Republic of Silikia

Republic of Silikia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Libertas Servetur (Latin: Freedom is Maintained)
Anthem: We Are Silikian
Capital	Riverside
Largest city	Burnham
Official languages	English
Demonym(s)	Silikian
Government	Representative Democracy
Legislature	Senate of Silikia
Establishment	August 24, 2017
Population
• (Mar 2021) census	11
Currency	None
Time zone	Silikian Central Time (UTC-7:10)
Website Official Website
This nation is not a member state of any organization

The Republic of Silikia, more commonly known as Silikia, is a micronation in the American state of California. The country was originally founded by its two founders as a city-state called Wallensburg, which later evolved into the Republic of Silikia. Silikia had peaked in late 2018, before becoming inactive in what is known to Silikians as the Looming. Through most of its history, Silikia did not make many territorial claims.

Silikia is a Unitary Liberal Democracy under a Multi-Party Presidential Republic. It has two executives, the Prime Minister and President, who serve equal roles as both a Head of Government and Head of State. They are elected yearly under the Score System. Silikia's unicameral legislature, the Senate, currently constitutes of all Silikia's active citizenry excluding the two Executives. The Senate is elected biannually via Borda Count, and holds the primary legislative power in the laws of Silikia.

The Republic of Silikia has, until recently, kept itself isolated from the broader micronational community. Thus, its foreign relations have been very limited until the modern-day. Despite this isolationism, Silikia still has a military and a Cabinet Position for Foreign Affairs.

Name

The Republic of Silikia was originally a small city-state called Wallensburg, which derived its name from its location very near to the wall of a park. From there, the nation's founders decided to create a proper micronation, which they entitled the Confederacy of the Silicon Leaf, or CSL. Their original intent was to create a confederation of small towns, hence the name. Silicon derived from its location in Silicon Valley, and Leaf was added for no clear reason. The demonym of the small country became Silician, and by October 2017, the CSL had fully morphed itself into the Republic of Silicia, which itself changed only days later to the Republic of Silikia, the name held to this day.

History

Silikian History is split into three epochs, each of those with three periods, and the periods furtherly subdivided into many phases.

Old Epoch

The Hermit Period lasted between Silikia's founding on August 24, 2017, and January 2, 2018. During this period, Silikia had a very small population, with around seven citizens. During the Hermit Period, foundations were laid for Silikia's future. The structure of the government and symbols of Silikia would not exist without the Hermit Period.

The Boom Period lasted between January 2, 2018, and April 25 of the same year. The Boom Period marked the age of rapid expansion in Silikia, soaring to a population of 15. Some events included the 5 Minutes War, the founding of the Cabinet, the first political parties, and a small economic system called the Proto-Economy. Without the Boom Period, Silikia's success could have never happened.

Silikia's first decline is known as the Silence. On April 25, 2018, which marked the beginning of the Silence as Silikia had a large and slow decline in activity as a result of economic collapse, the threat of a new group, and just a lack of interest in the country. The population stagnated, and it correlated with the massive divide between two ideologies, the Hermits and Boomists in June 2018.

Great Epoch

On August 19, 2018, nearly a year after Silikia's founding, the Silence came to an end. Silikian activity had a quick and massive resurgence, leading to a population larger than ever, at 26 Citizens. One of the most important aspects of the Renaissance was the importance and rise of the news industry as one of the highest institutions in the country. The Renaissance is remembered fondly by the citizenry as a golden age for Silikia.

Following the Renaissance came the Aluminum Age, beginning on October 19 of 2018. The Aluminum Age saw an uptick in the rise of the economy, with "Great December" being considered the peak of Silikia's economic prosperity due to the rise of the art industry. The name "Aluminum" is a reference to the Boom Period's porto-economy, which built itself on an aluminum currency.

With the beginning of 2019 came the Chasmic Period. During this period, a large proportion of the citizenry, now 42 people, became more inactive, while the more active people became divided over issues. Debates over currency, economic regulation, and the fading of democratic systems made the Chasmic Period weaker. Towards the end of the period, there was an election, which led to a new presidency and corresponded with a brief uptick in the economy.

Modern Epoch

After the election on June 13, Silikian activity declined again, but this time it was expected. The Hiatus marked Silikia's slow decline inactivity. In August and September 2019, Silikian activity began to go upward, with new expansion and an end to the argument of the Chasmic Period. But it seemed that Silikia was slowly, but surely, going towards a demise.

Silikia's death was hard to pinpoint, but the Looming is now considered to have begun on September 22, 2019. Between this point and the revival of Silikia on August 26, 2020, Silikia was simply put... dead. There were attempts at growth, but nothing had worked and by the beginning of the Covid-19 Lockdown Silikia's death was fully accepted by the eleven "remaining" citizens.

The Revival is the current period that Silikia is experiencing. The country has returned to activity with a massive reform in the structure of its government, new waves of activity, and Silikia's proper adaptation to a digital environment. This period is still ongoing.

Politics

Throughout its history, Silikia has been seen over by a total of four different constitutions, with one for each year of the country's existence. The Constitutions have varied in minor details, changing policies on veto power, elections, and impeachment. The third constitution, the Provincial Constitution, completely overhauled the government in favour of a regionalistic basis for government (however it was never implemented due to the Looming). Despite the activity regarding the constitution, Silikia was not always the most successful legislatively, sometimes only proposing roughly two or three laws a year. This has changed recently, however.

Government

The Senate is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Silikia. Its members are elected biannually in September and March using a Borda Count. Currently every citizen is in the Senate besides the two Executives. Senators have a variety of duties, the most important one being their ability to vote on laws. Laws can be proposed by any member of the government, and they will then be voted on by the Senate. The Senate has three days to vote on laws, and if a majority of Senators have still not voted, voting will continue for another four days. That means that Senators have a lot of influence over laws the earlier they vote, encouraging and spurring their activity. Senators also vote on impeachment, which requires a 3/4 vote, constitutional amendments, which require 3/4 of the entire government, and Midterm Admissions (which allow for people to join the Senate in the middle of a Senate's term).

The Executives are the dual magistrates of Silikia. The two executives are the Prime Minister and President, who are elected in the General Election every year in March, and they are restricted to two terms. The Prime Minister and President also have a variety of duties. They have absolute authority over Silikian foreign policy, and must make decisions on matters of war, peace, and treaties. They also must vote on the laws passed by the Senate. The Executives have seven days to either ratify or veto a law proposal (laws with a 3/4 affirmative vote by the Senate are veto-proof). If they do not make a decision within seven days, the law immediately passes.

The Cabinet is appointed by the Executives to enforce and enact Silikian laws and resolutions. The current administration includes four departments, each with its own secretary. The Department of Finance manages the economy of Silikia. The Department of Foreign Affairs manages Silikia's international and intermicronational policy. The Department of Justice manages Silikia's legal system and most often its head is also the Chief Justice of the court. The Department of Human Services is the most expansive in its field, managing social programs, events, and publicity.

Law and Order

Until the signing of the fourth constitution Silikia did not have a well-established legal system. The new legal framework established in the current constitution creates a National Court in which all trials are convened. The court is presided over by the Chief Justice, who is nominated by the Executives and confirmed by the Senate (who is often the Secretary of Justice). Trials in the court consist of a Persecution and Defense making opening statements, taking turns presenting evidence or questioning a witness, and ending with closing statements. After the case, the jury will vote on whether the innocence or guilt of the accused.

The Department of Justice produces legal exams for which Silikian citizens can take to apply to being a Judge. Certified Judges are able to preside over cases if the Chief Justice is not present, and when they are in the jury they receive two votes.

Political Parties

Silikia operates under a multi-party system with five recognised political parties, two of which (The SUP and Rebellion Parties) generally hold the most control historically. They have vastly changed over time in terms of their ideology, and recently near all of these parties became inactive due to a new political environment.

Party Name	Members	Ideology	Founded	Senate	Executives	Cabinet (Not Elected)
Silikian Union Party	2	Social Democracy	January 2018	2 / 9	0 / 2	1 / 4
Rebellion Party	3	Big-Tent	August 2018	2 / 9	1 / 2	2 / 4
The Idealists	2	Perfectionism	October 2018	2 / 9	0 / 2	1 / 4
Party of Peace	2	Pacifism	August 2018	1 / 9	1 / 2	0 / 4
Independent	2	N/A	N/A	2 / 9	0 / 2	0 / 4

Foreign Policy

Silikia has, until recently, kept itself isolated from the broader micronational community. Thus, its foreign relations have been very limited until the modern-day. Despite this isolationism, Silikia still has a military and in the past had an intelligence organisation, which was involved in foreign affairs disputes between Silikia and non-micronational groups.

During the Boom Period, contact with other micronations was considered imminent. This opinion was called the classical view of foreign relations. However, the Silence delayed this event, and the Renaissance showed a backlash to the classical view. A new mindset believed that Silikia's foreign policy should primarily be defensive of potential threats. Despite the Government's unwillingness to make foreign contact, the concept was still popular with the people (according to surveys in May 2019) which helped encourage the foreign contact that now has occurred.

Geography

Silikia originally made claims to a lot of territory, and by the end of the Hermit Period there were six cities in the country. Following that brief expansion, Silikia's territorialism significantly declined as the population grew faster than the country could establish cities, and by September 2018 the country had stopped expanding, with only nine claimed territories.

Climate

The Republic of Silikia's climate, under the Köppen-Geiger Climate System, is classified as a warm-summer mediterranean climate. The country therefore generally experiences dry summers and wet winters. The weather is generally sunny and has clear skies. Silikian winters are mild and high in precipitation.

Climate data for the Republic of Silikia
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	15 (59)	16 (61)	17 (63)	18 (64)	20 (68)	22 (72)	23 (73)	23 (73)	24 (75)	22 (72)	18 (64)	15 (59)	19.4 (67)
Daily mean °C (°F)	10 (50)	11 (52)	12 (54)	13 (55)	15 (59)	17 (63)	18 (64)	19 (66)	19 (66)	16 (61)	13 (55)	10 (50)	14.4 (58)
Average low °C (°F)	6 (43)	7 (45)	7 (45)	8 (46)	10 (50)	12 (54)	14 (57)	14 (57)	13 (55)	11 (52)	8 (46)	6 (43)	9.7 (49.4)
Average Precipitation mm (inches)	96 (3.78)	76 (2.99)	73 (2.87)	34 (1.34)	7 (0.28)	2 (0.08)	1 (0.04)	2 (0.08)	6 (0.24)	27 (1.06)	64 (2.52)	74 (2.91)	462 (18.19)
[citation needed]

Economy

Silikia has a small market economy, that currently works under laissez-faire system. However many Silikians believe that the country should be a mixed economy instead. Almost all of Silikian economic activity comes from their companies, which generally exist in one or two different industries. The Silikian Economy, in its modern form, began during the Renaissance, and has a longstanding cycle of booms and busts.

Major Industries

The first major industry in Silikia to have widespread success was the journalism industry. During the Renaissance, Silikian journalism experienced a boom with such successful newspapers as Justified. The newspaper industry also allowed for the rapid expansion of the population, which provided a large consuming populous for other industries.

The other industry that became dominant in Silikia was "Creative Works" (a term pioneered by the Ministry of Finance and Labor). The massive growth in the arts industry was a key feature of the Aluminum Age, and its largest company, Font Inc, specialised in calligraphy productions. The Creative Works Industry became even more successful than journalism.

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the country's economy has been forced online, which has led to a new recession in the economy. Newspapers have begun to move online, but it still has been rough for the country to grow its markets.

Fiscal Policy

Currency is one of the oldest debates in Silikian history. The first currency recommended to the country was the Silikian Pound, which was invented on December 7 of 2017. This was the same time the first bank was founded in Silikia, so the currency needed to be lightweight and easy for the head of bank (who also served as a finance minister) to make. They settled on using sticky-notes as a material to make the currency from, as the sticky part is unable to counterfeit.

This currency, however, was never put into effect. The next "currency" Silikia used took place during the Proto-Economy Boom of March 2018. During this time, aluminum foil could be rolled up into balls and used as the "Aluminium Nugget." Silikia began a mint which would create the nuggets, and plans to subsidise aluminum suppliers were underway, along with a set exchange rate of 3 Aluminum to 1 Dollar. But the Proto-Economy collapsed, and thus the currency fell out of use.

During the Renaissance, the Prime Minister came up with a plan. They hoped that Silikia could encourage economic growth by a system of loans to the people, and a taxation plan that would gradually change over time from a deficit to a surplus. The Prime Minister knew that people would not be willing to be taxed in dollars, so the plan included a temporary currency to smooth the transition to full USD payment. This currency would be a shortened form of temporary currency, or TeCur.

The TeCur was never fully put into effect. Whether Silikia could have a currency was the cause of many, many, arguments. Debates ranged from exchange rates to counterfeit, and compromises such as the ideology of bifiscallism were short-lived. To this day, Silikia still does not use either dollars or TeCurs (which have now become the general name for any form of Silikian currency).

Culture

Silikian culture is primarily multicultural, with heavy influence from the United States.

Motto

The motto of the Republic of Silikia is Libertas Servetur, which is Latin for Freedom is Maintained. The previous motto was Onwards to Peace and Prosperity, or Ac deinceps pacem ad felicitatem. This was a reference to the preamble of the Silikian Constitution, which described Silikia's goal as to pursue peace and prosperity for all its citizens. Following the new motto's adoption in January 2018, "Peace, Freedom, and Prosperity" are recognized as the three principles of Silikia.

Flora and Fauna

The national tree of the Republic of Silikia is the pepper tree. The national flower is the fern, which is used very frequently in Silikian iconography. More recently, the daffodil has been used as an alternative national flower. The original national animal was the fox, though it was later substituted with a labradoodle via referendum, partially because of one of the nation's founder's pets.