Kagstron

Kagstron (/ˈkægstrɒn/  kag -stron, abbreviated as KT) is a state in Craftia's geographical centre. It borders all but two of the mainland states, bordering Jebsten and the Bankera Capital Territory to the north, Meyang to the east, Wintaro to the south-east, Jagsland to the south and Western Craftia to the west. Its capital and largest city is Akarran.

The state's population is centred along the eastern coast, facing Victoria Harbour. The only major settlement (of more than 10,000 people) more than 100 km from the coast in Kagstron is the regional city of Centro. Kagstron's eastern and southeastern corners are mainly dry desert – Kagstron is Craftia's driest state – making much of the state's area useless for large scale agriculture. Kagstron's economy is thus dominated by the technology, transportation and finance sectors.

Kagstron has mainland Craftia's highest proportion of Asian Craftians, with almost 60% of the state's residents being of Asian heritage. The state has a long pre-settlement indigenous history. The vast savannah and grasslands in the west of the state is where the first Reatinese tribes were thought to have settled more than two millennia ago.

The original colony of Kagstron was founded by European settlers on the principles of religious tolerance, multiculturalism and civil liberties, which have given Kagstron a strong reputation for its progressivism and upholding of personal freedom, giving the state its nickname of "The Liberty State". This is evident even today, through the state being the electoral stronghold of the centre-left Liberal Party of Craftia. In 1997, Kagstron became the first jurisdiction in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.

History
In 1987, Kagstron was established as a state. It is named after Jon Kagstron, an early Swedish explorer.

Government
Kagstron is a state of the Republic of Craftia, and has a federal parliamentary constitutional political system based on the federal Craftian parliamentary republic, with the Governor of Kagstron (currently Hadley Yeung of the Liberal Party of Craftia) as the head of state, and the Premier of Kagstron (currently Alexandra Chen of the Liberal Party of Craftia) as the head of government. Its unicameral parliament consists of the 36-member Kagstronian Legislative Assembly, with elections held every three years on the first Saturday of June, using the proportional representation voting system, where 36 MPs are proportionally elected from closed party lists.

Federal representation
Kagstron elects 5 Members of Parliament to the Craftian House of Representatives, and is represented by 8 Senators.

Political culture
Kagstron is one of Craftia's most socially progressive and liberal states, to the point that the Craftian Conservative Party is no longer considered one of the two major parties; most political contests are between the United and Liberal parties. The state is the heartland of the Liberal Party, being its strongest-performing state since the 2030s. Before then, the state was dominated by the NUP. At the federal level, the state swings between the two left-leaning parties, while the Conservatives perform better the state level. Recent state elections have been between the Liberals and Conservatives, although since the 2064 state election the Conservative Party has declined considerably. The NUP, on the other hand, has failed to form the Kagstronian state government since 2043.

As mentioned above, the Conservatives perform poorly in Kagstron at the federal level. With the lone exception of the period of 2055 to 2058, the party has held none of the state's seats since the 2043 federal election.