Shops Union

The Shops Union is a group of allied nations formed in 2027, after the end of the Shops Civil War. The union was formed by the new independent nations that came out of the Shopper Empire and the United States of Shops Island after the Shops Civil War in an effort to stay independent during the Scramble for Power. The founding bodies were Moon Island, Freezestonia, and the micronation Chill Island, with Farleya, the Frosian Republic, and the Seal Islands joining shortly after. Moon Island was the most influential nation in the Union for a short time, as it had the highest population, until the Seal Islands joined later in the year.

Early days
During the Shops Civil War, things started spiraling out of control. As news of the war raged on, so did rumors of the end of a nation. For some, it was a luxury, while for others, it was a false necessity.

With all of the rumors and theories, another question arose, what was to happen to Shops' various territories and colonies? For those who had been ravaged by war and a crumbling economy, it meant they would have to fight to stabilize in a new state of independence, while for smaller places it meant almost certain devastation.

However, that wasn't the concern of most nations. Since Shops was an Antarctic power by the time of the civil war, most of its territory had a defined amount of value, such as the amount of oil stockpiled in the East Ocean Territory, or the rare ores found in Chill Island's mines. With that in mind, many large nations prepared to stake their claims and invade the weak potential colonies, if Shops did fall.

Fall of Shops
At the end of the war, the whole of Shops Island was destroyed. The governments of the Shopper Empire and the USSI were dissolved, and it was the start of a new conflict. At the end of shops, the "Scramble for Power" officially began.

Shortly after news spread of Shops' destruction, Dps04 and his son Dps05 asked Chill57181 and Snowstormer to make a trip to Moon Island. Once there, the leaders of the newly independent states agreed to be allies.

Months later, in March, the news had become painfully clear: the AU nations, among others, were out to get them. New Delphis, Northern Shops, the Marmalade Islands, and other former shopper territories had already fallen prey to larger nations such as Puffle'and. All of Shops' former allies had turned a blind eye on the struggling states, or became potential enemies. Now, the Jedi had gathered word that AU nations were discussing annexing the three independent states, forcefully if necessary. So, the three leaders, along with Penquino, met again, in Pallinn, to discuss their futures. After much debate, they decided that the best course of action was to unify, become a bigger force. Thus, the Shops Union was born, to preserve their independence, though it would later serve a similar role to the Axle Powers, which was also disbanded after the Shops Civil War. Farleya also joined the Union shortly after declaring their independence and sovereignty.

After several meetings and discussions between Freezestonia and the Seal Islands, it was agreed that Freezestonia would become a state of the Seal Islands, on the condition that the Seal Islands join the union as well and that Freezestonia can still participate independently from the Seal Islands.

Freezestonia Crisis
The government of the Republic of Moon Island under President Dps04 was divided on how to respond to Seal Islands annexing Freezestonia and joining the Shops Union. Some members, including Penstubal, who was opposed to the idea of a Shops Union in the first place, was irate by Freezestonia's incorporation into Seal Islands, calling Seal Islands a "former Axle puppet state" and "not part of former Shops". He also argued that the annexation of Freezestonia threatens the independence of the young republic because of a sizeable Freezestonian national minority in the Freezestonian Autonomous Region, the southernmost region of Moon Island.

He was because of that resolutely opposed to the inclusion of Seal Islands into the Shops Union - other than his efficiency, the failure to prevent this was another reason why he resigned after such a short time of serving as foreign minister (only a few weeks). Throughout the late 2020s and early 2030s, using the Penstubal Post, Penstubal built up opposition to the Freezestonian annexation, and the penguins of Moon Island joined him in opposition to it - around 33% of the population were opposed to it and that rose up to 56% by 2036.

In 2036, Penstubal was elected president, and tensions rose as soon as he got into office, even though Freezestonia was not a central part of his campaign but the fact he was always publicly against its annexation remained in the memories of the penguins in both countries. The Sealien president reaffirmed, when Penstubal was elected president, that the Freezestonian annexation "is a done deal" and "there would be absolutely no reversals". President-elect Penstubal responded by accusing the Sealien president of posturing to annex Moon Island by encouraging the Freezestonian minority to rise up against the government.

During the very first days of his presidency, trouble took place inside the Freezestonian Autonomous Region when President Penstubal went on a rant during a press conference and threatened to suspend its autonomy. Over 30,000 Freezestonians turned out in the streets of Snowville and in Dancing Penguin City each to protest against the president. The Sealien president promised to protect the rights of Freezestonians in Moon Island and accused the Moon Island president of "stoking up ethnic tensions", which he strongly denied doing, instead accusing the Sealien president of trying to destabilize Moon Island.

Former chancellor Pill, now the handler of affairs between Chill Island and Moon Island, offered his input on the crisis. He called out Penstubal for "digging up old wounds", and made a plea for Moon Island to cease tensions toward the Seal Islands in the interest of preserving the Shops Union, ultimately saying that this was a time where the Shops Union needed to be united, and old vendettas and conspiracy theories had no place in its politics.

After several weeks of bickering between the two countries, the Moon Island and Sealien governments discussed signing a treaty in which the Sealiens would guarantee not to support any Freezestonian secessionist groups inside the Republic and in which the Sealiens would guarantee not to harm or seek to harm in any way the Republic's territorial integrity. The Sealiens also demanded that the FAR's autonomy be guaranteed forever in the treaty, which President Penstubal initially refused, angrily accusing the Sealiens of seeking to annex the province by spreading propaganda to increase its unrest over the next few years. However, eventually, after being pressured by Dps04, the president agreed and a treaty was signed in Dancing Penguin City on 7 September 2036 after months of negotiations, ending the Freezestonia Crisis for good.

Government
Every member of the Union operates as a democratic Republic, except for Chill Island that runs as a Mayoral Dictatorship under the island's current Mayor, but the residents don't mind. The mayor can be replaced, using the island's Dance-Off Code.

The Shops Union is led by a Chancellor who only holds authority over the Union government itself. The Chancellor does not possess term limits, and can only leave office willingly or if voted out by the Union Assembly, after which a new election will be held.

Economy
Shops' former currency, WikiBuck$, were still an accepted and used currency on Chill Island and Moon Island at the end of 2027, despite it being almost completely devalued after Shops' collapse. Farleya and Freezestonia switched to the Club Penguin Gold Coin and the Sealette, respectively, while the former is also an accepted currency throughout the Union. Moon Island would later change to a new currency, the Luna, and years after would also accept the Western Union's Circum as currency.

Members

 * ChillIslandFlag.png Chill Island
 * Farleya Flag Independent.png Farleya
 * FreezestoniaFlag.png Freezestonia, participating as a state of the Seal Islands.
 * FrosianIslandsStateFlag.png Frosian Republic
 * Moon Island Flag.png Moon Island
 * Flag of the Seal Islands.svg Seal Islands

Foreign relations
These are the foreign relations for the "union" in general, as well as the small independent states that it's made up of. Most nations in Antarctica haven't officially recognized the independent states, but the ones that have are listed below with the ones that haven't below them.


 * AchadiaFlag.png Achadia - Great - Achadia recognizes the Shops Union as the successor of Shops Island, and Hockey Manlet has promised to offer them assistance to honor his friend Lavender, and to defend them against Acadian attempts at annexation at all costs. Achadia also offered a home to many displaced Shopper refugees after the war. However, during Penstubal's presidency, Moon Island refused to recognize Achadia as an independent country, and attempted to block further growth of relations with Achadia, causing internal tensions inside the Union.
 * Flag of Castilla.png Castilla - Fair - A former Shopper ally, Castilla didn't go after the Shops Union despite their imperial tendencies. In 2029, Clovis Hochstadt became the King of Castilla, and he formally recognized the Shops Union and started friendly relations.
 * Ed Island Flag.png Ed Island - Good - Ed Island recognized the Shops Union as the proper successor to Shops Island, and promised trade and military assistance to the union if necessary, even willing to help defend the union from the AU. In turn, the Union formally recognized Ed Island's ownership of former Shopper territories, such as the Extraterrestrial Colonies.
 * FelipenasFlag.png Finipines - Good - The Finipines supports the Shops Union in keeping it from falling apart and mostly trades with them. It is unknown what their opinions are in terms of military assistance.
 * Magonia_flag.PNG Magonia - Excellent - During and after the Shops Civil War, the Magonian Emperor Slender accepted numerous Shopper refugees, especially those who originated from Western Shops. The Emperor also launched a Shopper Area Economic Regeneration Programme that aimed to revitalise the economies of Shops Union’s member states via Magonian capital injections. The Magonians maintained close diplomatic and trade relations with the Shopper remnants, which many believe is due to Slender’s past in Shops.
 * Munijoch.jpg Munijoch - Fair - Taking an almost neutral standpoint, Munijoch trades with the union members and hopes for the best for them, but isn't willing to give them any military aid.
 * SouthJoseonFlag.png South Joseon - Good - Members of the union are allied with South Joseon, and they send each other as much aid as they can.
 * NewUnitedProvincesFlag.png United Provinces - Good - The United Provinces has welcomed the creation of the Shops Union. The UP are allies to the Seal Islands, a member of the union.
 * Western Union 2017 Flag.png Western Union - Excellent - The Western Union Commission, as the fall of Shops seemed increasingly more imminent, started preparing plans for revitalization of the southwestern Asiapelago region and rebuilding the economies of the post-Shopper nations. The Western Union invested hundreds of millions of circums, with the close cooperation of all Western Union member states, into rebuilding the post-Shops region after the end of the Shops Civil War. Moon Island, under Penstubal's presidency, even sought to apply to join the Western Union, but the Moon Island Council forbade the government from doing so. The Western Union managed to bring all its members in line with the policy of establishing a balance of power and peace in the post-Shops region, managing to diplomatically stop certain members from attempting military conquests in the region.
 * Asaina flag.png Zhou - Fair - Zhou warned Moon Island that the AU would try to forcefully annex them, and offered them a position similar to that of Haiwan, which would include protection from the "imperialist scum". However, they peacefully refused. Zhou still trades with members of the union, but stated they will not aid them.
 * Puffle'and, Snowzerland and Acadia are likely aggressors towards the union, hoping to annex its members. However, Acadia stated they would make no move to annex Moon Island, out of respect for Penstubal, Brant Esser's friend that lived there.