Asterian Federative Republic

Asterian Federative Republic (Luzelese: República Federativa Astériana)
Flag National coat of arms
Controlled territory is in dark green. Claimed territory is in light green.
Capital	Assunçã
Official languages	Luzelese
Demonym(s)	Grande Asterian
Government	Bicameral Federal Republic
• President	Tomas Pereira
Legislature	Congress of the Asterias
• Upper house	Asterian Federal Assembly
• Lower house	House of Deputies
• Water (%)	1.9%
Population
• 2021 estimate	80,484,000
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	$1,480,583,664,000
• Per capita	$18,396
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$770,312,364,000
• Per capita	$9,571
Currency	Asterian Federal Real
Date format	dd-mm-yy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+80
ISO 3166 code	AFR
Internet TLD	.af

Asterian Federative Republic (Luzelese: República Federativa Astériana), also called the AFR (Luzelese: RFA) or Grande Asteria (Luzelese: Grande Astéria) is a federal presidential republic in Asteria Superior. It is bordered to the north by Rizealand andCassier, to the east by Chistovodia, to the south by [AFR successor states go here]], Ardesia and Eldmark and to the west by the Vehemens Ocean.

It has a population of 80,484,000, making it the second-largest country by population in Asteria Inferior and an area of 1,660,825.6 kmsq, making it the fourth-largest nation in Asteria Superior by area. With a GDP PPP of $18,396 and a total GDP of approx. $1,480,583,664,000.

Inhabited by Native Asterian peoples for thousands of years, primarily in semi-nomadic cultures and large tribal confederations, the modern AFR was colonised by Eucleans in 1501 by Esmeirans as 'New Esmeiria'. The period of Esmeiran control lasted almost three decades before the process of Paretian unification led to the annexation of New Esmeiria to Paretia, when it was renamed to Nou Remana. Under Paretian rule it saw the mass importation of Bahian slaves to work in mines and plantations until the colony's loss to Gaullica after the Gaullico-Paretian War of 1721.

A series of unpopular decisions by the Gaullican governments in the colonial Asterias led to a major anti-colonial revolt in the Asterian War of Secession, which saw the emergence of the AFR as a sovereign nation in the late 1700s. Throughout the 1800s the AFR would expand inland into Asteria Superior, its population growing from Euclean migration and industrialisation. By the end of the Great War, the AFR had established itself as one of the main global powers. It fought a battle for influence against Chistovodia and other left-wing regimes, peaking with the Great Asterian War in the 1960s against Chistovodia. After the inconclusive end of the war, the AFR's democratic institutions had been heavily weakened and subverted by the military, allowing it to establish de facto control.

Military rule lasted until the late 1980s, when economic collapse combined with secessionist movements and pro-democracy groups lead to the breakaway of many states from the AFR and the restoration of democracy. The 1990s saw a 'lost decade' as weak democratic governments grappled with political instability, mass unemployment, hyperinflation, labour strikes and mass riots. By the 2000s Tomas Pereira, helped by rising commodity prices, presided over an economic recovery while slowly expanding federal government powers and engaging in authoritarian measures that contributed to democratic backsliding during the 2000s and especially the 2010s.

Etymology

The name AFR is derived from the continental name Asteria, which in turn is derived from the name of Hashim ibn Ashtar, a Rahelian explorer.

History

Pre-Colonial

-Inhabited for thousands of years prior to Euclean colonisation by Native Asterians with their own cultures and civilizations, primarily semi-nomadic, some large tribal confederations
-Discovered and explored by the Esmeiran explorer Andres de Marchena in 1498 and Luzelese explorer Fernando de Massa in 1501, both claiming it for their respective monarchs

Colonial Period (1501 - 1771)

-Named New Esmeiria, primarily settled by Esmeirans initially
-Invaded during the Paretian War 1536, annexed to Luzela and became a colony of the Kingdom of Paretia, renamed to Nou Remana
-Implementation of plantation agriculture, growing tobacco, cotton and to a lesser degree sugar for consumption in Paretia
-Widespread engagement in the slave trade, mass importation of Bahian slaves to northern gold mines, southern plantations
-Recruiting ground for the Royal Paretian Asterian Corps, first formal fighting force raised in the colony during the Ten Years War in 1719
-Lost to Gaullica after the Gaullico-Paretian War of 1721
-Disbanding of local militias, erosion of autonomy, encouragement of Gaullican settlement to the colony
-Imposition of new taxes in 1732 and erosion of perceived autonomy creates unrest among the largely Lusophone landowning classes
-Petition by Fabia Falguras to the Gaullican monarchy signed by the colonial elites is rejected, leads the Storming of Fort Charles in 1764 in response to the rejection and the Kindalk Massacre in Fael -Fabia Falguras is chosen to lead the United Colonies in the Continental Convention of 1765

Post-Independence Era (1771 - 1850)

-After independence obtained from Gaullica in 1771, the new United Colonies of the Asterias faced immediate issues between the Lusophone (and to a lesser degree Esmerophone) and Solarian Nou Remana and the Estmerophone and Amendist New Estmere, Lothicania, and Fáel, leading to the revolt of the latter in 1772. The utter defeat of the Grand Army of the Asterias in the Camden Campaign of 1773 led to the Continental Congress of the United Colonies agreeing to the secession of the three colonies, reforming the United Colonies of the Asterias into the Asterian Federal Republic in 1773
-Fabia Falguras remains President until his death in 1784, having presided over the establishment of a ‘democratic republic for free Sotirian men’ in his own words
-Late 1700s dominated by Centralists vs Federalists over the degree of power held by the central government and role and privileges held by the church, eventually broadened into conflicts over role and power of the Solarian Church and its land ownership and trade tariffs
-Settlement of Asterian interior, confinement of native Asterians to marginal lands as self-governing ‘native territories’ or pushed deeper into the interior as a result of several wars
-Series of coups from 1810s to 1850s, usually by Centralists (backed by the conservative army, church and landowners) against Federalists (typically supported by the growing middle classes and abolitionists)
-Import of slaves banned 1822 after alliance of clergy and Federalists on singular issue
-Series of violent slave uprisings in this period, suppressed by the army

Perez Era (1850 - 1877)

-By 1850s political tensions reaching a head, the Second Constitutional Convention Is brokered by President Luiz Perez with the backing of the Centralists and firmly defines powers delegated down to the states and those held by the federal government in favour of the states, slavery is upheld federally along with the privileges of the Solarian Church and its ownership of land and role in education, registration of births, deaths and marriages and medical care
-Power centralises around President Luiz Perez through patronage networks, presides over major economic expansion fuelled by expansion of mining, railways and agriculture, migration from Euclea to settle in the Asterian interior and suppression of rural ‘banditry’ (forced removal of Native Asterians), formation of new states in the interior, period of authoritarian stability dominated by the Centralists
-Expansion into the Asterian interior, wars against Ardesia/Soravia for Interior Highlands regions? Also wars between settlers and native Asterians and forced resettlement of native Asterians to marginal lands
-Political split is between Perezists and anti-Perezists, mainly over free silver/the gold standard, the role of ‘robber barons’, bankers and other business elites in politics, the role and power of the Solarian Catholic Church, land ownership and the continuation of the practice of slavery, dominated by the conservative, elite Centralists against a fragmented and disorganised opposition
-Death of Luiz Perez in 1877 leaves political power vacuum

Two Party Era (1877 - 1913)

-Centralists break up after factional infighting over next leader, formation of first formal political parties
-Initially dominated by the Liberal Party, led by business elites and generating votes through machine politics in urban centers
-A liberal, anti-clerical stance and anti-clerical reforms alienates the church, as does an anti-slavery stance with the first state-level slavery bans alienating powerful mining barons
-Political infighting over the issue of slavery and the role of the Church continues until 1882 when a Third Constitutional Convention is called, resulting in a compromise where the Church’s lands are bought by the state at market rates and the creation of a civil registry, removing Church registration of births, deaths, and marriages and the end of Church schools, press and hospitals and conversion to private businesses, required registration of priests, while slavery, although not formally abolished until 1895, would be phased out through a series of mass purchases of remaining slaves followed by their manumission during the 1880s and early 1890s
-Further industrialisation and urbanisation, growth of rural populism after landowners buy formerly Church lands esp. further inland, former slaves and former tenants of Church lands largely forced to engage in sharecropping for rural landowners under a crop-lien system run by urban bankers and industrialists or in extremely poorly paid manual labour in mining -Some Euclean immigration
-Period of stable democratic rule trading between urban machine Liberal Party and rural machine National Party, Farmer-Labour Party exists as a rural populist third party born out of the results of the Third Constitutional Convention that acts as a spoiler
-Regrowth of Church influence among urban and rural middle class, largely anti-monopolist, anti-corruption, against the 'greed and decadence of modern society', advocation for a turn back to religion; mainly a social movement, not organised
-Limited growth of trade unions, esp. in mining regions, close alliances with the Farmer-Labour Party

Great Collapse and Great War (1913 - 1935)

-Great Collapse of 1913 destroys stability of previous system
-Series of unstable governments with limited ability to solve crisis, major strikes by organised labour and rural populists broken up by army
-Growth of political extremism, widespread unemployment and economic malaise, weakening of prior two-party system
-1915 General Strike brutally suppressed by military, trade unions banned
-Armed councilist revolts under the banner of the ‘Asterian Section of the Worker’s International’ throughout the late 1910s/early 1920s, set up small communes that are quickly destroyed by the Army or Navy
-National Progressive Party unifies Farmer-Labour Party with moderate liberals and clergy on anti-corruption, anti-monopolist campaign, wins 1924 elections decisively
-Attempted 1924 coup by the ‘Functionalist Army of the Asterias’ after election of National Progressive Party to majority control of Congress of the Asterias suppressed after sailors and police armed to defend the Congressional House, army gutted, many officers deemed politically unreliable arrested or executed after being claimed to be involved in coup planning
-Limited economic recovery, reforms to trade union laws, relaxation of enforcement and later repeal of anti-clerical laws allowing for Church schools and hospitals to reopen, charities and media to operate freely again
-Land reform halted by the Great War
-Unprepared for the Great War, invaded by Ardesia due to irredentist claims over Asterian interior
-Great War lead to unprecedented military mobilisation, centralisation of state power over the economy, release of arrested officers

National Progressive Party Era (1936 - 1960s)

-Military regarded as saviour of country post-GW, General Carlos Padin elected as President under the National Progressive Party banner in a landslide victory in 1936 elections and remains in power until death in 1953
-Seeks compromise with labour unions due to memories of the 1910s/1920s and popularity of reforms, creation of corporatist economic system
-Repression of far left-wing political parties, suppression of left-wing media, maintenance of large military post-GW in anti-Chistovodian ‘red scare’
-Formation of anti-Chistovodian pact with right-wing authoritarian states like Aucuria, Belmonte, Satavia etc to contain Chistovodia (really anyone that isn’t councilist can join)
-Cooperation with right-wing Euclean nations in ‘worldwide campaign against leftism’ in 1950s and 1960s, primarily Soravia
-Growth of military influence in politics, entwinement of the military and National Progressive Party
-Brief period of civilian rule in 1950s under National Progressive Party after death of General Carlos Padin in 1953, golden decade of the AFR

Military Rule (1960s - 1989)

-Wins pyrrhic victory in war against Chistovodia in 1960s
-Chistovodian war leads to declaration of national emergency and martial law, military solidifies power
-Fear over a second war and the narrow victory in the first leads to massive military build-up and modernisation with intent to be able to fight Chistovodia alone, nationalisation of so-called 'strategic industries' to better prepare the country for the next conflict, commencement of nuclear program and other WMD projects
-Intervention throughout 1970s to try and prop-up right-wing authoritarian regimes throughout the Asterias further tax overstretched AFR economy
-Growing repression, formation of paramilitaries and growth of internal security services first against Chistovodian subversion, later any anti-governmental activity
-1980s recession leaves commodity-oriented AFR economy absolutely wrecked due to decades of public spending being directed towards the military instead of economic investment in infrastructure, education etc, widespread unemployment, poverty and anger at military government
-Attempt to use military to suppress protests only partially successful; some state govts declare independence, joined by defecting elements of the military, several massacres of civilian protesters
-Unclear loyalty of military rank and file, the continuing threat of a general Chistovodian invasion, the refusal of military to fire on other units and a military coup by hardline elements and counter-coup by surviving elements of prior military govt lead to the military govt reluctantly holding elections across the AFR after negotiations with seceeding govts in 1989, pro-independence and pro-democracy parties sweep

After the Collapse (1990s - 2000s)

-New democratic government led by a revived Farmer-Labour Party holds a Fourth Constitutional Convention to modernise and update the old constitution, largely formed of urban liberals and socialists who create a parlimentary democracy
-Formation of National Truth Tribunal to prosecute torture, forced disappearances and other human rights abuses by the former military regime which spends the 1990s collecting witness testimony and going through the archives of the military government and security services, large number of prominent figures arrested
-Post-1989 economic meltdown worsens, rampant inflation, military spending slashed, nuclear and other WMD programs scaled back, fire-sale of military equipment to anyone that can pay, poorly-handled mass privatisation of govt-owned strategic industries, political stagnation and apathy about democracy, multiple currency crises, general ‘Lost Decade’, major cuts to all government spending
-1990s dominated attempted economic plans undertaken by Farmer-Labour Party, fails to get inflation under control
-New land reform attempted, largely failed due to corruption allowing political insiders and large agricultural corporations to buy up the land
-Conflicts against separatist groups that failed to achieve independence in late 1980s
-Interventions into Asterian Highlands, go badly wrong, major prestige hit -Attempted reconciliation with Chistovodia breaks down
-Trade unions frequently launch wildcat strikes over salary cuts, workplace closures, subsidy cuts, pension reforms
-Farmers stage protests over farming subsidy cuts, land ownership
-1995 general election sees Congress of the Asterias unable to form a majority government as the government coalition sheds support
-Limited anti-government violence, primarily from militant left-wing activists frustrated by the government's lack of policy implementation and the general economic situation in the country (supported by Chistovodia)
-Economic situation gradually improves, but isn't felt by the majority of people, inequality further heightens, protests continue
-2000 general election sees President Jose Ramos step down peacefully after electoral defeat after serving two terms according to the constitution

Present Day (2000 - Present)

-Election won by Tomas Pereira on center-right platform, multi-party coalition
-Economic recovery as oil and gas prices rise, infrastructure and education investments, public work programs, financial reforms; a lack of land reform, despite being promised in the election, is unpopular
-Rebuilding of military and security apparatus under 'law and order' platform
-Creeping authoritarianism
-2005 elections sees Tomas Pereira win a second term
-Opposition claims vote-rigging, protests suppressed by security forces
-Growing authoritarianism, stacking of courts, removal of presidential term limits, move to direct presidential election and seperation from legislative elections in 2009
-Tomas Pereira elected again for a third time in 2010, protests are less extreme due to pre-emption by security services
-Continuing authoritarianism, implementation of FPTP, gerrymandering, expansion of security services on 'anti-subversion and anti-terror' grounds
-Electoral terms extended to 6 years for President, reduced to 2 years for Congress
-Re-elected 2016 and 2022, protests suppressed
-As Tomas Pereira approaches 90 years old, the matter of succession in the illiberal democracy he established, and indeed if the illiberal democracy will continue, is the main political question in the AFR

Military

The Asterian Federal Armed Forces are the xth largest in Asteria Superior.