Medan

Medán (Medic: Μεδάν, pronounced ['meda:n]), officially known as Principality of Medán (Medic: Μαλίκεια το Μεδάνου, [ma'li:kia tu me'danuj]), is an island nation situated entirely on a small Eurybian archipelago located in Central Armenia. It has an area of XXX km2 and a population of XXX million people, making it the Xth smallest and Xth least populous sovereign country on Anterra; however, it has a population density of XXXX/km2, making it the Xth most densely populated country in the world. It lies XXX km from X, XXX km from X and only borders Y. Its capital and largest city is Medeapolis. Medán is a constitutional monarchy, nominally ruled by a prince, and in practice a mix of parliamentarism and semi-direct democracy.

Civilization on Medán dates back to 6,000 BCE, when a pre-Indo-Artemian culture inhabited the islands, traces of which are still present in the country today. Due to its strategic location in the Eurybian, the islands of Medán have been consistently ruled as a maritime colony by various countries and empires of Artemia and Kesh, both extant and historical, with brief stints of self-determination through its history, including a medieval kingdom and a socialist republic. As such, the modern state and its people is the result of influences from various different cultures. Following a movement to construct a national identity in the late 19th century, Medán gained its independence from Y in 19XX and has remained a sovereign nation since.

Introductory paragraphs here.

Etymology
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History
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Geography
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Politics
The political system of Medán is described as an unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, characterized by a representational democracy with strong elements of direct democracy. The head of state is the Prince of Medán, whose purpose is to be a largely ceremonial figurehead for the nation, while the State Secretary is the head of government and the person with the highest political authority in the country. The three main governing bodies of Medán are the National Assembly (the legislative), the State Council (the executive) and the Supreme Court of Medán (the judiciary). The political rights and responsibilities of citizens, of the crown and of different government branches, excluding local government, are further defined in the Constitution of Medán, which was first enacted in 19XX.

Prince of Medán
The Prince of Medán is the monarch and the head of state of Medán. They do not exercise conventional executive or legislative power, filling a ceremonial role of representing the nation and its people, although they are allotted some discretionary powers. As the head of state, they are also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, have a responsibility to lead the country's foreign policy (working in tandem with the State Council and the Foreign Secretary in this respect), have the right to appoint and dismiss high state officials in all three branches of government (although all appointments and dismissals must be confirmed by the National Assembly), have the right to be consulted on matters of state by the State Council, have the right to dismiss the National Assembly (and by extension, the State Council), have the right to issue pardons and declare national referendums without the express consent of the National Assembly. Their other responsibilities include ratifying laws and treaties approved in the National Assembly, organizing and representing the nation in various events, and awarding titles of peerage and other decorations.

The Prince is elected in a special election and remains in the position until retirement or abdication. The principal election has two rounds of direct ballot voting in which any eligible citizen may vote for a candidate of their choice: in the first round, any number of candidates are valid, while in the second round, which is only held if no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes in the first round, only candidates with a set number of votes in the first round are valid options. Following the direct ballot, the representatives of the National Assembly will vote according to their constituencies and determine the winner of the principal election. Under this system, it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote and win, and vice-versa. Any citizen eligible for voting is also eligible to run for the office, although the candidates tend to be older and have long careers in politics and government. The Prince becomes a peer prior to their coronation, along with their immediate family, whenever or not they were peers to begin with. They must retire at age of 65, but many choose to abdicate earlier to preserve their legacy and pave way for a new generation.

National Assembly
The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Medán. It is comprised of X national representatives, who are elected from constituencies across the nation. It exercises legislative power in the country: all laws and treaties are prepared and passed by the National Assembly, whereas their ratification is a formality reserved for the Prince. It also decides the annual state budget and oversees the activity of the State Council, the executive body of the government, which it may dismiss by a vote of no confidence. The highest official of the National Assembly is the Speaker of the National Assembly, who is the leader of largest party in opposition by convention. They preside over debate in the legislature and do not partake in voting, except in the case of a split vote. It is further divided into various committees that deal in specific areas of policy and legislation: representatives may be assigned to multiple committees based on their party's needs, their personal expertise or interests.

Its representatives are elected for a six year term during the national election with a single representative per constituency. The candidates must be of eligible age to vote in order to run for office and must not have a criminal record or any ongoing criminal investigations in which they are the person of interest. They must select a vice representative, who will replace them as a national representative in the case they are no longer capable of carrying out their duties: such reason could be promotion to higher office, such as the Speaker of the National Assembly or a member of the State Council, or being convicted of a crime. Each candidate must run in a single constituency during the national election, which is a direct ballot vote where the winner is determined by a simple majority. A candidate may run as independent or be sponsored by a registered political party, but no independent candidate has ever become a national representative so far.

The politics of Medán is a multiparty system with about two dozen of registered parties, eight of which have seats in the current legislature. The three largest parties in the country - the centre-right Monarchist Party, the centre Nationalist Party and the centre-left Green Party - have consistently dominated the elections, but no single party has historically had enough support to claim a majority of the seats in the National Assembly. As such, coalition governments are necessary, and by convention, are typically formed by one or two of the three largest parties.

State Council
The State Council is the executive government of Medán, led by the State Secretary. It is comprised of multiple secretaries appointed by the State Secretary, each of whom is the nominal head of a specific government department, with the State Secretary as the head of State Council overseeing policy across all the government departments. The exact number of secretaries and departments varies by administration as all seats in the cabinet are based on common agreement rather than the law. A secretary appoints their own undersecretaries, and may not have a seat in the State Council: they are often national representatives who resign their seat to their vice-representative, but it is not a requirement for them to be members of the legislature in the first place. The State Council oversees the policy of the nation, handles all aspects of public administration, enforces and applies the laws and the treaties made in the National Assembly and may propose laws in the legislature. In order to maintain its executive power and legitimacy, the State Council must enjoy the confidence of the National Assembly, who it is ultimately accountable to.

The State Council is formed after the results of a national election are known. Commonly, the leader of the projected winning party in that election begins talks with other political parties to form a coalition government. This procedure is based on democratic compromise, distribution of seats in the prospective State Council and administrative policy. The State Secretary is then appointed by the Prince of Medán and confirmed by a simple majority in the National Assembly, where the representatives vote yay/nay according to their constituencies. Under this system, it is possible for any combination of party coalitions, not just the coalition of the largest party, to form a government as long as they have a majority of votes in the legislature - in some cases, a minority government is also possible, usually when the legislature is unable to confirm a majority government. After their confirmation, the State Secretary appoints the other secretaries based on prior agreement with the coalition members. They are not confirmed by the National Assembly, but can be individually removed from office by a vote of no confidence by the legislature.

Direct Democracy
Medán employs a system of representative democracy with elements of direct democracy. In practice, the national representatives in the National Assembly are the only state officials elected by a direct ballot, but any vote they make throughout their term is based on a direct ballot made prior in their respective constituency by their constituents. The national representatives are required by law to vote according to the simple majority of their constituency and failure to do so is a criminal offence, and grounds for removal from office. This makes party discipline and partisan voting obsolete ideas in regards to legislature: the political parties in the National Assembly represent rough outlines of political ideology with which the constituents might only partially identify with. As such, Medani politics are a matter of the entire nation and citizens are encouraged and are given adequate instruments to actively participate in the decision-making process of the legislature.

Each citizen is guaranteed the right to be well-informed about matters of national legislation as well as the right to invoke a national referendum on a specific piece of legislation in the Constitution. The first right is reflected in transparency of information about the legislative procedure: all sessions of the National Assembly and its committees are recorded and broadcasted on national television (and in more recent years, the internet), education about legislative process and rights is comprehensive and national representatives are required to listen to and answer the questions of their constituents regarding legislation. The second right is reflected in the ability of a single citizen to collect signatures from other citizens (regardless of their electoral constituency) in order to submit a piece of legislation to the National Assembly, which is then voted on by the national representatives according to their constituencies. Accessibility is another hallmark of the Medani democracy. For example, televoting with secure identification is extremely widespread, as it is seen as an electoral method more accessible and less time-consuming than the classic ballot vote.

Voting is not mandatory in Medán, except for constitutional amendments, but the country has a high voter turn-out due to an active political culture, especially among the young demographic. Both organized and informal political activism is prevalent and considered a meaningful form of political participation in the national politics.

Economy
Medán is an advanced service-based economy where an exponential portion of the nominal GDP is produced by the tertiary sector (~90%) when compared to the secondary (~10%) and the primary (~1%) sectors. The three largest sources of income for the country are tourism and hospitality industry, education industry and financial service industry.

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Demographics
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Culture
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