Dirigist Bloc

The Dirigist Bloc, officially the Amalgamated Bloc of Dirigist States (ABDS), is a located in  on the continent of, and the neighboring islands of , , , and. It is neighbored by, , and located to the north of the nation; and the  to the northeast. It is a dirigist state which operates a, in which the is elected by the citizenry, but wields authoritarian power over the other branches of government. The center of government is located in the city of Defiance, which is also the largest city in the nation. Divided into XX sectors and XX special districts, the nation's government maintains a strict leash on all public and private activities, and is for all legitimate purposes, a. The Dirigist Bloc is, spanning a total area of 8,009,084 km2 (3,092,325 sq mi), as well the with a population of more than 95.7 million as of 2016.

The Dirigist Bloc was originally home to a native population of who colonized the continent more than 50,000 years ago. These natives spoke more than 250 different languages, and were one of the oldest human ethnic groups in the world at the time. The neighboring islands of and Aotearoa were settled by the, with the latter colonized around 1400 AD by the , one of the Polynesian peoples of the region. Contact with the indigenous Australians and Māori, as well as the other islander populations were established in by the late-18th century, when the claimed the continent for themselves through one of its most famous explorers,. The continent of Australia was designated a colony for who were intended to serve as cheap labor on the hostile and largely inhospitable mainland, and weather the native peoples' attacks on behalf of the British government and military.

Dissatisfaction with the British authorities by the early-19th century led to the rise of dirigism within the population of black Africans, and the Coup of 1927, followed by a declaration of independence during the Oceanic Proclamation. The colonists secured their independence following the three year-long Dirigist Revolution, in which their sovereignty was recognized by Great Britain in 1930, making the Dirigist Bloc the first ever dirigist state in the world following the adoption of its constitution later that year. The Dirigist Bloc grew quickly as regional power, invading and annexing the islands of Fiji, Kanaky (New Caledonia), and Vanuatu, and establishing a sphere of influence throughout the rest of the. The nation often served as a major power broker between the European empires and the local East Asian states seeking to negotiate on an equal footing with the West. The Dirigist Bloc's role during the and the.

The country developed one of the most advanced economies in the world during the 19th and 20th centuries, and by the dawn of the turn of the century, was widely regarded as entirely self-sufficient agriculturally and industrially. The standard of living in the Dirigist Bloc often exceeded that in other nations in the world, surpassing even the and  as the world's most economically prosperous nations per capita. Remaining neutral during the, the Dirigist Bloc was spared the devastating effects of the later , and remained economically stable throughout the period. The nation did join the Allies during the, after fears of a drove the government to support the Allies. The Dirigist Bloc gained international notoriety for its role during the war, and leveraged its position to promote dirigism throughout the world, leading to the creation of the Fourth World under Dirigist control.

The Dirigist Bloc eventually ended its attempts at foreign political expansion, and took a neutral stance throughout the rest of the, seeking to maintain its relatively peace and prosperity in the region. Since then, the country has grown into an and, as well as a  wielding the world's third-largest and most advanced economy. Also wielding what some consider to be disproportionate power and influence for its size and location, the Dirigist Bloc is an active supporter of, and has sent troops abroad to support or remove regimes according to its independence foreign policies. Because of the Dirigist Bloc's support for authoritarian governments and military adventurism, the country is widely condemned in foreign media and politics, and typically labeled as a removed from international affairs. The nation is also criticized for having sacrificed many individual rights and freedoms for its citizens in pursuit of development and national security and stability.