Blokkarim Island
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Blokkarim Island | |
|---|---|
| Blokkarim Island Territory | |
 Flag | |
| Motto: | |
| Named for | Burim Jeder |
| Capital and largest town | Kartesolt |
| Official languages | |
| Demonym(s) | Burimyner |
| Government | |
• Baroness | Marium I |
• Commissioner | Justen-Laurens Klein (BLP) |
• Municipal Chairman | Vasily Alfer (ABP) |
| Legislature | Burimyner Municipal Council |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | 6,182 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $136,268,404.14 |
• Per capita | $22,042.77 |
| Currency | Vistari Gildemerk (VSM) |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (Imperial Standard Time) |
| Driving side | right |
Blokkarim Island (Vistarian: Blokkarima, Tvordoma: Šyferdoma, Suvan: Burimyn Aral) is an island south of Itur which is administered as an unincorporated territory of Vorpest, a constituent country of Vistaraland. The island was first colonized by the Suvan Empire in 1631, both for its large deposits of flint and use as a minor trading outpost. These factors would lead the island to be exchanged a number of times between the competing Vistari and Suvan Empires, eventually being formally ceded to the Dominion of Vorpest in 1909, alongside Kamport in the modern day Union of Free Cities.
The island's population, consisting of 6,182 according to the 2023 census, primarily consists of members from three ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group of the island is the Vistarian population who began to settle the island in the 20th century. Primarily consisting of those originating from Noorvista and Sereena, the island became popular as an area relatively unaffected by the War of Imperial Succession and economic aftermath, with the moderately sized mining and shipping operations on the island used to encourage settlement. Approximately 39% of the island identify themselves as Vistarian or Mixed Vistari, and most high ranking positions are filled by the group. Despite a number leaving the island following its acquisition by Vistaraland, Suvan people still comprise around a third of the island's overall total, and the language retains a considerable number of native speakers despite holding no official status. Due to the long standing rivalry between their two homelands, the island has a considerable history of ethnic violence between the Suvan and Vistarian populations throughout the 20th century, and the free expression of Suvan culture on the island has remained an issue to this day.
The third largest group is the Tvordoma people, who first settled the island before the arrival of colonial powers. The Tvordoma, believed to have had strong historical ties to the Lupine population in modern-day Volkia, comprise around 21% of the island's population, having previously been forcefully removed from the island's few urban centres by the Suvan Empire.
History
Pre-colonization
Suvan rule
During the Great War
This period of uncontested rule of the island by the Dominion of Vorpest would be short lived, however, as 1909 saw the brewing of internal conflicts within the Ducal Federation surrounding the election of a successor to Emperor Alfred II. Though the colonial territories had no say on who would take the mantle of Emperor, debates over succession would coincide with disagreements amongst the states comprising Vistaraland over the nation's continued involvement in the Great War. The War of Imperial Succession, as it came to be known, threw the colonial administrations into disarray over who held the legitimate claim to the See of Supremacy and, therefore, what allegiance they had in the overarching conflict.
The Norgsveltian occupation of Vorpest would further exacerbate complications in governing the island, and the Vistari military garrison would eventually begin to coordinate the territory's administration with the Government of Ankbhaja , establishing a civilian administration in Kartesolt to conduct the internal affairs of the island for the duration of the civil conflict in Vistaraland.
Vistari rule
Administration
Consistent with the administration set out by the Kartesolt Wartime Governance Act, Blokkarim Island has been self-governing since 1911, primarily through the Burimyner Municipal Council, which the Government of the island answers to. The system of administration for the island was formalized in 1926 as an incorporated territory within the Dominion of Vorpest, now the Grand Dominion of Vorpest as part of the Imperial Vistari Confederation.
The Burimyner Municipal Council, composed of 20 seats elected through proportional representation, with a single island-wide multi-member constituency. Due to the relatively small electorate, the Council's 4% election threshold often requires only 100 or more votes to secure a seat in the Council, allowing for minor parties to select a candidate likely to hold elected office. This system therefore encourages the formation of coalition governments of small parties in order to achieve political goals.
Currently, the largest political party is the conservative liberal All-Burimyner Citizen’s Party, which has maintained a parliamentary status since its inception in 1914. The party promotes a balance between progressive policies on tackling ethnic inequality and speciesm on the island, as well as a firm belief in promoting and protecting shared cultural values and traditions, arguing for a polycultural society which is above identity politics. The party currently cooperates with the second largest party, the Burimyner Watchmen Party, or BWP. The BWP, which has a strong relationship with the federal Libertarian Party, promotes an adherence to libertarian capitalism, which has been argued as a cornerstone of Vistari political establishment. The party's platform is focused on individual liberty, limited government and an opposition to economic interventionism, including the expansion of social welfare programs. As such, it pulls a majority of its support from Vistarian business-elites, and advocates for the interests of business on the island. As with the alliance between Libertarians and Imperial Conservatives in Vistaraland proper, the BWP signed an agreement with the Imperial Conservatives of Blokkarima in 2021, agreeing to only go into government together - forming the basis for the third party in the coalition. The Imperial Conservatives of Blokkarima, while retaining considerable ties with the Imperial Conservative Party as a whole, is primarily a sister party to the Imperial Conservatives of Ankbhaja. As such, while adopting some aspects of liberal royalism, the party remains closer to the less moderate conservative roots of the party, opposing an expansion of LGBT rights and the defamation of Vistari colonial legacy. The island's government therefore constitutes a centre-right platform, with views on the island's status ranging from the autonomist platform of the Citizen's Party to the Imperial Conservative support for the establishment of the island as a separate, integrated province.
In exchange for this large degree of autonomy over internal affairs, the people of Blokkarim Island are not officially represented in the Imperial Parliamentary Council, though they may participate in elections to the Vorpestian Unified Assembly, as with Vistari citizens on Ny'Tewien Island. The Vorpestian Government appoints a Commissioner to serve as an intermediary between the administrations of the island, Vorpest and Vistaraland as a whole. This Commissioner, alongside the Commissioner for Terwenia, head the Dependency Office of Vorpest, which is responsible for ensuring the continued security and democratic process on the two islands. This includes the composition and enactment of electoral law on the island, which was used to repeal the disenfranchisement of the Suvan population in 1931.