Leader: Premier Dusim Alusa
Government Style: Capitalist-run Elective Democracy
Motto: "One People, One City."
Anthem: The Free City is always in our hearts!
Flag:
Government
-Premier (ratifies all laws)
-Advisory Council (advises the Premier, runs their specific area of the government, and makes weekly reports to the Senate)
-Treasury Minister
-Foreign Minister
-Minister of Defense
-Minister of the Police
-Economic Minister
-Minister of Transportation
-Minister of the Environment
-Senate (creates all laws, can overturn the Premier's veto with a three-quarters vote)
Political System
Rhodaseum runs on a representative democracy system; this means that the Senate is elected by the people; the Senate then elects the Advisory Council and Premier out of their own numbers. The Advisory Council is a hybrid of a cabinet and a usual advisory council. Each advisor is also a minister; however, they cannot pass any laws pertaining to their area themselves. Instead, they must compile a report of what’s needed every week, and then present it to the Senate at the end of that week. The Senate then may decide to pass laws based on the advice of the Advisory Council.
The Premier is little more than a figurehead; however, he/she does have the power to veto a law. The Senate can overrule the Premier’s veto with a three-quarters vote.
History
Founded by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago on the northern shore of Europe, Rhodaseum was originally a large military and trading post on the border of the Empire. The city grew as the Empire decayed, and became a haven for culture and trade, rivalling even Rome in beauty. When the Empire fell, Rhodaseum was originally untouched by the barbarian hordes, having a strong local militia and a newly elective monarchy. However, after about 20 years of plundering and banditry, the barbarians turned their eyes to Rhodaseum. At the famous "Battle of the Coast", the Rhodaseumi militia met the Franks in a massive battle, where the Rhodaseumi, though they fought bravely, were decimated. The Franks proceeded to systematically plunder the city. However, many people were left behind, alive, and they rebuilt, slowly. By the year 1000, Rhodaseum was once again a great and powerful trading city in the Holy Roman Empire. By 1300, Judaism had infilitrated into the city, and became the second-largest religion, after Christianity. When the HRE collapsed following Prussia's expansion, the Rhodaseumi originally opposed joining the Prussians and opted to remain a free city. However, as World War I loomed on the horizon, the Rhodaseumi made their choice, and officially allied themselves with France and the Entente. Rhodaseum remained a stronghold of the Entente throughout World War I, never once falling to the Germans and letting them exhaust themselves in a long, expensive siege that lasted until two months before the war ended. Rhodaseum had remained a free city. However, when World War II broke out, the Nazis blitzkrieged across Rhodaseum, and, though the Rhodaseumi army was courageous, they could not stop them. The remains of the army fled to Britain, where they formed the RLA (Rhodaseum Liberation Army). They fought in several actions across the European theater. Meanwhile, most of Rhodaseum's Jewish population was forced into a ghetto in the outer city, where they were systematically starved and killed. After the war was over, Rhodaseum re-emerged as a fiercely independent city, though scarred from the war and with several new, foreign ideas such as Modernism, which were destined to change it irrevocably. Today, Rhodaseum is again a retrofuturistic trading hub on the northern European coast.
(Rhodaseum is basically an alternate-history version of Flanders)
Population: 2,558,891
Rhodaseumi: 79%
Jews: 13%
Belgians: 3%
Others: 5%
Economic Information
Currency: Unit
Major exports: Weapons, fish, furniture, electronics
Major imports: Food products, metals, concrete, medicines
GDP: Total: 432,964,357.2 Per capita: 169.2 USD
Unemployment Rate: 7.46%
Districts
The City is divided into 30 districts, each set aside for specific purposes.
Transportation
With the relative expensiveness of the City-State's main automobile, the electric Dzik-3, the daily gridlock that results from having several hundred thousands cars trying to go the same way at once, the lack of a public transportation system, and how easy it is to get a helicopter licence as compared to a driver's licence, most citizens have forgone the ground and bought private helicopters. Helipads have sprung up on the top of almost every building, while the huge swarms of aerial craft occasionally block out what little sun is visible through the large clouds of pollution. The large number of rotary vehicles in the air cause a daily headache for City air controllers; surprisingly, however, there are few crashes, due to the quick reflexes of many citizen pilots.
Architecture and Enviroment
For a long time, Rhodaseum was like any other European city: filled with old, eighteenth-century buildings. However, when the city reemerged as a free state, a Modernist movement came with it. All of the old city, except for the Government District, was completely demolished and replaced with huge, ultra-efficient skyscrapers. Now, Rhodaseum is a forest of gigantic steel and concrete buildings, towering over the neighboring farmlands. It is also heavily polluted; it's not rare to see clouds of faint orange or purple hue floating over the skyscrapers. The sky takes on a distinctively brownish hue at sundown. The rain is heavily acidic and wears limestone away remarkably quickly. Luckily, most of Rhodaseum's buildings are concrete.
Concerned about the effect of polluted rain on food plants, the Rhodaseum authorities banned all food production outside of the city, relegating the hinterlands to power plants. Little to no vegetation grows in the lands outside the city, while massive nuclear, solar, and wind power plants cover these wastelands. There is a large highway that runs from Rhodaseum itself to the border which is often gridlocked, just like the rest of the city. The border is walled heavily; they don't need any more people.
Military
Rhodaseum has a standing army of 50,000 men, known as the Rhodaseum Liberation Army. Half of these are used as mercenaries to raise money for the City-State. Rhodaseum also has a Special Forces Unit comprised of about 500 men. These men are taken from their parents at a young age when and if they show mental prowess, and trained brutally for around 15 years before being approved for combat.
Though Rhodaseum is on the shore, they have no Navy (and no Air Force). Instead, they make do with using disguised Rhodaseumi Air planes as transport.
Law and Order
Crime is a huge problem in the city. The Rhodaseum City Police (RCP) is authorized to use whatever means neccesary to lower crime and restore order; therefore, the police are now required to be equipped with Xesusu P-19 Urban Rifles, along with Xesusu H-212 Standard Infantry Sidearm. A constant war between the heavily-armed gangs and the RCP rages across the city; gunfights can be heard at every hour. When a criminal is captured, they are sent to the Iantos Building, a skyscraper in the 27th District. Here, they are treated to about a week of high-intensity "reeducation" (read: torture) before being let free. If they are again caught commiting a crime, they are deported. Note: it doesn't matter what crime one commits. One will be sent to the Iantos Building no matter what.
Other information
Internet domain: .rdm
Calling code: 32
Overall Area: 6,116 km²