Political: Bothnia

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Political Overview

Bothnia is a socialist state. Its capital is Brahea. Bothnia has an area of 155,927 square kilometers (km²) (60,193 square miles [mi²]), bordering the Gulf of Finland in the south, the Gulf of Bothnia in the west, Framland and Torrike to the north and Otso in the east.

Flag of Bothnia

Brahea Harbor

Bothnian politics are monopolized by the Socialist Party of Bothnia (SPB). Two other parties are allowed to exist under the SPB domination.

Foreign Relations: Diplomatic relations with most countries.

Legal System: Mixed Law. Note ‐ nearly all major codes (civil, civil procedure, criminal, criminal procedure, family and labor) have been revised and came into force in 1992.

International Agreements: Active participation in the Gulf of Bothnia Cooperation Council (GBCC) and United Nations. It is a signatory to Helsinki Accords, Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction Agreement.

Historical Summary

In 1949, Bothnia changed its name to the Bothnian Democratic Republic (BDR) establishing itself as a socialist state. The SPB dominates it. The General Secretary is also chair of Council of State. Two other parties exist under SPB domination but there is no overt opposition. The SPB maintained close ties to the Communist Party of Donovia. The SPB passed the first major constitutional amendment unanimously in 1969 after the death of the First General Secretary in 1968. Within the SPB, his succession was contested and in June 1969.

Relations were initiated with Olvana in 1985, which proved to be decisive for Bothnia’s future. In 1990, Torrike and Bothnia, signed the Treaty on ‘Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions’, which would lead to the GBCC. In 1991, the long term leader died but was able to hand succession over to his second son.

He proved he had all the talent of his father and consolidated his power base by 1994. He had been a principal negotiator for Bothnia in 1985 when his father had opened closer ties with Olvana. With the demise of the Eastern Block in 1991, Bothnia required a strategic backer. By 1995, with Olvana’s economic growth and desire for influence in Europe, Bothnia agreed a treaty of mutual peace and prosperity with Olvana.

Bothnia is a member of all the international formal alliances and the GBCC. It has normal relations with most countries outside the western sphere of influence.

Political System

The socialist state is the chief instrument for executing the public policy of the "toiling masses under the leadership of the working class”.

Although it is not the main center of political power, the state has an important political function insofar as it serves as the chief instrument through which the party seeks to implement its programs and achieve special social, economic, and political goals. Such a cooperative effort requires a well‐elaborated system of coordination between the two entities. The party determines the boundaries within which the state is required to act. The need to coordinate the activities and functions of the party and state apparatuses has resulted in a significant degree of overlap in the policy area as well as in the personnel of both organizations. Both apparatuses are responsible for a variety of similar activities; however, while the party is responsible for setting up the general guidelines and ideological content of specific policies and programs, the state is given the legal authority to execute them and to monitor their implementation on all levels of the hierarchy.

The division of authority between party and state often results in conflict. Such conflict is based less on differences in ideology between members of the two apparatuses than on the issue of control and the most effective way of achieving the goals toward which the party's programs and policies are directed. However, the overlapping of membership between the party and state apparatuses, especially between their respective executive organs such as the SPB Central Committee and the Council of Ministers, makes such a conflict manageable. Moreover, conflict between the two organizations is often the consequence of disagreement within the various branches of the party and state.

The Constitution

The Constitution is the legal authority for the State powers. The 1925 Constitution has evolved and the current 1992 Constitution establishes the Socialist Democratic Republic; the role of the state as the party's main instrument in achieving the goal of a socialist society; recognized that Bothnia and Otso were separate states and recognized the demise of the old system and provided a blueprint for political‐economic direction for the future of BDP and the safeguard of its socialist ambitions.

Central Structure

The Bothnian "socialist state" therefore embodies the principles of Socialism as applied to specific national conditions. In theory, the principle of democratic centralism serves as the basis for "the realization of the sovereignty of the working people" and as the guiding principle for the construction of the socialist state. As in other Socialist system, the ruling communist party, in this case the SPB determines the goals, policies, and actions of the government. In the view of the party leadership, the government exists as the instrument through which the party administers the country and implements communist policies and programs.

Branches of Government

Bothnian Council of Ministers

Separation of powers does not exist in the Bothnian government.

Executive

The President is the Head of State and Chairman of the Council of State.

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is the government of Bothnia and the highest organ of the state apparatus. Its position in the system of government and its functions and tasks are specified in the Constitution as amended in 1976 as well as in the Law on the Council of Ministers of the Bothnian of October 1972. The 1972 statute defined the council as the "government." According to the new law, the Council of Ministers was to "carry out the decisions of the party of the working class on the basis of the laws and decisions of the People's Chamber." The Constitution as amended in 1976 significantly expanded the functions of the Council of Ministers at the expense of the Council of State.

Since 1997 the Council of Ministers consisted of a chairman, two first deputy chairmen, and ten deputy chairmen, all of whom constituted an inner circle called the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. Other ex‐officio members maybe invited but are not part of the inner circle. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers is the head of the government (prime minister).

According to the Constitution, all members of the Council of Ministers are formally selected to their posts by the People's Chamber for a five‐year term. The Council of Ministers is required to work closely with the People's Chamber and according to its administrative guidelines the council must have all its legal drafts and decisions approved by the People's Chamber before they become law.

As the de jure government, the Council of Ministers is responsible for providing the People's Chamber with the major legal drafts and decisions that subsequently are to be published in the name of the state. The work style of the Council of Ministers is a collective one. It normally meets on a weekly basis to discuss problems and plans put forward by individual ministers. It also confirms decisions that already have been made by the Presidium. The Presidium is of special importance because of its responsibility for handling the affairs of the council when the full body is not in session.

Specific functional responsibilities of the Council of Ministers include directing and planning the national economy; solving problems growing out of membership in the GBCC; coordinating and implementing social policy decisions that have been agreed upon with the support and concurrence of the Free Bothnian Trade Union Federation (BTUF); instructing and controlling subordinate levels of government, that is, the councils at district, county, and community levels that implement the laws and decisions of the central government; improving the functioning of the system of "democratic centralism" within the state apparatus; and carrying out the basic foreign policy principles of the socialist state.

The Council consists of: Chairman Council of Ministers, Prime Minister, Deputy: Minister of Interior, Minister of Social Affairs and Education; Deputies: The Minister of Labor, The Minister of Environment and Agriculture, The Minister of Justice, The Minister of Transportation, The Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Minister for Constitutional Security, The Minister of Health,The Minister of Defense, The Minister of Economy.

The Ex‐Officio members were Minister of Environmental Protection and Water Management, Junior Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Secretary of State Planning Commission and Chairman of the State Contract Court.

Council of State

The Council of State was designated as an institution of the People's Chamber but after 1981, the prestige and authority of the council correspondingly began to decline. However, although it was no longer the de facto supreme executive organ, The General Secretary’s assumption of the chairmanship of the Council of State in October 1986 represented a renewal of its importance. In 1987 the number of individuals who were simultaneously members of the council and of the SPB's Central Committee Secretariat increased. The Constitution declares that the Council of State will consist of: A Chairman, Deputy Chairmen, Members and Secretary.

It does not specify the number of deputy chairmen and members. In 2007, there were eight deputy chairmen and 17 members. Two of the deputy chairmen of the Council of State represented the other two political parties, as did two of its seventeen members.

The day‐to‐day functions of the council are carried on by a small bureaucratic staff consisting of 20 offices and departments, all of which were headed by SPB members. Despite the presence of non SPB members as deputy chairmen and members of the leadership group, SPB control was guaranteed by the presence of the four most powerful individuals in the country.

Since 2000, the functions performed by the Council of State include:

1. Representing the country abroad and ratifying and terminating international treaties
2. Supporting local assemblies in the implementation of their economic and budgetary plans
3. Administering electoral laws that govern the selection of local assemblies on the community, city, county, and Provincial levels
4. Discharging responsibilities for the maintenance of the country's defense with the assistance of the National Defense Council
5. Administering the activities of the Supreme Court and the Office of the General Prosecuting Attorney to ensure that their actions are congruent with the Constitution and the Civil Law. The Council of State possesses additional responsibility for proclaiming amnesties and pardons

Legislative Authority

The unicameral People's Chamber is described in the Constitution as "the supreme organ of state power in the Bothnian Democratic Republic." According to the Constitution, the "principle of the sovereignty of the people" defines the role and function of the chamber. Before 1968 the People's Chamber consisted of 366 members; since then it has consisted of 400 deputies, elected for a 5-year term. Men outnumber women deputies by more than a factor of two.

The Presidium consists of: The President of the People's Chamber, (The Press Officer of the Chairman of the Council Of Ministers is also the President of Peoples Chamber); a Deputy President; three SPB members and there are two representatives from each of the two small parties and from mass organizations.

Under the Constitution, the People's Chamber is responsible for determining "the basic principles of government policy and implementing those policies." It is theoretically empowered to elect, supervise, and recall all members of the principal executive organs of the government: the Council of State, Council of Ministers and chairman of the National Defense Council, Attorney General, and Supreme Court justices. Since the 1980s, the chamber generally has met only three or four times a year for one-day sessions and has rarely cast a vote that is not unanimous. In earlier years, the chamber met more frequently.

The Presidium of the People's Chamber is primarily a coordinating agent for chamber business. The People's Chamber also has 15 standing committees with jurisdictions corresponding to major areas of public policy, such as national defense, foreign affairs, industry, labor, social policy, and culture. Although the size of each committee is not fixed, chamber deputies generally constitute the majority of each committee's membership. Additional members, however, may be drawn from outside the chamber. Each committee meets at least once a year to receive reports from SPB officials, nominally satisfying the constitutional requirement that the government be accountable to the people.

Judicial Authority

Separation of powers does not exist in the Bothnian government. Although the Constitution asserts the independence of the courts, it also subordinates the judiciary to the political authorities and their political goals.

Like all other aspects of the government administration of Bothnia, the party is the ultimate decision maker in the operation of the legal system. The Constitution, however, provides for the right of citizens to a voice in the judicial process and the selection of judges, directly or through their elected representatives. It further provides for citizen participation in the administration of justice in an effort to deter crime. Basic guarantees for justice are said to derive from the "socialist society, the political power of the working people, and their state and legal system."

At the top of Bothnia's legal system are the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court and the Office of the General Prosecuting Attorney (public prosecutor). The public prosecutor appoints prosecutors throughout Bothnia, including those active in military courts; he can dismiss them, and they are "responsible to him and bound by his instructions." The Office of the General Prosecuting Attorney is also responsible for supervising "strict adherence to socialist legality and protecting citizens from violations of the law." The role of the Ministry of Justice, which is not mentioned in the Constitution, appears to be largely formal and its role public relations.

The organs of justice are the Supreme Court, Provincial courts and social courts. Military jurisdiction is exercised by the Supreme Court and military tribunals and courts. The specific areas of responsibility for each level of the court system are defined by law. Professional and lay judges of the courts are elected for five years by corresponding representative bodies, except Provincial court judges, who are elected directly by the citizenry. They are subject to dismissal for malfeasance and for violations of law and/or the Constitution in the performance of their duties.

Supreme Court: Under the Constitution, the Supreme Court, as the highest organ of the legal system, directs the jurisdiction of all lower courts and is charged with ensuring the uniform application of the law on all levels. The highest court not only has the right of extraordinary appeal as a measure of control over the lower courts but on occasion serves as a link in the chain of command by issuing general legal directives. According to the Constitution, the Supreme Court "directs the jurisdiction of the courts on the basis of the Constitution, the laws, and their statutory regulations. . . . It ensures a uniform application of the law by all courts." The directive function of the Supreme Court goes far beyond that of supreme courts in Western systems, which as a rule do not give legally binding instructions to the lower courts concerning specific questions of law. The Supreme Court is responsible to the People's Chamber and, between the latter's sessions, to the Council of State. Internally, the organization of the high court consists of an assembly, a presidium, and three functional administrative divisions known as collegiums for criminal justice, military justice, and civil, family, and labor law. The assembly, which is directed in its plenary sessions by the Supreme Court Presidium, consists of fifteen directors of the Provincial courts, the chairmen of the higher military courts, and all professional judges.

Provincial Court: Each provincial court is presided over by a professional judge and two jurors in cases of original jurisdiction and by three professional judges in cases of appellate jurisdiction. The Provincial courts have appellate jurisdiction in civil cases and original jurisdiction in major criminal cases such as economic crimes, murder, and crimes against the state.

County Court: The county court is the lowest level of the judiciary system, and each of the country's regions has at least one such court, which is presided over by a professional judge and two lay assessors. The majority of all criminal and civil cases are tried at this level; county courts have jurisdiction over cases not assigned elsewhere and civil cases involving only small amounts of property.

In addition to the regular law courts, Bothnia has also developed an extensive system of community and social courts, known as either conflict or arbitration commissions. The first are formed in state owned and private enterprises, health and educational institutions, offices, and social organizations. The second are established in residential areas, collective farms, and cooperatives of manual laborers, fishermen, and gardeners. Created to relieve the regular courts of their minor civil or criminal case loads, the jurisdiction of the courts applies to labor disputes, minor breaches of the peace, misdemeanors, infringements of the law, truancy, and conflicts in civil law. These courts are composed of lay jurors who are elected by their respective constituencies. Party officials at the community level generally influence the nomination of jurors to the community courts and exercise considerable influence on the outcome of cases heard at this level.

Provinces, Regions, Cities, and Municipalities

Map to Follow

Bothnia has three territorial levels below the national level: The Bothnian Administrative Reform of 1952 established 14 provinces, 48 regions, and municipalities. Each level has an elected assembly (whose composition is controlled by local SPB committees) and a council, which acts as the executive. Each assembly in turn features a structure of committees, composed of deputies and non‐deputies, organized around local policy issues such as local trade, supply, finances, construction, housing, traffic, transportation, health, socialist education, culture, youth and sports.

The Provincial assembly is the highest government institution in the Province; it is elected every five years by the Provincial electorate; the number of deputies in the assembly ranges from 45 to 10, depending on the size of the Provincial electorate. The Provincial council usually consists of some eight to 20 members; as a rule, SPB members outnumber representatives of other political parties, in the event of equal split the Chairperson holds the decisive vote. Regions, as subdivisions of Provinces, replicate the Provincial government structure on a smaller scale. In 1995 there were 14 urban regions and 34 rural regions. The smallest unit of local government with an assembly and a council is the municipality (community).

Provinces and Regions of Bothnia

Province	Region	Capital	Province	Region	Capital
Länsi Lappi	Rovaniemi Kemi‐Tornio	Rovaniemi	Satakunta	Pori Northern Satakunta Rauma	Pori
Northern Ostrobothnia (Pohjois‐ Pohjanmaa)	Nivala‐Haapajärvi Oulu Oulunkaari Raahe Siikalatva Ylivieska	Oulu	Central Ostrobothnia (Keski‐ Pohjanmaa)	Kokkola Kaustinen	Kokkola
Southern Ostrobothnia (Etelä‐ Pohjanmaa)	Seinäjoki Järviseutu Kuusiokunnat Suupohja	Seinäjoki	Central Bothnia (Keski‐Suomi)	Äänekoski Jämsä‐Joutsa Jyväskylä Keuruu Saarijärvi‐Viitasaari	Jyväskylä
Ostrobothnia (Pohjanmaa)	Vaasa Coastal Southern Ostrobothnia Jakobstad Kyrönmaa North Western Pirkanmaa South Eastern Pirkanmaa	Vaasa	Bothnia Proper (Varsinais‐ Suomi)	Turku Loimaa Salo Vakka‐Suomi Åboland	Turku
Pirkanmaa	Tampere South Western Pirkanmaa Southern Pirkanmaa Upper Pirkanmaa	Tampere	Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät‐Häme)	Lahti Heinola	Lahti
Uusimaa	Greater Brahea Raseborg	Brahea	Tavastia Proper (Kanta‐Häme)	Hämeenlinna Forssa Riihimäki	Hämeenlinna
Åland Islands (Ahvenanmaa)	Archipelago Mariehamn	Mariehamn	Eastern Uusimaa (Itä‐Uusimaa)	Loviisa Porvoo	Porvoo

Map to Follow

Bothnia’s Major Cities (>100k) and Populations (2017)

Brahea	Espoo	Jyväskylä	Lahti	Oulu	Pori	Tampere	Turku	Vantaa
1,129,393	489,618	135,780	201,998	279,158	152,550	423,382	350,568	397,250

Government Effectiveness and Legitimacy

State Security

Ministry for Constitutional Security (MfCS)

How the Bothnians successfully solved some problems and sought to deal with others is best understood by tracing the historical development of their national security. The Ministry for Constitutional Security (MfCS) is responsible for internal and external security and intelligence of Bothnia. The MfCS headquarters is in Brahea. It is the most powerful and repressive organizations in the country.

MfCS is a specialized structure for counterintelligence and security. Its chief responsibility is to detect, prevent and neutralize the threats to the Bothnian national security. It was established in 1949, to be the SPB’s “sword and shield” and since then has created a ruthless reputation which is extremely loyal to the Secretary General of the SPB. The MfCS maintains a comprehensive network of informants, agents, and military‐trained secret police. Their operations focus on political security and espionage, both domestically and abroad. It has powers considered beyond what would be considered acceptable legal practice.

The organization’s main charge is preserving the socialist regime in Bothnia through clandestine operations. The MfCS operates as a state agency under a special decree by the State Council of Bothnia and internal regulations that have not been made public. The MfCS utilizes the whole spectrum of available counterintelligence means and resources.

The MfCS intent is to carry out intelligence, counterintelligence and protection of the state secrets in order to ensure the survival of the Bothnian Socialist State.

Bothnian State Security Service (BoSSS). It is a specialized structure for counterintelligence and security. Its chief responsibility is to detect, prevent and neutralize the threats to the Bothnian national security. It was established in 1949, mostly renown as “the Party’s sword and shield” and since then has created a reputation of ruthless and extremely loyal to the Secretary General of the SPB. BoSSS operates as a state agency under a special decree by the State Council of Bothnia and internal regulations that have not been made public. BoSSS utilizes the whole spectrum of available counter‐intelligence means and resources.

State Secretariat for Intelligence and Security Coordinating. It is an administration of the MfCS that coordinates and deconflicts the activities of the security and intelligence services within the MfCS.

Bureau for Detention Services. It facilitates its mission of enforcing the political security of Bothnia distinct from that of the Ministry of the Interior. This system comprises prison camps for political, as opposed to criminal, offenders.

Constitutional Guards Regiment. The Constitutional Guards Regiment is a specialized armed unit controlled by the MfCS. It is entirely tasked by the MfCS. Its mission is to protect the government (Politburo), party buildings and personnel.

Civil Defense

On September 26, 1980, Bothnia’s People's Chamber passed a law creating a comprehensive civil defense system. This law was replaced by the Civil Defense Law of 1991. These laws regulated mobilization set forth the obligations of the population in the event of war and determine the role of the citizenry in peacetime civil defense work. Since 1991, for example, all Bothnian males between the ages of 16 and 65 and all females between the ages of 18 and 60 have been required to participate in civil defense training exercises that frequently involve entire sections of a city.

Under the new law, the Minister of Defense, through the Director of Civil Defense, was made responsible for national civil defense. The Central Civil Defense Staff had been created to formulate plans, conduct day‐to‐day business and coordinate activities should an emergency arise. For local operations, provincial, urban and local staffs were established.

The law also provided for the formation of civil defense committees at local levels, down to the level of cooperatives; directors of plants, offices and schools would be responsible for civil defense affairs in their organizations. Training included formal schooling at the provincial level and tournaments with competition in individual and team civil defense skills. Also included in the law was a provision for construction of civil defense shelters, giving emphasis to the safety of the leaders of the SPB and the government.

There is a sophisticated national warning system that coordinates the national and the local warning system. Public service announcements are regularly made and training and practices undertaken at irregular intervals to ensure full compliance and knowledge.

Ministry of Defense

On January 18, 1956, the People's Chamber (the national legislature) passed a bill institutionalizing the BPA and the Ministry of Defense (MOD). This act formally structured the Bothnia's armed forces. The Bothnian People’s Army (BPA) has five branches: ground, sea, air, rear services and technology and weapons. The creation of the BPA addressed both internal and external security problems. In theory at least, Bothnian citizens could have pride in their own army. The swift creation of the BPA as a force of more than 100,000 officers and other ranks was a dramatic gesture of nationalism that was impossible for the world to ignore. Military intelligence is carried out within the MOD.

Law Enforcement

Police: All police forces are centralized under Ministry of the Interior. The Transport Police and Fire Fighters are separately organized.

Structure: The People's Police include Alert Units, the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Provincial Police, Criminal Police and Passport Department. Permanent personnel number 10,000 men and women.

1. The Alert units are composed of 21 companies equipped with armored personnel carriers. Alert units are distributed with one company in each provincial capital and reserves in Brahea (two companies), Turku (two companies), Oulu (two companies) and Tampere (one company). These alert units answer to the Deputy Commissioner (Policing).
2. The Anti-Terrorist Branch are specialists but work in support of the MfCS Anti-Terrorist Department.
3. The Provincial Police provide the police for each province. These are supplemented by police assistants.
4. The Criminal Police specialize in crimes such as fraud, murder and drugs. Officers are distributed throughout the State.
5. The Passport Department deals with passports and visas in cooperation with MfCS and Border Guards.
6. Headquarters Staff: State and Provincial Headquarters are staffed by uniformed personnel.

Transport Police: Dark-blue uniforms who perform law enforcement and security for the railroad system. They were organized into 16 companies and equipped with small arms distributed throughout the provinces with two companies in Brahea. Central Headquarters is located in Brahea.

Police Assistants: These are organized on a provincial basis.

Crime

Bothnia as a socialist country has a perception of the roots of criminal behavior that differs fundamentally from the general beliefs accepted in Western culture. This perception, based upon Socialist social theory, strongly influences the structure of the criminal justice system and the administration of criminal justice. To understand the structure and functioning of the Bothnian criminal justice system, it is necessary to understand this Socialist perception of the roots of crime in society.

Public Order and Mass Participation: Crime is viewed historically as the product of class societies that have private ownership of the means of production. It is this private ownership that breeds exploitation of man by man, antagonism between individuals, and conflict between individuals and society as a whole. It feeds individual egoism that is destructive to human and community interests. In a perfected communist society where social conditions, life- styles, and human personalities have been altered radically, deviant behavior would be impossible. Under socialism, the transitional phase from capitalism to communism, crime exists, but not as a rebellion against existing conditions. Rather, it is a residue or relic of the old, imperfect society. Bothnia considers itself a socialist, or transitional, society. The leadership is not so dogmatic as to ascribe all deviant behavior to social causes. It is believed that genetic or biological factors can reduce the competence of individuals below the point where normal societal influences can compensate fully. In these instances, more stringent efforts by the state to recognize criminal potential may be required. These efforts may range from genetic counselling and therapeutic abortion to early recognition and diagnosis of personality disorders in schools and the work place.

The perception of the root causes of criminal behavior and, therefore, the attitude and approach toward addressing the problems of crime and punishment have certain fundamental characteristics that are totally foreign to traditional Western practices, even while preserving some external similarities. The administration of justice, particularly criminal justice, is viewed very much in pragmatic and utilitarian terms. The rule of law that is so important to Western political thought is subordinated to the concept of social (socialist) justice. Because criminality is viewed as a social anachronism left over from capitalism that presumably will disappear with time or is traceable to biological causes correctable by science, justice need not be tempered by legal restraint. The juridical structure of courts, judges, and lawyers, although serving an immediate need, is not fundamentally important to a socialist society. Further, the real function of law is one of educating members of society, both criminal and law- abiding, in the fulfillment of civic duties.

The Legal System: Crime control takes place on two levels. The first level involves the leadership of state organs and their functionaries, who plan all social processes. These organs, including national government agencies, local government, and industrial enterprises, have established the system of criminal law. The second level is based upon rigorous exposure, persecution, and punishment of criminals and elimination of the causes of criminal acts. This second level involves active participation by citizens through service on conflict commissions, arbitration commissions, and juries.

These two levels concentrate actual power and authority in the criminal system in the hands of the government and the SPB by reserving to them the sole responsibility for establishing social processes and laws. The second level involves the masses in enforcement of state laws and processes. In this sense, "involving the masses" is a euphemism for social pressure to enforce the law by creating an atmosphere of intolerance toward criminals.

Penal Institutions: There are two distinct penal systems in the country. The one, operated by the Ministry of the Interior, is for criminal offenses and accepts persons convicted and sentenced by the court system. Statistics on crime and prison populations are not published and information on these subjects is scant and unreliable.

Constitutional Security Penal Systems: The penal institutions operated by the Ministry for Constitutional Security make up a second system. Little is known of them since they operate outside the jurisdiction of the legal system. Incarceration is for political, as opposed to criminal, offenses, and sentencing may be dealt with through ministry hearings rather than the judicial process.

Penal Code: The code is divided into nine sections: crimes against the sovereignty of the regime and against peace, humanity, and human rights; crimes against the regime; offenses against the individual; offenses against youth and the family; offenses against socialist property; offenses against personal and private property; offenses against the general security; offenses against the regime and public order; and military offenses. Other than for its accommodation of property rights in a socialist system, the 1968 code is noteworthy in that five of its nine sections deal primarily with offenses against the regime and the social system. Punishments usually consist of fines or imprisonment but also frequently involve efforts at rehabilitation. Special consideration, job training and social rehabilitation, is usually given to juvenile offenders. Until July 1997, execution in time of peace could be authorized for eleven crimes against the state and for murder. Military courts, even in peacetime, had the right to sentence both civilians and military personnel to death for a variety of offenses. On July l6, 1997, however, Bothnia announced the abolition of the death penalty.

Emergency Services

Search and Rescue (SAR): In Bothnia the responsible authority for land and inland water SAR is the Interior Ministry and for maritime SAR, the Border Guards. These organizations alert and decide on the most suitable response for the location and situation. The country also has several volunteer organizations such as the volunteer fire department, the Bothnian Lifeboat Institution and the Red Cross Bothnia. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Turku directs all SAR operations in the Baltic north of Gotland on a weekly rotating basis with the MRCC in Tyr. It also assists Estonia and Latvia with SAR coverage in their sea areas when requested.

Fire and Rescue Services: Firefighting in Bothnia is regulated by the Ministry of the Interior. Municipalities in Bothnia can choose whether the fire and rescue services are provided by a professional fire brigade, a half-ordinary fire brigade or a voluntary fire brigade. Half- ordinary and voluntary fire brigades rely on non-professional voluntary fire fighters who have been trained appropriately. The main responsibilities of fire brigades are (in decreasing order of importance) rescuing people, protecting property and the environment, limiting damage and consequences. In large fires (particularly forest fires) the rescue services also use mass organizations and the Bothnian military.

Fire and Rescue Service Responsibilities: Bothnia has 14 rescue services regions. These regions operate under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior. Each region is responsible for the rescue service within the area. The Rescue departments are responsible of the rescue services within a rescue services region and function as the regional rescue authorities. The Rescue Departments in Bothnia have several responsibilities. They include, but are not limited to:

• Accident prevention, damage mitigation and fire inspections, safety education and advice
• Rescue operations

Other Services: Rescue departments rarely provide only firefighting services, but also perform several other types of rescue operations and often also ambulance/emergency medical services for the municipalities.

Risk Areas: The rescues service regions have different risk areas. The risk areas are categorized by time constraints set to the rescue service. For example, in risk area 2, the rescue unit must arrive at the accident site within ten minutes of the emergency call.

Professional Fire Fighting: The professional fire fighters are trained in at either the Emergency Services College or City of Brahea Rescue School which trains fire fighters in Brahea. The college is located in Kuopio and has various facilities for teaching, including special classrooms for teaching the various aspects in the several fields of firefighting and includes a 23-hectare training ground. The college can accommodate 350 people (of which most are students).

Industrial Fire Brigades: There are over 150 industrial fire brigades in Bothnia. These fire brigades usually operate in large industrial sites where the fire fighters also work at the site. Their staffs have often received special training for demanding industry-area rescue missions. This special training can include dealing with poisonous substances, operating in extremely complex industrial buildings and other similar tasks.

Voluntary Fire Fighting: A large part of Bothnian fire and rescue responsibility is provided by voluntary fire brigades. They are contracted by the municipality and are usually associations. In some municipalities, the firefighting is entirely a voluntary fire brigade's task. There are over 600 voluntary fire brigades in the country. In 400 municipalities the voluntary fire brigades provide all the fire and rescue services. Approximately 47% of Bothnia's population live in these municipalities and they make up for 95% of the country's area. The voluntary fire brigades are actively in service. Voluntary fire brigades operate in all risk areas.

Domestic Political Issues

General

Bothnia has dispensed with elections for the National Assembly; instead there is a process of appointments. At the municipality level there are elections which are carefully organize and the election list is presented to the public. However, for social democracy to succeed it is vital to the circle of life in Bothnia and it is therefore, common for Bothnian sources to emphasize the variety of opportunities for participation. For example, in the mid-1990s, approximately 195,000 citizens were members of national or local assemblies; 300,000 citizens were active in commissions of these local assemblies; 135,000 citizens participated in various committees of the SPB; 35,550 working people were engaged in the almost 4,000 production consultative bodies of the country's industrial enterprises; and 55,000 parents were active members of the parent associations that worked with teachers in the country's educational system.

Election Process

The President is elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for five terms) by the SPB Party Congress. This is formalized by the People’s Chamber at a special sitting. The last election was held on 15 January 2014 (next to be held in January 2020). The President appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister which the People’s Chamber must approve.

National: Elections were last held on 18 March 2015 with the next to be held in March 2020. The People’s Chamber has 400 seats which were distributed, for a four year term, as follows: SPB (111); BDU (72); SDA (60); FBTUF (51); YSB (41); DWLB (35); BCL (22).

Provincial Election Results: Elections are held every five years.

Provincial Election Results (2010)

Regional Election Results: Elections were last held on 18 March 2016 with the next to be held in March 2020. 1,440 seats were available, the results were as follows: SPB (745); BDU (354); SDA (341).

Municipal Election Results: Elections were last held on 18 March 2016 with the next to be held in March 2020. 1,010 seats were available, the results were as follows: SPB (536); BDU (233); SDA (236).

Suffrage: All citizens over 18 years old are eligible to vote.

Vote Buying

In Bothnia, elections are a structured process to enable the chosen to be ‘elected’ into office. There is no need to ‘buy’, instead the ‘a list of candidates’ is issued and two booths provided. One booth is for the ‘organize vote’ and the second is for those who wish to vote against the approved candidate. The distinction is noted.

Monitoring Elections: Bothnian elections have been monitored by Otso and Torrike for the past 20 years. No report commented on any of the usual issues relating to misconduct: the misuse of state funds and public administrative resources for electoral purposes and bribery of voters and election officials. Monitoring of electoral fraud and other abuses on polling day has traditionally been done by other organizations, both NGOs and IGOs, but no Bothnian election has invited any outside agencies.

Regional Relations

From the earliest days of the republic, Bothnia's foreign policy has been concerned with its survival as a separate political entity and to sustain international respect. Recently it has increased its effort to build a long‐ term relationship with the industrial West and its GBCC neighbors. Three specific policy areas are worthy of note:

1. European Economic and Technological Cooperation. Bothnia is very eager to expand economic and technological links with the industrial West. Bothnia, in line with Torrike, has increasingly supported proposals for technical and economic financial cooperation between GBCC and the EU.
2. Strengthen the GBCC with the backing of Olvana in order to provide an alternative political, economic and security alliance that would ensure the survival of the Bothnian Socialist ideals.
3. Bothnia has been keen to stress its humanitarian credentials and has sought to be fully involved in the development of regional civil crisis plans. In rotation with Torrike, it assumes responsibility for the direction of all Search and Rescue (SAR) efforts in the Baltic north of Gotland and provide SAR support to Estonia and Latvia when the need arises.

Gulf of Bothnia Cooperation Council (GBCC). The GBCC is an intergovernmental mutual security organization which was founded in 1990 in Tyr, Torrike by the leaders of Torrike and Bothnia.

Logo of the GBCC

Bothnia with considerable foresight embarked on an economic pact with Olvana and initiated talks with Torrike. The economic agreement was originally created on 26 April 1990 with the signing of the Gulf of Bothnia Cooperative Council agreement by the Heads of States of Torrike and Bothnia. On 24 April 1997, Bothnia and Torrike signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions and on 15 June 2001, all three heads of state and Arnland signed, the Declaration of GBCC. Donovia has Observer status in the GBCC. Defense matters are discussed within the forum but there has been no suggestion of any military alliance however in the last three years there has been an increase in military activities. Recent regional activities have expanded to include increased military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and counter‐terrorism.

There have been a number of joint military exercises. The first of these was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Torrike and the second in Bothnia. Since then Torrike and Bothnia have teamed up for large‐scale war games in 2005, 2007 and 2009, under the auspices of the Declaration of Cooperation. At the joint military exercises in 2007 (known as "Peace Mission 2007") which took place in Bothnia, as was agreed upon on April 2006 at a meeting of the countries Defense Ministers. During these exercises observers noted some CBRN tactical level training.

GBCC economic framework All GBCC members except Arnland are signatories of the economic framework. The Framework Agreement serves to enhance economic cooperation among the member states, signed on 23 September 1997. In 2006, Bothnia's Premier, proposed a long‐ term objective to establish a free trade area in the GBCC, while other more immediate measures would be taken to improve the flow of goods in the region.

Treaty of Good‐Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. In July 2001, Torrike and Bothnia, the organization’s two leading nations, signed the Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

GBCC Interbank. The Interbank Association of the GBCC focuses on supporting regional economic cooperation. It was founded on 26 October 2005. The Association unites authorized banks of the member states; Torrike Econombank, Bothnia Development Bank, National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Arnland, Olvana State Saving Bank. In 2008, Eurasian Development Bank became a partner of the Association.

Regional Actors

Otso

The creation of Bothnia and Otso as independent states was part of the overall settlement of WWII. In return, it was clear that Bothnia would support Donovia’s aspirations to neutralize Otso and so, Otso declared itself independent as the Royal Duchy of Otso, which they declared would be a neutral state along the lines of Switzerland. This proposal actually suited Bothnia, who assessed that the eastern provinces would be a drain on their resources. Additionally, a buffer between the Donovia and their Bothnia would give them more room for maneuver in rebuilding their state.

Bothnia respects Otso’s neutrality with a view to maintaining a buffer between it and Donovia. In the 1980s, Bothnia recognized that the neutrality of Otso ensured security on its eastern border, which in time would release security assets to concentrate elsewhere. There are the normal courtesies between bordering nations and extensive cooperation on SAR, border and ATC. By 2000, much of the border required limited attention and few incidents between Otso and Bothnia occurred. Illegal immigration from Bothnia to Otso is almost negligible as the Otso authorities always ensured they are returned to Bothnia under their treaty obligations.

However there are good relations between the two states that have assisted in ensuring their political survival. There are two major agreements; the Transit Agreement and the Basic Treaty, which were negotiated between Brahea and Otavia in 1982, subsequently serving to expand and improve bilateral relations.

The Transit Agreement regulated civilian passenger and goods transit between Bothnia and Otso, this was particularly important in the days of the Donovia. The agreed-upon transportation links (road, rail, and water) which will be maintained by the respective parties. In the past, Bothnian authorities had occasionally disrupted traffic as a means of communicating dissatisfaction with one or other aspect of Otso's neutral activities. During the 1980s and 1990s, the two countries have disagreed occasionally, but both sides have, for the most part, observed the inviolability of the Transit Agreement.

The Basic Treaty provided the two states with a long term framework for the conduct of their diplomatic, economic, and political relations. Signed in 1983, the treaty covers a broad range of common problems, ranging from environmental issues, trade and commercial relations, rights of citizens while visiting the other country, and an agreement jointly to negotiate minor rectifications of the common border. The treaty enjoyed the full support of both governments in the 1980s, and major changes in their relationship subsequently occurred. From 1980 to 1998, trade between the two countries more than doubled. Travel between Bothnia and Otso has also grown substantially.

There is still a desire to influence Otso for selfish reasons. Whereas Bothnian radio and influence flow East, Otso’s broadcasts are interrupted and on occasions blocked to ensure control of information in Bothnia along party lines. The normalization of relations between the two former Skolkan states manifests several inconsistencies. On the one hand, Bothnia has agreed to extensive economic and cultural contacts with Otso. On the other hand, the regime has pursued a policy of separation, designed to encourage a feeling of separate national identity on the part of the Bothnian population.

Although there is a clear historic link between Bothnia and Otso, their views on political and economic development are very different. But their close ties mean that trade continues much as it did before although Otso has expanded towards the EU rather than the GBCC economy. Their infrastructures are developing at different speeds and whist Bothnia is priority is security, Otso has focused on providing an infrastructure for economic development. On the border the Basic Treaty ensures a common and mutually beneficial maintenance of the infrastructure.

Torrike

Relations with Torrike improved through historic ties but also with the growing influence of European States and NATO, there was perceived a need to consolidate and improve the collective profile for a Torrike-led empire.

Bothnia generally has good relations with Torrike and maintains a cooperative and mutually reliant association. Both economically and diplomatically Bothnia and Torrike follow a similar line in dealing with the International field. But this is a complex relationship with Bothnia needing Torrikan political backing but wary of Torrike’s political motivations.

Despite outward appearances of amity and cooperation through such organizations as the GBCC, Bothnians have a long held suspicion of Torrikan motives concerning control of the Gulf of Bothnia which would impact shipping and economic activity at every level. Torrike's buildup of civil and military infrastructure on Gotland confirmed these suspicions. Politicians at the national and regional level began referring to Gotland specifically as "the Gibraltar of the Baltic", prompting much speculation as to the true aspirations of Torrike. This inevitably led to further speculation concerning Torrike's military plans, and the phrase “militarization of Gotland” has been used in armed forces briefings. Military forces on Gotland armed with surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and coastal artillery could dominate and control all traffic in the narrow passage between Gotland and Ventspils, Latvia, and thus control all access to the Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Riga. The Bothnian Broadcasting Collective (BBC) is running numerous "documentaries" and "investigative news reports" to develop the perception of Torrikan aggression and the righteousness of Bothnian action to control Gotland, politically and/or militarily.

Bothnia has an embassy in Tyr and an honorary consulate in Goteborg.

Framland

Bothnia has good relations with Framland, ensuring it maintains its political independence with free economic trading ties. Bothnia’s attitude is conditioned by fraternal friendship to a neighboring GBCC who has recognized Bothnia and is seen as no threat to the Socialist ideals that Bothnia is committed to defend. In dealing with Framland Bothnia is cooperative but the agenda is not transparent. Maintaining a selfish attitude to ensure survival of the socialist state, it does not always treat Framland as an equal, taking more than it will give and does not see Framland as a regional ally. As with Torrike, it is clear that Bothnia have strong national pride and this limits their social interaction.

Bothnia maintains strong operational level naval cooperation in Gulf of Bothnia, but this relationship is predicated on necessity not any feeling of fraternal brotherhood. Maintaining trading lanes during winter requires cooperation on ice breaking support from both countries. Economic ties are limited, recognizing that Torrike is Framland’s main trading partner, its trade is localized to the north only, limited by cross border bureaucracy.

Arnland

Bothnia maintains cordial relations with Arnland ensuring that Bothnian trade through the Öresund is uninterrupted. Bothnia has on occasions been direct in its relationship with Arnland. But this is a complex relationship with Bothnia using Arnland as a strategic counter weight to Torrike’s ambitions. Bothnia does not want Arnland to fail but wants to ensure it remains a regional (Torrikan) distraction. Because Bothnia plays an unconventional political game it is feeds into the asymmetrical world of other organizations through proxies, this can have an influence on Arnland internal affairs but is deniable.

There are limited military ties usually in the form of some low-level exercise participation. There is good cooperation on regional issues (SAR and maintenance of trade routes, etc). Arnland is seen as a market for Bothnian products.

Bothnia has an embassy in Alsstad. Arnland has an embassy in Brahea.

Estonia

There is are several ongoing disputes between the two nations generated essentially by historical enmity and a total clash of political cultures. These are all a source of irritation that could escalate. Otsobothnia's government recognized Estonia's independence in 1920. Bothnia and Estonia restored diplomatic relations on August 2, 1991 after a short period of instability due to the ending of the official cold war. Both countries are full members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Although Bothnia has invested in Estonia and has an economically strong connection, the political relationship is confrontational as explained before in the Baltic States. Bothnia’s strategic aim is to disrupt Estonia, enough to create hesitancy and indecision, from NATO. Most of the Baltic issues emanate from Estonia.

Baltics and in particular Estonia are open borders and there is an historical trend of Bothnian dissidents (strong and vocal anti-Bothnian/SPB) locating there. This issue is seen as a direct insult to Bothnia by Estonia and has been the course of considerable discord in negotiations on a multitude of issues.

However, Bothnia retains a basic hostility towards Estonia. The Gulf of Finland is considered as Bothnian waters but freedom of navigation for shipping to St. Petersburg and Otavia has never been interrupted. This is not the case for small fishing and trading freighters from Estonia who are subjected to regular inspection to the point of harassment. The ever decreasing stock in the Baltic is a source of friction and Bothnia and Estonia have had minor clashes between fishing and enforcement vessels.

The presence of offshore deposits of oil and gas within Bothnia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been known for some time but extraction has not been economically viable. However, the discovery of new techniques has prompted further exploration and it is believed that reasonably significant reserves may now be recoverable. Unfortunately this is complicated by research showing that that the vast bulk of these deposits are located at the southern extreme of Bothnia’s EEZ bordering with Estonia and there is a possibility that this will re‐ignite previous disputes with neighboring countries, principally Estonia, as to the exact limits of the EEZ. Agreement on extraction rights for oil is likely to become a highly contentious issue.

Bothnia has an embassy in Tallinn and an honorary consulate in Tartu. The embassy has a large establishment which has been the focal of a number of media articles questioning the need for Bothnia to have such a large representation. Estonia has an embassy in Brahea. Bothnia also engages with Estonia via the CBSS and provides essential SAR support in coastal waters on request.

Latvia

Both countries are full members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Although Bothnia has invested in Latvia and has an economically strong association, the political relationship is confrontational. Bothnian government to government relations are civil but the overarching aim is to sow discord between the Baltic States to undermine their uniformity. Bothnia has an embassy in Riga. Latvia has an embassy in Brahea. Bothnia also engages via the CBSS with Latvia and provides essential SAR support in coastal waters on request.

Lithuania

Both countries are full members of the CBSS. Although Bothnia has invested in Lithuania and has an economically strong association, the political relationship is confrontational. Bothnian government to government relations are civil but the overarching aim is to sow discord between the Baltic States to undermine their uniformity. Bothnia has an embassy in Vilnius and an honorary consulate in Klaipeda. Lithuania has an embassy in Brahea.

Donovia

Relations with Donovia are peaceful but complex. Both countries are full members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Bothnia continues to import many goods and basic necessities, such as fuel, and the two nations agree on issues more than they disagree. Contemporary issues include pollution of the Baltic Sea, and Donovian duties on exported wood to Bothnia's pulp and paper industry. Donovia has an embassy in Brahea. Bothnia has an embassy in Moscow, a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg, and two branches of the consulate (in Murmansk and Petrozavodsk). Previously, Donovia has attempted to interfere aggressively in Bothnian affairs including initiating cyber attacks and threatening Bothnia should it attempt closer ties with NATO. Recently Donovia has supplied military hardware to Donovia, often at cost price; this appears to have been much more effective in strengthening ties.

International Relationships

Bothnia now enjoys diplomatic recognition with over 130 countries and it is a member of the CBSS and GBCC. Bothnia has been active ever since 1991 in advancing Olvana positions in the international forum. During the same period, it also became active in the developing world, particularly Africa. Five principles, which are established in the Constitution, underlie the foreign policy of Bothnia:

1. A "perpetual and irrevocable alliance" with Olvana, which superseded a similar position on Donovia
2. An "inseparable" membership in the socialist community of states, toward whose members Bothnia is committed in friendship, universal cooperation, and mutual assistance
3. The support of all peoples "who are struggling against imperialism and colonialism"
4. Peaceful coexistence of states with different social orders
5. Support for peace and cooperation in Europe, a peaceful order throughout the world, and universal disarmament

The GBCC statements exemplify the need to support all peoples "who are struggling against imperialism and colonialism".

The strengthening of ties with Donovia, though not officially part of the constitution, has led some commentators to question Bothnia's commitment to the fifth principle 'Support for peace and cooperation in Europe...'.

International Political Issues

Anti-Terrorism

As with many other countries, Bothnia outwardly changed its attitude to terror following the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001. The term "terror" began to be used intensively in its declarations; its diplomatic agenda included international cooperation against terror; and it undertook a variety of related actions on a multilateral, regional, and bilateral level. However, Brahea’s concept of terrorism derives from its own set of strategic interests and is not identical to that of other states.

International Cooperation against Terrorism

Due to the potential terrorist threats to Bothnia and the perception of terror as a global problem, Brahea’s cooperation in this area with other countries is far from unusual. Still, the connection between the steps it is taking and the war on terror is not always clear; and in order to explain Brahea’s international cooperation, the measures that are directly aimed at terror must be distinguished from those with broader purposes.

Western (US) versus Bothnian view on Terror

Terrorism is also one of the issues that underscore the common link between Bothnia’s outlook and the rest of the countries of the region. The GBCC countries adopt a narrow approach that focuses on regional problems. In addition, the war against terror serves Bothnia as a channel for casting criticism on the existing international order while proposing an alternative order. Bothnia highlights the political, economic, and social factors it claims are at the base of terror and points an accusing finger at the current international order that breeds those factors. Thus, for example, a discussion presented in Bothnia’s official daily argued that “although terrorism often excuses its existence based on the broadening gap between the rich and the poor, the reality is that the international political and economic arrangements that are in place are its fundamental reason." A similar idea appeared in a security policy document from 2002: “In the war against terror we must (also) deal…with its roots, and take comprehensive measures, especially for problems related to development, reducing north-south gaps, and ending regional conflicts.”

As for Bothnia's suggestions for confronting the problem of terror, here too there is latent criticism of the US: “The war against terror demands complete evidence…and agreement with the goals and principles of the UN Charter…and norms of international law. One must not make a connection between terror and a particular country or religion, or employ a double standard in the war against terror”. Thus Bothnia expresses its opposition to the unilateral US leadership of the international war against terror, while on the other hand expressing adherence to the UN. This does not necessarily advance the war against terror, but it does question the existing international order. Moreover, Bothnia’s warning against adopting a double standard is evidence of its concern that its fight against separatist movements – similar to the struggles of other countries – might exact criticism over the violation of human rights, in contrast with the US war against terror, in which all means are justified.

Foreign Policy

From the earliest days of the republic, Bothnia's foreign policy has been concerned with its survival as a separate political entity, international recognition, accommodation to Eastern influence in Europe (until 1991), accommodation to Olvana and development within the GBCC. The state gained international recognition, signed treaties and solidified its position in the GBCC. Since the late 1980s, Bothnia's foreign policy has been extended to include global interests, reflecting its ambition to be one of the world's leading industrial states.

Global Politics

Industrialized West. Since the early 1990s, Bothnia has demonstrated a pronounced interest in expanding its economic and where possible political ties with the industrial societies of Europe and North America. This task has not been an easy one. Bothnia's integration within the GBCC also limited the amount of diplomatic room available for building comprehensive ties with members of NATO. Furthermore, the country has not been able to expand trade with the West because of its existing delivery commitments and the world economic slowdown. Despite these restrictions, since the mid‐1990s Bothnia’s economy has become increasingly tied to the market systems of Europe, Olvana and the GBCC. Although the relative volume of its trade with those systems remained small, significant import and export growth has still been registered although this has faltered significantly in the last two years. See Economic Variable.

In line with the emphasis on "dialogue" and a "coalition of reason" with the West, in the 1990s Bothnia pursued contacts with Western governments. In 1998 an official Bothnian‐Danish cultural agreement was signed. In 1999 Denmark and Bothnia also signed a long term economic accord and an agreement on the bilateral recognition of certain university degrees. In 2000 Italy and Bothnia signed a long term economic cooperation agreement outlining an expansion in bilateral trade and pledged a prompt exchange of cultural centers in their respective capitals. The Olvana premier’s 2006 visit to Brahea probably presaged greater economic cooperation between the two countries.

Keen to promote its credibility as a humanitarian actor Bothnia agreed via the Gulf of Bothnia Cooperation Council (GBCC) to provide crisis management and Search and Rescue services across the Baltic Sea area north of Gotland and to assist Estonia and Latvia with coastal SAR capabilities.

Developing World. Since the early 1980s, Bothnia has promoted its foreign policy interests in the developing world. First, in the 1970s, functioning as a state enjoying little international status, it turned to newly independent states to gain recognition in return for economic and technical assistance. Comparative technological and economic backwardness was less important in the developing world; Bothnia could still proffer much‐ needed assistance to these economically less advanced states.

Bothnia has also developed trading relationships with a number of developing world states. Algeria, for example, has become a leading supplier of oil to Bothnia. The Bothnian government hopes to tap coal reserves held by Mozambique and in the 1990s Bothnians were developing the infrastructure of the Moatize coal mining region in that country. In addition, Bothnia imports raw cotton, tropical fruits, coffee beans and nuts from Africa.

One area of Bothnian‐developing world cooperation is police and armed forces training. In the 1990s, hundreds of students from Amari, Gabal, Ghana and Morocco took instruction in internal security methods for periods ranging from three months to three years.

Bothnia has encountered some frustrations in Africa but its policies of assistance with few conditions have produced a receptive and supportive list of countries in the international forum.

South America. Bothnia has demonstrated a pronounced interest in expanding its relations with South American countries. Long term historical trading reasons, as well as practical considerations, motivate the interest. Bothnia's foreign trade with South America climbed from 0.6% in 1990 to 1.5% in 2007.

Olvana. Bothnia began to form closer relations with Olvana from 1985 which proved to be decisive for Bothnia’s future. Olvana provided support that allowed Bothnia to survive the transition period where other former Eastern Bloc countries moved towards the West. With the demise of the Donovia in 1991, Bothnia required a strategic backer. By 1995, with Olvana’s economic growth and desire for influence in Europe, Bothnia agreed a treaty of mutual peace and prosperity with Olvana.

International Treaties

The UN Charter (1945),Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1947), The fourth Geneva Convention (1949), Convention on the Territorial Sea & Contiguous Zone (1958), Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1963), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO 1967) Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (1968), Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), Patent Cooperation Treaty (1970 – mod 2001), Ramsar Convention (1971), IPC Agreement (1971), Biological Weapons Convention (1972), London Convention (1972), Sulphur Emissions Reduction Protocol (1985), UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988), the Montreal Protocol (1989), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1994), GATT (1995), WIPO Copyright Treaty; the UN Convention on Law of the Sea, Chemical Weapons Convention (1997); the Kyoto Protocol (1997), Patent Law Treaty (2000).

Bothnia is not a signatory to The Ottawa Convention on Landmines. Bothnia was a signatory of CFE but withdrew in 2004 in response to Estonia joining NATO.

International Organizations

UN. since 1949, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB),ADB (non-regional member), AfDB (non-regional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BEAC, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, FATF, GBCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC.

Bothnia is an active member of the CBSS and notwithstanding its reputation as a ‘difficult’ member, seeks to be actively involved in all aspects of the Council’s work, with special emphasis on emergency planning and SAR.

Military Alliances

Eastern Block (Warsaw Pact): Bothnia did not integrate into the Eastern Block alliance but publicly was supportive of its initiatives and world view. Ultimately, Donovia recognized this fact by signing the bilateral Treaty on Mutual Assistance and Cooperation with Bothnia on 12 June 1964. The breakup of Donovia forced Bothnia to review its position. Bothnia assumed complete responsibility for its military security within its own borders. External security was guaranteed by associate membership in the Warsaw Pact (1955-1990) and the GBCC (1990 - ) successfully continues to provide a considerable degree of security.

Bothnia with considerable foresight embarked on an economic pact with Olvana and initiated talks with Torrike. An agreement between the countries was originally created on 26 April 1990 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in the Baltic Border Regions by the heads of states of Torrike and Bothnia. On 24 April 1997, Bothnia, Olvana, and Torrike signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions and on 15 June 2001, all three heads of state and Arnland signed, the Declaration of Cooperation. Defense matters are discussed within the forum but there has been no suggestion of any military alliance however in the last three years there has been an increase in military activities:

• Recent regional activities have expanded to include increased military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and counter terrorism.
• There have been a number of joint military exercises. The first of these was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Torrike and the second in Bothnia. Since then Torrike and Bothnia have teamed up for large-scale war games in 2005, 2007 and 2009, under the auspices of the Declaration of Cooperation. At the joint military exercises in 2007 (known as "Peace Mission 2007") which took place in Bothnia, as was agreed upon on April 2006 at a meeting of the countries Defense Ministers. Air forces and precision-guided weapons were used.

Political Entities

Political Parties

Socialist Party of Bothnia (SPB)

General: The SPB's most important connective tissue remains Marxist Leninist ideology. Ideology has retained an overriding significance where it has played the role of an integrating and mobilizing force in society. Ideology determines the norms of conduct, guides social and political action, and integrates the leadership elite.

The SPBs "chief task" is to ensure all- around growth in social and economic well- being. These improvements would result from "increasing efficiency, scientific-technical progress, and higher labor productivity." The scientific technical revolution of the 1960s was to become scientific technical progress in the 1970s. The leadership considered it necessary to close the ever increasing gap in living standards between those with technical skills and those without. Thus, in the mid- and late 1970s, the party brought science and technology increasingly under its wing. Numerous scientific councils were created and attached to the Bothnian Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the SPB, and other party organizations. Because the establishment of these scientific councils allowed the SPB to plan, coordinate, and supervise research topics and outcomes much more comprehensively, in the 1970s the party became the main integrative force in the domain of science and technology.

Bothnian Democratic Union (BDU)

The BDU's social-democratic policies are generally more moderate than those of the parliament's other left-leaning parties. BDU aims to group together people in order to achieve social-democratic goals: a society in which "freedom, equality, solidarity and co-operation thrives in a peaceful and clean environment". The BDU is a member of the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists. The BDU has a close relationship with the FBTUF. It has 72 seats in the parliamentary elections.

The BDU is one of the three political parties in Bothnia, along with the SPB and the Social Democracy Alliance (SDA). BDU's social-democratic policies are generally more moderate than those of the parliament's other left-leaning parties. BDU aims to group together people in order to achieve social-democratic goals: a society in which "freedom, equality, solidarity and co-operation thrives in a peaceful and clean environment". The BDU is a member of the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists. The BDU has a close relationship with the FBTUF. It has 72 seats in the parliamentary elections.

Social Democracy Alliance (SDA)

The SDA's social-democratic policies are generally more extreme than those of the BDU. SDA aims to group together people in order to achieve social-democratic goals: a society in which "freedom, equality, solidarity and co-operation thrives in a peaceful and clean environment". The SDA is a member of the Socialist International and Party of European Communists. The SDA has a close relationship with the FBTUF. It has 60 seats in the parliamentary elections.

Pressure and Interest Groups

A number of pressure and interest groups exist within Bothnia:

• Youth Society of Bothnia (YSB).
• Free Bothnian Trade Union Federation (FBTUF).
• Democratic Women's League of Bothnia (DWLB).
• Bothnian Cultural League (BCL). A federation of local clubs sponsored by the SPB, essentially a club for intellectuals. They send 22 representatives to the Parliament.
• Bothnian Helsinki Committee (BHC). The BHC is a non-governmental human rights organization founded in 1989 and based in Brahea. The BHC is a member of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. The BHC defines itself as monitoring the respect for human rights protected by international human rights instruments, to inform the public about human rights violations and to provide victims of human rights abuse with free legal assistance. The government fined the organization US$73,000 for allegedly unpaid taxes on money received via EU Tacis Program grants (2003, overruled by the Supreme Court in 2004) and has brought criminal proceedings against officials of the organization.

Other Political Entities

Research Institutions

Bothnia's research institutions have been particularly active in analyzing opinion on such issues as work, family life, the position of women in society, and leisure. The focus and results of public opinion research are carefully guarded secrets, and it is known that the Council of Ministers makes the final determination on basic emphases and content of the Central Research Plan. Two party institutes have played especially important roles in this area; Opinion Research of the Central Committee of the SPB and The Institute for Socialist Sociology of the Academy for Social Sciences. Interestingly the number of scientific councils allowed the SPB to plan, coordinate and supervise research topics and outcomes much more comprehensively. The SPB became the main integrative force in the domain of science and technology.

Opinion Research of the Central Committee of the SPB

In the mid-1980s, empirical research provided the SPB with an up-to-date profile on the attitudes and feelings of the public across a range of major Socio-political issues. Such data have provided the party with information that has helped it more effectively to communicate its goals and purposes to the public. Since the 1970s, the SPB has deliberately attempted to make respondents feel that their needs were being taken seriously. In other words, since the 1970s the regime has used public opinion research as another means to develop political legitimacy. Given the authoritarian character of the regime, it is worth considering whether citizens were willing to answer questions in a totally honest and open manner.

The Institute for Socialist Sociology of the Academy for Social Sciences

The SPB has used the instruments of socialization and control to achieve political passivity on the part of society, if not legitimacy. For example, the Bothnian educational system has had an impact on the political values and expectations of the Bothnian citizenry. The military is also an important instrument for the inculcation of regime values.