Tigrisaene

Tigrisaene, officially the Republic of Tigrisaene (Tigrisaenese: Republiek Tigrisaene), is a sovereign country located in. Tigrisaene's capital and largest city is Stadzuilen, which is home to over 55% of the population. Thanks to the state's history, the state is commonly described as a democratic socialist state. Tigrisaene is a federal presidential republic consisting of 28 states, a federal district and federal dependencies covering Tigrisaene's offshore islands.

Tigrisaene remained, for a long time, one of the world's last uninhabited larger islands (the others being, and ). In the 11th century, Dutch settlers migrated to the island of modern-day Tigrisaene which hasn't been inhabited for a long time. The isolation of the travelers led to the development of a culture distinct of that of its Dutch cousin.

The Kingdom of Tigrisaene was declared in 1567, but the kingdom was brought to an end in 1878 when Sjors Van Rossum, who led a revolution against the monarch, managed to capture Stadzuilen and established an aristocratic government. The aristocrat government was later taken down by the communist revolutionary Bonifaas Erckens in 1923, and declared a socialist republic afterwards.

The expansion of the savagely suppressed the current socialist republic in Tigrisaene, and Tigrisaene became a pupper state for the German Reich until the Germans surrendered in 1945, and was later occupied by the Soviet Union. Originally planned to be seperated into two states with different ideologies, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to not split Tigrisaene into two as long as the state does not declare as their official state ideology and the state must not join either  or the.

After the fall of communism, Tigrisaene entered a transitional period on where they abandoned the original state-owned planned economy into a mixed market economy. During the transitional period, Tigrisaene saw its admission to the European Union, but later left under the Bakhuizen administration, promoting a neutral approach on foreign affairs.

Tigrisaene is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards. Additionally, it ranks highly in peacefulness, democracy, press freedom, stability, social progress, prosperity and English proficiency. It is a founding member of the, the , and the , but notably not part of the , the or the. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties.

Etymology
The name "Tigrisaene" derives from the Latin Tigris aenea, which translates to 'Bronze Tiger'. The name came from the abundant bronze deposits around the country.

Early history
In the 11th century, a group of Dutch settlers migrated to the island now known as Tigrisaene. Although, many believe that Tigrisaene wasn't inhabited until the 11th century, a myriad of evidences that traces of hominid existence in Tigrisaene date back about 55,000 years.

The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, Tigrisaene was divided into two states in an era called 'the Two States Era'. The two states had close relationships and they often do trades, and it led to the creation of the Kingdom of Tigrisaene in 1567. In the late Middle Ages, Tigrisaene is famous for mysteriously yet impressively avoiding the destructive Black Death bubonic plague that plagued most of the European continent.

The Kingdom of Tigrisaene, revolt and aristocratic government
In 1567, the Two States Era officially ended after the two states unified into one single kingdom known as the Kingdom of Tigrisaene, and for 311 years, it was the sole government of the Tigrisaenese island. In 1878, Sjors Van Rossum, who led a revolution against the monarch, managed to capture Stadzuilen and established an aristocratic government, ending the Kingdom.

During the aristocratic reign, Van Rossum provided the poorest farmers with basic medical aid in Stadzuilen, which led to the birth of welfare in Tigrisaene. Tigrisaene became advanced as time passed by. During the last years of the aristocratic government, Van Rossum clearly got worse as he began repressing those who opposed him. His authoritarian tendencies led him on getting overthrown by the communist revolutionary Bonifaas Erckens in 1923, and declared a socialist republic afterwards.

Socialist Republic of Tigrisaene, annexation by the Greater German Reich, and contemporary era
After overthrowing Van Rossum, Erckens declared the Socialist Republic of Tigrisaene and later aligned it with the newly-formed Soviet Union. In 1942, the socialist government was savagely suppressed by the Greater German Reich and they became a puppet state for them. In the same year, Erckens was executed by hanging as order of Hitler. After Germany's surrender in 1945, the Soviet Union occupied Tigrisaene for four years before granting them independence in 1949. Since the Cold War started, the United States made sure that Tigrisaene won't fall into the hands of the Soviet Bloc. To not risk a third world war, the original plan was to split Tigrisaene into two but it was later changed when the two superpowers agreed on keeping Tigrisaene into one with two vital conditions: the state must not implement Marxism–Leninism as the official state ideology and the state must not join either NATO or the Soviet Bloc.

A federalist presidential constitution was introduced in 1954, which made Tigrisaene one of the only three presidential republics in Europe. The administration of Bob Maessen saw the creation of "Tigrisaenese socialism", an ideology developed by Maessen and Natalie Erckens, the daughter of Bonifaas Erckens which later became Tigrisaene's de facto state ideology. Although the ideology distances itself from Marxism–Leninism, some American political scientists have called Tigrisaenese socialism as a splinter ideology from Marxism with the hints of social democracy and democratic socialism. The political scientists also have said that the ideology had defied the 1949 Neutrality Agreement.

The presidency of Roelof Ogtrop saw a major ideological shift to the right. Ogtrop was a nationalist ultraconservative infamous for his far-right populism, and he was highly critical of Tigrisaenese socialism. Ogtrop's presidency was cut short in 1963 when he was impeached and removed from office following a vote buying scandal during the 1961 elections, and Ogtrop was succeeded by Lars Romijnsen after being elected in the 1963 snap election.

At the end of Romijnsen's presidency, Tigrisaene returned to its traditional left-wing position and the People's Democratic Party continued its dominance at every presidential and legislative election. The 1978 general election was historic as the election saw the first ever defeat of the People's Democratic Party to the centre-left Liberal Party, but PDP resurged in the 1983 election and since then, the PDP have continuously dominated the Grand National Assembly.

Geography
Tigrisaene is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, miles away from the Republic of Ireland's west coast and from Iceland's southern coast. At 241,254 km2, Tigrisaene ranks in Europe's 20 largest countries just behind the United Kingdom but ahead of Romania, Belarus, Greece, and other countries.

Government and politics
Tigrisaene has been a federal, presidential participatory democratic republic since the ratification of the Constitution of 1954, with Studzuilen, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments and the municipal governments. According to the constitution, all constituent states of the federation must have a republican form of government composed of three branches: the executive, represented by a governor and an appointed cabinet, the legislative branch constituted by either a unicameral or bicameral legislative assembly.

The federal legislature is the unicameral Grand National Assembly. The Assembly makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments.

The Grand National Assembly, as well as the state legislatures, are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes plurality and proportional representation. The Assembly has 450 seats. Of these, 250 are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts (the federal electoral districts) and 200 are elected by proportional representation with open party-lists for which the country is divided into five electoral constituencies.

The executive is the President of Tigrisaene who is the head of state and government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Tigrisaene Self-Defense Forces. The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers. The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law, and has the power to veto bills.

Law
Tigrisaenese law is based on the civil law legal system and civil law concepts prevail over common law practice. Most of Tigrisaenese law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretive guidelines; however, they are seldom binding on other specific cases. Doctrinal works and the works of academic jurists have strong influence in law creation and in law cases. Judges and other judicial officials are appointed after passing entry exams.

The legal system is based on the Federal Constitution, promulgated on 30 November 1954, and the fundamental law of Tigrisaene. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules. As of January 2018, there have been 53 amendments. States have their own constitutions, which must not contradict the Federal Constitution.

Economy
The economy of Tigrisaene is one of the world's most advanced and highly-developed free-market economies. The service sector has come to play a significant economic role, particularly the Tigrisaenese banking industry and tourism. The economy of Tigrisaene ranks in the Top 10 in the world in the 2015 Global Innovation Index and in the 2020 Global Competitiveness Report. In addition, according to the Ease of Doing Business Index 2020, Tigrisaene is the seventh easiest country to do business in.

The Tigrisaenese economy has been steady, expanding continuously since the third quarter of 2014, with a yearly GDP growth of 1.5% registered in the second quarter of 2015. The economy's growth has been accompanied by a continuous fall in the unemployment rate (5.6% in the first quarter of 2019, compared with 13.9% registered in the end of 2014). The government budget deficit has also been reduced from 11.2% of GDP in 2010 to 0.5% in 2018.

The Tigrisaenese economy is a high-income developed market-oriented economy that incorporates economic planning through industrial policies and strategic six-year plans. The economy consists of state-owned enterprises and mixed-ownership enterprises, as well as a large domestic private sector and openness to foreign businesses in a system officially described as the "Bronze Tiger Economics". State-owned enterprises accounted for over 55% of Tigrisaene's market capitalization in 2019 and generated 45% of Tigrisaene's GDP of US$5.948 trillion (7.685 trillion Tigrisaenese guilder) in 2020, with domestic and foreign private businesses and investment accounting for the remaining 55%. As of the end of 2019, the total assets of all Tigrisaene's state-owned enterprises, including those operating in the financial sector, reached US$39.45 trillion. Tigrisaene has Europe's largest economy when measured by nominal GDP and by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

The government began its economic reforms in 1989 under the presidency of Ronald De Kloet. As a result, Tigrisaene has the world's second fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over 30 years. Tigrisaene has three of the world's top ten most competitive financial centers (Stadzuilen, Gemmenheuvels, and Kerngemeenvoorouders), only behind to China's four financial centers.