Zwangzug

Zwangzug is a parliamentary constitutional republic, devolved into sixty districts. It is located in Wrigley, in the northern hemisphere. The modern country was formed in the mid-1960s; before that, it was occupied by many small and mostly-isolationist city-states.

History
It is believed that historic Unker settlers were the first inhabitants of Zwangzug, though their residence was not permanent. But since the sixth century or so, permanent settlements began, in what is now the southwest (Namiri) region. Legend has it that the first of those were fleeing an oppressive monarch who demanded more rice than was humanly possible for the humble commoners to produce, under the leadership of a wise adviser to the king who realized the folly of his leader's ways; more cynical sources suggest the demand for foodstuffs was somehow his fault and he was bailing.

Later arrivals would settle in different parts of the country, but the pattern was much the same; they came in large clumps at a time, usually utopian communities from abroad, looking for fresh starts. They often named their city-states in honor (or, recent hypotheses posit, parody) of preexisting areas from their homelands. Plenty of these thrived, but many fell by the wayside. The remnants of these failed towns often congregated to larger, more cosmopolitan cities with less idealistic histories. These became centers of trade and opportunities for various peoples to connect, with Descriptive English becoming a lingua franca.

Time passed and technology improved, but these cycles continued without major variation. Some confederations of cities arose, but most of these too were abandoned. Throughout the early 1800s, the rise of railroads made much of the northeast more connected--and brought linguistic differences and time-measuring discrepancies, even in cities close to each other, to light. Some sentiment turned towards tighter national unity, which reached its peak in the establishment of the northeastern "Zwangzug Confederacy" in 1848. It quickly fell apart in a wave of unrest known as Der Sturm. After this, the population in larger cities began to increase. It is believed that this reflects a more pragmatic era--though this phenomenon is difficult to track statistically, because failed revolutions elsewhere in the world led to more utopian communities being established within Zwangzug as well.

Around 1965, rioting peaked in the modern capital; the details are highly unclear and disputed. A few fringe religious believers claim time travel was involved; others suggest it was just "the sixties" with tempers in a walled city growing to a head. Whatever the case, the outcome was devastating; many people died, and others relied on aid from other cities. Still, those who survived with crossbows and baseball bats in hand were reminded of their shared heritage, and while older survivors stayed behind to try and work out a system for building intercity roads, the "veterans" of the "war" began the Consolidation--driving throughout Zwangzug and uniting it as a country.

Present-day
The late 2000s marked an end to the isolationism the country had self-imposed since the Space Race. At first noted by the influx of Bigtopians, Lilliputians, et al., and later by the exchange of ambassadors with other countries, this process also involved the international participation of private organizations such as sports teams. While government officials were certainly able to interact with such teams as private citizens, the government shied away from explicit entanglement with the sports teams when possible, if only because they were afraid they'd wake up one morning and find themselves in the future, out of office.

After the short term of Ember Nickel, Felix Wainwright was put to the test very quickly, when Tasmanian terrorists bombed Zwischen. The government was unsure what to do except invite them over for a diplomatic rejection. They did not respond to the invitation. Neither did the Lilliputian copycat bombers of two weeks later. The Zebra Isles emerged into the spotlight in 2009, when Wezeltonian troops occupied them, claiming them as Wezeltonian, on multiple occasions. They eventually left in all such cases, though diplomatic talks to determine the isles' long-term future stalled out. In summer 2012, Sarah Li County in Dauclem briefly threatened secession; this threat was quickly resolved, however, as part of an unusual compromise that also included the end of Zwangzug Public Radio. A few months later, a meteorite known as "Big Max" landed in the suburbs of Zwischen, which was probably rather unfortunate.

On October 19, 2014--8 years to the day after emerging into the international community--Zwangzug abruptly cut off communications. Due to the noted "28 days later" timelag common to many countries that fly the infamous gray and white, it took some time for contact to be completely lost, but it eventually faded into a chaotic and poorly-documented era known as the gray times. Approximately five months later, it returned, though at a weakened internal capacity. This heralded a proliferation of more diverse board game allusions, as well as the country's contemporary flag, the color-reversed image of its predecessor. Zwangzug inhabited the region of Forest for several years, before returning to isolationism in Wrigley.

The anti-government "resistance" feelings prominent in Zwischen came to a head following the country's tenth anniversary, with the escapades of seven parliamentarians who distributed anti-government propaganda and caused a temporary power outage (not to be confused with the temporary power outage that calmed secessionist sentiment in Uncarg a few months prior). This prompted efforts to press Wainwright, who had since been succeeded by Erin Splinter, for details on some of the country's more organized efforts to exploit the complexities of time manipulation, such as Project Zeitnot and the tappers phenomenon. Despite concerns that this might destabilize the country, things managed to carry on pretty much as normal.

In February 2017, society was mildly surprised to discover the existence of sentient zebras in the southwest.

Geography
Zwangzug is a predominantly cold, mountainous country. The Alai Mountains formed the country's southern border (with Unkerlantum/Travda), while the Rackham Range runs north-south through west-central Zwangzug. They also feature the country's highest peak, Mount Pittan (16,384 feet). Most of the non-mountain climate is humid continental, while a small temperate rainforest is located in the country's extreme southwest.

In the early days of its existence in Starways Congress, Zwangzug bordered Unkerlantum (later Travda) to the south, Modre to the east (across the Pinual River, or "the pin," that forked into the "relative pin" in southern Zwangzug, in contrast to the "absolute pin"), and Ferahgotopia to the west. Not so much anymore. During its stint in Forest, it was bordered by Paxadentia, Venca, Unhuman Reserves, and Pacaraima to the west, and Pacaraima, Mimisbrunnr, Arbb, Euna, and Rhabano to the south.

Mean Fahrenheit temperatures for various cities:

Government and politics
Zwangzug is a democratic republic, with a parliament comprised of sixty representatives. Each representative is elected through instant-runoff voting by the citizens of their electoral district. While the districts are of different size, they were designed to contain roughly equal populations, so that each individual vote is worth the same. Formed during the national consolidation, the borders of the districts in some cases were deliberately drawn to divide regions with preexisting identities, in the hopes that citizens would be more loyal to the then-powerless districts or the national government than the old regions. Results were mixed: the policy was fairly successful in Tenshire, backfired in Keppal, and was deemed too politically risky to pursue in Namiri.

The parliament is both the executive and legislative branch of the government, and appoints judges to a separate Supreme Court. Because of Zwangzug's multi-party nature, it is impossible for any coalition to survive long enough to control the parliament--while some blocs can be reliably counted on to vote together on certain matters, once another issue comes to the forefront such alliances tend to fall apart. The organizational difficulties with this became obvious shortly after the parliament began meeting, leading to the creation of the office of the Composite Minister. The country's head of state, the Composite Minister (currently Erin Splinter) exercises symbolic leadership, helps guide policy-making, and breaks ties in the parliament. Composite Ministers are directly elected by the entire country using instant-runoff voting.

Zwangzug arguably lacks long-term heads of government, however. When a bill is discussed in the parliament, the secretary of the department to which the bill most directly pertains tries to moderate the discussion. There are eight departments, and the eight secretaries--all members of the parliament in their own right--comprise the cabinet. While the role of "secretary" is a powerful political position, it should not be confused with "minister"--a term officially abandoned because of its insufficient antidisestablishmentarianism. However, this has not precluded many representatives from self-appointing themselves to "ministries" great and small in the hopes it will lend their positions credence.

There is a written constitution, interpreted by judges at the national and sub-national levels. Its first section lists rights of the people; its second establishes the parliament and its powers. It was amended to create the office of the Composite Minister.

Since devolution, the districts have limited levels of self-government. Their political organizations range from parliaments to bicameral legislatures with governors; all, however, must be democratic in some sense or another.

Parties usually choose candidates in primary elections, or sometimes caucuses, to compete in general elections. While there are many parties of statewide strength, the Liberal Conservative and Progressive Traditionalist parties dominant the current parliament. Their divisive positions on social issues and long-term rivalry, however, prevents them from forming an effective coalition. The southwest and northeast are Liberal Conservative hotbeds, while the southeast is a Progressive Traditionalist stronghold. Overall, most of Zwangzug is critical of economic freedoms if for very different reasons, which has led to a socialist consensus for much of its recent history.

Economy
The constitution gives few guidelines as to the country's economic direction, and, officially, Zwangzug does not claim to be inherently capitalist or anticapitalist, but instead free to oscillate between economic extremes depending on the people's will. This has more often than not been rather socialist, however, and it is perhaps best considered a social democracy in practice. The government oscillates between phases of nominally free but highly restricted markets, and straight-up central planning by AI; the Committee for Yearly Budgeting, Organization, Remunerations, and Grants (CYBORG) is currently in charge under the latter system. Medal Stair Semiconductors are in charge of producing equipment for these benevolent overlords to run.

Aware of the dangers of having government control the presses, however, Zwangzug has traditionally allowed its media comparative freedom; the printed word is just one facet of that media. Due to this, a Book Publishing industry operates with relatively little governmental interference. Dictine and Nubind publishing houses, together with Aviank (ink) and Spiream (paper) producers, are some of the country's better-known "brands."

Zwangzug's currency is the check (¢), originally known as the "tynu," which replaced various regional currencies after consolidation. Most transactions are logged electronically by the pervasive (though not compulsory) ID card system, but some coins and bills are still circulated. The World Assembly estimates that the average per-capita income is ¢217,538, with the richest and poorest deciles earning approximately ¢287,164 ¢158,734 annually, respectively. The World Assembly also estimates that approximately 0.00 of that is left after taxes, so all such values should be treated with skepticism.

The country's energy needs are predominantly met by solar panels and wind farms; three major wind farms provide power for much of Zwangzug. Cars are banned.

Demographics
Zwangzug's population is a large number and quickly growing due to very loose (albeit heavily bureaucratized) immigration policy. Cities are increasingly trying to accommodate high population densities and respect the environment, which has led to skyscraper apartments becoming more and more common to house the growing citizenry. The population tneds to be heterogeneous, including such ethnic groups as Peridune, Bigtopians, Ianix, and Namirite.

English is the de facto language--while it wasn't dominant in the country's early history, it gradually emerged as a useful language for communication between cities. Dialectal differences still persist, but are less controversial than they have been. There are many other regional languages, such as German in the north. Students are generally expected to be competent in at least two languages, but this is not mandated.

Public education is operated by the districts, though with significant oversight from the statewide government. Private schools and home schooling are also legal. Education is compulsory through age sixteen, though the expectation is that students will remain in school through high school (age seventeen or eighteen). Tertiary education is also encouraged and subsidized by the government at public and private schools, with unsurprisingly subtle distinctions. (Or not subtle: all religious colleges and universities are private, as Zwangzug is a secular state.) Likewise, most residents receive health care through the state system, but there are a few private practices specializing in elective procedures that are not covered by the government system.

Culture
Zwangzug is fairly multicultural--before consolidation, its traditions were diverse but heterogeneous from city to city, and there was little national identity. Now, some distinctive features of small groups are slowly being subsumed, but other small cities remain insular and maintain their own cultures. It's difficult to generalize about Zwangzugian attitudes, but its citizens are particularly individualist given their economic tendencies, walking a fine line between egalitarianism and meritocracy while trying to embrace the best of both.

Its most famous visual artist (which is honestly not saying much) is most likely Maurits van Huys, who based much of his work around fractals. In general, neoclassical and surrealist art are more prevalent than baroque or Romantic styles. The country follows the Gregorian calendar. There are few national scheduled days off in the working year, the notable exceptions being January 1, April 4, and December 31. However, this is compensated for by employers giving more vacation days to be taken at employees' choices. Most major cities contain a newspaper or two.

Traditional cuisine, unsurprisingly, varies by region. Eating meat is legal (including the human variety, providing it was obtained with consent and has been regulated appropriately). Perhaps the most stereotypically-Zwangzugian foods are grains, however--early mountain residents were known for their emphasis on breakfast, regularly featuring more substantial foods than simple cereal.

Sports
Zwangzug is perhaps best-known in the modern world for its international sports teams. The national football team, despite a tepid following at first, achieved unexpected success and prompted others to follow. The national baseball team have won the World Baseball Classic twice, in its 7th and 21st editions. Zwangzug participated in several editions of the Olympic Games. The country's football clubs were briefly involved in the MUFN, and now compete in the Zwangzug First Division. Cycling is also a popular sport.