Charnea

Empire of Charnea ⴰⴷⴷⵓⵍⵢⴰ ⵞⴰⵔⵍⴻⴰ Addunya n Charnea (Tamashek)
Flag
Capital and largest city	Agnannet
Official languages	Tamashek
Recognised national languages	Randeshret Zarma Tedaga
Recognised regional languages	Tamahaq Tawellemmet Dazaga Darja Tichkalloɣat
Ethnic groups (2020)	70.2% Tenerians 14.3% Deshrians 11.1% Gharibs 3.2% Ashkans 1.2% Other
Demonym(s)	Charnean
Government	Unitary dominant party constitutional monarchy
• Tamenokalt	Amina N'Okha
• Premier	Marus Ibiza ag Haqar
Legislature	Agraw Imgharan
Foundations
• Charnean Empire	17 March, 1360
• Second Empire	4 September, 1607
• Third Empire	13 August, 1853
Population
• 2022 estimate	27,023,983
• 2020 census	26,995,572
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$599 billion
• Per capita	$22,179.45
Gini	29.4 low
HDI	0.801 very high
Currency	Charnean Azref (₳)
Date format	mm.dd.yyyy
Driving side	right

Charnea (Tamashek: ⴰⴷⴷⵓⵍⵢⴰ ⵞⴰⵔⵍⴻⴰ, Addunya n Charnea, "Empire of Charnea") is a landlocked country in central Scipia bordered by Talahara to the northwest, Tyreseia to the north, Alanahr, Vardana and Fahran to the northeast, Kembesa and M'biruna to the east, and Itayana to the south. Geographically, country consists almost entirely of the arid expanse of the Ninva Desert divided into the hyperarid and sparsely populated Tenere region and the arid to semi-arid Hatheria, Achra and Agala regions. Charnea extends halfway across the continent of Scipia from east to west, commanding many of the overland routes of travel between the densely populated southern Scipia and the wealthy Periclean states to the north. The Charnean government is a dominant party parliamentary system under the consolidated power of the Assembly of Progress and Development (Tamashek: ⴰⵍⵥⴰⵎⴰⵖⴰⵜ ⴼⴰⵍ ⴽⴰⵔⵔⴰⵙ ⵏ ⴻⴼⴻⵙ, Alzamaɣat fal Karras n Efes or AKE) and the conditional rule of the Charnean Monarchy.

The Charnean economic model is best defined as developmental state capitalism, with strong and frequent intervention by the government in the economy both in a regulatory capacity and as a directive force. Charnea possesses a diversified middle income economy based on resource extraction, refining, manufacturing and a developing service sector. The nation experienced a period of rapid economic growth coinciding with a demographic explosion in the mid to late 20th century known as the 2nd Stride, but growth rates declined thereafter due to economic and political factors and Charnea has since stabilized with only a low-moderate rate of population growth and cooling economy. The Okha government, installed in 2013, has perused a policy of renewed investment in the economy and has been seeking to develop the service sector of the Charnean economy to limited success as part of the so-called 3rd Stride. Because the country is landlocked, the Charnean economy relies instead on internal and external land routes developed with an extensive rail network traversing most of eastern and central Scipia across many national borders. Charnea relies on these rail links to access shipping lanes via ports in neighboring countries in order to interact with the broader global economy in any significant way.

Sitting at the geographic confluence of northern, eastern and southern Scipia, Charnea has always been a crossroads for trade and a hinterland region at the edge of many empires throughout history. Many of the important regional cities within Charnea such as Agnannet, Azut, and Hamath, are all ancient urban centers that prospered as hubs for merchant caravans and trading posts frequented by the indigenous nomadic peoples of the desert, the ancestors of today's Tenerians and Tebus. Long overlooked by the Latin Empire and later the Almurid Caliphate, in the 14th century Ninva desert became the seat of one of the greatest empires in Scipian history, the Charnean Empire. Under Ihemod the Inheritor and his heirs, the Tenerian Charneans ruled over roughly half of the Scipian continent for over a century from their capital at Agnannet. Although this zenith of Charnean power on the world stage was relatively short lived compared to its predecessors, it revolutionized the backwater region of the continent. The Charnean rump state, the Awakari Empire, continued to rule the arid center of the continent for centuries after its predecessor's fall and eventually transitioned into the early Third Empire, sometimes called the Third Tenerian State, in the mid 19th century amid a wave of modernization and reform, the 1st Stride. In many ways, Charnea has remained the outer frontier of the many polities surrounding it, while in others the modern state has rivaled its Ihemodian antecedents in its prominence on the Scipian continent.

Government

The basis of the Charnean state and its institutions is the Alɤɑfeyatan or "Great Peace", a pact of cooperation and understanding between the leaders of the prestigeous Tenerian clans as well as the wealthy families emerging from the advent of industry in Charnea during the 19th century. The purpose of this cooperation, which is the core function and raison d'etre for the Charnean state, is the development of the economy and financial benficience of its participants. This would be accomplished by the establishment of internal stability and political order enforced by the military, represented by the old noble clans, allowing the new class of wealthy industrialists and businessmen to operate freely in a predictable and hospitable environment. The new government system maintained those aspects of the previous Imperial system of the First and Second empires which preceeded it that were thought to provide political stability, while expanding popular participation and a degree of majority rule through the establishment of a limited democracy within the formerly autocratic country. The founding spirit of this agreement, the commitment to peaceful coexistence and collaboration predicated on common prosperity, remains the cornerstone of the modern Charnean State. The notably pragmatic desert culture of Charnea's native people has created a pervasive governing philosophy prioritizing economic expansion and stability, as well as the guaranteed provision of basic material needs to its citizens, above ethnic, cultural and tribal considerations. This so called Radd-xaddam philosophy is clearly visible in the highly interventionist, state capitalist economic model that manifests tight regulation of the economy and widespread, long term industrial planning by the central authorities. This system is facilitated by some of the un-democratic features of the Third Empire, such as its executive monarch and well entrenched dominant party system representing the economic and social interests of citizens all across Charnea. This demi-authoritarian, developmental capitalist model built to maximize revenue and growth was brought into existence by the pressures experienced by the early Charnea, which was surrounded on all sides by more populous, more powerful neighbors and itself lacked many sources of easy income with only meager oil and mineral deposits many of which were difficult to access or largely unexplored in the vastness of the landscape. Today, the success of the Charnean development has created a whole new set of pressures, such as the acute water shortage and other infrastructural problems created by the nation's meteoric population expansion as well as geopolitical vulnerability brought on by the nation's dependence on foreign imports to meet its needs, including food. The constant political and social vulnerability of the Charnean state has kept its government system relatively authoritarian in its internal politics through the decades.

Diarchy

Executive power at the national level is divided through a system of corule that vests authority equally between the monarchic Tamenokalt and the democratically elected Premier. The system of "two-headedness" was conceived to prevent decapitation of the executive branch through political crisis, failure of leadership, the effects or corruption assassination and unforeseen death. Redundancy at the highest level of the national leadership was also intended to foster competition between the Imperial and democratic aspects of the Charnean government model in the hopes that this would help mitigate the vulnerabilities of both, the nepotism and lack of accountability of the monarchy, and the corruptibility of democracy. The corule system also serves as a symbol, representing the marriage of the Imperial past and the modernist future that defines Charnean state and socioeconomic dynamics. However, the system also presents the possibility of "two-mindedness", the possible deadlocked opposition of the two heads of the government and their respective institutions. To prevent the possibility of institutional clashes within the government, both heads lead the same cabinet whose members must be approved by both leaders and may be recalled by only one, a measure intended to prevent factional division within the executive branch. This in turn raises the possibility of an executive system paralyzed by gridlock when its two heads are in conflict, a state of affairs that has struck the Third Empire on several occasions through its history. In the event this executive paralysis becomes to severe, the legislative assemblies of the Agraw Imgharan are vested with the power to intervene as the source of legitimacy to both rulers and more importantly, the organ vested with the power to appoint or recall both leaders by vote of the assembly.

The older of the two posts is the Tamenokalt, (Male: Amenokal), the Queen of Charnea, an office that is the direct continuation of the line Awakari Empresses and Charnean Empresses and Emperors. The title was effectively created by the great conqueror Ihemod the Inheritor in 1360 when he created the Charnean Empire from the Kel Kaharna tribal confederation that preceded it, however tradition laid down by Ihemod himself names Queen Kaharna of Tamazgha who reigned in the 5th century BCE as the founder of the title and of the empire, due to her deified role in Tenerian folk religion as the matron of all Amazigh peoples, Tenerians included. For this reason, all monarchs of Charnea are styled "Heir of Ihemod, Child of Kaharna". The Charnean monarchy, like those before it, operates under an elective system controlled by the Inushamen, the upper house of the modern Agraw Imgharan made up of Anushams, symbolic Clan Elders representing sub-groups of each of the four big ethnic groups and, as of 1985, each of the recognized minority groups in the country. These offices usually weild little power over a sitting Tamenokalt, as they generally only convene to elect a new Tamenokalt from the candidates that present themselves upon the death of the current monarch. However, they also have the power to hold a no confidence vote to force the current monarchs' abdication and hold a new election. Once elected, a Tamenokalt serves for life and holds equal executive powers to the Premier. Because of this, the Tamenokalt often influences more of the long term business of the executive branch as they can always wait out an unfavorable Premier.

The Charnean Premier, equivalent to a prime minister, is elected by the lower house of the Agraw Imgharan, the Imaslan. Deputies of the Imaslan are representatives democratically elected in national elections, and must always be affiliated with a political party. While the deputies may vote for any candidate they choose, sometimes swayed by their constituents wishes, deputies in practice almost always vote in line with the party and for the party leader or the party's proffered candidate otherwise. The mandate of any Premier is to represent the will of their political party and more broadly the political institutions of Charnea as a counterweight to the power of the Tamenokalt. Although their term in power is limited, there are no term limits for the office of Premier and so the party that elects them too office may continuously re-elect their chosen candidates to present a continuously challenge to monarchic power in the executive branch, at least so long as they can retain the electoral will within the Agraw. Vested with equal power to the Heir of Ihemod, the Premier is vested with the highest level of authority possible in the Third Empire and jointly oversees Charnean cabinet and the operations of the executive branch. Their executive power also generally makes the sitting Premier the party leader and head of the Agraw by default.

Inahaden

The Charnean cabinet is made up of departments known as the Inahaden (Singular: Anahad), each led by an appointed Amizar. These Imazaren are sponsored by either the Tamenokalt or the Charnean Premier to come before the Agraw Imgharan and be subjected to questioning as to the depth of their expertise in the relevant fields of policy. Candidates sponsored by one of the diarchs, after passing through the Agraw, must then be approved by the other diarch in order to take office. The common practice in cabinet formation in the Thrid Empire has been for the Tamenokalt and the sitting Premier to establish a quid pro quo deal and agree to ratify the other's candidates for specific Inahaden in exchange for the other's ratification of their own candidates for other positions. The typical Charnean cabinet therefore has a mixed composition of candidates favored by the old clans as well as those favored by the dominant party representing modern business interests.

Anahad	Amizar	Sponsor	In Office Since
Anahad of Finances	Ah-Kin Tazmat	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	February 1, 2018
Anahad of the Interior	Setmar Muktar	Tamenokalt Amina N'Okha	December 22, 2019
Anahad of Foreign Affairs	Amena Dawit	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	October 9, 2014
Anahad of the Army	Hakor Mazab	Tamenokalt Safuya N'Saah	April 11, 2010
Anahad of the Economy	Sekata Ansare ult Namit	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	August 30, 2008
Anahad of Labor	Madlatar ag Sahra	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	November 7, 2004
Anahad of Trasportation	Amray Tentaren	Tamenokalt Amina N'Okha	October 19, 2020
Anahad of Education	Ishel ult Tamat	Tamenokalt Amina N'Okha	May 4, 2021
Anahad of Civil Defense	Kaharna Musat	Tamenokalt Amina N'Okha	May 21, 2019
Anahad of Energy	Amzal Alat	Premier Baseel Madoun	July 17, 1991
Anahad of Water Rescources	Amur Begum	Tamenokalt Amina N'Okha	September 1, 2015
Anahad of Culture	Izar Javed ag Ghazi	Tamenokalt Safuya N'Saah	August 27, 2005
Anahad of Tourism	Malek Mrabet	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	June 4, 2009
Anahad of Health	Raban Belmajidi	Tamenokalt Safuya N'Saah	Sepember 14, 2003
Anahad of Mineral Rescources	Hayet Ghurrat	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	November 16, 2016
Anahad of Environmental Protection	Tanenzut Tarranen	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	January 9, 2019
Anahad of Justice	Xcaret Magratun	Premier Marus Ibiza ag Haqar	April 29, 2002
Anahad of Social Services	Leila ult Jelal	Tamenokalt Amina N'Okha	August 4, 2021
Anahad of Urban Development	Tanermat ult Goma	Tamenoklat Safuya N'Saah	July 13, 2009

Agraw Imgharan

The Agraw Imgharan (Tamashek: ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵓ ⵉⵎⵖⴰⵔⴰl, "Council of Elders") of Charnea is the legislative and deliberative body of the national government, and is vested with wide reaching powers over law and government policy in the country. It is a parliamentary body with two chambers representing the bipartite nature of the Great Peace and the Charnean state. It is the source of legal authority under the civil law system used by the Charnean judiciary and legal system. While it does not directly administer any primary function of the state, the Agraw Imgharan can be considered the controlling entity of every component of the national government, exerting control over both heads of the executive branch and influencing the judicial system through the passage of laws that can shape and redefine functions of the legal system. The Agraw is also the main democratic institution in the Charnean Empire, and the vehicle through which democratic will and the popular mandate to rule is generated for the executive branch of the government. In the medieval Imperial system, the Agraw Imgharan was an assembly of powerful tribes and supporters of the Tamenokalt, and would convene to assist the monarch in administration and preside over matters of succesion and dynastic problems that may arise. This role is now taken up by the upper house of the Agraw, the Inushamen, while the newfound democratic powers of the assembly and the many elected deputies voted to fill its ranks sit in the new lower house, the large and influential Imaslan.

The Inushamen of the Agraw Imgharan are voted into office by a relatively limited electorate, and a small number are appointed. They are often informally reffered to as the "Internal Council", as the only voters permitted to vote in their elections are members of the civil service and the military, and membership in these organs of the government is prerequisite to stand for candidacy. Therefore, the Inushamen effectively represents the military institutions and the prestigeous clans involved with the administration and leadership of the army. The Inushamen holds power over the monarchy through their authority over succesion, as the body is responsible for selecting heirs and enthroning monarchs. This mechanism allows the military to install monarchs endebted and loyal to the army as a political institution, mirroring the system of previous iterations of the Charnean Empire in which the various tribes of the confederation elected an paramount chieftain in which to vest their combined military power. The Internal Council doesn't have the power to block or veto bills passing through the legislative process in the lower house, nor does the lower house need the approval of the Internal Council to pass these bills into laws. However, the Internal Council may propose legislation to the lower house, and plays a role in appointing some of the judges in the national judiciary, overall excercising greater authority over the juducial branch than the Imaslan.

The Imaslan are far larger than the Inushamen and meet more regularly, being the main body to actually undertake legislaion in the Charnean Empire. Its members, called deputies, are elected by national elections held every five years. National elections in Charnea are conducted through a choose-one method, althoiugh local level elections may use other voting systems such as the increasingly popular ranked choice method, which was proposed to replace the choose-one system in 2017 but was defeated in referendum. More referendums on the matter are expected, as the ranked choice system continues to gain popularity among the electorate. One of the most important features of the electoral system specifically connected to the Imaslan is the National Elections Commission, the organ that administers voting districts and is responsible for overseeing elections. Because of the way this office is controlled, any party that gains a non-coalitional majority is able to control and modify the voting districts and election policies legally and openly. The ramifications of this system has created a dominant party system in which it is unusually easy for the currently dominant party in the Imaslan chamber to retain their majority and thereby control all powers of the assembly without the input of the rest of the assembly and any of the other parties. The eception to this is the power to declare war, which would require a supermajority of deputies and the approval of the Inushamen.

Law

The modern system of Charnean law can be traced back to the period of political consolidation following the Ihemodian wars of the late 14th and early 15th century. This Imperial legal system was created, with the inspiration of the Deshritic court systems of the east, by the chosen elite of Ihemod's empire to replace and standardize the patchwork of tribal traditions held by the Ninvite nomads and was applied far and wide across the deserts and the conquered territories. The Charnean legal was and remains strongly civil in nature, with the source of legal authority resting at the height of central power in Agnannet and out of the hands of local magistrates as part of the effort to standardize the law across the desert. An inquisitorial charachter to the Charnean judiciary developed over time in the form of the Ajoda, a corps of prosecutorial magistrates involved not only in the proceedings of the court but the investigation, acquisition and verification of evidence and evidentiary matters. While the Ajoda's powers are greatly reduced from their inital height, the institution remains as a defining feature of the modern Charnean legal system.

Demographics

Religion

Religion in Charnea
Religion			Percent
Tamddaism			71%
Neterism			8%
Amanist Judaism			2%
Timal Ibaran			12%
Other			2%

Sitting at the confluence of the Scipian interior, Charnea is and has always been a religiously diverse place. The oldest faith of Charnea is Neterism, the modern from of the ancient Deshrian pantheon. Temples of the Neterist religion are among the oldest surviving manmade structuctures in Charnea, and indeed the entire world. The earliest recognizable form of this faith can be dated to aproximately 3,200 BCE, and has been observed continuously since that time in various forms and variations evolving through the centuries, featuring altered or expanded versions of the same original pantheon and sets of customs. An estimated 4 million Neterists continue to uphold this tradition, the overwhelming majority of these being ethnic Deshrians. Judaism first appeared in the lands of Charnea some time during the reign of Queen Kaharna in the 5th century BCE, in the form of exiles fleeing the land today known as Yisrael. According to surviving jewish texts from this era, the exiles were welcomed by the Amazigh Queen and granted refuge in the desert cities of old Tamazgha. These Charnean jews would, over the ensuing millenia, develop into the Amanist sect of Judaism which is today observed by over 1 million Charneans, many of them ethnic Ashkans or Tenerians and many of them concentrated in the city of Tiernyah in eastern Charnea. A comparatively much more recent religious introduction but one no less relevant than its ancient counterparts was the first appearance of the White Path, a Mutulese religion propagated in Charnea by a semi-mythical figure known as the Desert Oracle in the 17th century. The White Path, or Timal Ibaran as it is known in Tamashek, experienced a rapid increase in popularity, secretly encouraged by the rulers of the Awakari Empire and the shadowy Tenerian cult known as the 300 Arms, today becoming the second largest religion in Charnea and fostering close cultural ties to otherwise distant Mutul. The final, largest and newest Charnean religion is Tamddaism, the "Vulture Cult", seeing its origin in the early 18th century as a syncretic religious movement of White Pilgrim Tenerians. Tamddaism combines cosmological, philosophical and theological aspects primarily of the White path and Neterism, but also influences of Amanist Judaism and Azdarin and even ancient Tenerian folk religion. It grew extremely quickly amongst the Tenerian and later Tebu and Zarma populations in Charnea, rapidly becoming the majority religion by the end of the 18th and begining of the 19th centuries and retaining this title to the present day, having even converted portions of the Tichkan and Deshrian populace from their traditional ethnic religions.