User:Pixy/Afthonia (Sandbox)
Unitary State of Afthonia Ενιαίο Κράτος του Αφθονία (Gionan) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of Arms
| |
Motto: Τάξη, Δύναμη και Πιστότητα Táxi, Dýnami kai Pistótita Order, Strength and Loyalty | |
Anthem: Προώθησε την Αφθονία Proóthise tin Afthonía Advance Afthonia  | |
| Capital | Ilus |
| Largest Metropolitan Area | Elpis |
| Official languages | |
| Recognised regional languages |
|
| Ethnic groups (2023) | Gionan 87% Others 13% |
| Religion | Latonaism 65% Irreligious 22% Usilism 3% Others 10% |
| Demonym(s) | Afthonian |
| Government | Unitary Constitutional Directorial Republic |
• Sovereign Council | Apollon Lamprelis (High Councilor) Maria Mallaki (Deputy) TBD TBD TBD |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Establishment | |
• Gionan civilization | c. 750 BCE |
• League of Aspen | c. 80 BCE |
• Kingdom of Kastoria | c. Summer 121 CE |
• Kastorian Empire | 20 August 554 |
• Afthonian Confederation | 19 April 1835 |
• Emergency Military Government | XX TBD 1907 |
• Unitary State of Afthonia | 17 November 1948 |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 88,914,715 |
• 2023 census | 86,566,810 |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $2.750 Trillion |
• Per capita | $36,501 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $2.597 Trillion |
• Per capita | $32,547 |
| Gini (2023) | 24.3 low |
| HDI (2023) | 0.77 high |
| Currency | Asteri (AST) |
• Summer (DST) | Not Observed |
| Date format | DD/MM/YYYY |
| Driving side | left |
| Internet TLD | .aft |
Afthonia (Gionan: Αφθονία; script: Afthonía), officially referred to as the Unitary State of Afthonia (Gionan: Ενιαίο Κράτος της Αφθονία; script: Eniaío Krátos tis Afthonía) is a Veledan country. The country has a population of 86 million people placing it as the XXth most populous nation and has an estimated total area of XXX million/hundred thousand square kilometer (XXX square miles) which places it as the XXth largest nation. The country has a total population density of XXX/km2 (XXX/sq mi). The country is bordered by XXX to the XXX, XXX to the XXX and XXX to the XXX. It also shares maritime borders with Maroudia to the north, XXX and XXX. The country claims and enforces an offshore exclusive economic zone that extends 200 nautical miles which covers a total area of XXX km2 (XXX sq mi). At the highest level Afthonia is administratively divided under XX Prefectures governed by an elected Prefect, XX Commonwealths governed by an elected Chief Executive. In exchange for their continued inclusion under Afthonia, Commonwealths are afforded greater degrees of autonomy compared to Prefectures. The city of Ilus is the nation's historical political center and has been designated as its capital, whereas Elpis is the country's center of commerce and culture. Gionan is the country's official language alongside XXX, XXX and XXX which are considered as regional languages. The earliest evidence of civilization that appeared in the lands of modern day Afthonia were known as the Gionans who most historians generally agree as the ancestors of modern day Afthonians.
In the modern era, Afthonia is considered as a regional power and portrays itself as a unitary Constitutional Directorial Republic where people who hold public office are elected in free and fair elections. However the presence of retired military personnel among ruling political parties has often led to political observers to describe Afthonia having elements of a stratocracy as well. The National Front, a right-wing nationalist political party has been the primary driving force of the nation's government for a large period of its history. The country is led by the Sovereign Council which is a cabinet composed of XX members who collectively represent the country's head of government and is led by a High Councilor who serves as a first among equals and serves as as the nation's head of state. Legislative power is held by the National Assembly, a unicameral parliament. From an economic perspective, Afthonia has a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion, whereas its official currency is the Asteri. The country has historically been regarded as one of the breadbaskets of the continent due to its vast fertile lands that supported a strong agriculture industry. The discovery of liquified natural gas reserves in the mid 20th century has allowed the country to gradually rebuild its industry and economy and has returned to be one of the continent’s agricultural hubs alongside thriving engineering & manufacturing sectors. Its armed forces is known as the Afthonia Military Force and is comprised of the Afthonian Navy, Afthonian Army, Afthonian Air Force and Afthonian Marine Corps.
The lands of modern day Afthonia has been controled by various powers throughout history, the most prominent of these include the League of Giona in late antiquity. After entering a period of stagnation and declining political influence Giona was eventually usurped by Aspen, a city state in 9 BCE. Through a series of wars of conquest and diplomacy Aspen was able to establish itself as the effective hegemon in the Afthonian peninsula and by 121 CE Aspen was declared as the Kingdom of Kastoria. King <INSERT NAME> would ultimately reform the Kingdom into the Kastorian Empire in the year 554 when he consolidated his powers and eliminated the other ruling families. The empire was able to sustain a large population growth due to its fertile lands which allowed it to cultivate a strong agricultural society to both sustain a growing population and trade its surplus products with its immediate neighbors to gain influence. By the 8th century the Empire had entered a period of stagnation, its territories beset by a series of rebelions, incursions by rival kingdoms and empires in the continent. In 1145 a succession crisis struck Kastoria when Abas I the last Emperor of Kastoria and crown prince Plades were executed after a decisive defeat in their military campaign to restore imperial rule over rebel territories. The lack of a clear successor resulted in the Emperor's various children and distant relatives to lay claim to the throne. The Empire's complete disintegration was considered final by the late 12th century, with many imperial provinces, vassals and tributary states no longer under the influence of Kastoria. The largest and most powerful of these post-Kastorian polities include Giona, Stratos and Athos. It was during this period of time that the Afthonian states conducted various expeditions across the world, establishing a far flung trade network and outposts.
These states would attempt through both diplomacy and military means to unify the Afthonian peninsula. Historians refer to these conflicts as the Peninsular Wars with a total of XX conflicts and the last which took place from 1828 until 1832. The Peninsular Wars eventually culminated in the establishment of the Afthonian Confederation in 1835 with the express purpose to establish a forum for Afthonian states to cooperate and discuss on any matters. Throughout the late 19th century a series of economic, political and social crisis led to the gradual centralization of powers given to the confederation to allow the confederation to take necessary steps to stabilize its member states. However this act was perceived as a gradual erosion off its member states sovereignty. In 1907 the state of Giona declared its seccession from the confederation and intended to topple the incumbent confederal government. Over the next two weeks more states secceded, citing the confederation had overstepped its boundary as a governmental body. Only Stratos alongside a number of smaller states aligned with itself remained as formal members of the confederation. By 1908 a full scale civil war had erupted in the Afthonian peninsula, this period of time in Afthonian history is referred to as the Great Schism and was fought between two factions: the centrists led by Stratos and the reformists led by Giona. An armistice which formally ended active combat operations was signed on 1915 but this was immediately followed by a period of geopolitical tension between Stratos and Giona as the two states fought for dominance in the peninsula. By 1945 however this struggle was ended when Giona alongside its allies were reabsorbed into confederation. The Afthonian Confederation itself would also be reorganized into the Unitary State of Afthonia, transitioning from a supranational union into a sovereign nation with its member states subsumed as subnational units under its jurisdiction.
Ethymology
History
Prehistory & Antiquity
The lands of modern day Afthonia has been inhabited by various species of archaic humans with fossil evidence dating back to 850,000 years ago. Archeological sites have been found near the cities of Elpis and Ilus with those of neanderthal origin being the most commonly found. Hunter-gatherer societies were most likely to be the most commonly found type of civilizations until the arrival of modern humans between 50,000 - 40,000 years ago who gradually became the dominant species by 35,000 BC. These modern humans would develop various cultures and societies in the area, though most of these were nomadic in nature due to the need to continuously migrate and seek out new hunting grounds to sustain themselves. The neolithic revolution, more popularly known as the agricultural revolution, allowed humans to transition away from a nomadic to a sedentery based society and established the first permanent villages and eventually towns. The oldest permanent human settlement found to date is Giona which was established in 1200 BCE and is the origin of the Gionan civilization who modern day archeologists identify as the cultural ancestors of the Afthonians with the modern day Gionan language having survived throughout history until the modern era. By 750 BC Giona had been developed an amassed a population to be considered a city-state governed under an elective monarchy whose reigning monarch is chosen amongst a family of nobles. Giona was able to establish itself as the hub and center of a large a network of trade routes that connected itself with a number of smaller villages and cities throughout the Afthonian peninsula. Although Giona did not in a sense directly control the villages and cities that participated in its trade network, it was able to exert some influence and spread its culture throughout the region. Many modern day cities of Afthonia can trace its origin as being founded during this period of time such as Elpis, Ilus, Amia and Dorona.
Ancient Afthonia
By 90 BCE Gionan civilization had entered a period of decline which allowed other city states in the region to vie for control over the Gionan's trade network. The city state of Aspen would eventually emerge as one of the city states that was able to take over the mantle of leadership over from the Gionans. Unlike its predecessor, Aspen was more ambitious and began to exert direct control over its neighboring towns and villages. This was made possible by Aspen's gradual establishment of an army that began on 80 CE. Prior to this most armies were centered around war bands from the population of each village, town and city which were only called to arms during times of conflict. Initially, Aspen's armies followed this concept although recruits were placed through a series of standardized training regimes in order to ensure a certain level of competency within its troops. As the number of tributary and vassal city states grew, the need to protect them from barbarian incurssions grew. An army that was only fielded in times of need and then disbanded was no longer feasible and a permanent and dedicated standing army was required. Aspen continued to increase its network of tributaries and vassals and reached its peak in 120 CE when it controlled over half of the Afthonian peninsula. Linus, the reigning monarch of Elpis, reformed Aspen as the Kingdom of Kastoria on 121 CE to mark the beginning of a new era of expansion and bring forth a sense of unity to the inhabitants of the peninsula who while shared a common linguistic and cultural background, were politically divided among city-states, religious and family allegiances. Linus led the Kingdom on a campaign of expansion, annexing the smaller city-states and repubics established across the remainder of the Afthonian peninsula. By 190 CE through both wars of conquest and diplomacy, Kastoria had successfully unified and established itself as the hegemon of the Afthonian peninsula. With the Afthonian peninsula firmly under its control Queen Metis, Kastoria's reigning monarch at the time, focused the Kingdom's attention towards its neighboring lands and began to expand eastward towards the lands inhabited Tolosa, the ancient ancestors of modern day Maroudian civilization. The Kingdom also sent expeditions across the Megale Sea and established self-governing autonomous colonies on the northern coast of !NotAfrica. The Kastorian Empire administered its territories through both direct and indirect means. Approximately 67% of the empire's territories were directly controlled whereas it relied upon a network of vassals and tributary states to rule the remaining 33% on its behalf. In exchange for their fealty to Kastoria vassal and tributary states were afforded greater autonomy of varying degrees. Vassals and tributaries were established for various reasons ranging from granting some form of home rule to the outer most provinces of the empire and to end a prolonged conflict where the foreign power sued for peace with Kastoria and became a tributary. At its zenith the Kastorian Empire controlled vast swathes of southern Veleda, with holdings in the northern coasts of !NotAfrica and the !NotMiddleEast. It also held loyalty over numerous vassals with Tolosa being one of the largest and well known who controlled a large area of eastern Veleda but swore fealthy to Kastoria.
Middle Ages
By the 8th century Kastoria had entered a period of political, social & economic stagnation with no significant expansion of its borders or inclusion of new vassals or tributary states made. A succession crisis caused by the death of all immediate members of the Imperial family in 785 CE resulted in various noble house who had ties to the imperial family to vie for control over the Empire. While the political infighting did not precipitate in an immediate civil war it did paralyze the Empire's ability to administer and govern its territories. Provincial governors, leaders of vassal and tributary states all took this opportunity to consolidate and obtain more power and influence to govern their local areas which would ultimately contribute to the Empire's demise. The succession crisis would eventually be resolved by 793 CE when Agenor IV ascended to the throne and reestablished the imperial bloodline although the eight year had a profound impact upon the longevity of the Empire. Througout the 10th and 11th centuries a series of rebellions in the empire's north !NotAfrican provinces and incurssions by !NotBarbarian/Germanic tribes to the northern borders plagued the empire. Provinces eventually expelled or executed members of its administration who were loyal to the Empire and declared its secession. By the 12th century the Kastorian Empire had largely fragmented into multiple smaller states, with the Afthonian peninsula itself divided among XX polities. Contemporary historians regard the year 1145 as the official end of the Kastorian Empire, which was marked by the sacking of Aspen by Tolosan war tribes. This was made possible by the destruction of the bulk of Kastoria's Imperial Army in 1143 when Abas I, the last Emperor of Kastoria and crown prince Plades, led a military campaign to quell the Tolosa rebellion. Both Abas I and Plades were captured and executed by the Tolosans which resulted in a second succession crisis that the empire could not recover from. With the bulk of the Imperial Army shattered and the Imperial line of succession broken, many of Kastoria's vassals and tributary states saw no further need to maintain its alliegance to Kastoria. A rump state of Kastoria, comprised only of the city-state of Aspen continued to exist until 1190 when it was absorbed by Athos. With Kastoria's collapse most of its former provinces, vassals and tributaries claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Kastorian Empire although gradually in time it was ultimately dropped. Instead aspousing the ideals of an Afthonian national identity. This philosphy would directly lead towards the process of Afthonia's unification in the 19th century. This extended period of conflict effectively brought the centuries long age of peace throughout Kastorian controled lands to an end, and ushered in an age of political, social and economic instability. The effects were not equally distributed with those that formed the outermost parts of the Kastorian Empire being less affected than those that were considered to be the core imperial provinces in the Afthonian peninsula.
Unification
Throughout the 12th until the 18th centuries these polities would vie for control over the Afthonian peninsula, primary through wars of conquest known as the Peninsular Wars. A total of XX conflicts make up the Peninsular Wars. The First Peninsular War was fought from 5 April 1196 until 16 October 1199 with the last fought from 21 November 1828 until 11 May 1832. By the 18th century the Afthonian peninsula was politically divided into XX states, with the strongest of these including Stratos, Athos, Giona and a newly reconstituted Kastoria. This period of time was dominated by the XXth Peninsular War which lasted from 1793 - 1798. The conflict was triggered by Giona who sought to reclaim territories it had ceded to Athos in the XXth Peninsular War and had significant political, social & economic impact for the Afthonian states involved. Athos became the dominant power of the Afthonian peninsula and was able to install pro-Athosian leaders in the defeated states and by de-facto turned them into client states of Athos. From January 1820 until February 1823 a series of diplomatic meetings took place in what would be known as the Elpis Conference which was organized by Herakles Vassallas, the First Consul of Athos. Publically the objective of the conference was to establish the political, social and economic framework of the Afthonian peninsula. Unofficially however Herakles intended to use the conference to corall its participants into a pro-Athosian alliance and trade-bloc. Particpants included representatives of all Afthonian states as well as some observers from direct neighbors of the Afthonian peninsula. The conference chaired by Vasilis Sarantas, an Athosian statesman, who was appointed directly by Herakles himself. The presence of numerous pro-Athosian representatives who were sent by Athos's client states created the sense that the conference was merely a formality to allow Athos to achieve its political objectives, though a number of other major Afthonian states not under Athos's rule were also present in the conference. The states of Stratos and Giona were the most significant holdouts among the attendees to resist Athosian influence vwho along with its allies no longer attended the conference by November 1822. On the final conference in 1823, Athos's proposed framework passed with a unanimous vote though it should be noted that the attendees who remained were largely Athosian-installed representatives. This framework became known as the Herakles Decree, was formally published, signed and ratified by the participants of the Elpis Conference on 25 March 1823. It sought to isolate and alienate any Afthonian states who were not aligned with Athos who would then, in theory, gradually renounce their resistance to Athosian hegemony and become its client states.
Herakles, wary of another Peninsular War, pursued non-military measures to achieve Afthonian unification and would be done through economic and political isolations of Giona, Stratos as well as the other un-aligned Afthonian states. Signatory states to the Herakles Decree would gradually reduce trade with the non-aligned states and diplomats would lobby foreign governments to re-route their trade through Athos-aligned ports. The policy was initially ineffective due as inter-Afthonian state trade comprised a large bulk of all Afthonian states trade output, and the lack of significant incentives for foreign powers to favor trade and relations with Athos and its client states. This however began to change when Herakles began to implement two major changes to his approach. The first would be rather than an immediate halt of all trade with unaligned states, Athos would gradually taper it off in the hopes that the economic shock would be cushioned. The second required Athos to offer special agreements with foreign governments to incentivize them to favor trade and diplomatic relations with Athos. By 1825 Stratos and Giona realized this change and while its effects would not take place until years later, sought to counter Athos's diplomatic maneuveres with its own. Initially Giona and Stratos summoned Athos's ambassador's to formally inform Athos of their government's grievances towards Athos. This led to a series of diplomatic talks between the three states in an attempt to defuse tensions which was used by Giona and Stratos as a smoke screen to mobilize their armies. In 21 November 1828 the combined armies of Stratos and Giona simultaneously began an invasion of Athos and its client states with two major fronts opened in the north and south of the peninsula. This marked the beginning of the final Peninsular War. Stratos and Giona were able to mobilize a combined force of 250,000 troops whereas Athos and its clients were able to muster 153,000 troops throughout the duration of the war. By May 1832 a peace treaty was signed between Stratos, Giona and Athos which affirmed a commitment to establish an intergovernmental organization whose objective was to promote cooperation and peaceful coexistance. Its membership would comprised of all Afthonian states with all decisions to be made upon a concensus based approach. On 19 April 1835, after two years of formal and informal negotiation the Afthonian Confederation was established.
Civil War & Fragmentation
The Afthonian Confederation is a loose association between all Afthonian states that was led by a popularly elected Chancellor as head of state & government, alongside a council which was originally comprised of the heads of government of its member states but gradually evolved to become a unicameral legislative body. This confederation strove for closer integration, in the hopes to eventually transition from a confederal to a federal entity to solidify its legitimacy but this would not come to pass. By 1870 a period of prolonged economic depression eventually led to major social unrest in the Afthonian peninsula with national governments unable to effectively address the issues. This prompted the confederation to take a more active role in the day-to-day governance of its member states which resulted in a shift in its role from a forum for inter-state cooperation into a government body in the form of a supranational union. Amidst the political instability and growing relevance of the confederation the National Front, a right-wing parliamentary group in the Confederal Parliament, became the largest party in the confederation's legislative body. It was led by Alexei Terzelis who promised economic, political and social stability for the member states of the confederation. Key economic reforms enacted by Terzelis included the harmonization of various economic policies and regulations amongst its member states to better facilitate trade. By 1894 Terzelis had been able to establish a defacto economic and monetary union for the confederation. A growing number of member states led by Giona perceived this centralization of powers to the confederation as a threat towards their own sovereignty. A divide would eventually which saw the confederation parliament split into two factions. The first were the Centrists who advocated for the centralization of powers for the confederation, the establishment of a united military and valued stability and order. The centrists were led by the National Front and were increasingly supported by Stratos. They are opposed by the Populists who favored the preservation of its member states national sovereignty over the authority of the confederation. The Populist faction was led by Giona.
Reunification
Contemporary Era
Geography
Government & Politics
Afthonia's government is divided into three main components: the Sovereign Council as the nation's executive branch, the National Assembly as the nation's legislature and the Supreme Court of Afthonia and Constitutional Court of Afthonia who both collectively represent the nation's highest judicial system. The Sovereign Council is a cabinet composed of XX memers who collectively serve as the nation's head of government whose members are referred to as Councilors. Each Councilor holds a ministerial position in government and is led by a High Councilor who is position of first among equals and serves as as the nation's head of state. The High Councilor is bestowed with special powers to allow the Sovereign Council to act decisively in times of emergencies. The role and power of the Sovereign Council is to propose bills to be reviewed by the National Assembly. Councilors are tyhpically leaders of political parties that have formed government in the National Assembly. In theory, as a legislative body, the National Assembly has the authority and power to serve as a check & balance the nation's executive branch as the National Assembly holds the power to pass or block any bill it receives from the executive. In practice however the National Assembly has been critcized to be merely ceremonial in nature, having rarely blocked any law or bill it received from the Sovereign Council. Members of the National Assembly are elected in what is largely considered as free and fair elections although observers consider Afthonia's legislative body to operate under a dominant-party system. This perception is the result of the National Assembly being largely dominated by the National Front, the dominant party that is supported by a network of smaller parties who are entirely subservient to the National Front in a grand coalition. Leaders of parties within the grand coalition are all previous members of the armed forces who have retired. The nation's judicial branch is in theory independent of both the executive and legislative branches of government. It is comprised of two components: the Supreme Court of Afthonia and the Constitutional Court of Afthonia. The former serves as the nation's highest court of appeal which sits above all other courts and the latter serves to, among other things, review the constitutionality of bills and laws passed by the government and the resolution of disputes over the power of state institutions. Members of both courts are selected by the Sovereign Council and subject to approval of the National Assembly.
Administrative Division
Afthonia is administratively divided into nine Prefectures and four Commonwealths. Comonwealths were obtained either through its history as a trade outpost of pre-unification era Afthonian polities, or obtained through peace treaties in war. The 1992 act of free choice was passed into law to allow the population of these Commonwealths to choose whether to become independent nation states, or continue to be a part of the Unitary State of Afthonia. Those who chose to maintain the status quo have been given greater degrees of autonomy and internal self-governance compared to Prefectures. As a unitary state, in theory the central government in Ilus is given plenary powers where the National Assembly, Afthonia's primary legislative body, reigns supreme above a Prefecture's legislature. In practice however the central government has implemented devolution which grants Prefectures and Commonwealths more self governance and autonomy, though their autonomy may also be rescinded by the govenrment at its will. Prefectures are led by Prefects who are elected by citizens of a Prefecture whereas Commonwealths are led by a Chief Executive who are also elected by popular vote. The prefectures of Athos, Stratos, Giona and Kastoria are considered as the nation's economic, political, historical and cultural centers respectively and are among the most important regions of the nation.
| Name | Status | Postal abbreviation |
Capital | Population | Area (km2) | Legislative seats |
GRP Nominal (In Billions) |
GRP Per Capita |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Athos |
Prefecture | ATH | Elpis | 17,313,362 | TBD | 132 | $545 | $31,500 |
 Stratos |
Prefecture | STA | Ilus | 14,716,358 | TBD | 112 | $446 | $30,353 |
 Giona |
Prefecture | GIO | TBD | 10,734,284 | TBD | 82 | $428 | $39,919 |
 Kastoria |
Prefecture | KAS | Aspen | 10,041,750 | TBD | 76 | $311 | $31,034 |
 Prespa |
Prefecture | PRE | TBD | 7,444,746 | TBD | 57 | $207 | $27,907 |
 Koroneia |
Prefecture | KOR | TBD | 5,626,843 | TBD | 43 | $155 | $27,692 |
 Evinos |
Prefecture | EVI | TBD | 5,020,875 | TBD | 38 | $124 | $24,828 |
 Pelion |
Prefecture | PEL | TBD | 4,501,474 | TBD | 34 | $90 | $20,192 |
 Pateras |
Prefecture | PAT | TBD | 3,116,405 | TBD | 24 | $77 | $25,000 |
 Lakmos |
Commonwealth | LAK | TBD | 1,991,037 | TBD | 15 | $38 | $19,565 |
 Ochi |
Prefecture | OCH | TBD | 2,250,737 | TBD | 17 | $62 | $27,692 |
 Minthi |
Commonwealth | MIN | TBD | 1,532,233 | TBD | 12 | $28 | $18,644 |
 Helicon |
Prefecture | HEL | TBD | 1,298,502 | TBD | 10 | $51 | $40,000 |
 Tomaros |
Commonwealth | TOM | TBD | 545,371 | TBD | 4 | $15 | $28,571 |
 Vasilitsa |
Commonwealth | VAS | TBD | 432,834 | TBD | 3 | $10 | $24,000 |
Foreign Relations
Afthonia maintains an extensive diplomatic network with more than XXX diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with XXX sovereign countries. It is a founding member of the !CapitalistEU, an economic and political intergovernmental organization of capitalist economies and is a member of XXX, XXX and XXX. The nation adheres to the principle of the protection of democracies and capitalist economies in both its region and the globe which has put it at odds with nations who have opposite ideologies. Its role as the current regional power of the continent and arguably, a great power on the world has been recently challenged by its neighbor Maroudia. Maroudia's left-wing government and ambition to become Veleda's primary regional and great power is perceived as a clear and present danger to Afthonia's sovereignty and stability in the continent. Historical Afthonian and Maroudian polities have been engaged in various conflicts with one another. The politically divided island of <<NAME TBD>> is considered by political observers and military leaders as a potential flash point in relations between the two regional powers as both Afthoni and Maroudia supporting opposing governments. The Afthonian government considers the nations of XXX, XXX, XXX and XXX as among its closest allies and has maintained a network of military alliances with each respective countries. The scope of these alliances vary from one another with one being as simple as a non aggression pact, the agreement to hold military exercises in certain periods of time to full fledged mutual defense pacts.
Military
.jpg)
.jpg)
The Afthonian Military Force (AMF) is the combined military organization of Afthonia and is comprised of four service branches: the Army (AMFA), the Navy (AMFN), the Air Force (AMFAF) and the Marine Corps (AMFMC). The National Guard is an organized militia component of the nation whose soldiers serve on a part time basis and are part of the reserve components of the AMF and are based on each prefecture of Afthonia. The Maritime Security Agency is the nation's coast guard unity and though officially categorized as a civilian organization, is nominally considered as a law enforcement agency tasked with providing maritime security and border protection with paramilitary capabilities. Normally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of XXX, during times of war or national emergencies the Coast Guard can be placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense to coordinate its efforts with the AMF. Tensions with Maroudia has prompted the Afthonian government to allocate $65 billion (2.8% of its GDP) annually for military expenditure. It has a reported strength of XXX,000 active personnel and XXX,000 reservesists making it one of the largest militaries in the world. The High Couuncilor serves as the Commander-in-Chief and is armed forces itself is administered and managed by the Ministry of Defense. The Afthonian Armed Forces is charged to protect Afthonia and its overseas territories from enemies both foreign & domestic, as well as defending its allies abroad. Afthonia has frequently deployed its personnel on international peacekeping missions abroad. The nation maintains long-standing military relations with XXX, XXX and XXX and has frequently been involved in joint military exercises and drills with one another. Conscription is provided by law though the nation has been able to maintain sufficient numbers without the need to resort to a draft. This is largely due to the strong military ethos enshrined within Afthonian society, as its citizens consider serving the armed forces as a form of rite of passage with many joining to serve at the National Guard.
Afthonia has a well established military industrial complex producing many of its own indigenous equipment such as small arms, missiles, jet fighters and warships. Among the best known military products of Afthonian origin includes the ST-9 Skimmer, the Javelin anti-ship missile and T-1 mammoth main battle tank. Aircraft carriers & amphibious assault ships form the center piece of the Afthonian Navy and are critical tools of power projection for the government, allowing it to project power across the Megale Ocean as well as abroad. Since 2010 the AMF has sought to modernize its assets and initiated a project to coordinate the development and/or the procurement of new equipment. The newly introduced ST-11 Kestrel multirole fighter, Davos-class aircraft carriers, XXX-class guided missile destroyer & XXX-class guided missile frigate are among the results of this project. The military has historically possessed a strong political influence since before the establishment of the Unitary State of Afthonia and its predecessor the Afthonian Confederation. Ancient Afthonian polities such as the Elpis, Kingdom of Afthonia and Afthonian Empire were all govered as authoritarian stratocracies. A majority of the multiple Afthonian states that were formed after the collapse of the Afthonian Empire also possessed elements of a stratocracy within its government structure. The province of Stratos in particular had strong military traditions. When the Afthonian Confederation was on the brink of collapse after two of its largest members (Kastoria and Athos) seceded and took with them a significant number of smaller states, it was Stratos's military leaders who gradually usurped the failing civilian government, establishing an emergency military government in its place to preserve what was left of the confederation. Under the confederation the AFM was known as the Confederal Defense Forces (CDF) however after its reorganization into the Unitary State of Afthonia in 1972 the CDF was reconstituted as the AMF. The AMF has been involved in a number of conflicts since its establishment in 1960 ranging from minor border skirmishes and reigonal conflicts. The island of Drometia has been a significant point of contention between the Afthonian and Maroudian governments, with the Afthonian government's commitment to defend the Republic of Drometia resulting in Afthonia supplying not only arms but also the deployment of active duty personnel on the island.
Economy
Afthonia's economy is considered as stable with a high-income regulated market economy featuring healthy growth, low inflation, a highly skilled labor force and a considerable level of innovation. With a nominal GDP of $2.5 trillion and GDP per capita of $32,547, Afthonia ranks as the XXth largest economy and XXth richest in the world. The country's regulated market economy is a combination of embracing elements of both capitalist and socialist economies where both private sector and government play vital roles and are overseen by government or private instutions. Government intervention in the economy, while not as extensive as those in countries with centrally planned economies, is still present to provide guidence and (if necessary) intervention primarily through financial regulation and government institutions who enforce it. Afthonia is a developed country with a high-income economy and is among the most industrialized nations in the world. Traditionally agriculture and fishery have been the primary sectors of the Afthonian economy and in the modern era the nation has been described as one of Veleda's bread baskets. The services sector account for 64% of GDP followed by industry 30% and agriculture 6% as of 2023. The Second Great Schism followed by the Shattered Union era negatively impacted the nation's overall economic output and prospects due to the political instability and uncertainty of the period of time. The discovery of large of large offshore natural gas reserves surrounding Afthonia's territorial waters allowed the nation to expadite its recovery efforts in the post reunification era which has allowed the nation to become a net exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG). Its best known exports of in the contemporary era include services in the information technology, computer & agricultural engineering sectors, as well as products such as electronics, machinery, military vehicles, shipbuilding, LNG, wheat, fisheries and animal products. Oil deposits have been identified and exploited however its total reserves is just enough to fulfill domestic demand.
Agriculture & Fishery
Industry & Services
Science & Technology
Energy
Transportation & Infrastructure
Culture
Religion
Afthonia is officially established as a secular with strong separations put in place between public and religious institutions. Religious freedom is guaranteed under the nation's constitution. Polytheism is the most common type of faith practiced within the nation, with a 2020 census showing 71% adoption rate by the population. Latonaism is a polytheistic faith that originated from late antiquity since the time of the League of Giona and in the modern day is practiced by approximately 65% of the population. The country has underwent a period of secularization with the number of people who identified as being religious in population census in decline since 1988. A 2000 census by the Ministry of XXX showed that 95% of the population having adopted or practiced a particular faith. In the same census taken in 2023, the number of religious people fell to 78% while the number of people who were irreligious (this includes Agnostics and Atheists increased from 5% in the 2000, to 22% in the 2023 census. Ancient humans that inhabited the Afthonian peninsula originally practiced various forms of animism, which encouraged the worship of both objects and living animals. In time an early form of polytheism developed as a spin off from the animism based faiths found in ancient Afthonia and was adopted by the Gionan civlization and through its influence was able to gradually convert the ancient Afthonians to adopt its own version of polytheism. Latonaism was the most popular version of polytheism found in Afthonia, its name derived from the Latona the name of the author of the ancient scrolls that documented the various practices, customs and beliefs of Latonaism. Usilism, a henotheistic faith from Maroudia, is practiced primarily in the country's northern and western provinces that had fallen under Maroudian control in ancient times.