Shemia

Shemia (: שמיה, Shmih), officially the Union of Elihu, Rehovot and Sfat (איחוד אליהו, רחובות ו ספט, Ikhud Elihu, Rekhubes u Sefat), also referred to as the UERS, is a country located in north-western Skephon, the country also has territory in southern Alutra. The country is bordered by XCOUNTRY in Alutra, the Strait of X, in the north, the Sedic Sea in the east, XCOUNTRY in the south, XCOUNTRY to the west and the Abayadi Sea in the north-west. Shemia has an area of 1,385,482km2 (534,938 sq mi), making it the second-largest country by land area in Skephon behind Mitruhmoer and the twelfth-largest country by total land area. It has a population of 38,019,237 making it the 22nd-most populous country in the world. The capital of Shemia is Gefen whilst the most populous city and financial centre is Nesher. Other large cities in Shemia include Geth, Jehud, Yokneam and Arsuf. The country is comprised of 3 nations; Elihu along the country's coasts with the Abayadi and Sedic seas, Rehovot in the southern part of the country and Sfat in Alutra.

The earliest recorded evidence of humans in Elihu dates back over 90,000 years and was discovered in Rehovot in the Avivim mountain range. Shaphatism, emerged from Elihu in in the 9th century BCE. In 109 BCE the Kingdom of Nahash expanded and conquered Elihu and Sfat. The Nahash dynasty centralized power in the ancient Rehovoti city of Jehud which became a centre of knowledge and influence in the area. Nahash was split into 5 states by King Ibu amongst his sons in 21 BCE. After 20 years of near continuous fighting the Hoshama Dynasty led by Ibu's eldest son Hoshama II united the states. In 422 Hoshama was invaded by the Haksar Dayashafirate which defeated the country after several years and took over the region of Rehovot. Several years later Hoshama descended into civil war between King Emet III and his wife Radah. Forces loyal to Radah were successful and she was declared leader of Hoshama. During the conflict, the Kingdom of Sfat seceded and adopted Sortisism. Despite the destruction of Hoshama the country entered a golden age of literature and knowledge and expanded it’s control on trading routes in the area. After a Hoshamite trade ship was held in Sfat war broke out between the two and Sfat emerged victorious in 833, unifying both states. The Sfati authorities set about attempting to spread Sortisim into Hoshama although the attempts failed and Shaphatists in the city of Geth launched a rebellion which spread to most of Hoshama. Eventually the Sfati army lost control over Kingdom of Elihu and retreated to a select number of cities on the northern coast of Elihu.

Elihu expanded and took over much of Rehovot in 1655. In 1811, inspired by the First Haksar Republic, Sfati republicans overthrew the Sfati monarchy which had ruled the country for over 1000 years. The Sfati Republic soon came into conflict with Elihu where the remaining Sfati monarchy had fled to. In 1819 when the Sfati government demanded the monarchy’s extradition the Elihuese government rejected their demands and the First Gezer War began. The war was a Sfati victory and a puppet Elihuese republican government was established despite the monarchy’s popularity. The Elihuese Republic was incredibly unstable and subject to several dozen anti-Sfati or monarchist revolts. After only 9 months of occupation the Elihuese republic collapsed into a bloody civil war. The war soon spilled over into Sfat when pro-monarchy forces occupied the Sfati cities in northern Elihu. Soon after the collapse of Elihu and Sfat, a coalition of Alutran expeditionary forces was sent to the region to protect trading interests. Elihu, Sfat and Rehovot were all occupied by the expeditionary force and a puppet pro-Alutran Shemian government was established. The State of Shemia was the first pan-Shemian state since the 800s and stability returned to the region as freedom of religion was guaranteed. Whilst nominally independent, Shemian laws had to be approved by council of representatives from the coalition.

Shemia declared neutrality in the First World War to allow for freedom of passage through the X Straits to continue. After the war, Shemia descended into civil war between Shaphatists, Jaraders, Sortisists. The Shemian civil war caused thousands to die and various war crimes were committed against all 3 groups by each other. The war continued throughout the Second World War. During the war, the Jarader Rehovot Republic sided with the Alliance whilst the Sortisists and Shaphatists sided with the Concert of Nations. The Gefen agreement between Shaphatists, Sortisists and opposition H’Ejradis was signed and established the confederal Union of Elihu, Rehovot and Sfat in 1946. As per the 1946 constitution, Shemia would declare neutrality and each constituent nation would have equal representation in the government. The first major test to Shemian neutrality came when the Third World War broke out. Shemia once again declared neutrality although it had secret connections to the Concert of Nations including an agreement for the alliance to protect Shemia if it’s sovereignty was violated by an Alliance state. Following the war Shemia remained in a relatively stable state. Problems emerged in the 1980s when an ultra-religious Movement for Shaphatist Salvation won power in Elihu and became the Elihuese Member of the Presidency. Fearing a future conflict the Shemian supreme court forced an immediate rerun of the elections. The MSS won the elections, the opposition alongside the Sfati and Rehovoti governments all claimed electoral fraud had been committed and in a unanimous decision - as the Elihuese representatives had been barred from voting - a state of emergency was declared in Elihu. In the following Elihuese elections the newly formed secular Justice and Fatherland Party won with heavy media bias and a ban on the MSS. For the next 30 years the party won every Elihuese election until 2009 when the party lost power for the first time to the former MSS leader who won power with a moderate coalition.

The Shemian constitution guarantees total equality between the 3 member nations of Shemia. The Presidency of Shemia is comprised of one directly-elected representative from each country and serves as the collective and  of Shemia. Shemia is considered a, the country's constitution recognises the country as neutral in world affairs and it's neutrality is recognised by the World Forum which Shemia is a member of. The Shemian economy has experienced a period of continuous growth since 1989, the country's economy is described as an upper-middle income economy. The country has also been classified as a since 1998.

Politics
The Gefen agreement serves as the basis for politics in Shemia, the agreement outlines the Shemian government as a secular, federal. The 3-member Presidency of Shemia wields in the country; each member of the Presidency comes from one of Shemia's constituent nations and all are elected every 5 years in separate elections using the  method. The Presidency meets in the Palace of the Presidency, the former building of the coalition backed Administrative Council in Gefen.

is given to the Parliament of Shemia which has 405 members who are elected using the  method, each constituent country has 135 seats in the Parliament and each country also holds elections for their seats separately and at different times set out by the regional legislatures of each nation. The last election was the 2022 Elihuese legislative election. Shemia has for all Shemian citizens above the age of 18. As of 2022 the Parliament of Shemia meets at a temporary chamber in the Gefen Cultural Centre whilst the old building undergoes renovations.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the Parliament of Shemia to serve as the Parliament's representative in the Presidency, whilst the Prime Minister does not vote on issues with the rest of the Presidency or have many of the same rights as the body, they are considered a member of the Presidency and are represented at all meetings of the Presidency. The role of Prime Minister of Shemia functions more similarly to a as they also chair meetings of the Parliament and report back to the Presidency about legislative affairs. The current Prime Minister is Jehu Graetz.

Each nation of Shemia elects individual legislative bodies who are in charge of affairs in that nation. Sfat, Elihu and Rehovot all maintain significant autonomy from the state and each have different political cultures.

There is a historical understanding in Shemian politics that a must be placed on religious parties over fears that religious differences could reignite conflict in the country. As such for most of modern Shemian history since the Gefen Agreement the country has been governed by a coalition of moderate secular political parties whilst religious parties have struggled to win representation in Parliament or the Presidency. The notable exception to this rule is the Movement for Shaphatist Salvation's political victories in the 1980s which sparked the Elihu crisis, more recently the moderate faction of the MSS won power once again in Elihu in 2009 although could not pass laws as other parties refused to work with them.

Each nation in Shemia has a separate political environment to each other and no major federal political parties exist, this causes political parties to form political groups in the Parliament with parties with similar ideologies. The main political groups in the Parliament are the Democrat Union, the secularist big-tent Shemian Home group, the  People's Movement and the religious Tuvanah group which is less united than the others. The Democrat Union, Shemian Home and People's Movement are in a with each other. To be recognised as a group in the Parliament, it must have represented member parties from each constituent nation and have more than 40 seats between the parties. Parliamentary groups gain more speaking time than independent parties and have a greater influence on domestic politics.