and 10 Peers Spiritual. The House of Congress (the lower house) has 400 members elected directly by the populace. The 400 seats are allocated to the states on the basis of population. Elections for both chambers are normally held every four years simultaneously.

Mobius' electoral system uses direct d'Hondt party-list proportional representation for all lower house elections while using indirect party-list proportional representation for all upper house elections. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction, as is enrollment. The party with majority support in the House of Congress forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the monarch has the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Jesston State Hall.

Since 1997, there has been a dominant political party that consistently form government, federally and in the states: the People's Democratic Party with the Mobian Justice Party forming the official opposition. Within Mobian political culture, the PDP is considered centre-left and the MJP is considered centre-right. A couple of minor parties have achieved representation in Mobian parliaments.

The most recent congressional election was held on 10 November 2020 and resulted in the PDP, lead by prime minister Geoffrey St. John, retaining government.

States
Mobius is a federation of 18 states, and one federal district. The larger states are divided into Districts of Mobius, which are then divided into municipalities. In Albion, Acorn, Voxia, and Valio, the districts are grouped into regions.

Governance of the states is divided between the federal and the state governments, with different powers reserved for each, and the Federal government has direct administration of the federal district. Each state and the federal district has a bicameral legislature which operates under the same electoral system as the federal government except that the upper houses of each state and the federal district are indirectly elected by the lower houses while the federal upper house is indirectly elected by the upper houses of each state and the federal district. In states with a hereditary ruler, the heads-of-government are known as ministers-president yet are known as premiers in the republican states (which elect a president in a direct instant-runoff vote, premiers and ministers-president are the leaders of the ruling party of each state and federal district), though in the two city-states of Walford, Patoburg, and the Jesston District, the heads-of-government are known as the first councilor with the heads-of-state being known as the mayor. State upper and lower house elections are held before the federal upper and lower house elections, but after the municipal elections (which are known as district elections in the city states and the federal district).

Lower-level administration is carried out by local authorities, which include city councils, district councils, and municipal councils, although autonomous statutory bodies can be created by the federal and state governments to deal with certain tasks.

The 18 Mobian states are based on the former Mobian nations that existed before 1976, with 5 of the 18 states retaining their royal families. Each state has its own written constitution which can be revoked by the federal government in times of severe crisis, though such a case has never happened, even during the left-wing military junta of 1994-1997.


 * States


 * 1) Albion
 * 2) Acorn
 * 3) Voxia
 * 4) Valio
 * 5) Frankonia
 * 6) Saint Jean
 * 7) Wilhelmsland
 * 8) James-Welxin
 * 9) Weshon
 * 10) Tacomia
 * 11) Merkins
 * 12) Panzero
 * 13) Les Moniques
 * 14) Angel Island
 * 15) Manilia
 * 16) Hautensland
 * 17) Walford
 * 18) Patoburg


 * Federal District
 * Jesston District

Law
Mobius uses a civil legal system, wherein law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judicial interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to case law in a common law system). Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the French-originated Napoleonic Code (which was, in turn, largely based on the royal law codified under Louis XIV). In agreement with the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (another set of basic principles of French origin), law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. Law should lay out prohibitions only if they are needed, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition is supposed to remedy.

Mobian law is divided into two principal areas: private law and public law. Private law includes, in particular, civil law and criminal law. Public law includes, in particular, administrative law and constitutional law. However, in practical terms, Mobian law comprises three principal areas of law: civil law, criminal law, and administrative law. Criminal laws can only address the future and not the past (criminal ex post facto laws are prohibited). While administrative law is often a subcategory of civil law in many countries, it is completely separated in Mobius, though all bodies of law are headed by the Supreme Court.

To be applicable, every law must be officially published in the Jesston Gazette.

Mobius does not recognize religious law as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions; blasphemy and sodomy laws have never been implemented. However, "offences against public decency" or disturbing public order have been used to repress public expressions of homosexuality or street prostitution. Since 1994, civil unions for homosexual couples are permitted, and since 1999, same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption are legal. Laws prohibiting discriminatory speech in the press have been around since 1978. Some consider hate speech laws in Mobius to be too broad or severe, undermining freedom of speech. Mobius has laws against racism and antisemitism, while the 1982 Crimes Against Humanity Act prohibits Holocaust denial.

Freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed by the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The 1976 Mobian law on the Religious Pluralism of the Churches within the State is the basis for state pluralism: the state does formally recognize the major religions within the nation (Catholicism, the various Protestant branches, Judaism, etc.), and it does recognize religious associations that aren't formally recognized (comparable to the United Kingdom). This is necessary due to the existence of the Peers Spiritual in the House of Peers. Jesston State Hall has listed many religious movements as dangerous cults since 1993.

Foreign relations
Mobius participates in many international organisations such as the United Nations and the Group of Eight (formerly Group of Nine). With a decently large Francophone population, the country is also a member of the Francophonie. Other organizations Mobius is participating in include the Group of Twenty-one, the Group of Eleven, and the World Trade Organization.

Mobius' foreign policy used to be officially based on on the principle of neutrality and maintaining peaceful relations with all countries, regardless of their political system. The government attaches a high priority to the security and stability of Western Europe, and seeks to further develop relations with other countries in the region. Historically the government has tried to portray Mobius as a progressive non-aligned nation while strengthening relations with other non-aligned states. A strong tenet of Mobius' policy is national sovereignty and the right of a country to control its domestic affairs.

However, this position of neutrality has since been discarded following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine with public opinion swinging sharply in favour of NATO, with with more citizens supporting NATO membership than those who were opposed to it for the first time. A poll on 30 March 2022 revealed that about 71% of Mobians were in favor of NATO membership, as opposed to 11% against and 18% uncertain. In mid-April, the government of Mobius began exploring NATO membership, with them commissioning a security report on this subject. The addition of a nuclear-armed nation with a well-funded military besides a couple other NATO members would significantly expand NATO's defense capabilities in the Atlantic. On 12 May 2022, the Mobian government announced that it would indeed apply for NATO membership, subject to approval by the Jesston State Hall, with both houses voting overwhelmingly in favour of the move on 14 May, with the formal application being submitted on 18 May alongside Finland and Sweden. On 28 June, at a NATO summit in Madrid, Mobius was formally invited into NATO, with the accession protocol being signed off on 5 July. With parliamentary ratification obtained on 21 July, and subsequent approval of the king shortly thereafter, Mobius has formally become a member of NATO; ending nearly five decades of maintaining the policy of neutrality.

Mobius has recognized both Israel and Palestine, being the only nation in Western Europe to recognize both. Its official stance is that Israel and Palestine should first seek a two-state solution as a means of ending the conflict, and then work towards a one-state solution where both Israelis and Palestinians are considered equal under the law of this Confederation of Palestine (sometimes named Cisjordan in reference to Transjordan which is modern-day Jordan). Such a position is unusual among most nations that simply want a two-state solution or in some nations even wipe out Israel or Palestine altogether. Mobian peacekeeping forces have contributed to many UN peacekeeping missions, such as in Iran-Iraq, Namibia, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia, East Timor, and Lebanon.

Military
The Royal Mobian Armed Forces are the military and paramilitary forces of Mobius, under the King of the Mobians as supreme commander. They consist of the Royal Mobian Army, the Royal Mobian Navy, the Royal Mobian Air Force, the Royal Mobian Marines, and the Royal Mobian Coast Guard (technically part of the Navy, but is largely autonomous). Altogether they are among the largest armed forces in the world.

The Royal Mobian Armed Forces has a strength of 700,000 active soldiers and 2,500,000 in reserves. Reservists participate in defence exercises and deployments abroad. The military service is voluntary, with conscription never being into effect. Since 1994, women may serve in all functions of service without restriction. Since 2018, Mobius is the fourth largest exporter of major arms according to SIPRI.

The monarch is the commander-in-chief of the Royal Mobian Armed Forces, but the Constitution puts civil and military government forces at the disposal of the Privy Council. The Minister-Secretary of Defense oversees the military's funding, procurement and operations. The Mobian military has about 36,000 troops stationed in foreign countries as part of international peacekeeping forces, including about 12,000 supporting operations against Daesh.

Economy
A member of the Group of Eight (formerly Group of Nine) leading industrialized countries, as of 2016, it is ranked as the world's sixth largest economy by purchasing power parity]. Mobius uses the Mobian Ring (R) as its official currency.

Mobius has a mixed economy that combines extensive private enterprise with substantial state enterprise and government intervention. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications. It has relaxed its control over aircraft, railway, and telecommunications in the early 2000s. The government is slowly corporatising the state sector and selling off holdings in the Royal Mobian Telephone & Telegraph, the Royal Mobian Air Company, as well as in the insurance, banking, and defense industries. Mobius has an important aerospace industry led by the Royal Mobian Air Builders, and has its own national spaceport, the George VII Space Centre.

Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of the economy, though the most important part of the economy is the thorium mining industry, of which a portion of the thorium is sold to non-Mobian entities. Some of the largest cooperatively-owned banks in the world are headquartered in Mobius.

Mobian companies have maintained key positions in the insurance and banking industries: ABI is the world's fifth-largest insurance company. The leading Mobian banks are the Royal Mobian Bank of Commerce, and the Royal Bank of Mobius, ranking as the fourth and seventh largest banks in 2010 (by assets), while the Bank of Mergiston group was ranked the world's eleventh largest in 2009.