Skaggerak

Resident nation: Republic of Skaggerak (NS: The Armed Republic of Skaggerak) Discord name: nachtritter Map nation name: Skaggerak A couple sentences about your nation: The Republic of Skaggerak is a crude social democracy with public ownership of all food production and a fully militarized populace. Visitors to Skaggerak are often dumbfounded at the apparent lack of cities, as the Skaggeraki population is dispersed across the many tiny islands in the Skaggerak Channel with some, slightly larger, settlements in the many coves and fjords alongside the mountains which border the channel. Skaggeraki are famed for their long history as a nation of merchant-traders although some tales of Skaggeraki longships being used to raid and plunder former trading partners have made it down through the ages as well. Map request as an image or plot number: W-9 plot requested, but with many more fragmentary islands in the channel and extending below it, to look terrain wise (within and below the channel) a bit more like the section below W-11 in terms of islands. 3-Letter Code: RSK 2-Letter Code: SR Capital City: Skaggerak Isle Government Type: Social Democracy The population of my nation is: Below average The population density of my nation is: Below average The GDP per capita of my nation is: Above average Government Spending - Which statement best describes your nation? My nation provides moderate social programs, or a small selection of social programs. My nation has an extensive social safety net, or provides multiple programs like universal healthcare, welfare, and free tuition for its citizens My nation does not provide social programs beyond bare necessities and/or high school educations. X My nation does not prioritize social spending, but engages in some large-scale government or public spending projects. My nation’s government spending is a vast majority of our GDP, such as having to coordinate our import-dependent economy. (this option is subject to Cartography Board approval) Military Indicator - Which statement best describes your nation? X My nation has made a commitment to security, and maintains a moderately sized modern armed forces within our means. My nation has little incentive or political drive for military spending, but maintains a small-to-moderate modern armed forces. My nation has prioritized military spending at the expense of other key areas and may have been criticized for lack of freedom or human rights issues. My nation does not prioritize military spending due to other priorities, the belief we are safe, or we don’t have enough money left over to fund it. My nation is heavily embattled and we believe we face an existential threat. (this option is subject to Cartography Board approval) Any other inspirations or concepts you want to share: Spending should likely be in line with modern Scandinavian countries in terms of social expenditures, however the communal ownership of certain things makes this more of a 'foreigner estimate' than actual cost-value in practice(which really is no different than university or medicine in modern Norway). The communal mindset regarding resources of value to the entire populace automatically carries over to things like uranium mining with those being consdered communal property and, in practice, owned/controlled by state-owned industry for the benefit of all Skaggeraki. Terrain requested inspired by southeast Alaska, remote and rugged terrain, dispersed population, lots of rugged little islands and fjords and mountains and taiga. The government structure of the Skaggeraki was inspired by early pre-christian Viking and Iriquois, with all citizens having a direct voice and a bottom up structure of governance with each higher level of government elected by the one below it and subject to replacement by the will of the people. All food production is considered the property of all Skaggeraki and thus all farmland and fishing vessels are communally owned. Due to the communal nature of Skaggeraki society, as it advanced into the modern era healthcare and education were considered universal rights as well, thus all higher education and healthcare are free to all Skaggeraki. Due to the remote nature of most Skaggeraki settlements, remote learning, remote work and telemedicine are universally used throughout the Republic. The Skaggeraki population is mostly dispersed across the many islets of the Skaggerak Channel, as well as in the coves and fjords of the land along both sides of the bay, abutting the mountains(think norway or southeast alaska) in small communities which center around a longhall. In our world the Vikings are renowned for raiding and their trading origins are largely forgotten or dismissed, the Skaggeraki were inspired by this but opposite - renowned for their trading ancestors with their raiding history mostly forgotten or dismissed, Due to the nature of the terrain, all Skaggeraki are expert sailors and can make/operate small vessels(think canoes and kayaks - but with a viking longship style of construction(e.g. viking longboats were typically 18+ bench vessels with the smallest known coming in at 6 benches(which would be crewed by 12, could be crewed by 6 in a tight pinch, and could carry up to 24 or cargo equaling that weight, scaling this down to 1 bench would be a 2man vessel, 2 bench for a 4man vessel, etc with each vessel operable by half of the number of benches and capable of carrying up to double the number of benches in total(1 bench operable by 1 person could carry up to 2, 2 bench operable by 2 people, could carry up to 4)) The largest, mostly barren, Isle in the middle of the channel has been adopted as the seat of government, as well as being the largest naval base. Due to the social nature of life in Skaggerak all communities engage in direct democracy at the settlement level and can, if they feel the need, send a representative to 'the Isle'(as it is called by the Skaggeraki) to directly voice their desires and wishes, including the demand for the election of a new leader. A new leader is elected whenever the Skaggeraki decide they need to do so, and that leader is responsible for international relations and any law or decision which is passed affecting all Skaggeraki communities can be repealed by a majority vote of the populace. Skaggeraki religion is mostly a mystery to outsiders, and not taken very seriously by Skaggeraki in general. Their belief system mainly consists of animism(think native american reverence for animal spirits and nature) and ancestor reverence(think something like Laires in roman society or confucian ancestor worship, in practice the skaggeraki treat many of their ancestors the way that IRL catholics treat their patron saints while having a strong reverence for nature). The ice bear is held to be especially sacred, as the Skaggeraki legends tell of the sinking of their first homeland in a volcanic cataclysm and their resettlement to Skaggerak(think 4-5 thousand years prior, should be able to find archaeological evidence for future rp). In these legends the first home was a land of desert mountains and fjords(something like Musandam in Oman) and upon their arrival in the frozen north the ice bear was said to be a protective spirit, wise and fierce, of the Skaggeraki people. The entire population is armed, required to serve two years conscription at the age of majority(18) and then remain a reserve militiaman until the age of retirement(65) much like IRL Switzerland - citizenship is dependent on this two year term of service and citizenship is required to vote at any level in Skaggeraki society. A small permanent armed force, consisting of one battalion of special forces divided into companies each specializing in a certain type of terrain(mountain and tundra, naval and marine engagement, forest and taiga, desert and jungle, and counter-insurgence urban and rural combat techniques)and one battalion of support personelle for them, much like IRL Germany. In practice this means that almsot every community in Skaggerak has a dock capable of launching military vessels and a stockpile of arms as well as other military equipment as the entire population of each settlement is also the settlement militia(think safety committees in pre-revolution america, except everybody is a member). OOC: So this is basically a what-if scenario, I spend some time playing crusader kings so... what if desert tribes from the fjords of oman had a massive resettlement event(like ancient polynesians) and ended up way tf up north in some frozen spot like norway? What if the social democracy of pre-Christian vikings were a modern government? What if both of those were the same thing? Inspirational stuff:

I, The Armed Republic of Skaggerak, swear that I have, to the best of my knowledge, been completely truthful in applying for citizenship in The West Pacific and that I have no other NationStates identity that has not been made known in this application. I swear my allegiance to The West Pacific and its citizens, and I swear not to engage in hostilities against The West Pacific or to violate The Manners of Governance, or any laws made pursuant to it.