Welcome to the world of Tripartite Alliance Earth!
Although this world was introduced to the multiverse by an unfortunate Holy Alliance invasion in July 1998, and 16 years previously had suffered an unfortunate Third World War, intact areas of the world -- in Europe, in the Southern Hemisphere, the Middle East, and much of northeastern Asia, with selected enclaves elsewhere -- had managed a near-complete recovery from the ravages of the war before first contact with the ITA.
Despite the initial shock, in the three years since first contact, this has managed to adapt quickly to the ITA, acquiring full membership in the ITA in the summer of 2000 and welcoming hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of visitors from across the multiverse. For all of the continuing continuing problems of Reconstruction, the areas of the world that tourists are most likely to visit are destinations that are both safe and fascinating. Tourists will find that the vast majority of its inhabitants are xenophiles; indeed, this world's long history of cultural pluralism was ensured that people in most areas of the world are curious about foreigners, whether from another continent or from another world.
Come and play on Tripartite Alliance Earth!
ITA STATUS
Although initial scouting had occurred as early as 1985, first contact with interdimensional society occurred only in August of 1998, following the infiltration of Communautaire revolutionaries and a Holy Alliance invasion of the European and Asian continents. After a brief war in which Holy Alliance troops were expelled from this world and Tripartite Alliance Earth was recognized as an independent world, the League of Nations made full ITA membership a top priority An accelerated program of integration culminated in Tripartite Alliance Earth's acquisition of full ITA membership in June of 2000.
GETTING THERE
Despite the major role played by Tripartite Alliance Earth citizens in the colonization of Rattus Prime and the rapid growth of ties with interdimensional society, there are as yet only six direct Gridney links between Tripartite Alliance Earth and the ITA. All these connections are rail connections save where otherwise states. Travelers from other worlds will have to contract for a private Gridney or make an intermediate stop at one of the worlds with direct connections to the Estates-General Earth. Despite the necessary effort, however, visitors will find that the trip is well worth making.
Plans are also being made for a rail Gridney connection between Caracas, Venezuela, on Deccan Traps Earth, to Adelaide in Australia. Security concerns are holding up the construction, but the link is expected to be built sometime in 2002 or 2003.
Tripartite Alliance Earth is home to a wide range of governments, running the gamut from international federations to the rare totalitarian dictatorship. Below is a sampling:
Regional Confederation: Although not recognized as states per se, regional confederations do exercise many of the functions traditionally assigned to states on this world. The prototypical regional confederation is the European Confederation, founded in the 1950's and modelled on the Swiss Confederation. Each of the Confederation's 46 member states exercise complete internal autonomy in accordance with confederal standards of human rights, while they allocate powers of foreign and defense policy, and of monetary and economic policy to a democratic federal government. In the decades that followed, the European Confederation served as model for other regional confederations, including the South American Community in the 1960's, the East African Community and South Pacific Confederation in the 1970's, the Caribbean League in the 1980's, the Islamic League in the 1990's, and the Confederation of North America in 2000. Europe has firmly established its regional confederation, united as it is by a single army, a single currency and internal market, and a popular mass culture based largely on French and South American sources. In all, perhaps as many as seven-tenths of the world population live under the authority of one regional confederation or another.Federal Constitutional Monarchy: Federal constitutional monarchies are confined to Europe. Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, regional and ethnic diversity forced those surviving constitutional monarchies to concede large amounts of power to regional governments. These governments exercise limited democratic authority over territories that can just as often correspond to the homelands of restive quasi-nations -- for instance, Catalonia in Spain -- as to artificial creations such as Poitou-Charentes in France. The leading federal constitutional monarchies include Austria, North Italy, Spain, France and arguably the Confederation of the (British) Isles. In all these examples, a national or supranational government headed by a weak executive branch and a national legislature concedes different degrees of power to the components. In Spain, many of the components are virtually independent nation-states; in the Confederation of the Isles, the components are independent and sovereign states.
Unitary Constitutional Monarchy: Many constitutional monarchies are highly centralized, whether due to the smal territories under their control, their dense and homogenous populations incorporated into them, or fears of secession by one or more peripheral groups. Broadly speaking, unitary constitutional monarchies are just as liberal and democratic as any of the federal constitutional monarchies -- Hungary is just as free as and even richer than Austria, for instance, while the Low Countries and the Scandinavian states are liberal-democratic societies par excellence. Other unitary constitutional monarchies, though, particularly Korea, Egypt, and Syria, are still relatively authoritarian, with a strong executive branch but a weak legislature and mass media under state supervision and/or control. All governemnts classed as unitary constitutional monarchies, though, do tend to follow stated laws. Other unitary constitutional monarchies include those of Bulgaria, Naples, Portugal, Sicily, and Tuscany.
Traditional Constitutional Monarchy: The traditional constitutional monarchy is gradually disappearing, as the influx of Western-derived political ideologies undermines the indigenous basis for constitutional monarchies, and forces the establishment of Western-style mass politics and legal systems. Most traditional constitutional monarchies that now exist are located in the Third World, for instance, Thailand in Southeast Asia, KwaZulu and Barotseland in southern Africa, Yorubaland in western Africa, and Buganda in the East African Community member-state of Uganda.
Federal Republic: The federal republic is one of the most common forms of government in the world, present in such diverse countries as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the German Bundesrepublik, Mexico, South Africa, and West Africa. Under federal republican systems of government, an elected non-hereditary head of state has few functions other than the ceremonial. The actual business of government is divded between a national government that is responsible for such affairs as economic policy, foreign affairs, and defense, and regional governments that govern discrete territorial units and are left to manage such aspects of public policy as cultural policy, education, and health care, though not without federal organizational or economic aid. All federal republics are democratic by necessity, though South African and Canadian democratic politics are notoriously unstable. As in federal constitutional monarchies, the gradual expansion of the various regional confederations has left federal governments relatively powerless, giving regional governents greater leverage vis-à-vis national governments.
Unitary Republic: With few exceptions, unitary republics -- systems of government with an elected ceremonial head of state, an acting head of government, and a centralized government controlling the entire national territory without local intermediaries -- are small both in population and territory, and are often homogenous. Most republics in Europe, South America, North America, and the Pacific are liberal-democratic societies, while many republics elsewhere are dictatorships.
Islamic State: Although Islam has been a religion of state on this world for the past 13 centuries, it wasn't until the late 20th century that a variant of Islam became an ideology explicitly advocating global revolution. The 1983 revolution in Iran led to a revival of the theocratic and mass-oriented politics last evidenced on many Earths in the mid-17th century English Commonwealth, cast in an Islamic context. Although still chaotic, the various Islamic states have achieved some measure of stability, and a great measure of popularity with their redistribution of land from wealthy (secular) landowners and their establishment of quasi-parliamentary regimes.
Dictatorships: With the exception of the Thai royal military regime and imitators in parts of Africa, most of the dictatorships on Tripartite Alliance Earth are republican in style. Dictatorships are notoriously unresponsive to popular demands and corrupt, but they can vary widely in style. For instance, in Thailand ordinary Thais are mostly unmolested by the military regime and politically-active Thais are usually subject only to harassment, while in China a totalitarian regime claiming authority over every aspect of Chinese life rules the country.
League Mandate: Just over 6% of the population of Tripartite Alliance Earth -- approximately 150 million people -- live in one of the League mandates in central Africa, northern India, Bengal, central America and Southeast Asia. The League mandate is a form of government stemming from the League Free Cities that was instituted beginning in the mid-1980's to allow the League to reestablish some kind of functioning government until the devastated areas could regain their independence. Although responsive to popular demands and benevolent, League mandates as yet involve little popular participation, despite the recent establishment of advisory legislative assemblies in India, Bengal, and Khalistan.
CURRENCY
The European Commonwealth écu (É) is the main currency of Tripartite Alliance Earth, as it is used by the European Commonwealth, home to one-third of the world population and more than a third of total world economic production. The écu, however, has suffered from a low rate of exchange in relation to the major currencies of the Southern Hemisphere, including the Australian dollar, the Argentine peso and the Brazilian cruzeiro, and the South African rand -- in the South Pacific, the South American Community, and in southern Africa, respectively, these are the locally dominant currencies. The Japanese yen (¥) is legal tender throughout the Japanese Empire and is widely used throughout the North Pacific, but it suffers from a low rate of exchange in relation to all of the other major world currencies.
Circa 1 January 2001, 1É00 could purchase 5.45 ¥, 0.876 Brazilian cruzeiros (CR), 0.990 Argentine pesos (P), 1.47 Australian dollars ($A), or $0.29 Confed.
LANGUAGES
Though Tripartite Alliance Earth is a multilingual world, French is this world's lingua franca: Not only is the French language the prevailing language of wider communication in Europe, but France's long history of foreign colonial involvements and French culture prestige has implanted the French language in Africa, the South Pacific, and even North America. In all, 110 million people speak French as their mother tongue worldwide, while another half-billion have at least a working knowledge of French as a second language. The League of Nations -- based in the Francophone Swiss city of Genève -- is a body that functions in French, and French is probably the single most important language as a vehicle of worldwide popular culture. If one has a working knowledge of the French language, one should be able to communicate without problems across most of the world.
Many other languages compete with French as languages of global importance. Japanese is an important language in Asia and the Pacific, as it is the first language of 100 million Japanese citzens and spoken elsewhere in the region as a language of wider communication. In the Southern Hemisphere, Portuguese is the language of Brazil, the single largest country in the world, of Portugal in southern Europe, and is increasingly a major language of wider communication in southern Africa beyond Lusophone Angola. In Europe, the German language is an official language in six states with a total population of 100 million people, and is widely spoken in central and northern Europe. Finally, despite the decimation of the United States, the English language still is spoken widely, with very large numbers of first-language speakers in the British Isles, Australia, and most of North America, and large numbers of second-language speakers throughout the the Indian Ocean basin and in southern Africa.
Tripartite Alliance Earth has a wide variety of excellent accomodations, including hotels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and many other forms of accomadations. Below is only just a sample.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best, rare on Prime, non-existent on some worlds.
The equivalent would be the Forbidden City in Beijing on Marketplace Earth, or the Du Regent in Paris on Communauté globale.
Grand Royal (London): The Grand Royal Hotel is the first -- and so far, the only -- hotel on Tripartite Alliance Earth to rate as a five-star accomodation. Located in the heart of the English capital of London, in the historic Docklands district, the staff of the Grand Royal spare no expense to make their guests' stay as comfortable as humanly possible, providing most imaginable services. All rooms and suites offer access to the Euronet, to Réseau Ca'an-supported broadcasts, and to the InterWorldNet. The hotel of choice for dignitaries visiting London, rooms begin at 1000 É per night, and go as high as 8500 É.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Luxury.
L'Impérial (Rio de Janerio): This, the most exclusive hotel in the Brazilian capital, is a luxury hotel that includes autonomous computer terminals that can provide full access to the Euronet and limited access to the InterWorldNet, numerous elegantly-appointed conference rooms, comfortable rooms decorated in a wide variety of styles, and on-site shopping and dining. Rooms begin at 1100 É per night, and rise to a maximum of 2900 É.
⭐⭐⭐ Comfortable.
Southern Cross Accomodations: This, one of the most widely-dispersed hotel chains in the world, with individual franchises in all of the member-states of the South American Community, in Australia, the South Pacific Confederation, the Federal Republic of South Africa and -- under another name -- parts of western Europe. In each hotel, individual air-conditioned rooms and suites are available, with specialty accomodations for long-term guests and business travellers, and an on-site athletic facility of some kind. A restaurant is available on site, as are laundry facilities. Rooms range from 110 É to 600 É per night.
⭐⭐ Medium.
Explorer Inns: This mid-price motel chain -- originally Australian, but now including franchises in South Africa and Chile -- provides clean and well-furnished rooms, and basic on-site entertainment, laundry and dining facilities. There exist dozens of similar chains elsewhere in the world; rooms in most of them begin at 85 É per night.
⭐ Economy.
Gîtes du voyageur associés du monde: In addition to a variety of regional and national motel chains, Tripartite Alliance Earth is home to tens of thousands of gîtes du voyageur, or bed-and-breakfasts. Often run as a family business, gîtes du voyageur aim to provide a relatively inexpensive and home-like atmosphere for tourists. As of January, 2001, more than 17 thousand gîtes du voyageur were registered with the organization Gîtes du voyageur associés du monde and various regional and national tourists ministries; these are regularly inspected. Prices can vary greatly, but they can run from as little as 10 É per night to 400 É in the most luxurious gítes du voyageurs.
½⭐ Super Economy.
Sleepmart: Several hundred Sleepmarts -- motels that provide the bare minimum of a bed and associated facilities for their clients -- have opened over the past three years in the major cities of South America, Europe, and Australasia. There are plans to expand Sleepmart franchises to Japan and Korea. Prices in most Sleepmarts per night range from 40 É to 60 É
EMPLOYMENT
The employment situation for visitors or immigrants on Tripartite Alliance Earth is decidedly mixed. Following a brief post-contact recession, economic growth in the countries of the First and Second Worlds -- and in many Third World countries -- has continued at a moderate rate, despite a somewhat backward technological base. Skilled professionals -- in particular, people who can claim familiarity with the latest technologies, like the InterWorldNet -- are in high demand, and can usually acquire a resident's visa within 120 days of their arrival. Similarly, entrepreneurs who are willing to invest a moderate sum of money -- in most countries, between 50 000 and 100 000 É -- can receive visas as business immigrants.
However, structural unemployment in unskilled or low-skilled trades remains relatively high, while the Trade and Migration Pacts -- signed in 1985 by almost all of this world's sovereign states -- ensure a continued flow of immigrants to work in the lower echelons of First and Second World economies. Unless a visitor comes from a country on an ITA member world with which the League of Nations has signed labour-migration accords, it is virtually impossible for an offworld tourist to acquire a visa permitting himself or herself to work in unskilled or low-skilled trades, and illegal to acquire a job sub rosa. Penalties for tourists caught working without a valid visa vary between countries, but in no country do the penalties exceed a fine of 1500 É and immediate deportation to world of origin.
Investors interested in locating businesses on Tripartite Alliance Earth may also obtain assistance at any League of Nations embassy or national consulate or delegation-general regarding regulatory information, taxation, customs regulations and other relevant laws. Assistance with necessary applications will gladly be provided at no charge.
ADVISORIES
Travel to and within most areas of Tripartite Alliance Earth is comfortable and safe. Conditions inside the permanent member-states of the League of Nations Supreme Council -- European Confederation, the South American Community, the Empire of Japan, Egypt, Korea, and Mexico -- are roughly on par with those elsewhere in the multiverse, as is the South Pacific Confederation, Cuba, and the Federal Republic of South Africa.
Visitors should be aware, though, that conditions outside the above listed regions of the world can be inhospitable for travellers. People who wish to travel to these areas should seek specific advice from the local League of Nations embassy as to travel conditions. The below specific safety advisories should be interpreted as guides.
TRAVEL GUIDES
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