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{{WIP}}
{{Region_icon_Ajax}}{{wip}}{{Infobox country
{{Region_icon_Ajax}}
|native_name = ⴰⵊⴰⵎⵀⵓⵔⵢⴰ ⵏ ⵞⴰⵔⵏⴻⴰ</br>''Ajamhurya n Charnea''
{{Infobox country
|native_name = ⵞⴰⵔⵏⴻⴰ / ''Charnea'' ({{wp|Tamashek}})<br>تشارنيا / ''Tasharnia'' ({{wp|Arabic|Gharbaic}})<br>טשאַרנעאַ / ''Tsharnea'' ({{wp|Hebrew}})
|common_name = Charnea
|common_name = Charnea
|conventional_long_name = Second Empire of Charnea
|conventional_long_name = Republic of Charnea
|image_flag                  = CharFlag.png
|image_flag                  = CharFlag.svg
|alt_flag                    =  
|alt_flag                    =  
|image_coat                  =  
|image_coat                  = CharSeal.svg
|alt_coat                    =  
|alt_coat                    =  
|symbol_type                =  
|symbol_type                = Seal
|national_motto              = ''One Dream, One Plan, One Charnea''
|national_motto              =  
|national_anthem            =  
|national_anthem            =  
|royal_anthem                =  
|royal_anthem                =  
|other_symbol_type          =  
|other_symbol_type          =  
|other_symbol                =  
|other_symbol                =  
|image_map                  = Charnea_location.png
|image_map                  = CHARMAPLOWRES.png
|map_width                  = 275px
|map_width                  = 275px
|alt_map                    =  
|alt_map                    =  
Line 24: Line 22:
|capital                    = [[Agnannet]]
|capital                    = [[Agnannet]]
|largest_city                = [[Agnannet]]
|largest_city                = [[Agnannet]]
|official_languages          = {{wp|Tamashek}}
|official_languages          = ''None''
|national_languages         = </br>{{wp|Zarma language|Zarma}}<br>{{wp|Arabic|Gharbaic}}
|national_languages          = {{nowrap|{{wp|Tamashek}} (de facto)}}
|regional_languages          =
|regional_languages         = {{wp|Egyptian language|Randeshret}}<br/>{{wp|Tamahaq}}<br/>{{wp|Tawellemmet}}<br/>{{wp|Maghrebi Arabic|Darja}}
|languages_type              =  
|languages_type              =  
|languages                  =  
|languages                  =  
| ethnic_groups              = {{unbulleted list
| ethnic_groups              = {{unbulleted list
| 22.9% {{wp|Ikelan}}
| 62.9% [[Tenerians]]<br>{{nowrap|&nbsp;'''∟'''51.8% [[Tenerians#Kel_A.C9.A3rem|Kel Aɣrem]]}}<br>{{nowrap|&nbsp;'''∟'''11.1% [[Tenerians#Kel_Ajama|Kel Ajama]]}}
| 22.8% [[Tenerians]]
| 15.4% [[Deshrians]]
| 19.3% {{wp|Zarma people|Zarma}}
| 13.8% {{wp|Arabs|Gharibs}}
| 14.1% {{wp|Afro-Arab|Gharbaic}}  
| 3.6% {{wp|Zarma people|Zarma}}
| 6.6% {{wp|Yoruba people|Yoruba}}
| 2.1% {{wp|Toubou people|Tebu}}
| 4.5% {{wp|Fula people|Fula}}
| 1.2% [[Chamals]]
| 2.5% {{wp|Sara people|Sara}}
| 1.0% Other
| 2.4% {{wp|Hausa people|Hausa}}
| 1.9% {{wp|Copts|Deshretic}}
| 1.8% {{wp|Zaghawa people|Zaghawa}}
| 1.2% Other
}}
}}
|ethnic_groups_year          = 2019
|ethnic_groups_year          = 2024
|demonym                    = Charnean
|demonym                    = Charnean
|government_type            = {{wp|Unitary states|Unitary}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy}}  
|government_type            = {{wp|Unitary states|Unitary}} {{wp|Stratocracy|stratocratic}} {{wp|republic}}  
|leader_title1              = [[Monarchy of Charnea|Tamenokalt-Gaabikoyo]]
|leader_title1              = Amizar
|leader_name1                = [[Amina N'Okha]]
|leader_name1                = [[Khyar Aziouel]]
|leader_title2              = [[Premier of Charnea|Premier]]
|legislature                = [[Agraw Itkar]]
|leader_name2                = [[Martuf ag Lamine]]
|leader_title3              = [[Chief Justice of Charnea|Chief Justice]]
|leader_name3                = [[Usila Gad]]  
|legislature                = [[Agraw Imgharan]]
|upper_house                =  
|upper_house                =  
|lower_house                =  
|lower_house                =  
|sovereignty_type            =
|sovereignty_type            =  
|sovereignty_note            =  
|sovereignty_note            =  
|established_event1          =  
|established_event1          =  
Line 62: Line 52:
|established_event3          =  
|established_event3          =  
|established_date3          =  
|established_date3          =  
|established_event4          =
|established_date4          =
|established_event5          =
|established_date5          =
|area_rank                  =  
|area_rank                  =  
|area_magnitude              =  
|area_magnitude              =  
|area                        =
|area                        =  
|area_km2                    = 2,621,088
|area_km2                    = 2,130,656
|area_sq_mi                  =  
|area_sq_mi                  =  
|area_footnote              =
|area_footnote              =
|area_label                  = Total
|area_label                  = Total Area
|percent_water              =  
|percent_water              = 0.084%
|area_dabodyalign            =  
|area_dabodyalign            =  
|population_estimate        = 41,023,983
|population_estimate        = 27,023,983
|population_estimate_rank    =  
|population_estimate_rank    =  
|population_estimate_year    = 2020
|population_estimate_year    = 2022
|population_census          = 40,165,572
|population_census          = 26,995,572
|population_census_year      = 2019
|population_census_year      = 2020
|population_density_km2      =  
|population_density_km2      = 12.68
|population_density_sq_mi    =
|population_density_sq_mi    =
|population_density_rank    =
|population_density_rank    =
|GDP_PPP                    = $540 billion
|GDP_PPP                    = [[Latin solidus|$]]599 billion
|GDP_PPP_rank                =  
|GDP_PPP_rank                =  
|GDP_PPP_year                =  
|GDP_PPP_year                =  
|GDP_PPP_per_capita          = $13,179.45
|GDP_PPP_per_capita          = [[Latin solidus|$]]22,179.45
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank    =
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank    =  
|GDP_nominal                =  
|GDP_nominal                =  
|GDP_nominal_rank            =
|GDP_nominal_rank            =  
|GDP_nominal_year            =
|GDP_nominal_year            =  
|GDP_nominal_per_capita      =  
|GDP_nominal_per_capita      =  
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
|Gini                        = 35.9
|Gini                        = 44.4
|Gini_rank                  =
|Gini_rank                  =
|Gini_year                  =  
|Gini_year                  =  
|Gini_category              =
|Gini_category              =
|HDI                        = 0.701
|HDI                        = 0.801
|HDI_rank                    =
|HDI_rank                    =
|HDI_year                    =
|HDI_year                    =
|HDI_category                =
|HDI_category                =
|currency                    = Charnean Dinar
|currency                    = [[OAD|Azref<br>Aga]]
|currency_code              = CDR
|currency_code              =  
|time_zone                  =
|time_zone                  =
|utc_offset                  =
|utc_offset                  =
Line 112: Line 106:
}}
}}


'''Charnea''' ({{wp|Tamashek}}: ⵞⴰⵔⵏⴻⴰ; {{wp|Arabic|Gharbaic}}: تشارنيا; {{wp|Hebrew}}: טשאַרנעאַ), formally the '''Second Empire of Charnea''', is a {{wp|constitutional monarchy}} in [[Ajax#Scipia|Scipia]] bordered by the [[Messidor Union]] to the northwest, [[Alanahr]] to the northeast, [[Fahran]] and [[Kembesa]] to the east and [[M'biruna]] to the southeast. The Second Empire is a {{wp|unitary state}} made up of [[Territories of Charnea|eleven territories]] and encompasses numerous ethnic and religious groups, with [[Tenerians|Kel Tenere]], {{wp|Zarma people|Zarma}}, and {{wp|Afro-Arab|Gharbaic}} peoples making up the largest ethnic contingents. Among Charnea's diverse religious groups are [[White Path|White Pilgrims]], [[Azdarin|Yen]], {{wp|Judaism|Jews}} and [[Asalism|Asalists]] which practice their traditions exclusively or in conjunction with the highly {{wp|syncretism|syncretic}} native Charnean faith [[Tamdda-ddin]], a [[Kaharnism|Kaharnic]] faith closely related to ancient {{wp|Amazigh}} traditional religion. The government of the Second Empire, recently established in December of 2021, invokes many of the customs and traditions of the defunct [[Empire of Charnea]] while implemented a new style of constitutional government. In contrast to some contemporary monarchies of this type, Charnea eschews concepts of {{wp|representative democracy}} in favor of {{wp|meritocracy|meritocratic}} principles and the philosophy of {{wp|Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Total Law}} under which the monarch serves as a hereditary executive subject to the law rather than a {{wp|Sovereign}} with overriding authority over the courts. The national {{wp|deliberative assembly}}, [[Agraw Imgharan]], is a {{wp|Unicameralism|unicameral legislature}} whose members represent various organs of the civil service and the military as a means of formalizing the role of these institutions in the decision making process and control of the apparatus of state.  
'''Charnea''', officially the '''Republic of Charnea''' ({{wp|Tamashek}}: ⴰⵊⴰⵎⵀⵓⵔⵢⴰ ⵏ ⵞⴰⵔⵏⴻⴰ, ''Ajamhurya n Charnea''), is a {{wp|Landlocked country|landlocked country}} in central [[Ajax#Scipia|Scipia]]. The territory of Charnea spans the majority of the [[Ninva|Ninva desert]], bounded by the [[Arwa mountains|Arwa range]] in the west and the [[al-Kija river|Kija river]] in the east. Charnea is bordered to the north by [[Talahara]], [[Tyreseia]], [[Khemetu]] and [[Alanahr]], to the east by [[Happara]], [[Fahran]] and [[Kembesa]], and along the mountainous southern boundary by [[M'biruna]] and the [[Itayana|Amayana]] [[Makgato]] and [[Itayana Solar Autocracy|Solar Temple]] states of the [[Karana river|Karana basin]]. [[Agnannet]] is the capital and {{wp|primate city}} of Charnea, located in the urbanized [[Achra|Achra triangle]].  


Modern day Charnea was once part of three great Scipian empires, the {{wp|Yoruba people|Yoruba}}-{{wp|Hausa people|Hausa}} led [[Sunset Empire]], the {{wp|Zarma people|Zarma}} led [[Hsewa Empire]] as well as the [[Tenerians]] led [[Empire of Charnea]] for which the country is named. Various {{wp|Copts|Deshretic}} domains as well as the {{wp|Tamashek}} speaking {{wp|Amazigh}} confederations of the northern and western deserts have also existed within what is now Charnea, eventually being subsumed into the Empire of Charnea. At its peak between 1350 and the 1420s, the Empire of Charnea controlled a majority of the Scipian continent and was one of the largest contemporary military powers in the world. Throughout the early modern period, the empire's frontiers receded to what was considered its core territories, a region roughly equivalent to the modern day borders of the Second Empire. From 1906-1909, the empire underwent a period of escalating civil conflict known as the [[Charnean Revolutionary Period]] eventually leading up to the dissolution of the Charnean Empire in 1911. Many core states of the former empire established the [[Central Scipian Accord]], which would later lead to the federation of the [[State of the Central Scipian Accord]]. The SCSA would expand its influence and reassert control over many lost territories of the old empire, carving up lands among notable clans and engaging in a {{wp|Spoils system|system of patronage}} benefiting the well connected. This state in turn would break under the pressure of the [[Ninvite War]] in 1987, reforming as the [[Central Scipian Republic]] during the 1987-1990 ceasefire and prosecuting the remainder of the war. The CSR continued many aspects of the corrupt {{wp|pay to play}} patronage system under a far more centralized state in which power was monopolized my a single clique of clan leaders and notable politicians as opposed to many local groups. Political instability stemming from corruption, mismanagement and constant reshuffling of state officials and leaders through the machinations and betrayals of national leadership led to the [[Great Charnean Crisis]], the [[Hatherian Genocide]] and the subsequent [[2013 Charnean coup d'etat|military coup in 2013]], followed by the breakup of the military government with the [[Military Rebellion|military rebellion of 2015]] which effectively dismantled the Central Scipian Republic. Administration of the country was then left to the [[Transitional Government of the Obul and Ninva]] effectively controlled by local military officers turned warlords for six years from late 2015 until the foundation of the Second Empire on December 10th of 2021.  
The Republic is a {{wp|military democracy}} established by elements of the [[Charnean Army]] following the political disintegration of the [[Second Empire (Charnea)|Charnean Empire]] in the mid-2010s. The [[Ihemodian Revival]], a Ninvite {{wp|pan-nationalism|pan-nationalist}} movement invoking the historical legacy of the 14th century conqueror [[Ihemod|Ihemod Imekkusa]], is the dominant political current in the Republic. While the Revivalists generally seek to integrate Charnea's large historically marginalized minorities such as the [[Deshrians]] and {{wp|Darja}} speaking [[Hatherians]] into the new Republican society, the legislature, national bureaucracy and Army remain in the hands of the [[Tenerians|Tenerian]] majority, particularly [[Tenerians#Kel_Ajama|Ajamites]] of rural nomadic extraction in the latter case.  


In the past century, Charnea has experienced three {{wp|revolution|revolutions}}, four {{wp|military dictatorship|dictatorships}}, seventeen {{wp|coup d'etat}} attempts both failed and successful, the ten year [[Ninvite War]] with neighboring [[Fahran]], and the [[Internal conflict in Charnea|longest running civil conflict in the world]]. Many of its internal conflicts can be traced back to the dissolution of the Empire of Charnea and the aftermath of the ensuing events, particularly the unfulfilled promises of independence, self determination and autonomy which were made to many Charnea's myriad ethnic groups living under the often incompetent and heavy handed late Imperial rule. A degree of nostalgia for the relative stability of imperial rule has served as a driving force behind the movement to establish the Second Empire and renew the ideas of [[Charneanism]]. Another cause of political instability in the past has been the outbursts of periodic infighting between factions of the county's upper class over control of Charnea's valuable natural recourses, which include {{wp|petroleum}} and precious metals like {{wp|gold}} and {{wp|platinum}}. Petroleum industries nationalized under the state owned [[COPEC]] extraction and processing company account for roughly 45% of the national GDP and 70% of government income and accounts for a large portion of Charnean wealth, although the national reliance on oil exports to sustain its economy has made it especially vulnerable to disruptive fluctuations in the price of oil on the international market. Despite these frequent disruptions and the occasional imposition of {{wp|economic sanctions}} by foreign powers, the Charnean economy based largely on the processing and export of its natural wealth has become moderately prosperous. Charnea is a member of the [[Forum of Nations]] and party to the [[Four Rising Nations Summit]].
Charnea undertook a program of intensive industrialization beginning in the early 20th century, transforming the country through a {{wp|state capitalism|state capitalist}} model of centralized economic planning. Although lucrative resource beds would later be discovered, much of Charnea's formative economic development driven by an apparent dearth of natural resources in the Charnean Ninva would focus on establishing a carefully planned manufacturing sector supplied with imported raw materials by the [[Steel Road|Trans-Ninvite Railway]]. The scarcity of water in particular established a pattern of development which favored economic and demographic consolidation into highly concentrated urban zones emerging where local water resources could sustain them, connected to resource beds, international commerce and to each other by the rail network. Despite the harmful effects of recent political instability and long-term social inequality, the Charnean economy has transformed the inhospitable Ninva into a modern and developed country.  


 
==Etymology==
==Etymology==  
The exact origins and meaning of the name of Charnea is heavily in dispute. The prevailing theory is that the modern ''Charna'' as it is rendered in Tamashek is a corruption of the Deshrian word ''Shasramt'' meaning "traveling people" referring to the ancestors of the [[Tenerians]] who reverted to a nomadic {{wp|pastoralism|pastoral}} lifestyle following the collapse of the urbanized [[Tamazgha|Tamazghan Confederation]] in the 3rd century. ''Shasramt'' was likely adopted as a term for the lands and peoples of the central Ninva desert some time after the rise of the Ihemodian Empire. The Tenerian endonym for the land is simply ''Tenere'' meaning "desert", referring to the arid landscape of the Ninva. However, this term is generally applied only to the historically Tenerian region of the western Ninva. The Ninva east of the Adjer mountains instead bears the Hatherian name of ''Zahra'' which has the same meaning as ''Tenere''.
The first people to be called Charneans were the ancient [[Amazigh]] tribes of the eastern [[Ninva]] which were called the ''Charkesh'' or simply ''Cha'' by the {{wp|Copts|Deshritic}} peoples of the [[Saawa Oasis]]. The Charkesh amazigh tribe are first referenced in inscriptions dating to 1,300 BCE and is no longer recorded after 700 BCE, however it is believed that the Charkesh people may have been one of the founding tribes of the large Amazigh confederation of [[Kaharna|Queen Kaharna]] and remained in the Ninva desert after the dissolution of this kingdom. Historically, the desert abode of the Charkesh and their Tamashek speaking descendants the Kel Tenere tribes has termed ''Charna'', later corruption to  
''Charnea''. This latter term in was associated with the Empire of Charnea, a conquering polity native to what was originally called the Charnean desert, now known as the central and eastern Ninva. Through the Empire of Charnea, the name would come to associated not only with the cradle of its desert-faring civilization but with most of the areas it conquered, particularly those it retained until its late dissolution and reorganization into the SCSA in the 20th century. The states of the SCSA and the CSR notably did not formally adopt the name of Charnea, in an effort to divorce themselves from the legacy of autocratic Kel Tenere rule over the region. In contrast, the Second Empire has opted for the inverse of this approach, attempting to associate non-Amazigh groups with the idea of a Charnean identity.  


==History==
==History==


===Cradles of Civilization===
==Government==
The Republic of Charnea is a {{wp|Military democracy|democratic}} {{wp|stratocracy}} in which political rights are contingent on voluntary national service in the [[Charnean Army]] or a military sanction. Like the Charnean Empire that preceded it, the Republic does not have a formal constitution. The mechanisms of the Republic's government and democratic system are instead outlined in the 2018 Edicts of Agnannet which established a {{wp|parliamentary}} system of government in which the right to vote and hold office would be granted to anyone who completes a 2-year period of military service, while the 2022 Declaration of Principles would later allow for meritorious non-military forms of service to be rewarded with an official sanction granting the same rights. The closest analogue to the unorthodox Charnean system is the federal military regime in neighboring [[Makgato#Politics|East Itayana]].


In what is now modern day Charnea, two separate regions played host to early hubs of the agricultural revolution in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. The end of the Stone Age in this region was characterized by changing climate resulting in a drier and hotter environment. This development had over the course of the last ten thousand years turned what had previously been forests and grasslands into the increasingly inhospitable arid climate of what would become the [[Ninva|Ninva desert]]. The changing climate caused a multitude of human groups living in the area to relocate from central Scipia south towards the Obul river basin and east towards the Kira and Kahdan rivers. The migration clashed with the cultures already inhabiting the region, and from the upheaval came the introduction of agriculture and the first evidence of recognizable politically unified polities. In the east, the precursors of the modern day {{wp|Copts|Deshritic people}} developed a significant presence beyond the Adjer mountains, beginning a rich cultural tradition. There is also significant evidence of major conflict and competition occurring between the Deshritic civilization primarily based in the Kahdan river basin, and several now extinct civilizations with cities located along the river Kira. The Obul basin paralleled the development of civilization found in east Scipia. Rival civilizations sprang up along the river banks, with the ancestors of the modern day {{wp|Zarma people|Zarma}} forming kingdoms in the headwaters of the upper Obul region, while the ancestors of the {{wp|Yoruba people|Yoruba}} dominated the more fertile lower Obul banks. Areas further from the river, and within the swampy and inhospitable Obul delta were come to groups such as the ancient {{wp|Hausa people|Hausa}}, {{wp|Fula people|Fula}} and {{wp|Akan people}}. These groups remained primarily hunter gatherers for much of the Bronze Age, while groups such as the ancient {{wp|Zaghawa people|Beri}} and most notably the {{wp|Berber people|Proto-Amazigh}} had a nomadic lifestyle and were early adopters of {{wp|pastoralism}}. These people were among the first to domesticate the {{wp|goat}}, and the first in the world to domesticate the {{wp|camel|dromedary camel}}.  
The [[Agraw Itkar]] is the supreme legislative assembly of the Republic, comprised of deputies representing the eligible electorate both within and without the active military. Voting districts of the Agraw, where are known as Corps, are not geographically demarcated and are instead defined by the formation in which a voter preformed their service. Corps which are deemed to be too large to adequately represent its members are split into smaller bodies by the national Elections Council, itself a subdivision of the Agraw which also oversees the dispensation of military sanctions to civilians. All national elections are carried out using a {{wp|Multiwinner approval voting|block approval}} methodology. In addition to legislation, the Agraw also serves as the supreme judicial organ of the Republic overseeing all civilian and military courts in Charnea.
The [[Amizar of Charnea|Amizar]] is the elective, removable office that acts as chief of the Charnean Army and State. As the military commander in chief, the Amizar exercises total authority over the operations of the Army as well as the state administration. The legitimacy of an Amizar's administration and leadership of the military is legally supported by the Agraw Iktar, which holds the power to instate and recall an Amizar to and from office as the formal representative body of the military. The office has no established term limits, vesting in the Agraw the total authority to dictate how long a specific Amizar may hold the office. The only rule restricting the Agraw's ability to recall an Amizar from office is that a supermajority of 80% of the assembly is required to remove the Amizar if Charnea finds herself in a declared inter-state war, in contrast to the simple majority required in all other circumstances.  
===Military===
The [[Charnean Army]], commonly referred to as the ICA for its Tamashek initials ('''''I'''ɤrudan '''C'''harnan '''A'''jhanan'', meaning "Combined Charnean Army") is the professional military force of the Republic. It is an all-volunteer organization in which career-long service is common. The ICA practices a {{wp|Maneuver warfare|mobile art of war}} largely inherited from the nomadic military traditions of the Charnean [[Tenerians]] who have made up the vast majority of the ICA's manpower for all of its modern history. The combat elements of the ICA are organized into generally autonomous operational groups known as [[Agadegan|''Igadeganen'']] which include aviation, intelligence and logistics components in addition to the infantry, armor and artillery units typical of a conventional combined-arms force. Because of this all-inclusive organizational method, the Charnean military lacks any independent service branches such as an autonomous {{wp|air force}}. Although it retains the capacity for conventional warfare as a deterrent against foreign aggression, the Charnean Army is primarily equipped and trained for {{wp|Counterinsurgency|counterinsurgency}} and sustained {{wp|low-intensity conflict|low-intensity conflicts}} which have been the historical norm across central and eastern Scipia in general and Charnea in particular. Charnea's hybrid defense doctrine establishes the theoretical basis that inter-state warfare and counterinsurgency are neither distinct nor mutually exclusive, and promotes a material and operational approach capable of effectively engaging state and non-state opponents alike.  


===Early Empires===
Since the foundation of the Republic, the Charnean military has gained near-total political primacy through the establishment of stratocratic government. The Charnean Army has thus far rejected [[United_Communes_Defense_Forces#Unified_structure_and_elections|Talaharan-style]] military democracy out of concern that it would negatively effect cohesion and discipline within the ICA, instead establishing the Agraw Itkar as an organ external to military hierarchy to serve as the medium of expression for the Army's political will. As part of its assumption of political control over the country, the ICA has enforced its {{wp|Monopoly on violence|legal monopoly over force}} through the disarmament of paramilitary organizations and non-military security forces including municipal police, banning any non-military agent of the state from bearing arms in an official capacity. This action has effectively disbanded many policing organizations across the country, prompting the Army to assume an expanded role in Charnean internal security and law enforcement.  
During the middle to late Bronze Age, the Obulite civilizations were dominated by an ancient Yoruba polity which would become known as the Water Empire ({{wp|Yoruba language|Yoruba}}: ‘’Ijoba Omi’’). This appellation came through the state’s tight control over irrigation, which gave it unprecedented central control over the river valley societies which had become dependent on irrigated agriculture. Later historians would name this polity the Western State ({{wp|Yoruba language|Yoruba}}: ‘’Iwọoorun ijoba’’), commonly translated as the Sunset Empire. Records were kept in a were kept by the kings of cities, important merchants or other officials using a {{wp|Logogram|logographic}} writing system based on pictograms related to modern day {{wp|Nsibidi|Nchibiddi}} and {{wp|Adinkra symbols|Adinkra}} symbols. The advanced level of central control allowed agriculture along the Obul river to be expanded and optimized, increasing yields and leading to an expansion of population for the Obulite groups. A major surplus in food not only caused long term population growth but also contributed to the development of cultural and martial advances. The Sunset Empire controlled its territory through a hereditary warriorcaste who produced little and were maintained by the production of the farmers, serving to eliminate internal and external threats. Political stability, cultural production and social order were closely tied to the Sunset Empire’s sophisticated agricultural system drawing high crop yields from the Obul river banks. Consequently, when this system faced collapse due to environmental factors around the 10th century BCE, the Sunset Empire quickly and violently collapsed in an event also precipitated by rebellions of subject people and incursions from the outside possibly linked to the same climate based factors.  
===Foreign relations===
Charnea maintains tentative diplomatic relations with the international community, suffering from a lack of legitimacy due to the recent establishment of the regime and Charnea's modern history of political upheaval. The Republic has frigid relations with most of its immediate neighbors on the Scipian continent due to historical grievances, ideological incompatibility, and the ramifications of Charnea's history of internal conflicts. Nevertheless, Charnea maintains friendly relations with the [[Itayana|Amayana]] states in the form of military and economic cooperation, particularly in the case of the [[Makgato|Amayana Makgato Federation]]. The Republic has also preserved the previous regime's well-established trading relationship with [[Tyreseia]] despite generally uneasy relations with the [[Rubric Coast Consortium]] to which Tyreseia is a party. On a global stage, Charnea maintains good relations with [[Mutul|the Mutul]] on the basis of shared cultural history and the diplomatic legacy of [[Jasaw Chan K'awiil IV]]. The diplomatic split between Charnea and the [[Periclean world]] which began during the [[Ninvite War]] has persisted to the present day, staining Charnea's international perception and serving to generally impede good diplomatic relations with [[Ajax#Belisaria|Belisarian]] and Periclean nations.  


Although Yoruba polities would rebuild in their traditional homelands in the lower Obul, the Sunset Empire would not rise again and the Obulite civilization would remained disunited for thousands of years to come, primarily divided between Yoruba and Zarma hegemonies over the Obul river, while control of the Obul delta quickly lapsed back to native chiefdoms of the precursor Fula, Hausa and Akan peoples. The course of the civilizations in the eastern rivers followed a similar trajectory. There the ancient Deshritic civilization thriving along the Kahdan river and lower Kira competed fiercely with the {{wp|Semitic languages|Semitic}} upper Kira civilizations. These conflicts were facilitated by complex agricultural mechanisms sustained by regular and predictable flooding which made the Kira river one of the most fertile places in the world, allowing for a massive food surplus and the creation of a sophisticated apparatus of state complete with a military arm. The first recorded battle in the world with surviving accounts of tactics and the order of battle of the belligerents took place between dynasties of these competing civilizations in what is now the eastern [[Ninva]]. Those records and others like it were inscribed on clay tablets and {{wp|papyrus|reed paper}} using the Deshritic {{wp|Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphic writing system}}, later developed into the {{wp|Meroitic script|Azutite alphabet}} used by Deshrito-Amazighs inhabiting a series of oasis cities in what is now east Charnea and the Adjer mountains, including what is now the city of Azut. Early Semitic writing was inscribed in many variations of {{wp|cuneiform}} mostly on clay or stone tablets. Both of these polities outlived the Sunset Empire of the far away Obul basin, but declined nevertheless over the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The Deshritic civilization in particular is the longest continuous documented civilization in history, persisting two the modern day as an {{wp|Ethnoreligious group|ethno-religious enclave}} inhabiting the Saawa oasis in eastern Charnea, while their ancient rivals diffused after the collapse of their polities, becoming the ancestors of modern say Semitic cultures such as the widespread {{wp|Arab people|Gharbaic peoples}} including modern day [[Fahran|Fahranis]], [[Alanahr|Anahris]] and [[Charnean Gharibs|Hatherians]].  
==Geography==
The territory of Charnea comprises {{Convert|2,130,656|km2}} of land, making it the largest country in Scipia by land area. Charnea is far larger in its {{wp|Longitude|longitudinal}} expanse than its dimensions in {{wp|latitude}}, with its far western tip at the border with [[Talahara]] being 3,160 kilometers west of its furthest eastern border section abutting [[Happara]]. This entire territory is considered part of the [[Ninva Desert|Ninva]], the continental desert spanning most of central Scipia of which Charnean territory makes up more than half of its total expanse. More than 90% of the country is classified as {{wp|Desert climate|arid desert}} with small portions of the southwest periphery falling under a {{wp|Semi-arid climate|semi-desert}} climate classification. The vast majority of this desert expanse has no permanent surface water, with the totality of the surface water in Charnea amounting to 0.084% of the country's total surface area or roughly 179 square kilometers. The principal locations of surface water in Charnea are the {{wp|inland delta}} of the [[Iza river]] in [[Achra]], as well as the [[Great Oasis]] and [[al-Kija river|Kija river]] in the far east.  
===Regions===


===Tamazgha===  
==Economy==
The Charnean economy is founded on a strong {{wp|Secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector}} sustained by a large urban workforce and extensive infrastructure investments. The formative development of the country's economy in the early 20th century preceded the discovery of significant mineral deposits in the Ninva desert by many decades. Lacking the potential for a lucrative {{wp|Primary sector of the economy|primary sector}} in the absence of agricultural potential or mineral wealth, Charnean industrial planning focused on establishing a manufacturing sector based on the raw materials that could be readily and cheaply imported from neighboring Scipian countries by rail. The center and west of the country specialized in textiles produced using cotton imported from [[Itayana]], while the near and far east of the country established a copper-based metalworking economy importing raw materials from [[Fahran]] and [[Kembesa]] through [[Happara|Happaran]]-owned east Scipian railways. The discovery of buried petroleum reserves in the far east and far west in the 1960s opened the door for {{wp|Chemical industry|petrochemical production}} and the rise of the Charnean {{wp|plastics industry}}, the third component of the "Charnean Trinity" along with textiles and metal products. Mineral extraction has emerged as an important component of the national economy since modern prospecting technologies helped discover previously unknown resource deposits in the Ninva desert, but is primarily oriented toward supporting domestic manufacturing rather than exporting raw materials directly. Agriculture is likewise oriented toward domestic demand as the high costs associated with Charnean agricultural production make exports generally unprofitable. As a result of these factors stemming from environmental conditions and its mode of industrialization, the Charnean economy has remained in a state of secondary sector primacy throughout its modern history.


===Middle Ages===
Charnea is known for its centralized, often highly restrictive economic planning governed by regional governmental organizations such as the [[Achra#Achra_TET|Achra TET]] that direct local development and establish regulation on the use of local resources. The dominant economic model in Charnea, especially in the country's industrialized urban zones, is a form of {{wp|corporatism|corporatist}} {{wp|state capitalism}} in which the state is both directly involved (through state enterprise) and indirectly involved (through regional development organs) in economic activity. The Charnean system has greatly benefitted a small number of major industrial conglomerates, known as "Combines" (ⴻⵔⵜⴻⵢ, ''Ertey'') in Charnean parlance, which have prospered from close cooperation and a reciprocal business relationship with the state. Private entities such as the [[Mamala Combine]] as well as state enterprises like [[COPEC]] individually account for significant portions of the national GDP, making Charnea one of the most consolidated economies in the world in terms of ownership and corporate structures.


===The Kankami===
''Kankami'', from the {{wp|Zarma language|Zarma}} word for “affliction”, was the contemporary term coined in the last days of the Hsewa Empire to describe the process of its sudden and violent collapse and subjugation. In the years since, the term has been widely accepted even by Tamashek language sources and its use broadened to refer to the period of time from the foundation of the [[Kel Kaharna]] to the death of [[Ihemod the Inheritor]] and the subsequent end of the [[Ihemodian Wars]], or roughly the years between 1340 and 1410.


===Pax Charnica===
The period of relative stability and peace which followed the violence and savagery of the Kankami, known historiographically as the Pax Charnica, began after the death of the Charnean Empire’s founding conqueror Ihemod the Inheritor. In the apparent absence of a son or any nominated heir, the clans of the Kel Kaharna elected a new Amenukal to take Ihemod’s place and lead the Empire and take command of the armies. They elected [[Magdan ag Bukra]], better known as Magdan the Marvelous. The new Amenukal had scarcely enough time to attend his coronation ceremony before a wave of revolts rocked the empire as subjugated peoples, until then cowed mostly by fear of Ihemod’s reprisals, rose up with the news of the tyrant’s death. Magdan recalled the armies from their campaigns to crush the rebellions with equal brutality to that which was shown under Ihemod’s command, demonstrating that opposition to the Charnean Empire would be no more tolerated than been previously. However, Magdan also distinguished himself from his predecessor by remaining largely in the capital Agnannet and the surrounding areas for many years, making no effort to renew the ongoing campaigns of conquest which he had inherited from Ihemod. Indeed, Amenukal Magdan not only made no effort to continue expansion, but indeed withdrew forces from some areas which he deemed not worth the effort to controlling. The remaining area of his dominions included a large area of the Ninva desert including the old heartland of Tamazgha around Ekelhoc, the Awakar, the Adjer mountains and Hatherian Ninva, as well as the length of the Obul river, a collection of regions largely congruent with the territory retained by modern day Charnea. The territorial integrity of the Charnean Empire after Magdan, including after the fall of the empire in the 20th century, is credited to the consolidation of Imperial resources into integrating and maintaining a hold over those areas that remained under imperial power in the mid and late 14th century.


Under Amenukal Magdan and the succeeding Meri dynasty of rulers, the system of government over the empire was wholly reformed. Once rebellion had been eradicated, Magdan implemented a system of minimum interference or “benevolent neglect” over conquered peoples, whose vassal states under the empire now found themselves given governmental leeway and cultural autonomy. From that point forward, the people of subject nations of the empire were only very mildly affected by the edicts of Agnannet, allowing many subject areas to stabilize and recover economically. This policy had the effect of greatly reducing unrest within the empire and allowing nations to remain subjugated under Agnannet without the constant presence of overwhelming military force. However, it also made it very difficult for the Charnean ruler to collect revenue or raise troops in large quantities from subject nations. Instead, Amenukal Magdan began to rely increasingly on the {{wp|Ikelan}}, a caste created from the many war captives and slaves taken by Ihemod during his conquests and displacement campaigns. Captives were relocated all over the empire, so as to disconnect them from outside help from their kinsmen, and grouped together in linguistically diverse units so as to impede cooperation between them against their masters. Their isolation made it unnecessary to suppress them further. As a result, Ikelan were often not guarded or kept in chains, instead existing in a state of indentured servitude similar to {{wp|serfdom}}.


Ikelan were settled in large numbers in regions of the upper Obul and parts of Azgwag and Achra, which had been depopulated by the Ihemodian war and were now being settled by the Kel Tenere. The transition of the majority of the Kel Tenere from a nomadic to settled lifestyle was accompanied by the settlement of the Ikelan alongside them, in estimated numbers ranging from hundreds of thousands of several million. Unable to communicate with one another in their own languages, the Ikelan widely adopted the masters’ language of Tamashek as a {{wp|lingua franca}} within their communities. Over time, most Ikelan became partially assimilated into the Tenerian culture, forming a mixed {{wp|creole peoples|creole identity}} from their mixed Anahri, Zarma, Yoruba, Beri and Gharbaic roots referred to as the Ikelan ethnicity. In effect, the Imperial system of Charnea created two parallel societies. One was that of the autonomous subjects and the other was that of the captive Ikelan closely overseen by the Tenerian martial class. In response to the dual nature of the new Charnea, Amenukal Magdan was the first to adopt the Zarma-derived title of ‘’Gaabikoyo’’, evoking the imagery of the Hsewa protectorate system. The function and restrictions of the Charnean throne in Agnannet would have different powers over the different peoples of the Empire, more clearly defined as the Amenukal of the Kel Tenere and their Ikelan slaves and the Gaabikoyo of the subject nations all across Charnea. Magdan would be the first and one of the only rulers in Charnean history to bear the title Amenukal-Gaabikoyo, as the vast majority of his successors including the modern day [[Amina N’Okha|Queen of Charnea]] formally bear the female equivalent, Tamenokalt-Gaabikoyo
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===Okha Dynasty===
[[File:Portrait-Fatma_N'Soumer.jpg|225px|thumb|left|[[Ziwa Soumer N'Okha]] led the Azut rebellion and successfully raised the Okha dynasty to the throne of Charnea]]


===Modern Period===


====Transitional Decade====


====Great Charnean Crisis====
===Manufacturing===
[[File:Plexico.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Main production hall of the Aghzu plastics factory, equipped with advanced computerized custom molding equipment]]
The {{wp|Secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector}} of the Charnean economy is highly consolidated, with more than three quarters of all economic activity within the manufacturing industries being consolidated within just three major conglomerates. These are [[Ishar Consortium|Ishar]], [[Plexico]] and [[Akundar Industrial Combine|Akundar]], together known as the "big three". Plexico, an enormous {{wp|Plastics industry|plastics industry}} corporation, is by far the largest of the big three. It serves as one of the main suppliers of basic as well as complex plastic products on a global scale, accounting for the majority of Charnean exports of plastic products which in total account for some 17% of the national GDP. Plexico's plastic products range from highly complex and heavily engineered medical grade items to cheap mass produced industrial components such as plastic pipes. The company is also one of the largest contributors to the worldwide supply of the plastics industry's most basic material, the {{wp|Nurdle (bead)|pre-production plastic pellets}} which serve as the main input of all plastic products. Of the big three, Plexico is the most politically connected with an especially close business relationship with COPEC as its main supplier of key petrochemicals for the production of plastic materials. Plexico wields outsized political influence thanks to its status as the largest company in Charnea by revenue and one of the country's largest employers. Plexico grew to this immense size through the constant financial support and legal acquiescence of the Charnean government which invested heavily in growing the domestic plastics industry in the 1960s and and 70s, capitalizing on the incredibly low cost of the petrochemicals in the domestic market needed as inputs for the industry as well as the effects of the {{wp|demographic dividend}} which Charnea was experiencing in those decades. The main campuses of Plexico's plastics empire are Aghzu factory located in Agnannet, Aszar in [[Ekelhoc]] and the Thalsa facility in [[Tezzat]], all of which are found in close proximity to COPEC refineries and chemical plants which supply these factories with their raw materials. Plexico's monopoly on the Charnean plastics industry stems from its access to the financial rescources of the Charnean state and its international backers, which have allowed it to dominate the market in which other firms struggle to surpass the high financial and technological barriers of entry.


==Geography==
Besides plastics manufacturing which is highly consolidated under Plexico, the Charnean manufacturing sector also includes the production of of vehicles and transportation-related goods, metal products such as copper wire, and other low-complexity consumer grade products which fall under the category of {{wp|light industry}}. These sectors are largely consolidated into the Akundar-Ishar {{wp|duopoly}}, with neither conglomerate holding or seeking an outright monopoly over any one sector while both entities are subject to economic interdependence as part of a wider industrial {{wp|oligopoly}}. Akundar is the main producer of {{wp|Rolling stock|rolling stock}} through its Agnannet-based subsidiary [[Akundar Transportation]], while Ishar holds a greater degree of market presence among rail operators, giving both companies a great deal of control over the all-important Charnean railway network and the industries which support its infrastructure. The [[Ahuriri Aerospace|Ahuriri Corporation]] represents an outside power in the transport-manufacturing industry in Charnea, as an [[Onekawa-Nukanoa|Onekawan]] firm which has expanded operations of its aircraft manufacturing industry into Charnea in recent years. This move, as well as the investment in the vehicular manufacturing and industrial sectors in general, has been indirectly subsidized by the Charnean defense industry which itself is almost entirely propped up by lucrative contracts awarded by the [[Charnean Army]]. Domestic Charnean defense industry firms such as [[Eruere Enterprises]] and the [[Akayon Corporation]] benefit greatly from the supporting network of industry of the big three as well as the smaller firms.


==Government==
===Agriculture===
[[File:Heliopolis_Palace_in_Cairo.JPG|300px|thumb|right|The derelict Agnannet Palace Hotel has been converted into the Royal House of Government for the Second Empire regime.]]
{{main|Agriculture in Charnea}}
The Second Empire of Charnea is a {{wp|constitutional monarchy}}, alternatively classified as a {{wp|technocracy|technocratic}} {{wp|dictatorship|hereditary dictatorship}}, in which the monarch is not {{wp|sovereign}} and is bound by legal restriction and protocol but is not checked by {{wp|parliament|popular assemblies}} as in other constitutional monarchies. Instead, the legislature which counter-balances the executive power of the monarch is made up of civilian and military officials of the government, who are generally appointed to this ''Agraw Imgharan'' either by their immediate superiors or by the departments and government organs they represent. Charnea is categorized as a limited democracy, in which voting rights and representation at the level of the state are exclusively vested in members of the civil service and military forces i.e. officers of the government. The government structure of the Second Empire is distinct from both the military governments that ruled Charnea in recent years, and the nominally republican governments of the [[Central Scipian Republic]] and the [[State of the Central Scipian Accord]]. While it claims succesorship of the first [[Empire of Charnea]], its system of monarchy departs significantly from the traditional {{wp|absolute monarchy|absolute}} style of rule of the old Empire. Additionally, the modern interpretation of the Agraw Imgharan assembly, which is made up of internally selected which serve for limited terms, is almost entirely dissimilar to the assembly of the same name under the old Empire, in which representation was hereditary to be passed down to the head of each clan granted a place. Furthermore, the original Agraw Imgharan was a purely consultative assembly, whereas the modern assembly is a true deliberative assembly and holds legal authorities and powers. The political system of the Second Empire does not accept political plurality, and no political party of any sort is allowed to exist under the law.  
[[File:Roadside desert agriculture, Zagora, Morocco (5491386219).jpg|250px|thumb|right|Agricultural field in the Charnean desert, protected from the wind and sand by a {{wp|windbreak}} of palms]]
As a desert nation, Charnea faces significant challenges in the development of its agriculture and domestic food production. Charnea has extremely low overall rainfall, with most of the nation's water supply coming from groundwater aquifers which are tightly regulated by the Charnean government due to the political and strategic considerations surrounding the extremely sensitive, scarce and crucial resource. In addition, Charnean farmers battle the often terrible physical and chemical characteristics and low fertility of the desert soil. These factors act to hinder the process of cultivation and food production in the desert. Nevertheless, Charnean farmers have persisted despite the adversity and have perfected methods of agriculture specifically adapted to the arid conditions through the millennia of human habitation in the region. Domestic cereal production is centered around the cultivation of {{wp|millet}}, {{wp|barley}} and {{wp|flax}}, especially the native cultivars of these crops which are uniquely hardy and drought resistant making them far better adapted to the conditions than foreign staples such as wheat and rice. Production of {{wp|mesquite flour}} from the invasive and widespread {{wp|Prosopis glandulosa|honey mesquite tree}} is common in many parts of the Tenere region of the desert, where it was introduced by [[Mutulese Global Circuit|Mutulese traders]] centuries ago. Other arboreal cultivations include {{wp|Date palm|date palms}} for fruit production as well as {{wp|Pistacia lentiscus|mastic}} and {{wp|Gum arabic|gum acacia}} which produce aromatic resin in high demand both locally and internationally.  


The [[Okha Dynasty]], the continuation of the late imperial royal house of the [[Empire of Charnea]], holds the throne of the Second Empire with [[Monarchy of Charnea|Tamenokalt-Gaabikoyo]] [[Amina N'Okha]] reigning as the first and current ruler under the new regime while her mother [[Tanermat Kana N'Okha]] serves as {{wp|Regent|Queen Regent}} and formally exercises the monarch's powers in accordance with constitutional rule until the Queen's coming of age. Because of the structure of the Second Empire's government system, there is no clear divide between the executive pole of the state led by the monarchy and the legislative pole of the state which represents the general will of the civil service and military. The heads of Ministries and various departments and agencies of the Charnean state are subordinate to the monarch as the chief executive of Charnea, however these officials as well as the government organs they represent also control or have influence over parts of the Agraw Imgharan. Through this mechanism the monarch holds supreme authority as the political leader and definitive head of the administration, but is definitively part of the apparatus of state and subject to the same rules and restrictions as any other official, albeit with a greater array of powers and responsibilities.  
The specificities of Charnean agriculture have a significant effect on the diet of the local people, distinguishing their cuisine from that of related {{wp|Berbers|Amaziɣ}} and comparable desert-dwelling peoples such as the Gharibs. For example, Talaharan {{wp|couscous}} made from wheat {{wp|semolina}} differs noticeably in flavor and consistency from its Charnean equivalent which is made from pearl millet. The Charnean diet and its associated food industries are also highly influenced by the Tenerian traditions of animal husbandry, particularly the herding of camels. This activity has been industrialized and intensified over the last century, although it retains at its core many of the practices of the nomadic ancestors of the modern Tenerians. Camels are widely raised by large family owned enterprises across Charnea for their meat, hide and especially their milk. Charnea is the largest producer of {{wp|camel milk}} in the world, with a near totality of this industry's output aimed at the large domestic market for the milk itself as well as the yoghurt that can be made from it.  


===State Ideology===
Charnea is a major importer of foodstuffs and agricultural products, and has been so consistently since the 1940s when urbanization and population growth propelled the demand for food beyond what the Charnean agricultural sector could supply. All Charnean production of foodstuffs through crop cultivation and animal husbandry today accounts for less than half of the total food supply in the country and less than 10% of all economic activity by value, with major imports of non-perishable canned goods, cereal grains, legumes and processed foods accounting for a large portion of the national food supply in Charnea. The cost to import these items by rail from neighboring nations contributes to the inflation of food prices in Charnea, an important political issue for the Charnean government and a source of public unrest in the country. The Charnean state has engaged in a policy of stockpiling reserves of non-perishable and shelf-stable food products in government run warehouses in order to mitigate the economic and political fallout of any serious trade disruption which could send food prices skyrocketing.
The regime of the Second Empire is broadly based on the ideology of [[Charneanism]], but is also affected by the philosophy of {{wp|Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Total Law}} and the writings of Charnean military leader and political figure [[Martuf ag Lamine]]. The internal functions of the state and the structure of the political system of the Second Empire are primarily affected by the latter philosophies that seek to reduce the involvement of what are considered "human factors" in governance, such as corruption, nepotism and a reliance on personal charisma and connections to affect political actions, and instead implement a regime headed by an executive vested with enough authority to lead and to override the influence of notable politicians and well connected figures. This executive oversees - and is held in check by - a highly centralized, {{wp|meritocracy|merit based}} {{wp|bureaucracy}} which collectively administers all civil, military and in some cases religious affairs of the country. In practice, the application of this philosophy has led to an overall authoritarian style of government with deeply technocratic tendencies, in which a class of professionals and experts hold decision making positions while functionaries and administrators within the bureaucracy carry out the orders of this class of technocratic leaders. These technocratic tendencies are brought about not only by a belief that leadership by experts would result in better crafted government policies, but moreover by the conviction that such professionals will be less likely to hold connections to other political leaders and officers of the regime (i.e. forms of personal corruption such as {{wp|nepotism}} will be impeded if high academic and professional barriers to entry are imposed over any given government office). The function of the monarch in this system is to uniformly enforce internal order among the governing class and guarantee compliance to the principles of the state. The internal ideology of the Second Empire is defined by the recent history of Charnea in its CSR and SCSA incarnations, and is particularly abhorrent towards {{wp|cronyism}}, nepotism, and what is considered financial corruption (e.g. {{wp|embezzlement}} and {{wp|bribery}}) which was the norm in Charnean politics before the advent of the new regime.  
===Tourism===
[[File:The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel (8300656204).jpg|200px|thumb|left|The [[Thirteen Heaven Casino]]]]
The development of the Charnean {{wp|Tertiary sector of the economy|tertiary sectors}} has been based primarily on the tourism industry. From the lavish palaces of the Imperial era to the pre-Imperial ancient monuments of the Tenerian and Deshrian civilizations, Charnea has a great many historically significant and impressive sites which have been converted into tourist attractions, most often by the local communities which rely on the income collected from visitors to sustain themselves. Many enterprises have been established in the rural regions of the country to organize tours aimed at foreign visitors, with the natural beauty of the Charnean desert landscape as the main selling point. As with the historical attractions, these are mainly operated by local families to gain a higher level of income that would otherwise be possible in the native region. These sub-sectors of the tourism industry have been the hardest hit by the dips in tourist travel to Charnea that has come as a result of the country's recent political instability.  


The ideology which most governs the outward policy of the new Charnean state towards its citizens is that of Charneanism, a pan-Charnean imperial philosophy originally conceived as the first Empire of Charnea's answer to nationalism. The approach of the old Empire to nationalism ultimately failed as nationalistic tensions resulted in the disintegration of the imperial government, and as such the renewed form of the Charneanist ideology is significantly modified and often referred to as "Neo-Charneanism". Charneanism is alternatively described as anti-{{wp|Nationalism|nationalist}} and pan-nationalist, as it outright rejects the {{wp|ethnic nationalism}} of the ten distinct ethnic groups which make up the Charnean population, while aspousing a pan-Charnean idea of a unified Charnean identity through a sort of {{wp|civic nationalism}}. Such a Charnean national identity would be founded on social cohesion, shared institutions of the centralized Charnean state and mixed social elements such as the universally spoken {{wp|Tamashek}} language and other aspects of predominantly [[Tenerians|Tenerian]] culture present to some degree across a majority of Charnean communities. The ideology generally opposes the distinction of defined national groups aligning with the ten recognizes ethnic cohorts present in Charnean demographics, and likewise opposes the development of distinct identities and associations along ethnic lines which could lead to the further fracturing of the Charnean people and disintegration of the country. Charneanism generally lays the blame over the country's ills and history of violence and instability on this disintegration, and singles out nationalist ideologies as the culprit responsible for this phenomenon. Neo-Charneanism specifically as the more modern strain not only rejects the nationalism of minority ethnicities in Charnea but also the nationalism of dominant groups like the Kel Tenere and related Ikelan groups, which the ideology views as accelerating Charnean disintegration by espousing exclusionary views and seeking a Tamashek-speaking Tenerian state separate from the other nations of Charnea. The ideology is not distinctly {{wp|secular}}, as it opposes the involvement of religious leaders and institutions in functions of the state yet also affirms the role of religious identity, specifically [[Tamdda-ddin]], as a unifying force in Charnean society across ethnic groups.  
By contrast, major hospitality firms operating in the great cities have been only marginally affected thanks to their devoted clientele of foreign visitors. These establishments capitalize on Charnea's legal gambling and prostitution as well as its permissive drug laws to attract visitors, especially from more restrictive parts of the world, to patronize their large {{wp|casino}}-{{wp|Resort|resorts}}. The majority of these hospitality industry establishments can be found in Agnannet and [[Tanitnet]] in commercial districts which have a high density of businesses catering specifically to a clientele of foreign visitors. These districts, known in Charnea as ''Talyat'' districts, are well known for their safety with the local law enforcement and at times even the local branch of the Charnean [[Alxalat]] syndicate paying special attention to the safety of foreign visitors from all forms of crime and even petty harassment. Tourism is a relatively non-consolidated industry, making it somewhat unique in the landscape of the Charnean economy, with very few establishments being part of any sort of wider company or chain. The Ishar Consortium is the only major Charnean corporation to have entered into the tourism industry, operatingtwo casino-resorts in Tanitnet and one in Agnannet. For the most part, the tourism industry in Charnea is dominated by small-scale {{wp|entrepreneurship}} driven by individual owner-operators or in some cases family-ownership.


===Administrative Divisions===
==Demographics==
 
===Religion===
{| class="wikitable"
{{bar box
|-
|title = Religion in Charnea
! scope="col" | '''Name''' !! scope="col" | '''Capital''' !! scope="col" | '''Flag''' !! scope="col" | '''Population'''
|titlebar=#ddd |left1=Religion|right1=Percent |float=right
|-
|bars =
| Delta </br> ⴷⴻⵍⵜⴰ
{{bar percent|[[Ashni Addin]]|Red|71}}
| Koros </br> ⴾⵧⵔⵧⵙ
{{bar percent|[[Azdarin]]|DarkBlue|13}}
| [[File:Kingdom_of_Abemama_Flag.svg|90px]]
{{bar percent|[[Coptic Nazarism]]|Green|10}}
| 9,856,317
{{bar percent|[[White Path|Shaddijat]]|DarkGrey|4}}
|-
{{bar percent|Other|Grey|2}}
| Lower Obul / ''Obul Daw''</br> ⵧⴱⵓⵍ ⴷⴰⵡ
}}
| Kasbeka</br> ⴾⴰⵙⴱⴻⴾⴰ
| [[File:Bilaspur_flag.svg|90px]]
| 3,355,743
|-
| Upper Obul / ''Obul Nig''</br> ⵧⴱⵓⵍ ⵏⵉⴳ
| Agnannet</br> ⴰⴳⵏⴰⵏⵏⴻⵜ
| [[File:Faridkot_flag.svg|90px]]
| 7,594,230
|-
| Achra</br> ⴰⵆⵔⴰ
| Zene</br> ⵣⴻⵏⴻ
| [[File:Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Karangasem.svg|90px]]
| 4,254,789
|-
| Azgwag</br> ⴰⵣⴳⵡⴰⴳ
| Izudu</br> ⵉⵣⵓⴷⵓ
| [[File:Inman_Line_house_flag.svg|90px]]
| 1,354,178
|-
| Adjer</br> ⴰⴵⴻⵕ
| Azut</br> ⴰⵣⵓⵜ
| [[File:Dominion_Line_Flag.svg|90px]]
| 1,352,487
|-
| Saadia</br> ⵙⴰⴰⴷⵉⴰ
| Zarqa</br> ⵣⴰⵔⵈⴰ
| [[File:House_flag_of_the_Aberdeen_Line.svg|90px]]
| 985,647
|-
| Hatheria</br> ⵁⴰⵟⴻⵔⵢⴰ
| Hamath</br> ⵁⴰⵎⴰⵟ
| [[File:Argo Reederei house flag.svg|90px]]
| 1,458,965
|-
| Saawa</br> ⵙⴰⴰⵡⴰ
| Sah</br> ⵙⴰⵃ
| [[File:Flag_of_New_Granada_%281811-1814%29.svg|90px]]
| 1,102,548
|-
| Tenere Awakar</br> ⵜⴻⵏⴻⵔⴻ ⴰⵡⴰⴾⴰⵔ
| Dnika</br> ⴷⵏⵉⴾⴰ
| [[File:In_rajput.png|90px]]
| 945,271
|-
| Tenere Asawam</br> ⵜⴻⵏⴻⵔⴻ ⴰⵙⴰⵡⴰⵎ
| Atram</br> ⴰⵜⵔⴰⵎ
| [[File:Flagge_Königreich_Württemberg.svg|90px]]
| 750,397
|-
|}
 
==Economy==
The Charnean economy is one of the least developed on the Scipian continent, and the country is among the poorest in the world measured by national GDP per capita. The main contributing factor to this underdevelopment has been the frequent disruption of economic activities by war, civil conflict and government incompetence that has hampered efforts to develop a more complex and robust economy. This has left Charnea almost totally reliant on resource extraction for revenue and export, a state of affairs which the Second Empire government seeks to remedy by fostering new industries and establishing the requisite political stability needed for expansion of the economy through state driven development and private investments. While not a {{wp|planned economy}}, the economic policy of the Second Empire reflects a doctrine of {{wp|dirigisme}} especially in sectors which affect water resources. Within the uncertainty underpinning the Second Empire's promise to end instability and insecurity in Charnea, a degree of uncertainty also surrounds the regime's plans to rebuild and expand the Charnean economy and follow through on various development and investment schemes involving the fellow member states of the [[Four Rising Nations Summit]] and other foreign entities.
 
===Petroleum and Mining===
[[File:Jordan_Oil_Refinery.jpg|250px|thumb|right|COPEC refinery in Achra]]
The extraction of mineral wealth is the cornerstone of the Charnean economy and has historically been the main vehicle for the development and modernization of the county's economy and infrastructure. Mining is today the largest sector of the economy, focusing on Charnea's abundant deposits of {{wp|nickel}}, {{wp|copper}}, {{wp|tin}}, {{wp|gold}} and {{wp|iron}}. Deposits of rare minerals such as {{wp|platinum}} and {{wp|iridium}} are also found in Charnea. Some geological formations in remote areas of the [[Ninva]] have been found to contain the {{wp|zinc}} bearing minerals {{wp|Sphalerite}} and {{wp|Franklinite}}, suggesting unexplored deposits of that mineral. Overall, it is speculated that a large portion of Charnea's total natural wealth remains undiscovered in remote regions of the desert. This remains true in referring to the nation's petroleum reserves. Charnea has one of the largest known reserves in the world, and much of the oil bearing regions remain unexplored. Petroleum extraction was previously the largest sector of the economy but failed to keep up expansion and exploitation, suffering from stagnation due to instability and seeing many foreign companies pull out of the Charnean oil fields due to issues of local violence and theft, as well as instability and corruption of the government. The nationalization of the petroleum industry in 2005 under [[COPEC]] further slowed the growth of the industry, as overall extraction and exports dropped. Despite the decrease of overall profits from oil as a result of nationalization, direct revenue to the government from oil increased dramatically as COPEC revenue far outstripped what the state was able to charge in taxes on private oil profits. COPEC has remained the cash cow of several successive Charnean regimes and is now in a state of expansion with access of new funds and investments through the Second Empire regime.
 
===Agriculture===
The Charnean agriculture sector is a relatively minor component of the overall economy, dwarfed by the mining and energy industries both in terms of raw contribution to national GDP as well as the proportion of Charneans employed in each sector of the economy. Most agriculture in Charnea caters to the domestic demand for food, and has historically been able to establish self sufficiency in food albeit with notable famines and periods of reliance on food imports in thge 1980s and 90s. Food self sufficiency, which waned in the early 2000s and 2010s, has been reestablished in recent years thanks to the focus on the food supply by the [[Transitional Government of the Obul and Ninva|TGON]] and the Second Empire regime as food supply has largley caught up to population growth. Major crops include {{wp|millet}}, {{wp|wheat}}, {{wp|beans}}, {{wp|yuca}}, {{wp|yams}} and {{wp|maize}}. In some regions, {{wp|cocoa}} is also cultivated. {{wp|Sorghum}} is produced for animal feed and biofuels, certain species of Acacia produce {{wp|gum arabic}} and {{wp|rubber tree|Rubber trees}} are grown for their latex which is used to produce {{wp|natural rubber}}. {{wp|Rice}}, formerly the single most popular staple food in Charnea, has suffered a precipitous drop in cultivation and consumption thanks in large part to a campaign by the Second Empire regime to intentionally reduce and stamp out its usage through a series of tax schemes and import tariffs which artificially inflated the price to produce or purchase rice, while simultaneously subsidizing millet and wheat as alternatives. Rice was targeted specifically with these measures because of its high water usage and the elevated level of water waste in flood irrigation used in rice cultivation, which falls well beyond what the regime's new Ministry of Water considers acceptable levels. The NERA's more ambitious plans to bring about state mandated implementation of {{wp|drip irrigation}} and far more stringent water controls for agriculture remains on hold due to the estimated costs of these projects.
 
===Recycling===
Charnea is well known for its recycling industry, which is locally referred to as the reclamation industry. This sector of the Charnean economy, widely practiced in southern regions of the country, is based on the importation of foreign industrial and consumer waste products typically by rail or by sea to be processed by comparatively cheap Charnean labor. Reclamation firms in Charnea draw their profits from selling salvaged materials back onto the market as cheaper alternatives to what are called first generation materials, such as plastic pellets made from recycled plastic waste as opposed to being produced directly from petroleum products. [[Wikipedia:Ship breaking|Ship breaking]] is also a hallmark activity of the Charnean reclamation industry, making the Charnean coast and particularly the port of Koros international hotspots for the disposal of commercial ships, where the vessels are cheaply demolished and taken apart for the purposes of extracting raw materials and metal scrap. Recycling and other forms of industrial treatment of imported waste products is a significant contributor to pollution and contamination of the environment with waste products, particularly in the southernmost regions of the country.
 
==Culture==
===Cuisine===
[[File:Cooking_Taguella_in_Kel_Ahaggar.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A Charnean man cooking Taguella in hot ashes]]
 
Reflecting the multicultural nature of the confederation, Charnean cuisine is a mixture of many different influences both internal and external. While in general many different local cuisines are found across Charnea, {{wp|Tuareg people|Tamashek}} cuisine is endemic to most regions of the confederation. Additionally, foreign influences primarily originating with other {{wp|Amazigh}} peoples scuh as [[Messidor Union|Aghmatia]] can be felt as well, having been introduced through the connecting trans-scipian trade routes which have historically served as the mediums of cultural exchange for central Scipia and Charnea. {{wp|Taguella}} bread, an unleavened flatbread normally cooked over charcoal, is a ubiquitous staple food across most of Charnea, while {{wp|Eba}} is more popular in the south as a local staple. {{wp|Tajine}}, {{wp|Couscous}} and {{wp|Pastilla|Besṭila}} are examples of foreign Amazigh dishes introduced to Charnea through cultural exchange that have since become popular with many local peoples, while {{wp|Jollof rice}} can be taken as an example of a popular dish having an origin within the local cultures of southern and central Charnea.


Many of the dishes common to differing regions of Charnea are highly specific to the local environment and agricultural or pastoral traditions, and are general the products of the most available sources of nutrition and the best fitted crops that can be cultivated in any particular region, such as goat and sheep products along with wheat flatbreads in the Ninva desert region contrasted with rice and cassava based foods in the far less arid southerly regions. The steady introduction of modern agricultural techniques and industrialized food production and especially the advent of refrigeration have resulted in a rising degree of homogeneity, as foods from one region of Charnea can much more easily be transported and consumed in other regions where the climate would never allow those products to be prepared locally, leading to a general spread in popular south Charnea rice dishes, although a few northern foods such as taguella and ''cink'' or ''liwa'' millet porridge  still retain their wide reaching popularity as cultural staples.
===Urbanism===
[[File:TeaSeremonyWS.jpg|150px|thumb|left|''Ashahi'' tea ceremony]]
Tea is highly popular across all differing Charnean cultures. {{wp|Maghrebi mint tea|''Ashahi'' tea}}, green tea steeped with sugar and mint, is not only popular but culturally significant as the focal point of many social gatherings. Preparation is often semi-ritual and ceremonial in nature, being prepared for household guests as a key element of traditional Charnean hospitality, as well as part of daily social meetings within and without the family group. Generally, each person takin part will consume more than one (typically 2-4) glasses of tea in any particular occasion or tea ceremony. Ashahi tea is not limited to any particular activity, meal or time of day, and is generally consumed at all times of day, often multiple times a day, with food or on its own. The common variety of Ashahi tea consumed today is a type of {{wp|Gunpowder tea|gunpowder green tea}} introduced to Charnea in the 18th century, although the tradition of the tea ceremony is though to predate this introduction and may have originated with unknown varieties of tea that came into Charnea in medieval times, at some point prior to the 11th century.


Coffee, beer and other alcoholic beverages which are generally common across most of the world are comparatively far less popular in Charnea. In some instances, varieties of coffee which are typically imported are consumed in a similar manner to Ashahi tea especially in recent years, however the popularity of this practice is not wide reaching. Imported alcoholic beverages, such as {{wp|Balché|Balche}} and {{wp|Tequila}} introduced to Charnea through contact with the [[Mutul]], have a niche market, with some contributions from locally produced distillations which generally consist of {{wp|Moonshine}}. Other Mutulese imports such as chocolate have a similar middling level of popularity, and are mainly imbibed as part of [[White Path]] ritualistic consumption.
===Ethnicity===


===Clothing and Fashion===
A wide variety of textile and clothing styles can be found in Charnea, having origins both in many diverse native cultures within the Confederation as well as foreign origins which may have been introduced through cross-cultural contact over ancient trade routes historically or be relatively recent additions to Charnean fashion brought about in the industrial age through modern means of international trade. Although common foreign styles, often those mass produced and in ubiquitous use globally, are indeed found all over Charnea, it is also common to find local styles being worn both in ceremonial capacities and in day to day life. The most iconic piece of native fashion is the {{wp|tagelmust}}, a head wrap originating with the {{wp|Tuareg people|Tamashek}} people of the [[Ninva|Ninva desert]] which is typically dyed with indigo but may also be dyed in other colors, especially as it has been introduced as a common piece of headwear outside of the nomadic cultures of northern Charnea. A tagelmust is specifically intended to be worn by men, as the Tamashek traditionally veil themselves at all times except in the presence of close friends or within a family. Women do not traditionally cover their faces except at specific times during ceremonies and events using the ''tusuwart'', a woman's head covering. Men generally wear cloth pants known as ''akarbey'' while women will traditionally wear dresses as well as {{wp|Wrapper (clothing)|''afer''}} coverings. The Tamashek, as well as many other ethnic groups within Charnea, commonly wear various types of {{wp|Djellaba|Djellaba robe}} or {{wp|kaftan}}, such as the {{wp|Senegalese kaftan|''mbaub''}} found in the south. Charneans who do not wear the tagelmust will sometimes use {{wp|Kufi}} style hats instead. In Charnean culture, the tagelmust is considered a symbol of adulthood and wearing one for the first time marks a rite of passage into manhood. Many similar practices exist across Charnea, where traditional headgear and hats are intended to be worn only by adult men or women. Footwear may vary greatly depending on the climate, however leather sandals (''iragazan'') and shoes (''ibuzagan'') are relatively common and widespread across Charnea's arid regions.


[[Category:Charnea]]
[[Category:Charnea]]
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[[Category:Republics]]
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[[Category:Republics (Ajax)]]
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[[Category:Unitary states]]

Latest revision as of 21:35, 21 November 2024

Republic of Charnea
ⴰⵊⴰⵎⵀⵓⵔⵢⴰ ⵏ ⵞⴰⵔⵏⴻⴰ
Ajamhurya n Charnea
Flag of Charnea
Flag
Seal of Charnea
Seal
CHARMAPLOWRES.png
Capital
and largest city
Agnannet
Official languagesNone
Recognised national languagesTamashek (de facto)
Recognised regional languagesRandeshret
Tamahaq
Tawellemmet
Darja
Ethnic groups
(2024)
Demonym(s)Charnean
GovernmentUnitary stratocratic republic
• Amizar
Khyar Aziouel
LegislatureAgraw Itkar
Area
• Total Area
2,130,656 km2 (822,651 sq mi)
• Water (%)
0.084%
Population
• 2022 estimate
27,023,983
• 2020 census
26,995,572
• Density
12.68/km2 (32.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)estimate
• Total
$599 billion
• Per capita
$22,179.45
Gini44.4
medium
HDI0.801
very high
CurrencyAzref
Aga
Date formatmm.dd.yyyy
Driving sideright

Charnea, officially the Republic of Charnea (Tamashek: ⴰⵊⴰⵎⵀⵓⵔⵢⴰ ⵏ ⵞⴰⵔⵏⴻⴰ, Ajamhurya n Charnea), is a landlocked country in central Scipia. The territory of Charnea spans the majority of the Ninva desert, bounded by the Arwa range in the west and the Kija river in the east. Charnea is bordered to the north by Talahara, Tyreseia, Khemetu and Alanahr, to the east by Happara, Fahran and Kembesa, and along the mountainous southern boundary by M'biruna and the Amayana Makgato and Solar Temple states of the Karana basin. Agnannet is the capital and primate city of Charnea, located in the urbanized Achra triangle.

The Republic is a military democracy established by elements of the Charnean Army following the political disintegration of the Charnean Empire in the mid-2010s. The Ihemodian Revival, a Ninvite pan-nationalist movement invoking the historical legacy of the 14th century conqueror Ihemod Imekkusa, is the dominant political current in the Republic. While the Revivalists generally seek to integrate Charnea's large historically marginalized minorities such as the Deshrians and Darja speaking Hatherians into the new Republican society, the legislature, national bureaucracy and Army remain in the hands of the Tenerian majority, particularly Ajamites of rural nomadic extraction in the latter case.

Charnea undertook a program of intensive industrialization beginning in the early 20th century, transforming the country through a state capitalist model of centralized economic planning. Although lucrative resource beds would later be discovered, much of Charnea's formative economic development driven by an apparent dearth of natural resources in the Charnean Ninva would focus on establishing a carefully planned manufacturing sector supplied with imported raw materials by the Trans-Ninvite Railway. The scarcity of water in particular established a pattern of development which favored economic and demographic consolidation into highly concentrated urban zones emerging where local water resources could sustain them, connected to resource beds, international commerce and to each other by the rail network. Despite the harmful effects of recent political instability and long-term social inequality, the Charnean economy has transformed the inhospitable Ninva into a modern and developed country.

Etymology

The exact origins and meaning of the name of Charnea is heavily in dispute. The prevailing theory is that the modern Charna as it is rendered in Tamashek is a corruption of the Deshrian word Shasramt meaning "traveling people" referring to the ancestors of the Tenerians who reverted to a nomadic pastoral lifestyle following the collapse of the urbanized Tamazghan Confederation in the 3rd century. Shasramt was likely adopted as a term for the lands and peoples of the central Ninva desert some time after the rise of the Ihemodian Empire. The Tenerian endonym for the land is simply Tenere meaning "desert", referring to the arid landscape of the Ninva. However, this term is generally applied only to the historically Tenerian region of the western Ninva. The Ninva east of the Adjer mountains instead bears the Hatherian name of Zahra which has the same meaning as Tenere.

History

Government

The Republic of Charnea is a democratic stratocracy in which political rights are contingent on voluntary national service in the Charnean Army or a military sanction. Like the Charnean Empire that preceded it, the Republic does not have a formal constitution. The mechanisms of the Republic's government and democratic system are instead outlined in the 2018 Edicts of Agnannet which established a parliamentary system of government in which the right to vote and hold office would be granted to anyone who completes a 2-year period of military service, while the 2022 Declaration of Principles would later allow for meritorious non-military forms of service to be rewarded with an official sanction granting the same rights. The closest analogue to the unorthodox Charnean system is the federal military regime in neighboring East Itayana.

The Agraw Itkar is the supreme legislative assembly of the Republic, comprised of deputies representing the eligible electorate both within and without the active military. Voting districts of the Agraw, where are known as Corps, are not geographically demarcated and are instead defined by the formation in which a voter preformed their service. Corps which are deemed to be too large to adequately represent its members are split into smaller bodies by the national Elections Council, itself a subdivision of the Agraw which also oversees the dispensation of military sanctions to civilians. All national elections are carried out using a block approval methodology. In addition to legislation, the Agraw also serves as the supreme judicial organ of the Republic overseeing all civilian and military courts in Charnea.

The Amizar is the elective, removable office that acts as chief of the Charnean Army and State. As the military commander in chief, the Amizar exercises total authority over the operations of the Army as well as the state administration. The legitimacy of an Amizar's administration and leadership of the military is legally supported by the Agraw Iktar, which holds the power to instate and recall an Amizar to and from office as the formal representative body of the military. The office has no established term limits, vesting in the Agraw the total authority to dictate how long a specific Amizar may hold the office. The only rule restricting the Agraw's ability to recall an Amizar from office is that a supermajority of 80% of the assembly is required to remove the Amizar if Charnea finds herself in a declared inter-state war, in contrast to the simple majority required in all other circumstances.

Military

The Charnean Army, commonly referred to as the ICA for its Tamashek initials (Iɤrudan Charnan Ajhanan, meaning "Combined Charnean Army") is the professional military force of the Republic. It is an all-volunteer organization in which career-long service is common. The ICA practices a mobile art of war largely inherited from the nomadic military traditions of the Charnean Tenerians who have made up the vast majority of the ICA's manpower for all of its modern history. The combat elements of the ICA are organized into generally autonomous operational groups known as Igadeganen which include aviation, intelligence and logistics components in addition to the infantry, armor and artillery units typical of a conventional combined-arms force. Because of this all-inclusive organizational method, the Charnean military lacks any independent service branches such as an autonomous air force. Although it retains the capacity for conventional warfare as a deterrent against foreign aggression, the Charnean Army is primarily equipped and trained for counterinsurgency and sustained low-intensity conflicts which have been the historical norm across central and eastern Scipia in general and Charnea in particular. Charnea's hybrid defense doctrine establishes the theoretical basis that inter-state warfare and counterinsurgency are neither distinct nor mutually exclusive, and promotes a material and operational approach capable of effectively engaging state and non-state opponents alike.

Since the foundation of the Republic, the Charnean military has gained near-total political primacy through the establishment of stratocratic government. The Charnean Army has thus far rejected Talaharan-style military democracy out of concern that it would negatively effect cohesion and discipline within the ICA, instead establishing the Agraw Itkar as an organ external to military hierarchy to serve as the medium of expression for the Army's political will. As part of its assumption of political control over the country, the ICA has enforced its legal monopoly over force through the disarmament of paramilitary organizations and non-military security forces including municipal police, banning any non-military agent of the state from bearing arms in an official capacity. This action has effectively disbanded many policing organizations across the country, prompting the Army to assume an expanded role in Charnean internal security and law enforcement.

Foreign relations

Charnea maintains tentative diplomatic relations with the international community, suffering from a lack of legitimacy due to the recent establishment of the regime and Charnea's modern history of political upheaval. The Republic has frigid relations with most of its immediate neighbors on the Scipian continent due to historical grievances, ideological incompatibility, and the ramifications of Charnea's history of internal conflicts. Nevertheless, Charnea maintains friendly relations with the Amayana states in the form of military and economic cooperation, particularly in the case of the Amayana Makgato Federation. The Republic has also preserved the previous regime's well-established trading relationship with Tyreseia despite generally uneasy relations with the Rubric Coast Consortium to which Tyreseia is a party. On a global stage, Charnea maintains good relations with the Mutul on the basis of shared cultural history and the diplomatic legacy of Jasaw Chan K'awiil IV. The diplomatic split between Charnea and the Periclean world which began during the Ninvite War has persisted to the present day, staining Charnea's international perception and serving to generally impede good diplomatic relations with Belisarian and Periclean nations.

Geography

The territory of Charnea comprises 2,130,656 square kilometres (822,651 sq mi) of land, making it the largest country in Scipia by land area. Charnea is far larger in its longitudinal expanse than its dimensions in latitude, with its far western tip at the border with Talahara being 3,160 kilometers west of its furthest eastern border section abutting Happara. This entire territory is considered part of the Ninva, the continental desert spanning most of central Scipia of which Charnean territory makes up more than half of its total expanse. More than 90% of the country is classified as arid desert with small portions of the southwest periphery falling under a semi-desert climate classification. The vast majority of this desert expanse has no permanent surface water, with the totality of the surface water in Charnea amounting to 0.084% of the country's total surface area or roughly 179 square kilometers. The principal locations of surface water in Charnea are the inland delta of the Iza river in Achra, as well as the Great Oasis and Kija river in the far east.

Regions

Economy

The Charnean economy is founded on a strong secondary sector sustained by a large urban workforce and extensive infrastructure investments. The formative development of the country's economy in the early 20th century preceded the discovery of significant mineral deposits in the Ninva desert by many decades. Lacking the potential for a lucrative primary sector in the absence of agricultural potential or mineral wealth, Charnean industrial planning focused on establishing a manufacturing sector based on the raw materials that could be readily and cheaply imported from neighboring Scipian countries by rail. The center and west of the country specialized in textiles produced using cotton imported from Itayana, while the near and far east of the country established a copper-based metalworking economy importing raw materials from Fahran and Kembesa through Happaran-owned east Scipian railways. The discovery of buried petroleum reserves in the far east and far west in the 1960s opened the door for petrochemical production and the rise of the Charnean plastics industry, the third component of the "Charnean Trinity" along with textiles and metal products. Mineral extraction has emerged as an important component of the national economy since modern prospecting technologies helped discover previously unknown resource deposits in the Ninva desert, but is primarily oriented toward supporting domestic manufacturing rather than exporting raw materials directly. Agriculture is likewise oriented toward domestic demand as the high costs associated with Charnean agricultural production make exports generally unprofitable. As a result of these factors stemming from environmental conditions and its mode of industrialization, the Charnean economy has remained in a state of secondary sector primacy throughout its modern history.

Charnea is known for its centralized, often highly restrictive economic planning governed by regional governmental organizations such as the Achra TET that direct local development and establish regulation on the use of local resources. The dominant economic model in Charnea, especially in the country's industrialized urban zones, is a form of corporatist state capitalism in which the state is both directly involved (through state enterprise) and indirectly involved (through regional development organs) in economic activity. The Charnean system has greatly benefitted a small number of major industrial conglomerates, known as "Combines" (ⴻⵔⵜⴻⵢ, Ertey) in Charnean parlance, which have prospered from close cooperation and a reciprocal business relationship with the state. Private entities such as the Mamala Combine as well as state enterprises like COPEC individually account for significant portions of the national GDP, making Charnea one of the most consolidated economies in the world in terms of ownership and corporate structures.



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Manufacturing

Main production hall of the Aghzu plastics factory, equipped with advanced computerized custom molding equipment

The secondary sector of the Charnean economy is highly consolidated, with more than three quarters of all economic activity within the manufacturing industries being consolidated within just three major conglomerates. These are Ishar, Plexico and Akundar, together known as the "big three". Plexico, an enormous plastics industry corporation, is by far the largest of the big three. It serves as one of the main suppliers of basic as well as complex plastic products on a global scale, accounting for the majority of Charnean exports of plastic products which in total account for some 17% of the national GDP. Plexico's plastic products range from highly complex and heavily engineered medical grade items to cheap mass produced industrial components such as plastic pipes. The company is also one of the largest contributors to the worldwide supply of the plastics industry's most basic material, the pre-production plastic pellets which serve as the main input of all plastic products. Of the big three, Plexico is the most politically connected with an especially close business relationship with COPEC as its main supplier of key petrochemicals for the production of plastic materials. Plexico wields outsized political influence thanks to its status as the largest company in Charnea by revenue and one of the country's largest employers. Plexico grew to this immense size through the constant financial support and legal acquiescence of the Charnean government which invested heavily in growing the domestic plastics industry in the 1960s and and 70s, capitalizing on the incredibly low cost of the petrochemicals in the domestic market needed as inputs for the industry as well as the effects of the demographic dividend which Charnea was experiencing in those decades. The main campuses of Plexico's plastics empire are Aghzu factory located in Agnannet, Aszar in Ekelhoc and the Thalsa facility in Tezzat, all of which are found in close proximity to COPEC refineries and chemical plants which supply these factories with their raw materials. Plexico's monopoly on the Charnean plastics industry stems from its access to the financial rescources of the Charnean state and its international backers, which have allowed it to dominate the market in which other firms struggle to surpass the high financial and technological barriers of entry.

Besides plastics manufacturing which is highly consolidated under Plexico, the Charnean manufacturing sector also includes the production of of vehicles and transportation-related goods, metal products such as copper wire, and other low-complexity consumer grade products which fall under the category of light industry. These sectors are largely consolidated into the Akundar-Ishar duopoly, with neither conglomerate holding or seeking an outright monopoly over any one sector while both entities are subject to economic interdependence as part of a wider industrial oligopoly. Akundar is the main producer of rolling stock through its Agnannet-based subsidiary Akundar Transportation, while Ishar holds a greater degree of market presence among rail operators, giving both companies a great deal of control over the all-important Charnean railway network and the industries which support its infrastructure. The Ahuriri Corporation represents an outside power in the transport-manufacturing industry in Charnea, as an Onekawan firm which has expanded operations of its aircraft manufacturing industry into Charnea in recent years. This move, as well as the investment in the vehicular manufacturing and industrial sectors in general, has been indirectly subsidized by the Charnean defense industry which itself is almost entirely propped up by lucrative contracts awarded by the Charnean Army. Domestic Charnean defense industry firms such as Eruere Enterprises and the Akayon Corporation benefit greatly from the supporting network of industry of the big three as well as the smaller firms.

Agriculture

Agricultural field in the Charnean desert, protected from the wind and sand by a windbreak of palms

As a desert nation, Charnea faces significant challenges in the development of its agriculture and domestic food production. Charnea has extremely low overall rainfall, with most of the nation's water supply coming from groundwater aquifers which are tightly regulated by the Charnean government due to the political and strategic considerations surrounding the extremely sensitive, scarce and crucial resource. In addition, Charnean farmers battle the often terrible physical and chemical characteristics and low fertility of the desert soil. These factors act to hinder the process of cultivation and food production in the desert. Nevertheless, Charnean farmers have persisted despite the adversity and have perfected methods of agriculture specifically adapted to the arid conditions through the millennia of human habitation in the region. Domestic cereal production is centered around the cultivation of millet, barley and flax, especially the native cultivars of these crops which are uniquely hardy and drought resistant making them far better adapted to the conditions than foreign staples such as wheat and rice. Production of mesquite flour from the invasive and widespread honey mesquite tree is common in many parts of the Tenere region of the desert, where it was introduced by Mutulese traders centuries ago. Other arboreal cultivations include date palms for fruit production as well as mastic and gum acacia which produce aromatic resin in high demand both locally and internationally.

The specificities of Charnean agriculture have a significant effect on the diet of the local people, distinguishing their cuisine from that of related Amaziɣ and comparable desert-dwelling peoples such as the Gharibs. For example, Talaharan couscous made from wheat semolina differs noticeably in flavor and consistency from its Charnean equivalent which is made from pearl millet. The Charnean diet and its associated food industries are also highly influenced by the Tenerian traditions of animal husbandry, particularly the herding of camels. This activity has been industrialized and intensified over the last century, although it retains at its core many of the practices of the nomadic ancestors of the modern Tenerians. Camels are widely raised by large family owned enterprises across Charnea for their meat, hide and especially their milk. Charnea is the largest producer of camel milk in the world, with a near totality of this industry's output aimed at the large domestic market for the milk itself as well as the yoghurt that can be made from it.

Charnea is a major importer of foodstuffs and agricultural products, and has been so consistently since the 1940s when urbanization and population growth propelled the demand for food beyond what the Charnean agricultural sector could supply. All Charnean production of foodstuffs through crop cultivation and animal husbandry today accounts for less than half of the total food supply in the country and less than 10% of all economic activity by value, with major imports of non-perishable canned goods, cereal grains, legumes and processed foods accounting for a large portion of the national food supply in Charnea. The cost to import these items by rail from neighboring nations contributes to the inflation of food prices in Charnea, an important political issue for the Charnean government and a source of public unrest in the country. The Charnean state has engaged in a policy of stockpiling reserves of non-perishable and shelf-stable food products in government run warehouses in order to mitigate the economic and political fallout of any serious trade disruption which could send food prices skyrocketing.

Tourism

The development of the Charnean tertiary sectors has been based primarily on the tourism industry. From the lavish palaces of the Imperial era to the pre-Imperial ancient monuments of the Tenerian and Deshrian civilizations, Charnea has a great many historically significant and impressive sites which have been converted into tourist attractions, most often by the local communities which rely on the income collected from visitors to sustain themselves. Many enterprises have been established in the rural regions of the country to organize tours aimed at foreign visitors, with the natural beauty of the Charnean desert landscape as the main selling point. As with the historical attractions, these are mainly operated by local families to gain a higher level of income that would otherwise be possible in the native region. These sub-sectors of the tourism industry have been the hardest hit by the dips in tourist travel to Charnea that has come as a result of the country's recent political instability.

By contrast, major hospitality firms operating in the great cities have been only marginally affected thanks to their devoted clientele of foreign visitors. These establishments capitalize on Charnea's legal gambling and prostitution as well as its permissive drug laws to attract visitors, especially from more restrictive parts of the world, to patronize their large casino-resorts. The majority of these hospitality industry establishments can be found in Agnannet and Tanitnet in commercial districts which have a high density of businesses catering specifically to a clientele of foreign visitors. These districts, known in Charnea as Talyat districts, are well known for their safety with the local law enforcement and at times even the local branch of the Charnean Alxalat syndicate paying special attention to the safety of foreign visitors from all forms of crime and even petty harassment. Tourism is a relatively non-consolidated industry, making it somewhat unique in the landscape of the Charnean economy, with very few establishments being part of any sort of wider company or chain. The Ishar Consortium is the only major Charnean corporation to have entered into the tourism industry, operatingtwo casino-resorts in Tanitnet and one in Agnannet. For the most part, the tourism industry in Charnea is dominated by small-scale entrepreneurship driven by individual owner-operators or in some cases family-ownership.

Demographics

Religion

Religion in Charnea
Religion Percent
Ashni Addin
71%
Azdarin
13%
Coptic Nazarism
10%
Shaddijat
4%
Other
2%

Urbanism

Ethnicity