The Protectorate of Brocklehurst is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Prime Minister Malcolm Tucker with an even hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, smutty television, and public floggings. The democratic, devout population of 11.989 billion Brookes have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Eckington Thames. The average income tax rate is 43.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Brocklehurstian economy, worth a remarkable 1,082 trillion crisps a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is fairly diversified, is led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Basket Weaving, and Book Publishing. Average income is 90,319 crisps, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Elementary school children develop thousand-yard stares, sushi is sold on the black market, halberds are common 18th birthday presents, and conductors wield diamond-encrusted batons to fit in with their freshly gilded surroundings. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Brocklehurst's national animal is the badger, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Brocklehurst is ranked 54,855^th in the world and 2,717^th in Osiris for Nicest Citizens, with 17.01 average smiles per day.