View source for Belhavia-Tule Relations

{{WIP}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations
| title       = Belhavia-Tule relations
| party1      = Tule
| party2      = Belhavia
| filetype    = png
| map         = Nb tule locator.png
| envoytitle1 = Ambassador
| envoy1      = Hans Ver
| envoytitle2 = Ambassador
| envoy2      = Ephraim Weinberg
| mission1    = Tulese Embassy, [[Provisa]]
| mission2    = Belhavian Embassy, [[Akureyri]]
}}

'''Relations between [[Belhavia]] and [[Tule]]''' have spanned more than 7 centuries since [[Belhavia#Founding|Belhavia's founding at the start of the 14th century]] in [[Taveria]]. Both nations have been long-lived historical antagonists throughout the ages, from the {{wp|Late Middle Age|late Middle Ages}} through the {{wp|Early modern era|early modern era}} and the {{wp|modern age}}. Tule [[Imperialist Consensus|fell under Belhavia's regional geopolitical shadow]] between the early 1700s until the late 1800s in the [[Belhavian Empire|Age of Empire]] due to Belhavia's extensive local colonial holdings and prominent influence. Later, hostility was extended during the [[Cold War (Pardes)|Cold War]] as [[People's Republic of Tule|Tule joined the Communist bloc with nearby Estovnia]] while [[Free Pardes|Belhavia became a leading global anticommunist power]]. 

Cracks in the infamously frosty bilateral relations emerged in the 1980s as Tule liberalized under new reformist leadership, and this was followed by a stronger "{{wp|détente}}" between the two nations in the mid-1990s. [[Belhavia]]n [[IBI|intelligence]] aided in the [[Blue Revolutions#Tule_(1995)|relatively bloodless anticommunist revolution]] and soon after [[Operation Twilight|amid Estovnia's invasion of Tule with air, intelligence, and financial aid]]. Since the early 1990s, relations between Belhavia and Tule, while never overly friendly historically, have became strong and {{wp|Bilateralism|normalized}} in the two-and-half decades since. 

==Country comparison==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! {{flagicon|Tule}} '''[[Tule|State of Tule]]'''
! {{flagicon|Belhavia}} '''[[Belhavia|Empire of Belhavia]]'''
|-
| '''Populations'''
| 92.2 million (2015)
| 132.95 million (2015)
|-
| '''Area'''
| 428,774.00 sq mi 
| 1,536,759 sq mi
|-
| '''Population density'''
| 83/km2
| 46.1/sq mi
|-
| '''Capital'''
| [[Akureyri]]
| [[Provisa]]
|-
| '''Largest city'''
| [[Akureyri]]
| [[Dakos]]
|-
| '''Government'''
| {{wp|Unitary state|Unitary}} {{wp|Presidential system|presidential}} {{wp|constitutional republic|republic}}
| {{wp|Federalism|Federal}} {{wp|Presidential system|presidential}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy}}
|-
| '''Current Leader'''
| President [[Kristián Jónson]]<br>({{wp|head of state}} and {{wp|head of government}})
| HIM Emperor [[Aaron III]]<br>({{wp|head of state}})<br>President [[Eli Goldman]]<br>({{wp|head of government}}) 
|-
| '''Official languages'''
| {{wp|Icelandic language|Tulese}} 
| None at federal level but {{wpl|English language|English}} and {{wpl|Yiddish}} ''de facto''
|-
| '''Main religions'''
| {{wp|Atheism}} (45%)<br>{{wp|Lutheranism|Lutheran}} (30%)<br>{{wp|Orthodox Church|Orthodoxy}} (20%)<br> {{wp|Judaism|Jewish}} (4%)<br>Other (1%).
| {{wp|Judaism|Jewish}} (75.1%)<br> {{wp|Irreligious}} (9.2%)<br> [[Romulan Catholic Church|Catholicism]] (7.9%)<br>{{wp|Quranism|Islam}} (4.6%)<br> various {{wp|Protestantism|Protestant Christian}} sects (2.35%)<br>{{wp|Orthodox Christianity}} (0.5%)<br> [[Yeosindo]] (0.35%).
|-
| '''GDP (nominal) (2015)'''
| [[URD|$]]1.745 Trillion ($18,929.00 {{wpl|per capita}})
| [[URD|$]]6.997 Trillion ($51,918.73 {{wpl|per capita}})
|-
| '''Military expenditures'''
| $41.00 billion (1.98% of GDP)
| $349.889 billion (5.01% of GDP)
|}

==History==
===Medieval and early modern===
===Age of Empire===
===Great War===
===Cold War===
{{main|List of espionage, sabotage, and minor skirmishes between Belhavia and Tule in the Cold War}}

Relations between Tule and Belhavia were extremely acidic between the late 1940s and the 1960s, the height of the Cold War. The memories of Belhavia's occupation loomed large in the Tulese imagination, and the threat of communism across the Gulf of Rekvit in Tule concerned Belhavia immensely, tied with the other specter of Communist Estovnia. 

In the period of 1947 - 1969, both countries engaged in a simmering low-intensity {{wp|espionage}} war and maritime border skirmishes. The countries went directly to war in the [[Winter War (Pardes)|Winter War]] of 1959-60 over the [[10/3 Incident]]. Soon after, this escalated to a nuclear arms race in the 1960s. 

Between the 1970s and 1980s, policies of {{wp|détente}} were attempted, [[Watermelon era|first by Belhavia's 1970s-era liberal presidents]], and then by Tule under reformers in the 1980s. By 1985, relations had defrosted as [[Eftirtekt|Tulese leaders quietly took low-level visits to Belhavia to study market economics for domestic economic reforms within Tule]].

The [[IBI|Belhavian IBI]] aided in the [[Blue Revolutions#Tule_(1995)|1995 Tulese Blue Revolution]] that overthrew the [[People's Republic of Tule]], and subsequently provided support in the [[Operation Twilight|1995 Esto-Tulese War]]. Trade relations were normalized between 1994 and 2002.  

===Post-Cold War===

Belhavia and Tule have a strong and close geopolitical, cultural, and trade relationship since the end of the Cold War. By 2015, Belhavia was Tule's 3rd largest trade partner, and Tule Belhavia's twelfth largest. 

Belhavian-Tulese culture, media, and society has received a large crossover. Tourism is worth over [[Belhavian shekel|$]]150 million shekels and bilateral visits hit a high of 3.4 million people in 2012. 

The Tulese financial sector was strongly developed with partnerships of Belhavian financial firms, leading to both sectors to become highly involved. Wealthy and high-income Tulese often {{wp|tax avoidance|park their fortunes}} [[Banking in Belhavia|into Belhavian banks, which are protected by bank secrecy laws]]. 

Freeleaks.org leaked in 2014 details of [[Belhavia-Tule espionage relationship|an alleged bilateral espionage relationship between Tule and Belhavia, though both countries have denied it]].

==Military and security==
{{main|Great War (Pardes)|Cold War (Pardes)|Otterup Pact|Winter War (Pardes)|Osterode Memorandum|1990 Coup|Operation Twilight|Belhavia-Tule espionage relationship}}

Belhavia and Tule have long been historical military antagonists throughout the ages, from the [[Great Northern War]] (1710s), the [[Great War (Pardes)|Great War]] (1940s), and the [[Cold War (Pardes)|Cold War]] (1950s - 2001). 

They fought in the Great War on opposing alliances, with Belhavia in the [[Triple Alliance (Pardes)|Triple Alliance]] while Tule was in the [[Central Powers]]. During the war, [[Belhavian occupation of Tule in the Great War|Belhavian forces occupied a large swathe of Tulese territory]] which initiated a large-scale anti-communist reign of terror and wartime hardships. In response, Tulese partisans executed a fierce, unrelenting, and brutal resistance. 

When the Central Powers became the [[Otterup Pact]] in 1953 and the [[Cold War (Pardes)|Cold War took global shape]], Tule joined [[Estovnian Federal Socialist People's Republic|Communist Estovnia]] in a major "mini-Cold War" with Belhavia in [[Alsvintermark]]. This led to the [[Winter War (Pardes)|Winter War]] of 1959-60 over the [[10/3 Incident]]. Tule [[Tule and weapons of mass destruction|developed a small nuclear arsenal]], which was quickly [[Belhavia and weapons of mass destruction|followed by Belhavia]], leading to a nuclear standoff over the [[Gulf of Rekvit]].

In 1989, relations had defrosted sufficiently that both countries signed the [[Strategic Arms Reduction Agreement]], which placed a legal limit on the number and yield of strategic warheads that could be fielded as well as the missiles that carried them. This led to a drastic reduction in the size of the strategic nuclear arsenals of the two nations.

In 1995, the [[Belhavia]]n [[IBI]] [[Blue Revolutions#Tule_(1995)|aided the anticommunist revolutionaries in bloodlessly toppling the PRT regime and installing a capitalist democracy]]. Soon after, Belhavia gave aerial, financial, and intelligence support to Tule [[Operation Twilight|in its fight against an Estovnian invasion months later]]. 

In February 2014, [[Freeleaks.org]] leaked documents allegedly revealing [[Belhavia-Tule espionage relationship|a highly-secretive]] {{wp|Military intelligence|military}} {{wp|Intelligence sharing|intelligence sharing}} program, directed against [[Estovnia]] from 1995 until the present. Tule and Belhavia have both denied this, and produced counter evidence to suggest no such spying alliance existed.

==Law enforcement==
{{main|Alsvintermark Drug War}}

==Trade==

Belhavia and Tule have a close [[Alsvintermark|regional]] trade relationship since the late 1990s. Trade relations, non-existent during most of the [[Cold War (Pardes)|Cold War]], were established [[Tule#Economy|with a 1994 treaty permitting Belhavian car companies to outsource manufacturing to newly-privatized Tulese manufacturers]]. This was supplemented with broader trade deals in the aftermath of the [[Blue Revolutions#Tule_(1995)|1995 Blue Revolution]] in 1996, 1998, and 2002. 

By 2002, trade ties had all but normalized completely. The Tulese economy, unchained from {{wp|state socialism}} and largely {{wp|Marketization|marketized}}, took off as [[Belhavia]]n and other [[Free World (Pardes)|Free World]] nations' {{wp|direct foreign investment}} poured into the country's fledgling market economy. By 2010, Tule's standard of living had increased notably, and Western culture and habits were common among Tulese youths. 

Belhavia is Tule's third largest trade partner as of 2015, behind [[Hornatyia]] and [[Temuair]]. Tule is Belhavia's twelfth largest trade partner, with the discrepancy resulting from the {{wp|Trade imbalance|trade imbalance where Belhavia exports more to Tule than it imports from Belhavia}}. 

Tule supplies Belhavia with a range of agricultural products and foodstuffs, particularly {{wp|rye}}, as well as light manufactured goods. Belhavia exports financial services, telecommunications, and upscale consumer goods, among others, to Tule.  

In 2014, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the first trade ties between the two nations, Tule and Belhavia signed the Expedited Trade and Visitors Agreement, streamlining bilateral travel for persons and cargo between the two countries.

==See also==
* [[Esto-Belhavian Relations|Belhavia-Estovnia relations]]
* [[Alsvintermark]]
* [[Estovnians]]


[[Category:Belhavia]]
[[Category:Tule]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Belhavia]]
[[Category:Geopolitics]]
[[Category:Foreign relations]]

[[Category:Old Pardes]]