Athens Federation

The **Athens Federation** is a federal constitutional republic on the Athens server, and consists of the majority of the server's population. It is a federation of city-states, including its co-capitals Athens and Novo-Arkhangelsk. It was founded on January 1, 1970, replacing the Republic of Athens (1861-1970), which was founded after the Athenian Revolution of 1859.

## Political system

### Constitution

The present constitution is the Federated Constitution of 1968, signed in 1968 and ratified in 1969 after the Joanhina Accords, as amended by several successive federal governments. There are several entrenched clauses (Section 1 on the democratic nature of the Federation, sections 2 to 4 on the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, Sections 5 to 10 on the federal nature of the state, Section 15, which delegates to the federal government the "duty to ensure a republican, democratic form of government for all of its citizens", Section 32 on the right to private and family life, added in a 1987 constitutional amendment, and the controversial Section 57c) that cannot be amended. Any other section of the constitution can be amended by a two-thirds majority in the legislature, followed by a simple majority in a referendum.

### Legislature

Athens has a bicameral federal legislature, with both chambers directly elected every four years (the most recent elections being in 2021); incorporated cities may have their own legislative setup, but they must be directly elected under federal law. The upper chamber is the Athens Senate, currently holding 122 senators; this is officially non-partisan (although most get around this restriction by forming "caucuses" or "groups" that are in reality fully controlled by the party they support).

The lower chamber is the Athens People's Congress, currently holding 268 representatives (228 from incorporated cities and 40 from unincorporated precincts); its members are called **PC**s, and parties are allowed in this chamber; members of the Senate are generally viewed with a higher degree of seniority than PCs, and are generally considered more likely to run (and to have a higher chance of being elected) for the post of President of the Federation than their representative cousins, although some presidents have been elected after solely serving a PCs or in local government.

Bills are generally introduced in the People's Congress; any member can introduce a bill into the Congress as long as 24 hours' notice is given to the PC Speaker (an officially, but not in practice, non-partisan position). The Speaker decides what bills are considered for each legislative day, although the People's Congress can vote to force a bill to be considered under some circumstances if the Speaker refuses, most notably the annual Federation budget. The general essence of a bill is usually voted on in a "Stage 1" vote before being sent to a committee for deeper scrutiny. A bill then has to pass a simple majority vote in its allocated legislative committee and then another simple majority vote to be discharged to the Senate. There is no procedure for a filibuster in either chamber, but talking filibusters are fairly common and are sometimes used to prevent bills from being passed although there are cases of the Speaker forcing a vote on a bill or the representative or senator in question being physically prevented from talking by their opponents.

The Senate can only delay a bill for one year instead of blocking it, except for the annual budget (a simple majority in both chambers) and constitutional amendments (which require a 2/3rds vote in both chambers). Usually a bill has to pass a committee and simple majority Senate vote, where it is then sent to the President for ratification. While a President can veto bills (except for the annual budget); any one chamber of the legislature can overturn the veto by a majority of 60 percent (originally two-thirds before a 2001 constitutional amendment), and this is regularly done. Constitutional amendments are instead put to a Federation-wide vote, where a simple majority is required.

Any city can sue to prevent a bill being implemented in federal court, where it will then be evaluated for constitutionality. This is regularly abused - city governments typically use it in order to make a political statement and state opposition to laws they disagree with. This leads to over ninety percent of these challenges being rejected by the Supreme Court, with several dozen laws challenged each year. The Supreme Court has responded to this by creating an accelerated process for federal law challenges, pending future legislation.

### Incorporated cities

Incorporated cities are legally considered parts of the Federation. Incorporated cities are represented by two senators in the Athens Senate, and are divided into Organized Precincts based on population, with each precinct represented by two representatives in the Congress of the People. Before a 2019 electoral reform, half of a city's representatives are elected using FPTP on a precinct level, the other half are elected using closed-list proportional representation on a city-wide level. In 2019, the Electoral Act 2019 changed this system to a regional closed-list proportional representation system for incorporated cities, but with a minimum number of seats per city of two to maintain the existing balance.. There are also independent cities, which are fully consolidated with the counties they are located in. They usually have their own governments with a high degree of autonomy, and can pass their own laws and ordinances, as well as have their own militaries (although most choose to depend on the Federation Army) and control their borders.

There are no set guidelines for what makes a city eligible for incorporation. Notably, the city of Island is incorporated, despite only having a population of one. This one person is the mayor, holds all cabinet positions, and holds one Senate seat two seats within the People's Congess; these have historically been used for vote-buying in close federal elections and other forms of corruption. A vote to expel this individual from the People's Congress passed 62-58 with divisions among all political parties, but it failed in the Senate, most likely due to vote-buying. Several representatives have been arrested, tried, and sentenced for attempting to create pocket boroughs where they would control the votes through patronage; it is generally accepted that this still occurs today, and aides are occasionally arrested for these practices, but there is no widespread effort to crack down on them.

Cities are highly autonomous, with only foreign policy, defence, some aspects of electoral law, "minimum standards" in areas such as transportation (Athens Transit Authority) and healthcare (Athens Federal Healthcare Service), and any other federal law explicitly overriding state law being the domain of the federal government. A city law can be invalidated by the highest court of appeal in a city or by a federal court; cities occasionally continue to enforce overturned laws, which has happened with many same-sex marriage bans (generally ruled by courts since 2013 as contrary to the Marriage Act 2013 as well as the Constitutional right to private and family life), and tax law.

There are currently 1,106 local seats across incorporated and some unincorporated cities. Generally being the head of a city's cabinet or Mayor (different cities have different positions for the head of administration) is considered a fairly large position. Some cities have direct mayoral elections, others (such as most smaller incorporated towns and Cherkasy) instead have the members of the government select or elect a head of cabinet that serves similar duties to a Mayor. Being elected mayor of a large city, such as Athens or Novo-Arkhangelsk, is considered a highly senior position on the same tier as a PC or even Senator, and several presidents were elected mayors of these cities (including the former Alexis Zurgenstine). Local elections are timetabled and organised entirely by cities (some are FPTP, some various variants of PR, and some a combination of the two) and as a result there are local elections happening on a continuous basis. Both city and federal governments have to, under the Federal Constitution, pass a vote of confidence from the legislature before they can begin working. New elections will be held if no government can be formed within 90 days of the legislature reconstituting after an election.

Under Section 57c of the Federal Constitution, the People's Congress can vote by a 2/3rds majority, or 3/4ths of Supreme Court can rule, that either the government of a city is violating the constitution to a severe extent and has ignored corrective action from the federal government, or that a city government has not been able to be formed for three years, and unilaterally terminate that government, and directly govern the city through the federal government for a period not more than five years, within which the "necessary adjustments" are to be made to ensure the region's law is fully compliant with the Constitution, followed by the organisation of new elections. Some legal scholars and political parties have criticised this arrangement as limiting the flexibility of cities when it comes to lawmaking, and additionally due to federal takeover of city governments being contrary to the Federation's stated ambition of being a wholly federal state; it is worth noting that these powers have only been used on two occasions since the creation of the Federation, after massive government neglience and corruption was uncovered in Cherkasy and after the disputed and violent 2021 Tortuga elections.

* Alvinburg
* Anaville
* Arcadia
* Arthurburg
* Athens (co-capital)
* Benkelman
* Blarston
* Borderas
* Cherkasy (independent city)
* Daylight Savings
* Delgato
* Eletia
* Green Forest
* Haven Creek
* Joaninha (also known as Old Athens)
* Karlsholt
* Kharkiv
* Lawrenceburg
* Lindenplatz
* Lindenwood
* Little Tucson
* Losantiville
* Lucasia
* Midway
* Miltonton
* Mondego
* Mountain View
* New Covington
* Norlander
* Novo-Arkhangelsk (co-capital)
* Novopol
* Nowhere
* Pecquet
* Pigville
* Port Bachmann
* Pripyat
* Reneville
* Saint Michael
* San Fabina
* Santa Blanca
* Seneca
* Sholedo
* Sorrento
* Springfield
* St. Dwight's
* Tortuga
* Trevorville
* Waynesburg
* Wentzville

### Counties

Counties are purely territorial units, with no local government on their own. Counties encompass land area outside of any incorporated cities, and include any unincorporated communities within them. Each county is represented by one Unorganized Precinct, with each Unorganized Precinct granted one senator and two representatives. There is no local government within these areas and federal law is the only law applied, although some counties may be granted a county council by vote of the People's Congress, generally with limited power.

* Alvin County
* Ana County
* Arizona County
* Athens County
* Cherkasy County (consolidated with Cherkasy city)
* Dearborn County
* Dream County
* Eletia County
* Fiume County
* Illinois County
* Joaninha County
* Kansas County
* Lake County
* Lithuania County
* Midway County
* Milton County
* Nebraska County
* Neumann County
* Norlander County
* Novo-Arkhangelsk County (consolidated with Novo-Arkhangelsk)
* Pripyat County (consolidated with Pripyat city)
* Smith County
* Tortuga County (consolidated with Tortuga city)
* Virginia County
* Yuval County

### Unincorporated communities

Unincorporated communities are represented by Unorganized Precincts. They usually have their own local elected governments like Incorporated Cities, but they fall directly under the authority of the federal government and are not independent to the degree that Incorporated Cities are.

* Arlaville
* Benghazi
* Big Town
* Blahville
* Buchenwald
* Carved Mesa
* Golon-Colon
* Gordonberg
* Green Forest
* Hattieburg
* Katrinaton
* Laketon
* Lompton
* Losantiville
* Lucasia
* Lviv
* Manchester
* Molten Ravine
* Nairobi
* Nassau
* Našlaités
* Odessa
* Olomouc
* Paradise
* Ravenclaw
* Rosario
* Sagres
* Sand City
* Swineton
* Ukqiatik
* Utqiagvik
* Warrington
* Washington

### Courts

Athens has two court systems. One is under the control of incorporated cities (with each incorporated city having a Supreme Court and one or more levels of appellate courts) and one is a series of superior federal courts, with several circuit courts representing specific areas that generally take appeals, cases started in federal court or in unorganised precincts without an organised city court system, or cases regional courts have failed to resolve within two years. Specific criminal offences are reserved as "federal criminal offences", mostly white-collar crime, crime involving elected officials and offences against the state (such as treason and sedition), and are always heard in federal court. Circuit court cases are appointed to the Court of Appeal, and then the twelve-judge Supreme Court, which has final jurisdiction on constitutional matters and can overturn departmental policy, laws of an incorproated city, and - with unanimous consent of all sitting judges - federal law.

Judges are appointed and promoted, typically starting directly out of law school from those who indicate they wish to enter the judicial career and working their way up the ranks (although bribery can help you get up the ranks in some poorer areas), by a commission of already serving judges, randomly selected from all serving judges. This pool, known as the Judicial Appointments Committee, is rotated every year with a new random selection of eight city and eight federal judges.

## Social system

While the major cities of Athens are generally very socially liberal, the rural areas are far more conservative, although the exact amount varies by region - Joanhina is a notable bastion of liberal conservatism, whereas Tortuga and Miltonton often vote for far-right parties with an absolute majority of votes. While open access to abortion has been federal law since 1979, same-sex marriage licensing since 2013 (after the Constitutional Marriage Amendment was passed) and self-identification since 2018, it is effectively impossible in some cities (such as Tortuga, Miltonton, and some smaller areas) to undertake a same-sex marriage, make a legal declaration of gender identity, or get an abortion due to sometimes intentional lack of service provision, and in some cases intimidation and harassment of service providers and ethnic and sexual minorities. Social divisions were one of the major causes of the The First Troubles and the high autonomy between regions that is emblematic of the Federation.

Abortion is illegal in Reneville, Blarston, Tortuga, Miltonton, and Coraciva, although the laws cannot be enforced due to superseding federal law and there is an abortion clinic in Reneville. It was also illegal in Nowhere and Joanhina until the 1990s and Anaville, Borderas, Lawrenceburg, and San Fabina into the 21st century. Women still cannot legally vote in Tortuga, and are often prevented from voting in some areas of the city, despite appeals even from other regional divisions of the Union of Athens, nine court rulings, and federal law. This was one of the reasons for the dissolution of the Tortuga government after the 2021 Tortuga elections, as well as the failure to form a government and allegations of electoral fraud from both UoA and the Tortuga - Forward! multi-party alliance. Same-sex marriage is illegal in twelve incorporated federation cities, with Joanhina the most recent to legalise it in 2021 (although the government obeyed the law on same-sex marriage since its introduction in 2013). LGBT people and ethnic minorities regularly flee from some of the extremely conservative cities to more liberal areas due to state and family persecution, creating a small internal refugee crisis. On the other side of the spectrum, Novo-Arkhangelsk, as well as to a slightly lesser extent Pripyat, are extremely socially liberal, with same-sex marriage being legalised in 1998 in Novo-Arkhangelsk and 1999 in Pripyat (Pripyat had notably introduced civil unions in the early 1980s, decades before any other area of the Federation). Abortions are widely available by pill with specialised and confidential delivery services, as well as an extremely liberal curriculum with state-mandated sex and LGBT issues education with no religious exemption (as opposed to Tortuga, where LGBT education is illegal); 95 percent of residents of these cities support same-sex marriage, and 96 percent abortion. Assigning a baby's gender at birth is optional in Novo-Arkhangelsk, although most choose to do so.

Prostitution is legal in Athens proper, Pripyat, Novo-Arkhangelsk, New Covington, Norlander, and Eletia City, and widely tolerated in New Poland and Lompton, although in Eletia City, New Covington and Pripyat it is only legal for individuals, with brothels and pimping being illegal; Norlander is famous for its red-light district and strip clubs, with prostitution having been legal for several decades; it is even advertised in some city tourism guides, and supported by well over 80 percent of the population.

The death penalty is not federally illegal - bills to ban it Federation-wide are regularly filibustered - and the legal status ranges from used for a wide variety of crimes (Anaville, Tortuga) to used exclusively for very serious crimes and only on adults (Joanhina, Norlander, and Eletia City) to illegal (most larger and some smaller cities), with some cities having a legal prohibition on extraditing defendants to cities where the death penalty may be applied. In cities where this is not the case, "strategic extraditions" are often used by judges, depending on their personal sympathies on issue of the death penalty, in order to prevent or ensure the defendant receives the death penalty. There are known cases where defendants have been extradited over a dozen times in a "ping-pong" death penalty battle between judges. The federal court system generally does not give death penalties, even if it has the ability and jurisdiction to.

## Economic system

Federal economic law provides for the implementation of a social market economy, or a hybrid of Keynesianism and free-market economics. Athens has a federal public healthcare system with a universal mandate and - with some exceptions - no upfront cost. It is generally provided by employers for those who are employed and by the state for those who are not. Private healthcare is also a legal and fairly cheap option, with approximately 20 percent of the population Federation-wide enrolling in it (except in Pripyat and Novo-Arkhangelsk, where private healthcare is illegal, and in Athens City where the Athens Healthcare Service was reformed into a single-payer system and has very high use). There are federal laws to encourage small business creation, with tax breaks for businesses that make under a specific amount of turnover each year, although large corporations are somewhat heavily taxed. Cities have a variety of economic systems ranging from libertarianism to socialism, which can make intercity trade (a constitutionally protected right) difficult due to wildly differing regulations. New Poland is entirely unregulated due to its lack of a government, and some companies establish illegal satellite offices there to bypass labour laws (such as the federal minimum wage of $10/hour, indexed to inflation). Those who work there usually work for a very low wage, or none at all, and may be harassed or shot if they leave their jobs or speak out about their treatment on the job.

Most roads are maintained by local cities, with the exception of most of the Athens Federation Interstate Highway System which is maintained by the Athens Federation Department of Transport. Railways were privately owned (with some exceptions) between their privatisation in 1992 (after a period of state ownership) and the passage of the Transportation Act 2013 by the federal government, which the Athens Socialist Party had won control of in the 2013 federal elections. In 2015 the regional railways were combined and renationalised as the Athens Transit Authority, excluding the notable and very well-regarded Tuba Corporation. This state of affairs persisted until 2019 when a majority stake was bought by the government in the Tuba Corporation, in spite of protests in the Tuba Corporation's area of coverage, most notably Nowhere and Trevorville. The amount of regulation of business ranges from extremely lax (in Norlander, well known for its libertarian traditions) to extreme in areas such as Cherkasy, Pripyat and Novo Arkhangelsk, with Pripyat in particular known for its socialist economic model with few private businesses and a high number of combined enterprises. There is additionally a "Yuval Combined Syndicate" operating north of Lompton, with around one hundred anarchists and syndicalists; several police attempts to shut the syndicate down have failed, in one case met with armed resistance.