Mundaqar
Otu nke Ugwunso Mundaqar | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of Arms
| |
| Court language | Oubastine |
| Leaders | |
• Chairman | Tariq Ximenes |
• Archduke of Duero | Esmeraldo Namib |
• Premier of Braqara | Garcia Munmara |
• Secretary-General | Philip de Virreina |
| Establishment | 1986 |
| Population | |
• 2015 estimate | 177,023,672 |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Per capita | 16,983 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Per capita | 15,543 |
| Gini (2015) | 31.8 medium |
| HDI (2015) | 0.865 very high |
| Currency | Dinar |
The Federation of Mundaqar is a tripartite state composed of the National Republic of Braqara in the north, the client states collectively known as Las Faldillas on the southern coast, and the Archduchy of Duero de Aqar in the east. The central and northern regions are dominated by Fabrian Catholics interspersed with Muslim enclaves and villages. In the south, Smithics dominate commerce and politics. The state endures through an uneasy peace between these three substates and factions.
History
The history of Mundaqar is dominated by a handful of great urban centers called "Obodo nke Mba" or "Cities of the Country," which are large, fortified urban centers at high elevation. There are many of these cities spread out across the various cultural and linguistic groups of of modern Mundaqar, but the highest concentration of these cities occurs on the Nimala strip, between the dry grasslands and the rain forest regions. The oldest of these cities is the Memriniile, which is directly south of modern Alqat, and was built in the third century BCE. A great city typically consisted of a central walled village center containing a palace, a temple, some essential craftsmen, and the agricultural workers in the immediate area. Outside of the central settlement would be a proportional area of around 300 square kilometers, pocked with smaller settlements which would have their own vectors of agricultural land. Around large clusters of settlements was an earthworks fortification, the largest of which enclosed over 16 thousand square kilometers and reached populations of 160 thousand people in the pre-rice period. The great danger during this time came from the interstices of the great cities where there were hundreds of thousands of individuals trapped outside of the protective walls. Warlords rose and fell here, sometimes with the direct support of the Obodo nke Mba, but more often simply to fill the power vacuum. Sometimes these warlords formed their own settlements, but equally often they would built up a great force and take over an existing Obodo nke Mba.
While rice had been farmed in Mundaqar for many years prior, the adoption of domestic rice in the Obodo nke Mba sparked a massive population boom that quickly redefined the political environment. Prior to the introduction of rice, Obodo nke Mba would grow slowly, building out their walls until they became too vast to maintain. The vast walled state would collapse and eventually re-coalesce around another village and the growth cycle would begin anew. With rice, however, the populations of the cities accumulated faster than walls could expand. These much denser settlements triggered a cultural and architectural revolution called the Ịkwado. Within the great cities, Ịkwado meant the construction of larger, taller housing complexes and the decentralization of skilled labor away from the "capital" settlements. Uzoma, one of the great philosophers of the period wrote "The Ịkwado is essentially the crowning of every village with a gem, that gem is the special purpose within the great community of the city". Many villages inherited essential skilled roles such as containing a mill, a butcher, a temple, or some other essential service because the central settlement could no longer serve the entire population. While the population of the Obodo nke Mba exploded, the outer-urban sections of Mundaqar could seldom form coherent enough irrigation systems to take advantage of the crop revolution. Notable exceptions are the river cities, which were called Enweghị Mgbidi or "unwalled" and the expansion of mining settlements which imported food from the cities called Miriulo, the deep homes, both of which developed their own Ịkwado cultures.
Geography
Mundaqar's geography varies widely from north to south. The northern region is dominated by the Al'zir Jafat Desert, which is most erg in the west, slowly transforming to the dry southern face of the Astral Mountains. Below the desert are grasslands and chaparral that increase in intensity towards the southern tropical zone and Mundaqar's southern border at Lake Upemba.
Politics and Government
Mundaqar has been under the rule of a transitional government since the peace settlement in 1986 that ended the civil war. The central government's legislative and executive body is the Confederal Committee on the Continuation of the Peace, though their power is partly checked by the oversight of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice.
Military
Foreign Relations
Due to the confederate structure of the national government, the constituent states of Mundaqar have retained substantial freedom to represent themselves in international politics. Most prominently, the National Republic of Braqara is a considerable force in the promotion of illiberal democracy and the Yen ideology worldwide. Likewise, the Archduchy of Duero de Aqar is a prominent supporter of the Smithic faith and the leading figure in the environmental conservation movement. In spite of the decentralized use of soft power, the central government is also active in international politics, promoting universal disarmament and human rights.
Economy
Mundaqar's economy is a developing mixed market, with some elements of feudal land tenure retained under common law, some elements of a planned economy through nationalized industries, and some elements of a free market. After the end of the civil war, Mundaqar was essentially bankrupt and experienced widespread economic depression. The cycle of recession from 1900 to 1950 involved attempts by various cities and coalitions of cities to rapidly industrialize, mostly financed by foreign debt. The import of capital goods would create a large trade deficit, the devaluation of the Dinar, which rapidly increased inflation. Meanwhile, Mundaqar's primary employment remained agriculture, which suffered from chronic underdevelopment, outdated techniques, and poor breeding stock. Famines were not uncommon in conjunction with recession.
While the general public greatly suffered, equity was continuously concentrated in the hands of the former and current nobility, portions of which actively speculated against the Dinar while other factions more passively accumulated capital financed by sovereign debt. Political machines in the cities, combined with an extremely coercive land-management system in the rural areas allowed this destructive cycle to continue until the 1960s. In 1962, Lucas Saul de Micho's Public Prosperity Party gained power in several prominent cities in the Braqara Republic, which had hitherto been under the control of the Marques of Chite and his allies in the Republican Guard. The PPP began and expansive range of reforms which began with the nationalization of noble assets. While the PPP's redistribution schemes greatly reduced income inequality in the short term, it's most important innovations were the land-management council, which was a board of agricultural workers and managers, and the establishment of small agricultural schools located at the periphery of parent cities.
The PPP's early agricultural and educational reforms helped develop the Braqara economic model, which is why that constituent state has since grown to encompass all non-royalist states in Mundaqar. Despite initial success, the PPP was not able to retain power in the long-term since they ultimately failed to satisfy the nation's demand for an industrial-scale manufacturing and service sector. The Braqara model, however, endured to subsequent administrations and forms the backbone of Mundaqari economic planning.
Energy
Because of a lack of local fossil fuels the relatively late development of the national power grid, most of Mundaqar's power comes from a mixture of nuclear and renewable power. The largest contributor is hydroelectricity (35%), followed by nuclear power (25%), solar power (15%), fossil fuels and some unique energy projects (ie the Grajal wave generating station) make up the remaining 25% of energy needs. Most energy generation is centralized in Braqara, which exports energy to Duero and Las Faldillas. Las Faldillas notably has no hydro power plants and only operates coal and oil powered plants.
The Confederal Commission on the Circulation of Power oversees the exchange of electricity between the constituent power grids. Members of the CCCP are appointed for a ten year term by the Chair of the Confederation and confirmed by the Committee.
Industry
Infrastructure
Transport
Demographics
Mundaqar is a multi-ethnic state, but has a plurality of the Aljito peoples of the historic Cazadori kingdoms. The Azdarin empires introduced large minorities of Sosafari and North Scipians, which persist today in the heartlands of Dahkma. Interspersed with these groups are the Oubastines, who controlled Mundaqar in the early modern period and have been partially assimilated into the local society.