Neu Westfalen

New Westfalen (German: Neu Westfalen) is a country in the South Pacific, located approximately 2,100km east of New Zealand. Neu Westfalen is a former German Empire colony and joined the Alliance of Independent Nations on the 13th of March, 2013. It is named after the German state of Westphalia for its tranquil hills, meadows and rivers which are a common feature throughout the land. It is also noted for it's alpine mountain ranges in the interior of the main island.

Neu Westfalen has historically been quite a neutral nation, with only a few exceptions. This neutrality has seen it accumulate a disproportionately large amount of financial and intellectual capital, as a large amount of international investors and wealthy clients see it as a safe haven to do business. Because of this, plus its decentralized government and high standard of living, Neu Westfalen is often referred to as "the Switzerland of the Pacific".

Early History
Neu Westfalen was first sighted by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, whom briefly landed near what is now the city of Aspel. After mapping much of the island's southern coast, Tasman soon sailed westward towards New Zealand (which he would also discover in the same year). Neu Westfalen was uninhabited when Europeans arrived, however a small number of Polynesian settlements dating back to the year 1325 have been found, indicating that it was inhabited for at least some of it's pre-European existence. Exactly what caused their extinction or abandonment of the island remains uncertain, although most archaeological evidence points to a major natural disaster (and subsequent famine) between 1575-1600 as the most likely cause.

Europeans did not return until 1768, when German navigator Jakob Illingheim founded the first small outpost; eventually becoming the township of Port Lantea. Although Illingheim had established a German foothold on the island, it would not become an official colony until 1871, following the unification of Germany.

Colonial Period
From 1871 to 1919 (48 years) the colony of Neu Westfalen was one of only a handful of German outposts in the Pacific. During this period its population was also joined by smaller numbers of Dutch and British settlers, although no Dutch or British authority was ever instituted, given that Neu Westfalen remained solidly under the German Empire until after World War I.

The people of Neu Westfalen remained more or less loyal to the German Empire throughout it's colonial period, and were often told stories about an impending British invasion should Germany's position in Neu Westfalen be undermined; which did have some legitimacy given Britain's dominance of the South Pacific.

World War I
During the early stages of World War I 30,000 recruits were shipped to Europe by the German Empire to fight along side the Central powers, these journeys were very dangerous given Germany's relative lack of naval power. Consequently 4,885 were intercepted by British, and later American, Warships and would remain POW's until the war's end. These reinforcements slowed to a trickle in 1916 when the British Navy put Neu Westfalen under blockade, allowing no ships of any significant size to leave the country's waters.

Despite this Neu Westfalen's German administration continued to provide financial and material aid to the German Empire by purchasing goods via foreign proxies, before 'donating' them to Germany. These actions continued to draw the anger of the British Empire and its colonies whom, frustrated with the stalemate in Europe, desired to cut-off Germany's supplies and turn the balance of war in their favour. Meaning invasion was inevitable.

The Invasion of Neu Westfalen
On 2 June 1916 New Duveland (supported by the British Navy) launched an amphibious invasion of Neu Westfalen along its western coast. Their troops were to land and take the island quickly and with little casualties, but instead faced fierce German resistance. Despite heavy coastal bombardment from British Naval warships (which were responsible for 1 in 9 German casualties) the invading forces were forced into a tactical withdrawal after a month-long stalemate. During the campaign there were over 12,000 New Duveland and 10,000 Neu Westfalen casualties.

Although the invasion had ultimately ended in failure, New Duveland troops would return several years later, after Germany's defeat forced it to renounce all her rights over her overseas possessions to the Allied Powers; including therein Neu Westfalen. On the 28th of June, 1919 the Treaty of Versallies gave the mandate for Neu Westfalen to New Duveland, whom would oversee its transition into a democratic nation by 1925 - when it was granted independence.

Reformation
The people of Neu Westfalen were deeply shocked by the carnage along the invasion beaches and the damage caused by naval bombardments further inland. Despite claiming a temporary military victory the cost of the war had been high for such a small country, with 10,000 soldiers and over 1500 civilians dead within a month. In addition to the 11,971 soldiers who never returned from overseas, Neu Westfalen had also been economically strangled by the war; and the British blockade in particular.

Despite being occupied by New Duvian troops for six years the people of Neu Westfalen grew steadily warmer towards their former enemy neighbors, and would remain in free association with New Duveland until 1938. To this day each nation jointly commemorates the anniversary of the invasion, with both nations regarding the event as highly pivotal to their independence and identity.

Now able to make decisions entirely on their own behalf, the democratic Neu Westfalen government set about to ensure war never returned to their shores by adopting a neutrality strategy similar to that of Switzerland and Sweden. After being subject to the whim of a foreign power for 48 years its people also demanded a greater say in their government's decision making, leading to the adoption of its current Direct Democratic principles. This desire for self-determination made Neu Westphalian society typically wary of foreign entities, causing it to rarely support wars led by other western nations. As such it chose not to join the League of Nations (nor the United Nations) and only joined the Alliance of Independent Nations in 2013 after considerable public debate and a successful national referendum.

World War II
New Duvian troops were again sent to Neu Westfalen during World War II to ensure that security and order was kept as Nazi Germany conquered Europe; given that a vocal minority of Neu Westphalians were in favour of joining the Axis Powers. However Neu Westfalen officially refused to enter the war, despite attempts by both sides to draw them into it. It's government stated in 1939 that it had no strategic or moral interest in doing so; nor did most Neu Westphalians like the idea of fighting against their fatherland.

Post-War Period
After the war's end Neu Westfalen turned down American-led proposals to join the ANZUS treaty and continued its neutral foreign policy, this would continue throughout the Cold War and into the 21st century. The only exceptions being to join the International Force for East Timor and to demand an end to French nuclear tests in the Pacific from 1966 to 1996. Not because Neu Westfalen is a reactionary anti-Nuclear state (quite the contrary), but because it objected to the use of radioactive weapons in such close proximity to the native Polynesian populations in the area.

Acquisition of the Spira Islands
In 1951 Indonesian government sold a set of several small islands to Neu Westfalen for $21 million USD, or approximately $183 million when adjusted for inflation today. Located 776km south of Indonesia these islands were initially acquired for their marine fishing value. Today a small population of approximately 7,500 reside on the islands, including personnel from the Spira Military Base, which was established in 1978 after several decades of sovereignty disputes by the Indonesian Suharto administration. The Indonesian government claimed it had been "lied to" about the value of any potential oil reserves, although Neu Westfalen maintains the discovery of significant quantities of oil in the surrounding seas was only fully realized by 1975; totaling an estimated value of $137 billion in reserves.

In 1989 the islands were partially invaded and occupied by Indonesian government and paramilitary forces, resulting in a three-week undeclared conflict between the two nations. After several military setbacks and facing mounting international political pressure, the Indonesian government was forced to withdraw its forces. Today the islands remain a disputed territory, however only Indonesia refuses to recognize Neu Westfalen's current authority over the islands.

Recent History
In recent years Neu Westfalen has moved to position its economy as a low-risk and reliable business partner, greatly expanding relations with the emerging economic powers of China & Russia in particular.

Modern Government
Since 1925 Neu Westfalen has used a Non-partisan (no-political parties) Federal Democratic system with a single house of power consisting of 100 State Representatives. Constitutionally-enforceable public referendums are guaranteed by the Neu Westfalen constitution, thus making Neu Westfalen a direct democracy. By calling a federal referendum a group of citizens may challenge a law that has been passed by Parliament, if they can gather 50,000 signatures against the law within 100 days. If so, a national vote is scheduled where voters decide by a simple majority whether to accept or reject the law.

As such Neu Westfalen doesn’t have the massive bureaucratic class that the vast majority of other nations have, and the voter has more power than almost anywhere else. That includes the ability to vote on public spending, and elect judges. The federal government has power over only a relatively small portion of tax dollars, as States and municipalities have their own powers of taxation. Every part of the country competes to be as attractive to businesses and people as it can. Which helps enshrine its sense of meritocracy, as opposed to the idea of enforcing equality with a one size fits all mentality.

Neu Westfalen tends not to have career politicians, instead citizens serve for a time but also work independently. Which helps avoid pet projects, influence peddling, and conflicts of interest that often result with a separate, professional long serving political class. As a result, no Chancellor has ever served more than three terms (12 years) in office.

The first elected national Chancellor was Tobias Kaufman (aged 52) in 1925, he led Neu Westfalen for 12 years before retiring. National, State and Municipal elections are now held simultaneously every 4 years. Each Chancellor is elected by a two-stage national popular vote, with the top two candidates from the first round entering a second round run-off to determine the victor. Neu Westfalen's current Chancellor is Anna van der Sar, a National Conservative from Evelstadt whom returned to office on July 25th, 2014 after defeating Margot Schweitzer in a court-ordered Chancellery re-election; after the incumbent had been mired in a political scandal involving the previous election.

After independence Neu Westfalen adopted more conservative and pacifistic foreign and social policy stances, choosing to rarely involve themselves in the internal affairs of other nations; which critics claim is a "fortress island" mentality. Regardless Neu Westphalians continue to strongly identify themselves with their Germanic heritage, which can still be seen in it's judicial and bureaucratic systems.

Under the constitution any foreign-born citizen, who has resided in the country for less than 12 years, must be deported if convicted of a serious criminal offense.

International Relations
Neu Westfalen maintains excellent diplomatic relations with New Duveland, Cattala, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore but has sometimes clashed with American and NATO foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Relations with Indonesia remained strained over the disputed Spira Islands territory.

Neu Westfalen is a signatory of the Geneva Protocol, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the Alliance of Independent Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. It is not a member of the United Nations, as the Neu Westfalen government believes the power of VETO that the five permanent security council members possess makes the democratic process a fallacy. A national referendum on July 7th, 2014 rejected a proposal to join the UN with 71.6% opposed.

Successive governments have repeatedly protested US-led sanctions against Iran over its Nuclear program, which is yet to be proven as anything more than peaceful Nuclear power. Likewise Neu Westfalen has never possessed any Nuclear weapons, although the possibility of developing them was discussed in the 1970's; it was ultimately turned down as a "waste of resources" and a "breech of neutrality" principles.

Law
The Neu Westfalen Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) is the Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review. Neu Westfalen's supreme court system, called Oberste Gerichtshöfe des Bundes, is specialised: for civil and criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice, and for other affairs the courts are the Federal Labour Court, the Federal Social Court, the Federal Finance Court and the Federal Administrative Court. Many fundamental matters of administrative law remain in the jurisdiction of individual states, though most states base their own laws on that of Federal law. Successful national referendums cannot be overturned at any level of the courts, only by a successful counter-referendum.

Its penal system is aimed towards rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the general public. A life sentence is considered to be 18 years, with only rare examples involving immense violence or brutality exceeding this sentence length.

Defence


The Neu Westfalen Federal Defence Forces (German: Bundeswehr Neu Westfalen) are organized into Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Airforce) and Marine (Navy) branches. It operates a technologically sophisticated defence force with an emphasis on Air and Naval assets. The Heer (including Special Forces) operates the largest share with 13,500 personnel, followed by the Marine with 8,350 personnel and the Luftwaffe with 8,250 personnel. The Bundeswehr also maintains another 7,000 Reserve personnel (37,100 total), making it the 4th largest military in Oceania; behind Australia, Calaré and New Duveland.

Neu Westfalen's area of strategic interest is primarily in the Pacific & Indian ocean regions. Practical defence of its overseas territory, the Spira Islands, relies heavily upon its close defence-relations with Australia, which allows Bundeswehr aircraft and warships free passage and the right to refuel (and vice versa). Today Neu Westfalen conducts annual training exercises with its defence partners Australia, New Duveland, Cattala and New Zealand. The Marine also participates in the annual AIN-RIMPAC naval exercises.

Geography


Neu Westfalen is located approximately 2,100km off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island and is approximately 356,387 km2 in area. Neu Westfalen consists of a primary island (Neu Westphalia) with three small islands dotting its northern coast and two in the south. Its climate is mostly temperate but can range from sub-arctic in the south to sub-tropical in the north; depending on the season. The center of Neu Westphalia contains extensive mountain ranges, the largest of which is the Evehalden Alps; which covers a significant proportion of the island's lower interior. Mt Hadamar is the highest peak in Neu Westfalen at 3209 meters (10,528 ft) above sea level.

The main island is also known for its rolling hills, rivers and temperate forests, which are inhabited by a number of unique bird species. The largest introduced animal is the Sambar deer which were introduced in 1873 by European settlers. Sambar along with other introduced Deer species thrive in Neu Westphalia's mild temperate climate.

Having broken off from the eastern tip of the Zealandia microcontinent about 20 million years ago, several native Zealandia species (such as the giant Haast's Eagle and the Moa) survived and would thrive without Human interference; unlike their New Zealand counterparts. Today however both the Moa and the Haast Eagle (which traditionally feeds upon Moa) are threatened with extinction, with only 300 and 200 respectively remaining in the wild. Efforts to protect these animals are ongoing after they were hunted close to extinction by early Germanic settlers, whom considered the Haast in particular to be a dangerous pest; since it is capable of eating livestock and even small children.



Economy
Neu Westfalen's primary industries include Fishing/Seafood, Agriculture/Dairy, Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Drilling, Mining (Platinum, Nickel, Copper & Rare Earth Elements), Heavy Engineering, Finance and it's IT/Computer Engineering industry. Its primary trading partners are New Duveland, Cattala, Teiko, Okatabawashi, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the United States. Neu Westfalen is a relatively export-focused economy whose people enjoy a high standard of living, however the cost of living is fairly high given its geographic isolation.



Infrastructure
Neu Westfalen maintains a High Speed Rail (HSR) network that spans from Port Lantea to Valkeveen (via Delsedorf, Evelstadt and Zenebach). The HSR network is noted for its efficiency, which is seen by the government as crucial for encouraging the use of public transport. Indeed, this is typically the quickest method of transportation between the country's five major cities.

A modern system of highways (autobahn) combined with a regular speed limit of 130km/h (autobahns only) allows for quick travel times. In some parts of the Neu Westfalen autobahn there is no speed limit, although it is encouraged to go no faster than 130km/h for inexperienced drivers; and required by law for learner drivers.

Science and Technology
Neu Westfalen has a large high-tech industry focused on an array of scientific fields. Of great importance to the government is the on-going implementation of Hydrogen power, and the continued research into Nuclear Fusion at the Neu Westfalen Nuclear Fusion Research Facility, located near Evelstadt. It is hoped the first Fusion reactor will be online by 2050.

Scientists from Neu Westfalen also contribute to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project based in Cadarache, France. In addition to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on the Franco-Swiss border.

Energy
Neu Westfalen uses a variety of energy production methods. Primarily Nuclear (45%), Hydro (37%), Wind (9%), Hydrogen (4%), Solar (3%) and Tidal (2%). It currently operates one Uranium-based and two Thorium-based Nuclear power plants, all operated by state-owned energy company Fortgeschrittene Spaltung (Advanced Fission). As Neu Westfalen is an abundant producer of Rare Earth Elements, sourcing Thorium (a by-product of monazite mining) is very cost-effective, therefore Neu Westfalen plans to shut-down it's remaining Uranium-based plant by 2020.



Demographics


Neu Westfalen's population is primarily urban (80%) with its rural population (20%) having slowly shrunk since the 1960's, when increased economic development killed off many smaller rural industries. In 2016 a total of 3,760,056 people lived inside the ten largest urban centres. Ethnically Neu Westfalen is very homogenous with 96.8% of the population of European decent, as a result of it's geographic isolation and it's strict immigration and employment policies similar to those of Japan and Switzerland. As such it is also noted for maintaining a high level of social cohesion and low crime rates compared to those of New Zealand or Australia.

Of the European population 81.1% are primarily of German decent, followed by Dutch (7.5%), British & Irish (4.1%), Scandinavian (2.0%), French (1.4%), Italian (1.2%), Russian (1.1%), Romanian (0.9%) and other Europeans (0.7%). Asian migrants have primarily settled in the large urban centers of Neu Westfalen (Port Lantea in particular), and today total 2.8% of the national population. Pacific peoples' make up 0.3% of the population, whilst other ethnic groups account for roughly 0.1% of the population.

Immigration quotas have traditionally been limited to a few thousand per year, and are only offered to highly-skilled workers who fill in-demand industries. Given its close links with Germany, the Netherlands and Britain immigration has primarily come from these sources, however since the 1970's notable numbers of skilled Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian migrants have also settled in Neu Westfalen. Unlike many western nations the idea of 'diversity as strength' is largely rejected in favour of 'strength through commonality' which encourages full integration and participation in society for all citizens.

Religion
Neu Westfalen has no official state religion, although the majority of citizens adhere to Christianity (60.4%), followed by Buddhism (3.3%), Confucianism (2.1%), Judaism (0.7%), Hinduism (0.5%), Sikhism (0.3%) and Islam (0.2%). Non-Religious citizens account for 32.2% of the total population, whilst other religious beliefs account for approximately 0.1%. In particular Buddhism and Confucianism have become relatively popular amongst native Neu Westphalians, since being introduced by Chinese migrants in the 1970's. Most notably, Chancellor Anna van der Sar converted to Confucianism at age 18.

Education
Like most developed nations, free schooling is provided to all children in Primary and Secondary education. Likewise, Tertiary education has been made more accessible with heavily subsided University fees, interest-free student loans and well-funded research grants.

Culture
Neu Westfalen shares many traditions and cultural customs with its founding nation Germany and to a lesser extent the Netherlands and Britain. German and Dutch media is popular in Neu Westfalen in addition to most English media, as 96% of Neu Westfalen citizens can speak English to at least a reasonable degree; a trait that has proved useful for economic development and tourism. Small amounts of North East Asian media has started to become popular since these populations began settling in the 1970's.

Because of their geographic isolation and neutrality Neu Westphalians tend to see their land as a "sanctuary" from troubles of the world, which has led many to label the nation as isolationist, apathetic and uncaring about the troubles of other peoples. Historically the government has deflected international and domestic criticisms of this attitude by attributing Neu Westfalen's high standard of living and social cohesion to it's neutrality and small immigration quotas. Because of this, Neu Westfalen has traditionally elected conservative-leaning leaders since adopting democracy in 1925, with the only exceptions being socialist Chancellors' Gustav Nusbaum (1993 - 1997) and Margot Schweitzer (Dec 2013 - July 2014).

Neu Westfalen has allowed civil unions since 2005 but prohibits same-sex adoptions, with a 3 to 1 majority in favour of the law as it is. Although Pride parades and other expressions of "gay pride" are not prohibited, they are discouraged by the Federal government and most State parliaments as an "unnecessary stratification of society along sexual lines". Instead, most recent governments have aimed to promote a benign don't ask, don't tell social attitude.

Media and entertainment
Throughout history Neu Westfalen music has been influenced by classical, folk, rock, techno and pop with many of these genres given a unique Neu Westfalen interpretation. In the 19th century several Neu Westphalian composers would achieve international fame and frequently tour between Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other German-speaking territories. Likewise the music of famous German composers such as Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss was very popular in Neu Westfalen during this period.

In contemporary times Neu Westfalen's music industry primarily consists of Folk, Indie, Rock, Techno and Pop music. As the nation speaks three different languages, it's music is therefore multilingual. Hence music from across the German, Dutch and English speaking worlds frequently rank on the nation's top 40 music charts.

In December 2013 Neu Westfalen made it's debut in the Kingston & Boyce edition of the biannual AINVision song contest, winning first place with the song Young Blood by The Naked & Famous. As a result Neu Westfalen was automatically awarded hosting rights for the next edition in June 2014, which was held in Zenebach.

Newstream Media is the nation's sole state-owned broadcaster, and by far the largest media network in the country. As of 2016 it operates in six languages and has production centers in six foreign countries, hence it is often described as an emerging international media-powerhouse. In total it controls a 52% market-share of all national media, with the remaining 48% controlled by domestic and foreign privately-owned networks. Overall Neu Westfalen frequently ranks among the top 10 countries for press freedom, thanks largely to a lack of total media monopolies, loose censorship laws, numerous privately-owned enterprises and safe working-conditions for journalists.

Sports
Association football is the most actively participated and watched sport, followed by Rugby, Field Hockey, Netball, Archery and Taekwondo. The German Bundesliga attracts one of the largest television audiences outside of Germany, as many Neu Westphalians maintain close cultural and family ties to Germany. Historically, Neu Westphalian sportsmen and women have been successful contenders in the Summer & Winter Olympic Games, having a relatively high medal to population count.