User:Pixy/Afthonia (Sandbox)

Greater Afthonian State Μεγάλη Αφθονία Krátos (Afthonian)
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Τάξη, Δύναμη και Πιστότητα Táxi, Dýnami kai Pistótita Order, Strength and Loyalty
Anthem: Προώθησε την Αφθονία Proóthise tin Afthonía Advance Afthonia
Capital	Ilus
Largest Metropolitan Area	Elpis
Official languages	Afthonian
Recognised regional languages	TBD
Ethnic groups (2023)	Afthonian 87% Others 13%
Religion	TBD
Demonym(s)	Afthonian
Government	Unitary Constitutional Directorial Republic
• Sovereign Council	Apollon Lamprelis (High Councilor) Maria Mallaki (Deputy) TBD TBD TBD
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment
• Gionan civilization	c. 750 BCE
• League of Elpis	c. 80 BCE
• Kingdom of Kastoria	c. Summer 121 CE
• Kastorian Empire	20 August 554
• Afthonian Confederation	19 April 1830
• Emergency Military Government	XX TBD 1951
• Greater Afthonian State	17 November 1960
Population
• 2023 estimate	79,914,715
• 2023 census	77,566,810
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$2.750 Trillion
• Per capita	$36,501
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$2.327 Trillion
• Per capita	$30,547
Gini (2023)	24.3 low
HDI (2023)	0.77 high
Currency	Asteri (AST)
• Summer (DST)	Not Observed
Date format	DD/MM/YYYY
Driving side	left
ISO 3166 code	AFT
Internet TLD	.aft

Afthonia (Afthonian: Αφθονία; script: Afthonía), officially referred to as the Greater Afthonian State (Afthonian: Μεγάλη Αφθονία Krátos; script: Megáli Afthonía Krátos) is a !NotEuropean country. The country has a population of 77 million people placing it as the XXth most populous nation and has an estimated total area of XXX million/hundred thousand square kilometer (XXX square miles) which places it as the XXth largest nation. The country has a total population density of XXX/km² (XXX/sq mi). The country is bordered by XXX to the XXX, XXX to the XXX and XXX to the XXX. It also shares maritime borders with Maroudia to the north, XXX and XXX. The country claims and enforces an offshore exclusive economic zone that extneds 200 nautical miles which covers a total area of XXX km² (XXX sq mi). At the highest level Afthonia is administratively divided under XX Prefectures governed by an elected Prefect, XX Special Administrative Territories (SAT) governed by an elected Chief Executive, among which XX of SATs are considered as part of Afthonia's overseas territories. The city of Ilum is the nation's historical political center and has been designated as its capital, whereas Elpis is the country's center of commerce and culture. Afthonian is the country's official language alongside XXX, XXX and XXX which are considered as regional languages. The earliest evidence of civilization that appeared in the lands of modern day Afthonia were known as the Gionans who most historians generally agree as the ancestors of modern day Afthonians.

In the modern era, Afthonia is considered as a regional power and portrays itself as a unitary Constitutional Directorial Republic where people who hold public office are elected in free and fair elections. However the presence of retired military personnel among ruling political parties has often led to political observers to describe Afthonia having elements of a stratocracy as well. The National Front, a right-wing nationalist political party has been the primary driving force of the nation's government for a large period of its history. The country is led by the Sovereign Council which is a cabinet composed of XX members who collectively represent the country's head of government and is led by a High Councilor who serves as a first among equals and serves as as the nation's head of state. Legislative power is held by the National Assembly, a unicameral parliament. From an economic perspective, Afthonia has a combined GDP of $2.3 trillion, whereas its official currency is the Asteri. The country has historically been regarded as one of the breadbaskets of the continent due to its vast fertile lands that supported a strong agriculture industry. The discovery of liquified natural gas reserves in the mid 20th century has allowed the country to gradually rebuild its industry and economy and has returned to be one of the continent’s agricultural hubs alongside thriving engineering & manufacturing sectors. Its armed forces is known as the Afthonia Military Force and is comprised of the Afthonian Navy, Afthonian Army, Afthonian Air Force and Afthonian Marine Corps.

The lands of modern day Afthonia has been controled by various powers throughout history, the most prominent of these include the League of Giona in late antiquity. After entering a period of stagnation and declining political influence Giona was eventually usurped by Elpis, a city state in 9 BCE. Through a series of wars of conquest and diplomacy Elpis was able to establish itself as the effective hegemon in the Afthonian peninsula and by 121 CE Elpis was declared as the Kingdom of Kastoria. King <INSERT NAME> would ultimately reform the Kingdom into the Kastorian Empire in the year 554 when he consolidated his powers and eliminated the other ruling families. The empire was able to sustain a large population growth due to its fertile lands which allowed it to cultivate a strong agricultural society to both sustain a growing population and trade its surplus products with its immediate neighbors to gain influence. By the mid 10th century the Empire had entered a period of stagnation, its territories beset by a series of rebelions, incursions by rival kingdoms and empires in the continent. In 1290 a succession crisis struck the Empire when <INSERT NAME>, heir apparent to Emperor <INSERT NAME>, was killed alongside her father in battle. The lack of a clear successor resulted in the Emperor's various children and distant relatives to lay claim to the throne. The Empire's complete disintegration was considered final by 1402, with each heir apparent establishing their own domains. The largest and most powerful of these powers included the Republic of Kastoria, League of Koroneia, League of Evinos, Republic of Prespa, Kingdom of Stratos and the League of Athos. It was during this period of time that the Afthonian states conducted various expeditions across the world, establishing a far flung trade network and outposts.

The Afthonians continued to remain divided until the late 18th century when the <INSERT NAME>, King of Stratos, proposed the establishment of a confederation between his Kingdom and various other small and middle Afthonian powers. This process eventually culmianted in the establishment of the Afthonian Confederation in 1830 with the express purpose uniting the Afthonian people under a common economic, foreign policy and defense umbrella. Modern day historians would categorize the confederation as one of the earliest examples of a supranational union and by 1855 the confederation had united all remaining Afthonian states. This confederation strived for closer integration, hoping to eventually transition from a confederal to a federal entity to solidify its legitimacy but this would not come to pass. An economic crisis in 1918 tested its member state's cohesion and unity with the confederation's central bank, which under the constitution was permitted to direct its member states monetary policy. The confederation's central bank was unable to effectively enforce its monetary policies due to some member states who did not abide by its direction and rulings. The situation reached a tipping point on July 1933 when Koroneia, one of the major Afthonian states, declared home rule and succeded from the confedaration marking the beginning of the Great Schism, a civil war. Prespa followed suit the following week as well. During this time the confederation's civilian leadership was usurped in a coup d'état by its armed forces, who assumed responsibility of governing the country and established an emergency military government. Active fighting was eventually ended on 3 May 1946 by an armistice though no formal peace treaty was signed between the warring factions. This led to a period of cold war known as the Shattered Union era where the divided Afthonian nations engaged in non-direct conflicts to absorb the other. On 15 November 1972 the Afthonian Confederation emerged victorious, officially annexing the remaining territories of Prespa & Koroneia. Not long after on 15 March 1973 the confederation was reorganized into the Greater Afthonian State and a civilian government restored.

History

Prehistory & Antiquity

Main article: Gionan civilization

The lands of modern day Afthonia has been inhabited by various species of archaic humans with fossil evidence dating back to 850,000 years ago. Archeological sites have been found near the cities of Elpis and Ilus with those of neanderthal origin being the most commonly found. Hunter-gatherer societies were most likely to be the most commonly found type of civilizations until the arrival of modern humans between 50,000 - 40,000 years ago who gradually became the dominant species by 35,000 BC. These modern humans would develop various cultures and societies in the area, though most of these were nomadic in nature due to the need to continuously migrate and seek out new hunting grounds to sustain themselves. The neolithic revolution, more popularly known as the agricultural revolution, allowed humans to transition away from a nomadic to a sedentery based society and established the first permanent villages and eventually towns. The oldest permanent human settlement found to date is Giona which was established in 1200 BCE and is the origin of the Gionan civilization who modern day archeologists identify as the cultural ancestors of the Afthonians with the modern Afthonian language having Gionan roots and origins. By 750 BC Giona had been developed an amassed a population to be considered a city-state governed under an elective monarchy whose reigning monarch is chosen amongst a family of nobles. Giona was able to establish itself as the hub and center of a large a network of trade routes that connected itself with a number of smaller villages and cities throughout the Afthonian peninsula. Although Giona did not in a sense directly control the villages and cities that participated in its trade network, it was able to exert some influence and spread its culture throughout the region. Many modern day cities of Afthonia can trace its origin as being founded during this period of time such as Elpis, Ilus, Amia and Dorona.

Ancient Afthonia

Main articles: League of Elpis and Kingdom of Kastoria

By 90 BCE Gionan civilization had entered a period of decline which allowed other city states in the region to vie for control over the Gionan's trade network. The city state of Elpis would eventually emerge as one of the city states that was able to take over the mantle of leadership over from the Gionans. Unlike its predecessor, Elpis was more ambitious and began to exert direct control over its neighboring towns and villages. This was made possible by Elpis's gradual establishment of an army that began on 80 CE. Prior to this most armies were centered around war bands from the population of each village, town and city which were only called to arms during times of conflict. Initially, Elpis's armies followed this concept although recruits were placed through a series of standardized training regimes in order to ensure a certain level of competency within its troops. As the number of tributary and vassal city states grew, the need to protect them from barbarian incurssions grew. An army that was only fielded in times of need and then disbanded was no longer feasible and a permanent and dedicated standing army was required. Elpis continued to increase its network of tributaries and vassals and reached its peak in 120 CE when it controlled over half of the Afthonian peninsula. Linus, the reigning monarch of Elpis, reformed Elpis as the Kingdom of Kastoria on 121 CE to mark the beginning of a new era of expansion and bring forth a sense of unity to the inhabitants of the peninsula who while shared a common linguistic and cultural background, were politically divided among city-states, religious and family allegiances. Linus led the Kingdom on a campaign of expansion, annexing the smaller city-states and repubics established across the remainder of the Afthonian peninsula. By 190 CE through both wars of conquest and diplomacy, Kastoria had successfully unified and established itself as the hegemon of the Afthonian peninsula. With the Afthonian peninsula firmly under its control Queen Metis, Kastoria's reigning monarch at the time, focused the Kingdom's attention towards its neighboring lands and began to expand eastward towards the lands of Maroudia.

Middle Ages

Main articles: Kastorian Empire and Fall of the Kastorian Empire

Unification

Main articles: Unification of Afthonia and Afthonian Confederation

Civil War & Fragmentation

Main articles: Great Schism and Shattered Union (Afthonia)

Reunification

Main article: Afthonian reunification

Government & Politics

Photograph of the XXrd Sovereign Council

Main articles: Sovereign Council (Afthonia), National Assembly (Afthonia), Supreme Court of Afthonia, and Constitutional Court of Afthonia

Afthonia's government is divided into three main components: the Sovereign Council as the nation's executive branch, the National Assembly as the nation's legislature and the Supreme Court of Afthonia and Constitutional Court of Afthonia who both collectively represent the nation's highest judicial system. The Sovereign Council is a cabinet composed of XX memers who collectively serve as the nation's head of government whose members are referred to as Councilors. Each Councilor holds a ministerial position in government and is led by a High Councilor who is position of first among equals and serves as as the nation's head of state. The High Councilor is bestowed with special powers to allow the Sovereign Council to act decisively in times of emergencies. The role and power of the Sovereign Council is to propose bills to be reviewed by the National Assembly. Councilors are tyhpically leaders of political parties that have formed government in the National Assembly. In theory, as a legislative body, the National Assembly has the authority and power to serve as a check & balance the nation's executive branch as the National Assembly holds the power to pass or block any bill it receives from the executive. In practice however the National Assembly has been critcized to be merely ceremonial in nature, having rarely blocked any law or bill it received from the Sovereign Council. Members of the National Assembly are elected in what is largely considered as free and fair elections although observers consider Afthonia's legislative body to operate under a dominant-party system. This perception is the result of the National Assembly being largely dominated by the National Front, the dominant party that is supported by a network of smaller parties who are entirely subservient to the National Front in a grand coalition. Leaders of parties within the grand coalition are all previous members of the armed forces who have retired. The nation's judicial branch is in theory independent of both the executive and legislative branches of government. It is comprised of two components: the Supreme Court of Afthonia and the Constitutional Court of Afthonia. The former serves as the nation's highest court of appeal which sits above all other courts and the latter serves to, among other things, review the constitutionality of bills and laws passed by the government and the resolution of disputes over the power of state institutions. Members of both courts are selected by the Sovereign Council and subject to approval of the National Assembly.

Administrative Division

Prefecture	Postal abbreviation	Capital	Population	Area (km2)	Legislative seats	GRP Nominal (In Billions)	GRP Per Capita
Kastoria	KAS	Ilus	17,064,698	TBD	145	$558	$32,727
Koroneia	KOR	TBD	13,186,358	TBD	112	$359	$27,176
Stratos	STA	Elpis	8,532,349	TBD	72	$349	$40,909
Giona	GIO	TBD	7,756,681	TBD	66	$221	$28,500
Prespa	PRE	TBD	6,670,746	TBD	57	$186	$27,907
Athos	ATH	TBD	5,041,843	TBD	43	$151	$30,000
Evinos	EVI	TBD	4,498,875	TBD	38	$111	$24,828
Pelion	PEL	TBD	3,257,806	TBD	28	$87	$26,429
Pateras	PAT	TBD	2,559,705	TBD	22	$74	$29,091
Lakmos	LAK	TBD	2,171,871	TBD	18	$72	$33,214
Ochi	OCH	TBD	2,016,737	TBD	17	$51	$25,385
Minthi	MIN	TBD	1,473,769	TBD	13	$40	$26,842
Helicon	HEL	TBD	1,396,203	TBD	12	$35	$25,000
Tomaros	TOM	TBD	1,163,502	TBD	10	$21	$18,000
Vasilitsa	VAS	TBD	775,668	TBD	7	$12	$15,000

Foreign Relations

Afthonia maintains an extensive diplomatic network with more than XXX diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with XXX sovereign countries. It is a founding member of the !CapitalistEU, an economic and political intergovernmental organization of capitalist economies and is a member of XXX, XXX and XXX. The nation adheres to the principle of the protection of democracies and capitalist economies in both its region and the globe which has put it at odds with nations who have opposite ideologies. Its role as the current regional power of the continent and arguably, a great power on the world has been recently challenged by its neighbor Maroudia. Maroudia's left-wing government and ambition to become !Europe's primary regional and great power is perceived as a clear and present danger to Afthonia's sovereignty and stability in the continent. Historical Afthonian and Maroudian polities have been engaged in various conflicts with one another. The politically divided island of <<NAME TBD>> is considered by political observers and military leaders as a potential flash point in relations between the two regional powers as both Afthoni and Maroudia supporting opposing governments. The Afthonian government considers the nations of XXX, XXX, XXX and XXX as among its closest allies and has maintained a network of military alliances with each respective countries. The scope of these alliances vary from one another with one being as simple as a non aggression pact, the agreement to hold military exercises in certain periods of time to full fledged mutual defense pacts.

Military

Main articles: Afthonian Military Force, National Guard (Afthonia), and Maritime Security Agency (Afthonia)

Davos-class aircraft carrier of the Navy

ST-11 Kestrel fighter jets of the Air Force

Soldiers of the Marine Corps in a ceremony.

T1 Mammoth MBT of the Afthonian Army

The Afthonian Military Force (AMF) is the combined military organization of Afthonia and is comprised of four service branches: the Army (GASA), the Navy (GASN), the Air Force (GASAF) and the Marine Corps (GASMC). The National Guard is an organized militia component of the nation whose soldiers serve on a part time basis and are part of the reserve components of the AMF and are based on each prefecture of Afthonia. The Maritime Security Agency is the nation's coast guard unity and though officially categorized as a civilian organization, is nominally considered as a law enforcement agency tasked with providing maritime security and border protection with paramilitary capabilities. Normally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of XXX, during times of war or national emergencies the Coast Guard can be placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense to coordinate its efforts with the AMF. Tensions with Maroudia has prompted the Afthonian government to allocate $65 billion (2.8% of its GDP) annually for military expenditure. It has a reported strength of XXX,000 active personnel and XXX,000 reservesists making it one of the largest militaries in the world. The High Couuncilor serves as the Commander-in-Chief and is armed forces itself is administered and managed by the Ministry of Defense. The Afthonian Armed Forces is charged to protect Afthonia and its overseas territories from enemies both foreign & domestic, as well as defending its allies abroad. Afthonia has frequently deployed its personnel on international peacekeping missions abroad. The nation maintains long-standing military relations with XXX, XXX and XXX and has frequently been involved in joint military exercises and drills with one another. Conscription is provided by law though the nation has been able to maintain sufficient numbers without the need to resort to a draft. This is largely due to the strong military ethos enshrined within Afthonian society, as its citizens consider serving the armed forces as a form of rite of passage with many joining to serve at the National Guard.

Afthonia has a well established military industrial complex producing many of its own indigenous equipment such as small arms, missiles, jet fighters and warships. Among the best known military products of Afthonian origin includes the ST-9 Skimmer, the Javelin anti-ship missile and T-1 mammoth main battle tank. Aircraft carriers & amphibious assault ships form the center piece of the Afthonian Navy and are critical tools of power projection for the government, allowing it to project power across the !NotMediteranian ocean as well as abroad. Since 2010 the AMF has sought to modernize its assets and initiated a project to coordinate the development and/or the procurement of new equipment. The newly introduced ST-11 Kestrel multirole fighter, Davos-class aircraft carriers, XXX-class guided missile destroyer & XXX-class guided missile frigate are among the results of this project. The military has historically possessed a strong political influence since before the establishment of the Greater Afthonian State and its predecessor the Afthonian Confederation. Ancient Afthonian polities such as the Elpis, Kingdom of Afthonia and Afthonian Empire were all govered as authoritarian stratocracies. A majority of the multiple Afthonian states that were formed after the collapse of the Afthonian Empire also possessed elements of a stratocracy within its government structure. The province of Stratos in particular had strong military traditions. When the Afthonian Confederation was on the brink of collapse after two of its largest members (Kastoria and Koroneia) seceded and took with them a significant number of smaller states, it was Stratos's military leaders who initiated a coup d'tat against the failing civilian government, establishing an emergency military government in its place to preserve what was left of the confederation. Under the confederation the AFM was known as the Confederal Defense Forces (CDF) however after its reorganization into the Greater Afthonian State in 1972 the CDF was reconstituted as the AMF. The AMF has been involved in a number of conflicts since its establishment in 1972 ranging from minor border skirmishes and reigonal conflicts. The island of Drometia has been a significant point of contention between the Afthonian and Maroudian governments, with the Afthonian governments commitment to defend the Federal Republic of Drometia resulting in Afthonia supplying not only arms but also the deployment of active duty personnel on the island.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Afthonia

Afthonia's economy is considered as stable with a high-income regulated market economy featuring healthy growth, low inflation, a highly skilled labor force and a considerable level of innovation. With a nominal GDP of $2.3 trillion and GDP per capita of $30,547, Afthonia ranks as the XXth largest economy and XXth richest in the world. The country's regulated market economy is a combination of embracing elements of both capitalist and socialist economies where both private sector and government play vital roles and are overseen by government or private instutions. Government intervention in the economy, while not as extensive as those in countries with centrally planned economies, is still present to provide guidence and (if necessary) intervention primarily through financial regulation and government institutions who enforce it. Afthonia is a developed country with a high-income economy and is among the most industrialized nations in the world. Traditionally agriculture and fishery have been the primary sectors of the Afthonian economy and in the modern era the nation has been described as one of !NotEurope's bread basket's. The services sector account for 64% of GDP followed by industry 30% and agriculture 6% as of 2023. The Second Great Schism followed by the Shattered Union era negatively impacted the nation's overall economic output and prospects due to the political instability and uncertainty of the period of time. The discovery of large of large offshore natural gas reserves surrounding Afthonia's territorial waters allowed the nation to expadite its recovery efforts in the post reunification era which has allowed the nation to become a net exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG). Its best known exports of in the contemporary era include services in the information technology, computer & agricultural engineering sectors, as well as products such as electronics, machinery, military vehicles, shipbuilding, LNG, wheat, fisheries and animal products. Oil deposits have been identified and exploited however its total reserves is just enough to fulfill domestic demand.