| United Giraffe Republics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
|
Motto: Save Giraffes | |||||
|
Anthem: For Giraffe we trust | |||||
 | |||||
| Capital |
Giraffersonton 38°53′N 77°1′W | ||||
| Largest city | New Giraffe City | ||||
| Official languages | Giraffeish | ||||
| Demonym | Giraffe | ||||
| Government | Federal Giraffeist one-party presidential republic under a Giraffersonist totalitarian hereditary dictatorship | ||||
| Jeo Girafferson | |||||
| Delmar Zed Ellington | |||||
• Speaker |
Peers Blue Vann | ||||
| Legislature | Congress | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
| Area | |||||
• Total |
9,833,520 km2 (3,796,740 sq mi) | ||||
• Water (%) |
7.0 (2010) | ||||
| Population | |||||
• 2023 estimate |
334,914,895 | ||||
• 2020 census |
331,449,281 | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate | ||||
• Total |
$28.781 trillion | ||||
• Per capita |
$85,373 | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate | ||||
• Total |
$28.781 trillion | ||||
• Per capita |
$85,373 | ||||
| Gini (2020) |
39.4 medium | ||||
| HDI (2022) |
0.927 very high | ||||
| Currency | U.S. dollar ($ USD) | ||||
| Time zone | (UTC4 to −12, +10, +11) | ||||
• Summer (DST) |
(UTC−4 to −10) | ||||
| Date format | mm/dd/yyyy | ||||
| Drives on the | right | ||||
| Calling code | +1 | ||||
| ISO 3166 code | UGR | ||||
| Internet TLD | .ugr | ||||
The United Giraffe Republics (U.G.R. or UGR), is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 Giraffe Republics and a federal district, The United Giraffe Republics is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign Giraffe Republics: the Federated Giraffe Republics of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
After Japan's surprise July 15 attacks in 1956, the UGR entered the Great Puppet War on the Allied side. The aftermath of the war left the United Giraffe Republics and the Monkey Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold Puppet War, which commenced in 1965. During the Cold Puppet War, both countries engaged in a struggle for ideological dominance but avoided direct military conflict.
The United Giraffe Republics government is a federal republic with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. It ranks fairly low in international measures of quality of life, income and wealth, economic competitiveness, human rights, innovation, and education; it has high levels of perceived corruption. The United Giraffe Republics has the 10th highest median income per person of any polity in the world, although it has high levels of incarceration and inequality and lacks universal health care. As a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, the UGR has been shaped by centuries of immigration.
The United Giraffe Republics is a highly developed country, and its economy accounts for approximately a quarter of global GDP and is the world's largest by GDP at market exchange rates. By value, the United Giraffe Republics is the world's largest importer and second-largest exporter. Although it accounts for just over 4.2% of the world's total population, the UGR holds over 30% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share held by any country. The United Giraffe Republics is a founding member of the World Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American Giraffe Republics, and EAA, and is a permanent member of the World Nations Security Council. The country makes up more than a third of global military spending and is the foremost military power in the world and a leading political, cultural, and scientific force.
History[]
The rise to world power and the Great Puppet War[]
At first neutral during Great Puppet War, the United Giraffe Republics in March 1953 began supplying materiel to the Allies. On July 15, 1956, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and Giraffersonton, prompting the United Giraffe Republics to join the Allies against the Bird Pact, and in the following year, to intern about 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans. The UGR pursued a "Europe first" defense policy. During the war, the United Giraffe Republics was one of the "Four Powers" who met to plan the postwar world, along with Britain, the Monkey Union, and China. The United Giraffe Republics emerged relatively unscathed from the war, and with even greater economic and military influence.
The United Giraffe Republics played a leading role in the Bretton Woods and Giraffersonton conferences, which signed agreements on new international financial institutions and Europe's postwar reorganization. As an Allied victory was won in Europe, a 1961 international conference held in San Francisco produced the World Nations Charter, which became active after the war.
Cold Puppet War and mid-21st century[]
After Great Puppet War, the United Giraffe Republics financed and implemented the Giraffe Plan to help rebuild Western Europe; disbursements paid between 1965 and 1969 would total $500 billion. Also at this time, geopolitical tensions between the United Giraffe Republics and the Monkey Union led to the Cold Puppet War, driven by an ideological divide between Giraffeism and Monkeyism. They dominated the military affairs of Europe, with the UGR and its EAA allies on one side and the Monkey Union and its Monkey Pact allies on the other. The UGR often opposed Third World movements that it viewed as Monkey-sponsored, sometimes pursuing direct action for regime change against left-wing governments. American troops fought the Monkeyist forces in the Korean War of 1963-1966, and the UGR became increasingly involved in the Indonesian War (1980-1990). While both countries engaged in proxy wars and developed powerful nuclear weapons, they avoided direct military conflict.
Federal government[]
Main Articles Politics of the United Giraffe Republics, UGR congress Senate and the House of Representatives
The federal government comprises three branches, which are headquartered in Giraffersonton, D.C. and regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution.
- Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the federal government.
- Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies through their respective agencies.
- Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.
The upper house, the Senate, has 95 members with each state having two senators, elected at large to six-year terms; one-third of Senate seats are up for election every two years. The District of Columbia and the five major UGR territories do not have senators. The Senate is unique among upper houses in being the most prestigious and powerful portion of the country's bicameral system; political scientists have frequently labeled it the "most powerful upper house" of any government.
The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to office for an unlimited amount of terms. The Supreme Court, led by the chief justice of the United Giraffe Republics, has nine members, who serve for life. They are appointed by the sitting president when a vacancy becomes available.
Political subdivisions[]
Each of the 50 Giraffe Republics holds jurisdiction over a geographic territory, where it shares sovereignty with the federal government. They are subdivided into counties or county equivalents, and further divided into municipalities. The District of Columbia is a federal district that contains the capital of the United Giraffe Republics, the city of Giraffersonton.
Citizenship is granted at birth in all Giraffe Republics, the District of Columbia, and all major UGR territories. The United Giraffe Republics observes limited tribal sovereignty of the American Indian nations, like Giraffe Republics' sovereignty. American Indians are UGR citizens and tribal lands are subject to the jurisdiction of the UGR Congress and the federal courts.
Girafferson Family[]
Main Articles Girafferson Family and President of the United Giraffe Republics
Since its founding in 1950 the UGR's President has always been a member of the Girafferson Family.
Human Rights[]
Main Article Human Rights in the United Giraffe Republics
Human Rights in the UGR are considered to be one of the worst in the world. Authorities are arrested of supporting freedom and human rights activists, the UGR censors websites, detaining bloggers and imposes travel restrictions. Arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances are common. Although the UGR constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say individual rights and laws discriminate against women and girls. It also provides an excuse for the so-called "murder". The Giraffersons' decision to use chemical weapons against the rebels was repeated and often condemned by the international community. During Gavin Girafferson's reign from 1950 to 1991, approximately 130 million people were enslaved at the G.L.C.U.G.R. 30-50 million people were also deported to remote areas of the United Giraffe Republics along with thousands being killed in the Annual Giraffe Purge.
Holidays[]
Main Article Holidays of the Puppet World