Hacyinia
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The Union of Hacyinia | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 Location of Hacyinia on Kylaris | |
| Capital and | Choch |
| Recognised national languages | Pardarian, Gaullican |
| Recognised regional languages | Karasm: Bukhori, Kizik, Ziba Bessharia: Majgar, Iasi, Ukilen |
Unrecognized regional languages | Chanwan |
| Ethnic groups | 44% Oroqic 31% Majgar 69% Kiziks 31% Pardarian 21% Iasi 79% Bukhori 10% Chanwan 13% Other 47% Ukilen 38% Dezevauni 15% Other (Oeguns, others) |
| Religion | 49% Irfanic 40% Badi 4.5% Chanwan Folk Religion 4.5% Solarian Catholicism 1% Zohism 1% Other |
| Demonym(s) | Hacyinians |
| Government | Devolved unitary constitutional monarchy, with a dominant party parliament. |
• Khan | Makbule Arda Khan |
| Erasyl Rinat | |
| Legislature | Unified Assembly |
| Establishment | |
• Orto Khanate | TBD |
• Syr Khanate | TBD |
• Kingdom of Hacyinia | 1935 |
• Karasmic Independence | 1952 |
• The Second Unification | 1994 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,031,116.80 km2 (398,116.42 sq mi) (31st) |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 36,950,235 (~ 37th) |
• Density | 35.83/km2 (92.8/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2021 estimate |
• Total | $363.7 billion |
• Per capita | $9,831 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate |
• Total | $80.86 billion |
• Per capita | $2,185.54 |
| Gini | 41.9 medium |
| HDI | 0.654 medium |
| Currency | Hacyinian Som (HSM) |
| Internet TLD | .ha |
Hacyinia, officially known as the Union of Hacyinia and also known as Bassharia-Karasm or Karasm-Bassharia, is a country in Coius. It borders Dezevau and Lavana to the east, Zorasan to the north and west, Shangea to the southwest, and Zomia to south. A landlocked country, it straddles the boundary between Southeast Coius and the Great Steppe physically and Greater Pardarian as well as Greater Southeast Coius culturally. The 31st largest country , Hacyinia occupies 1,031,116.80 km2. The physical landscape of the country is defined by mountainous terrain to the west, vast and sprawling steppe through much of the central area of the country, and fertile river deltas in the east along the shore of Lake Zinabad. The 37 million citizens are multi ethnic, multi lingual and multi religious, who can trace their heritage from the mosaic of nomadic and settled peoples that have influenced the countries history. Population-wise, Hacyinia is roughly the 37th most populous country in the world.
Most of Hacyinia's history has been as the vague borderlands of various larger, centralized powers nearby sans for a few gleaming city states along trade routes or recognized khanates in the steppes. The lands of Hacyinia have been conquered by various powers from near, far and homegrown. There had been little unity between the western and eastern regions of the modern country, sans occasionally being conquered by the same empire. The modern state of Hacyinia starts in the 18th and 19th century, when the Khanate of Bessharia established itself in the western side of the country - an initially loose confederation of ungovernable steppe tribes and rebellious city states that secured de facto independence from a declining Aguda Empire. Besshar was recognized as an independent state and a Gaullican protectorate following the collapse of the Aguda Empire and incorporation of former Agudaian territories into the Gaullican colonial empire. Following the Great War, Karasm gained independence. Unstable from the onset, beset by multiple influences in the chaotic post-war era, an Equalist coup overthrew the country establishing the Peoples Equalist Republic of Karasm which lasted until the unification of Hacyinia in 1994.
Hostilities and tension quickly arose between the two countries as they attempted to enforce their claim to the vast steppe space separating them, in particular the . Border skirmishes and open conflict was common for years in fa. It wasn't until the joint decline of both countries governments due to domestic issues that unification, brokered by international agreement, was reached and went into effect in 1994. The following 28 years has seen a dysfunctional government, partly led by former members of the Equalist Party of Karasm and partly led by the Khan of Besshar, muddle through in an almost perpetual state of political crisis. The Hacyinia Troubles has only increased over the years and now it is commonly recognized by many observers, both domestic and internationally, that Hacyinia is on the brink of collapse. Besshar separatists have become more vocal and active in demanding a "two state solution", while the Karasmian-led central government refuses to allow any succession to happen. Both have foreign backing and have been preparing openly for some sort of showdown that many estimate will be coming soon.
Etymology
Hacyinia comes from the Old Pardarian word "hamicyia", meaning rebellious. The descriptor of the steppe peoples eventually came to refer to the whole general steppe area south of Pardaran proper. The word didn't gain a political meaning until the mid 20th century when the first ideas of unification between Besshar and Karasm were proposed. When Besshar and Karasm did unify and merge into one state in 1994, the name Hacyinia was chosen as the new state name.
The names of the two competent states of Hacyinia, Besshar and Karasm, are both Oroqic and Pardarian blended words. Bessharia stems from the root Besshar which means "Five Cities" and Karasm translates to the "Land of Syr/Sir". Bessharia first originated from the 18th and 19th centuries when the once fairly stateless region began to centralize around the oases city states nestled into the foothills of Mount Chanwan, forming a new polity in the face of the Aguda Empires slow collapse. Gaullican map makers dubbed the land "Bessharie" during the initial exploration of Greater Southeast Coius, initially believing that Besshar was the name of a tribe rather than of the collection of cities. It was eventually !Latinzed as Bessharia during the late 19th century. Karasm stems from a much earlier time, and is the result of the eponymous founder of the Syr Khanate in the 11th and 12th centuries combined with the Pardarian suffix "-an" meaning "land of". Although the Syr Khanate collapsed shortly after it's founding, the Aguda Empire adopted the local endonym of the province which then became widespread.
History
Hacyinia has a long history, dominated mostly by the nomadic peoples that have ruled from the steppes as well as powerful empires who have conquered and held sway over the area. Although the area has long been inhabited with archeological records showing evidence of human settlement dating back to 6,000 BCE; the first recorded peoples in the area date back to the second millennia B.C with !Scythian/!Saka nomads domaining the steppes and settled Pardardian speaking city states establishing themselves in the eastern river deltas by Lake Zinabad, as well as in the foothills of the western mountains. The Chanwan had long called the highlands of western Hacyinia home and began establishing their own polity's in the highlands of the Huashan mountain range. In the southwestern steppe, in the modern day borderlands between Hacyinia, Zomia and Lavana, the proto-Oroqic Ashina held sway and competed with the !Scythians/!Saka for control of the steppe. The Ashina were able to establish several of their own powerful states controlling parts of Southeast Coius until just before the end of the 1st century CE.
The almost simultaneous Badi Reaction and the expansion of the Second Heavenly Dominion
- created a bunch of chaos
- Irfanic Oroqic tribes closer to Lake Zinabad were like nah we're good, we're going to hang out with the Pasdewars instead of you Badist bums to the south
- in general some wildness. Badism survived in the SW/W of Hacyinia mostly due to the foothills/slightly mountainous terrian gave people something to defend and made invasions diffiuclt (plus gotta get through the steppe first). E Hacyinia didn't really have that, was able to be conquered and converted fairly easily.
- saw much of E Hacyinia/Karasm de facto/de jure a part of the 2nd Heavenly Dominion, while W Hacyinia/Besshar was only de jure.
- start of much of the religious/ethnic spilt within the country.
Following the Tagamic Migrations
- Oroqic tribes moved in to take the places of everybody else who had migrated, further adding to the chaos of the period.
- Hacyinia was largerly unaffected? It was like the very eastern edge of the steppe and everybody seemed to be more concerned with heading up through Zorasan to Euclea.
- Start of Oroqic domniance in the steppe.
- Svai Empire ruling over Besshar during this time
The era of the Khanates
- Era of Turkic khanates and their dominance in at leas the eastern part of the steppe/around the Hushan mountain range. Maybe frequent wars with the Chanwan? Wars with neighbors for sure. Two "native khanates" with the Orto Khanate + the Karasm Khanate during this time that emerged right after the other.
Aguda Empire, direct control in the east and suzerainty in the west
- Aguda Empire directly administered Karasm. Utilized Clear Water Sect elites to administer country. Promoter of agriculture/irrigation/urbanization, Ziba speakers move into the area. Most of Karasm has been Irfanic since the Heavenly Dominion.
- Aguda Empire attempted to also directly admin Besshar, not really able to happen outside of the urban areas. Ended up relying on just being the suzerains of the nomadic Badist Beyek, Ukilen tribes as well as the semi-nomadic Kacdags, which was an arrangement almost everybody could agree upon. Still issues with occasional tribal raids and when the suzerainty was being competed with?
- Karasm came to be a core part of the Aguda Empire, and over the several hundred years of Aguda direct rule largely came to see itself as part of the wider Aguda Empire rather than "Karasm." The lands of modern day Bessharia in turn began to exert more and more independence in their own affairs as the steppe tribes and city states of Besshar began to build the beginnings of a state during the decline of the Aguda Empire.
Gaullican Karasm + Independent Besshar
- As Gaullica assumed direct control over the core of the Aguda Empire, also assumed control over Karasm. Karasm became a large cotton exporter during the colonial period, as well as vast mineral reserves exploited. Later on, oil (~35% of total Hacyinia production) was found and added to the economic value of Gaullican Karasm.
- Besshar/Bessharia was in an awk. situation being surrounded by an expanding Shangea, Eturia coming down through Zorasan, and then Gaullica nearby and who knows who else. Some inital conflict broke out between Gaullica + Besshar but mostly inconclusive expeditions on both sides. Besshar agreed to protectorate status with Gaullica, giving Gaullica de jure control over the countries foreign affairs - but de facto the position was heavily competed by all nearby colonial powers ("The Smaller Game")
- Understanding the grave risk presented to them, Besshar responded by further uniting the looser tribal confederation into a more centralized state at the risk of independence. Still very decentralized, almost feudal like in a lot of ways.
- General tracks during this period - Karasm turned away from Euclean influence, took cues from Dezenau and began adopting an anti-colonist mindset especially in the midst of the great war. Besshar on the other hand cautiously welcomed Euclean influence into the country, viewing it as a source of modernization/power/wealth. !Gurkhas from Besshar served in the Gaullican forces (often as a tool of colonial repression).
- Great War - Karasm saw similar treatment as the rest of Gaullican holdings during the great war, probs a fair amount of conscription. Besshar stayed out of the whole thing sans being Gaullican aligned, although I can imagine that towards the tail end of the war probs did at least some sort of symbolic turn towards the victors.
Independent Karasm, then Peoples Equalist Republic
- Karasm was granted independence at 1935 in the peace processes following the war. Everybody had sort of shrugged and stated that they didn't really want to deal with the place and haphazardly granted it indepdence in a rushed manner.
- Initally an Euclean parliamentary style republic, very much a mess from the get go with no real structure or political development in place for the country to be independent - it had spent almost it's entire history as a part of one empire or another, and within a few months it was expected to function as an indepdent state.
- The wavering of the state led to an Equalist/Sattirst/National Princpalist inspired coup - establishing the Peoples Equalist Republic of Karasm.
Conflicts/"two state period"
Decline of both states
Unification and The Troubles.
- "Inju" system attempted to be implemented, headed off by xxx, and was successful for a period.
Geography
Topographic map of Hacyinia
Satellite map of Hacyinia
Photograph of western foothills in Bessharia.
Photograph of the central steppe
- Karasm1.jpg
Photograph of the river deltas of Karasm, near Lake Zinabad.
At 1,031,116.80 km2, Hacyinia is the 15th largest in Coius, and the 31st largest in the world. It is slightly smaller than Behera and slightly larger than Belmonte. A landlocked country, it has a minimally varied terrain. The country is overwhelmingly steppe land. In the west there is the Transhuashan foothills and the plateau of the Great Steppe, while in the east there is the riparian inflowing rivers deltas to Lake Zinabad. The elevation of the country varies greatly however, with some areas being several thousand meters above sea levels and others being several hundred meters below sea levels. Generally elevation rises the in the west and closer to the Huashan mountains. The country is entirely considered to be within a Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, with a temperate climate. Precipitation is fairly high, and generally there is mild winters with warmer summers. The increasing desertification of nearby Zorasan has had a major impact on eastern Hacyinia in particularly, with notable land degradation impacting the agricultural output of eastern Hacyinia.
Arable land is at a minimum and mostly of the countries arable land is concreated in the east along in the river deltas and the shore of Lake Zinabad, or more limitedly in the west in mountain oases supplied by the melting glacial water of the Huashan mountains. The central steppes soil is incapable of supporting any sort of large scale agriculture, although it is more than capable of supporting large scale animal husbandry both historically and modern day. Much of the steppe has very limited water supply sans a few lakes and seasonal rivers that occasionally form. Water rights is a serious political concern, both domestically as well as internationally. Much of the water resources in the country are located in Karasm and are used to support extensive commercial agriculture. The shrinking of Lake Zinabad is of great concern to the Hacyinian government, and the Karasmic government before that.
Wildlife
Bactarian deer! Bactarian camels! Wolves! There's brown bears in Central Asia apparently? Snow leopards, cut & paste from stuff. Horses!
Demographics
The population of Hacyinia is 36,950,235, per 2022 estimates. Roughly 38% of this population, or 14 million people, live in Bessharia while the remaining 22.9 million or 62% of the population live in Karasm. Hacyinia is roughly the 37th most populous country in the world. The population of Hacyinia is fairly young, with about a third of the population under 14 and over half of the population is under thirty which has placed large strains on it's economy and has contributed to emigration. The population of Karasm is mostly urban, with about a third of the country living in rural towns as farmers or agriculturalists and a small percentage of nomadic peoples who are primarily ethnic Majgars. In Bessharia, a little under half of the population lives in a handful of urban centers of the country while the rest of the population lives rurally or nomadically. Bessharia has one of the highest rates of nomadic populations in the world, with about a quarter of the population living nomadically or semi-nomadically.
The largest individual ethnic groups are the Oroqic Kiziks and the Pardarian Bukhoris, both of whom are largely concreated in Karasm and make up most of the population in Karasm. Minorities within Karasm include a small population of ethnic Dezevaunis who's history in Karasm is related to the Aguda Empire resettling ethnic Dezevaunis in it's controlled terrority. In Bessharia there is a multitude of ethnic groups namely the Majgar, Iasi, and Ukilen. The Chanwan make up a sizeable minority of the Bessharian population and their history with the majority ethnic groups in Bessharia has been mixed. Ethnic conflicts within either Karasm or Bessharia is actually rare, with generally a shared history and culture uniting different ethnic groups. Ethnic conflict between "Bessharian ethnicities" or "Karasmic ethnicities" is however common, i.e. conflict between Kiziks and Majgars or Bukhoris and Ukilen. Much of the ethnic conflict relates to issues such as land usage and land rights, with the historically settled Karasmic peoples and the nomadic Bessharian peoples competing for land that is increasingly damaged by climate change in addition to historic and current political grievances.
As for religion, Hacyinia is similarly divided. About 49% of the population of Hacyinia is Irfanic, the majority of whom who live in Karasm. 40% of the population is Badist, the majority of whom who live in Bessharia and are members of the Thin Air sect. There is a small minority of Badists within Karasm, namely the Pure Water Badi sect. Religious minorities are small, with small numbers of Solarian Catholics scattered about the country in concreted pockets in the countries urban centers as a result of Gaullican colonial and protecterate influence. Zohist worshippers can similarly be found throughout the country, primarily in cities formerly tied to the Silk Road. The Chanwan folk religion is still actively followed by much of the Chanwan peoples in Bessharia, and has one of the highest rates of followers in the world. Religious relations between Irfanic and Badist worshippers has often been contentious. Religious identity in Hacyinia is often tied to ethnic identity, and discrimination is common. Followers of the minority religions of the country have long practiced subduly, with missionaries or attempts are proselytizing met with harsh reactions from both state and non-state agents. Outright violent attacks on worshippers of a different religion on the sole basis of their religion is thankfully rare, but not uncommon.
Linguistics in the country is complicated. There is a total of seven major ethnic groups in Hacyinia, all of whom who speak vastly different languages from each other. Even amongst the collection of Oroqic or Pardarian peoples, the Kizik and Majgar or Bukhori and Iasi languages aren't mutually intelligible. Bi or tri linguicism in the country is incredibly common throughout the entire population. Hacyinia recognizes two national languages that serve as the countries lingua franca, Pardarian and Gaullican. The usage of the Pardarian language is related to the countries historic and current place in Greater Pardarian and Gaullican was introduced when the entirety of Hacyinia was either directly colonized or placed under the protection of Gaullica. Both languages are utilized frequently and it's fairly common for someone to speak their "natural" ethnic language as well as be able to speak, with vary fluency, both Gaullican and Pardarian. The use of Gaullican is particularly high in Bessharia, who began widepsread education in Gaullican in the mid 1800s while in Karasm, mostly due to Irfanic influence, Pardarian is more widely utilized.
Urbanization
cities: Bessharia: Maymana Tuska* Sarai Tulean Yutti (Most of population in Bessharia is at the capital. Bessharia is very much "yup, cities have a fair amount of the population - and then outside of the city theres not really...anything? Like it's just nomadic steppe beyond that. Like I imagine just clusters of really dense living, and then just nomadic steppe outside of that)
Karasm: Choch ** Halac Satlyk Shirvan Babak (As a river delta civilization, much more extensive amount of cities/towns living in the river delta. I think similar to Bessharia in that outside of places that is a settled/town development then empty steppe, albeit the "empty steppe" part is not really there as much as it is in Bessharia.)
Government and Politics
Following the 1994 Unification of Hacyinia, the central government of Hacyinia was formed as a merger between the weakened absolute monarchy of Bessharia and the collapsing one party Equalist regime of Karasm. The creation of the government was guided by the concept of the "Inju System" created by Makbule Arda Khan of Bessharia and Rahym Gul, the first Prime Minister of Hacyinia and recent former Premier of Karasm. The "Inju System" called for the establishment of a "dual power" system with the Khan of Bessharia functioning as the new governments Head of State and a Prime Minister, who by law has to be from Karasm, elected from the unicameral Unified Assembly parliament to function as Head of Government. The Inju System envisioned Hacyinia as a devolved unitary state, with the intention that the Head of State and the Head of Government would function as corulers over a large central state, while allowing the now subnational states of Bessharia and Karasm to legislate and rule according to how they see fit. The decision of a unitary or a federal state was negotiated extensively between Makbule Arda Khan, who advocated for a confederation or federal state, and Rahym Gul, who advocated for a strong and centralized state. Ultimately the comprise of a devolved unitary state was reached primarily at Rahym Gul's insistence, believing that "a united state in which one of the partners can suddenly divorce the other will ultimately weaken both, we must either join together and keep together or we will wither and rot separately." Both Bessharia and Karasm had to make various concessions in order for the Hacyinian government to form, namely with Bessharia agreeing to form into a constitutional monarchy and Karasm renouncing it's Equalist ideology. In addition to governing over the entire country together, each of the corulers was tasked with ensuring that the elites of Bessharia and Karasm collaborated with and functioned for the central state in a consocialtionalist model. Citing enormous differences in each of the competent states cultures, as well as population centers, it was agreed that utilizing the elites of both states would be most effective and was planned to be a temporary "stop-gap" as the central Hacyinian state expanded.
Initially, the Inju System worked well and was praised internationally for bringing peace to a troubled area of the world. It was considered a "uniquely Hacyinian solution to uniquely Hacyinian problems." Although far from perfect, as evidenced by early instability in both Bessharia and Karasm over new laws and regulations that couldn't be uniformly applied to both states, the Inju system was promising. Spearheaded by Makbule Arda Khan and Rahym Gul who got along famously well, it was expected that a new era of united Hacyinian history was due to begin. However, in 2001, Rahym Gul was diagnosed with cancer later passing away in 2003. It's generally understood that this is when the breakdown of the Inju System began as a string of Prime Ministers were elected from the "Equalist old guard" from Karasm and conflicted heavily with the Khan due to personality, ideology and other reasons. The Prime Minister and Karasmic elites became more and more focused on expanding the central state as rapidly as possible, despite Bessharian objections on the issue. The Khan and the Bessharian elites in the Hacyinian government in turn became less involved in running the central state and focused more of their efforts on the Bessharian state, creating increasingly powerful parallel institutions and diverting resources away from the central state. The Hacyinian government in turn responded by bringing more and more Karasmic elites - almost exclusively drawn from the former Karasmic Equalist Party ranks - into positions of power in the government and forcing Bessharian elites out with the Karasmic understanding that if Bessharians were not interested in maintaining the central state then they have no need for a say in how the state should be ran. Bessharians took this as further evidence as discrimination from the central government which further fueled the separatist movement. The delicate balance that was once maintained in the Hacyinian government became disjointed and has led to much of the dysfunction in the Hacyinian government. Most observers agree that at this point that Hacyinia is rapidly collapsing in on itself with the general consensus being that "if Hacyinia survives until it's 30th birthday, then it would be a miracle."
As of 2022, the state of Hacyinia has functioned as a de facto confederation for just short of two decades with most scholars and experts on the issue referring to Karasm and Bessharia as "competent states" of Hacyinia. The central government of Hacyinia maintains that it is a unitary state, albeit is largely toothless in enforcing any authority in Bessharia both legally and physically. Hacyinia has been studied extensively by political scientists for the past two decades as a state that failed to centralize effectively. Bessharia has largely acted independently of the central state for the past two decades, crafting it's own international relationships most notably with nearby Zorasan amongst others. Within Karasm, the central government's authority is regularly enforced and followed. It makes the label of failed state tough to prescribe. The generally accepted answer is that Hacyinia is only a failed state within Bessharia, where the central government has little to no authority while in the rest of the country it functions as a healthy, independent state.
Furthermore, it makes the issue of Bessharians state desire for independence similarly difficult. The Hacyinian central government and others state that Bessharia has no legal right to succession, as it renounced that right when it joined the Union of Hacyinia. Bessharian nationalists and others argue that because the central state of Hacyinia has failed to expand it's authority into Bessharia then the Hacyinian government has no legal authority to block Bessharia from any attempt at secession. The Hacyinian government has routinely stated that any attempts at succession would be met with "appropriate force." Bessharians separatists one the other hand have declared that "any attempts to stop our lawful rights to leave a Union that is not working for us, will be met with the same efforts."
Political Culture
Hacyinia has a long history of authoritarian rule in both Bessharia and Karasm. Until 1994, Bessharia was ruled as an absolute monarchy while Karasm was a one party dictatorship who claimed legitimacy through sham and uncontested elections. During the unification process, it was not planned for the masses of the country to meaningfully participate in unification or in the political systems following. Since the establishment of the Unified Assembly in 1998, the political culture in Hacyinia has begun to shift slightly. The Khan of Bessharia established the first official opposition party "The Blue Party" in order to contest elections against the "Peoples Party" in the unicameral parliament. Although the Blue Party exists little more than to support the Khan in the government, Hacyinia has had their first contested elections in it's entire history. It's given citizens the first official outlet to express their opinions and views, albeit in a carefully moderated setting.
Most political culture, both before and after unification, was instead expressed through elites in Bessharia and Karasm. The central government actively utilized and encouraged a consociationalist model in an attempt to facilitate stability in the new state. In Karasm a wide variety of officials in institutions such as trade unions, the Peoples Party, the intelligentsia, etc. were utilized to ensure loyalty to the new state. In Bessharia tribal/clan leaders from the Majgars, Iasians and Ukilens as well as Badist leaders were used to the same effect. Since 2003, the Khan of Bessharia has given de facto permission to Bessharian elites to openly discuss their dissatisfaction of the Hacyinian union and protected them from retaliation from the central government. In Karasm the political elites almost overwhelmingly support the union, viewing it as an extension of Karasm.
Mass political culture is dependent on the component state. In Karasm, most citizens view the Karasmic and Hacyinian government as one in the same and generally state their loyalty to Hacyinia. Most in Karasm believe that the Hacyinian troubles can be blamed for "Bessharians not believing in the system/process" and that "Bessharians are a backward people" per public opinion surveys completed in 2020. In Bessharia, there is high distrust of the central government. The Khan is a highly popular figure in Bessharia and the office is viewed as a symbol of the nation. In a public opinion survey in 2020, most Bessharians believe that "The central government doesn't understand us" as well as "Karasmics are domineering and want to control everything." Several criticisms have been launched against this series of public opinion surveys, primarily that the public opinion surveys captured only opinions of the abovementioned political elites. Some have suggested that the mass of people in Hacyinia have low trust and engagement with any political authority, and any loyalty expressed only reflects necessity or fear of retaliation.
Corruption is widespread in Hacyinia. It's not uncommon for small bribes to be given to police officers or other minor public officials, a practice commonly referred to as Baksheesh, in order for citizens to go about their day or business. Larger scale corruption amongst public officials is similarly common, with several instances of high-level bribery or favoritism shown to domestic and foreign allies of high ranking Hacyinian officials. With Bessharian elites being effectively locked out from central government positions, and the opportunity to exploit said position with it, some suggest that is why the demands for independence is so high. In return, Bessharian elites utilize their own networks and patronage systems to effectively block any attempts by Karasmics or the central government from accessing Bessharian resources. These range from business licensees being revoked on arbitrary grounds, to illegal search and seizures, land transfers to utilizing paramilitary networks within the country to attack infrastructure.
Parapolitics
Paramilitary organizations and politics in Hacyinia are deeply connected. Parapolitics has the deepest roots in Bessharia where the Khan of Bessharia has traditionally been the patron and host of the Ulans ("lancer"), which are primarily nomadic tribes and clans located in the steppe regions of Bessharia, particularly around the border of Lavana, Zomia, and Karasm. The Ulans originated during the Terjasa Conflict as nomads from Bessharia flocked to join the January Uprising. The Khan of Bessharia notably funded and protected the Ulans, equipping and funding them to international discord. Since Unification, the Khan has officially relinquished his patronage of the Ulans albeit many note that his patronage is merely routed through backchannels. The Ulans are the military wing of the broader Bessharian independence movement, and are responsible for a wide variety of attacks, kidnappings and assassinations related to the movement.
Largely in response to the Ulans and a inability for the Hacyinian central state to respond, Pro-Unionist paramilitaries began to form with backing from the Hacyinian security forces. The "Agbashs" ("White Heads") are responsible for retaliatory attacks against the Ulans, assassinations against Anti-Unionists within Karasm, retaliatory attacks against the Majgar minority within Karasm, as well as other duties. Hacyinian security forces are known to protect and fund the Agbashs, and connections between the Agbashs and Hacyinian intelligence services run deep.
Human Rights
Hacyinia is alternatively considered a hybrid or a authoritarian regime. Hacyinia, as well as it's competent states prior to unification, has a long history of poor human rights. Generally civil and political liberties such as the freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and others are either limited at best or nonexistent at worst. Although legally there is some protections for citizens rights; torture, arbitrary arrest, and killings by state forces are common responses to those attempting to exercise those rights. Political freedoms are highly limited as well. There is contested elections between the Peoples Party and the Blue Party, and interestingly there is some de facto freedom of speech, press and assembly within the subnational component states in decrying the opposition. In Bessharia it's common to see Anti-Union protests and print media in the urban centers, while in Karasm it's equally common to see the same in support for the Union. However holding the opposite view such as Pro-Unionism in Bessharia or Anti-Unionism in Karasm is typically met with harsh punishment. Some international observers have labeled this as "managed free speech" or "free speech within the box" in order to describe the phenomena.
Political parties
Currently there is only two legal political parties in Hacyinia, the Peoples Party and the Blue Party. Political parties must be approved prior to any official participation, and activists who attempt to organize outside of the two parties are met with arrest and harsh sentences.
The Peoples Party is the former Equalist Party of Karasm, which officially disbanded following the Unification of Hacyinia and reformed mostly intact. Historically the Equalist Party's ideology was Equalist, with heavy inspirations taken from Sattarism and National Principlism. The Equalist Party was explicitly left-wing and aligned with the wider Equalist and Socialist bloc across Kylaris. In it's current state, the People's Party has officially removed outwardly socialist and leftist ideological tenants from it's platform. The People's Party officially maintains that it is a "big tent" party, with the only specific ideological tenant held is Pro-Unionism.
Inside of the People's Party there is numerous unofficial caucuses competing for influence who function as their own de facto political parties. The "Reformers" is the largest of such caucuses. The Reformers are largely comprised of the "Equalist old guard", who has long entrenched their positions of power in Karasmic and Hacyinian politics through huge networks of patronage. Generally the Reformers have looked to expand the central state in Hacyinia, and prior to the 2021 Lavana coup d'état looked to maintain closer relationships with Lavana. The Reformers caucus has often been described as "Equalist still in everything but name". The second largest caucus would be "Sunrise." The Sunrise caucus is comprised of much a younger, Dezevauian educated and inspired cohort of politicians. The Sunrise caucus has looked to Council republics for inspiration, and remains explicitly left-wing in their ideological beliefs. The smallest caucus is the "National Alliance" which is a loose collection of politicians who have little in common ideologically.
The Blue Party was created in 1998 following the establishment of the Unified Assembly. The Khan of Bessharia, concerned with the lack of Bessharian representation in the Unified Assembly, hurriedly gathered some Royalist elites to form the new party. The Blue Party is explicitly pro-Bessharian and pro-Khan. It has little political ideology outside of those tenants. Largely, the Blue Party has existed to function as the Khans voice inside of the Unified Assembly. As calls for Bessharian independence has intensified, many members of the Blue Party have echoed them in both official and unofficial capacities. This has seen much of the Blue Party locked out of parliamentary positions of power, eroding their ability to have any real sort of influence within the Unified Assembly.
During elections, the People's Party captures roughly 70% of the vote reliably. The People's Party relies on it's extensive networks within Karasm to turn out voters and utilizes it's base within Karasm to capture the vast majority of seats within parliament every election. The Blue Party, who primarily operates in the less population and less dense Bessharia, isn't able to effectively turn out votes in any significant way. Furthermore, in Karasm there is at least a history of turning out to vote even if it is only for sham elections - while in Bessharia the first votes in the countries history were only cast following unification.
Foreign Relations
Karasm had a lot of relations with the socialist bloc/equalist bloc. As Equalism as seen as more and more astray, Karasm became increasingly isolated from the greater socialist world leading to the unification. Even today - Karasmian leaders wish to align themselves more with Dez/Lav. Bessharia was a bit isolationist - had a lot of relations with Royalist Lav/Shah of Pardaran before their fall. Close with Zomia even now, developed closer relationships with Zorasan if only because of a mutual distrust of Dez. Gaullica is a sticking point - Bessharia likes Gaullica, Karasm dislikes Gaullica. Bessharia distrusts Shangea, cultivates relationships with Senria in order to not be so reliant on immediate neighbors. Karasm likely respects Shangea, also likely is a one way street. Karasm is very practical - only really concerns relationships with immediate neighbors + socialist bloc. Bessharia had cultivated relationships with a wide variety of folks, "third neighbor policy" + small gastrodiplomacy initative
Military
Maybe at one point kinda solid? But now largely the central military is just existing on paper, much of the military is more or less more loyal to either Besshar/Karasm then they are to the entire state. Paramilitary orgs, unofficially offically backed by each side, has become the norm as each side prepares for a reality where there may be a civil war/war for indepdence if stuff cant get figured out. Went through a tough time post unification of merging two different militaries with a hx of conflict between the two, and despite coming from two militaries (Royal Bessharia Armed Forces + Peoples Equalist Republic of Karasm Peoples Guards) who were semi competent on own terms (not like superpowers but enough for them to defend themselves) Both sides/Hacyinia central military is well known for having access to a small stockpile of chemical weapons which concerns international obvs for any potentional outbreak of violence. Largescale de-professionalization of the military happened post unification, with the "professional soldier class" largerly resigning/ending tours of service and many finding work in PMCs abroad.
Economy
think Mongolia/Kazakhstan/similar stuff. Oil producing = 1,229,357 barrels per day? I think a big thing with the economy is that is actually could be really powerful, but, with the domestic shitshow going on its unlikely to reach anything close to it's potential in any due time. PetroLav has a pretty solid foothold in at least Karasm. Talks within Besshar of building an oil pipeline through Zomia to Nav/Kuth to reduce dependence on immediate neighbors.
Bessharia = holds roughly 60% of oil and mineral resources in the country. Limited agricultural (sans animal/pastoral products) and industrial activity in the country, as well as limited financial services and others. ~ 1/3 of the country lives below the poverty level. Very petrostate, very pasture.
Karasm = Much more developed, varied economy. Has 40% of all oil/mineral resources in the country (originally assumed to be most if not all of it up until really the 1950s/60s(??). Much more extensive agricultural (cotton), industrial and financial services. Generally to be considered the more "developed" out of the two states. Key areas of industry is cement/construction materials production, textiles, light industry/food production.
With the .ha internet code, had actually made some money selling it to Estermish speaking comedy websites. Bit of a poltical issue within the country, as some feel like it is disrespectful while others don't really care.
Culture
Culturally Besshar is more turko-mongol (Kazakh/Mongol), Karasm is more turko-persian (Tajik/Uzbek). Heavy influence from SE Asia for both Karasm + Bessharia, I imagine national food sorta similar to the Uyghurs/Hazaras? You know we be making rugs. Besshar is Badist, Karasm is Irfanic. some Euclean influence penetrated Besshar/Karasm.
- Architecture and arts: Those chechen towers common in Bessharia, Karasm is known for cities like !Bukhara and !Samarkand which is filled with beautiful Pardarian style buildings and architecture. - Clothing: folk clothing: Deels for Bessharia. Clothing style for Karasm I feel like would be more Persianized, (Iranian/Uzbek/Tajik traditional clothing). Traditional caps pretty common for both countries, with Telpeks common in Karasm + Papakha in Bessharia - the Doppa/Tubeteika/bakol kinda common throughout. I think we would see a mix of traditional/"modern" clothing, with Karasm being more "modern" and Bessharia being a bit more "traditional."
Sport
Kokpar also very popular, as well as other equestrian games/activities owing to countries steppe and horse culture. Mongolian wrestling/Turkic wrestling also popular. Something like Naadam very possible. Olympic weightlifting also very successful and popular sport between two countries.