Aferia

**Aferia** (Aferian:  *Աֆերճա* , *Aferya*), officially the **Republic of Aferia** (Aferian: *Աֆերճանի Ախմանստանւ*, *Aferyani Aghmanstanu*), is a sovereign state located in Eastern Eurea. Aferia makes up the northern half of the island of Idra, bordered by Bazalyan to the south, with maritime borders with Kasha to the north and Akraine and Borgizstan to the west. Its capital and most-populous city is Harevan, located in the northeast of the country. Aferia has a population of about 4.9 million inhabitants.

Organized civilization first began in the territory of modern-Aferia in the 8th-century, with the establishment of numerous small city-states. The city-states were then unified in the 13th-century, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Aferia. The Kingdom remained small but was stable, despite rising tensions with its southern neighbor the Kingdom of Bazalyan over religious issues. In the 18th-century, the Kingdom was invaded and conquered by the Kashan Empire, with its royal family deposed of; it was then incorporated as the Principality of Aferia, an overseas province of the Empire. A *coup d'état* occurred in the 20th-century, with the Empire being overthrown by fascists and becoming the Kashan Union. Aferia was then incorporated as the Aferian Fascist Republic of Kasha (AfFRK). Individual freedoms and liberties were greatly diminished under the fascist regime, with high levels of poverty, famine, and instability. Following a weakening of the Union and increasing foreign pressure from democracies, the Union began to fall in the 1980s; Aferia declared its independence in 1989. Since independence, Aferia has come into considerable conflict with the neighboring Bazalyan over the ownership of the territory Karmakh, a disputed territory between the two nations. Since the fall of the Kashan Union, Karmakh has been *de jure* under the control of Aferia, but *de facto* operates as an independent state with an almost entirely ethnic Bazalyani population. During the time of the Kashan Union, Karmakh belonged to the AfFRK. The territorial dispute was the catalyst behind the Aferian-Bazalyani War (1992–present), which has been in a ceasefire since 2002.

As an independent state, Aferia first established itself as a unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic. Its head of state was the President, who wielded considerable power, while its head of government was the Prime Minister, appointed by the President. Oftentimes, elections were considered by observers to be non-free, and civil liberties continued to be diminished. In August 2015, the Strawberry Revolutions began in Harevan, calling for government transparency and the preservation of democracy. While the government initially resisted the protestors, the revolutions eventually succeeded in getting the government to resign, and the constitution was rewritten to establish Aferia as a parliamentary republic. Now, the President serves as a ceremonial head of state with no real power, being directly elected by a popular vote for a term of six years that cannot be renewed. All real power is vested in the Prime Minister, who is nominated by the governing coalition in parliament and formally appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is tasked with setting the policy agenda and leading a council of ministers. The parliament of Aferia is the National Assembly, a unicameral 175-seat legislature.

Of Aferia's population of 4.9 million, approximately 97.2% identifies as ethnically Aferian, while 2.3% identifies as Kashan, and the remaining 0.5% as other ethnic groups. Prior to 1992, approximately 3.5% of the population identified as Bazalyani, but the Bazalyani community was expelled following the beginning of the Aferian-Bazalyani War; some Bazalyanis remain in Aferia, but they largely live in secret, having changed their names and masquerading as Aferians. Since 1992, all immigration from Bazalyanis is banned, while Bazalyani passports are not accepted at ports of entry. The national and sole official language of Aferia is Aferian, the sole surviving member of the Aferic language family. Aferian is spoken natively by approximately 98.1% of the population, while the remaining 1.9% primarily speaks Kashan natively. Kashan is commonly understood by the Aferian population, especially in older and more urban populations. Approximately 95.6% of the population adheres to Eastern Eurean Christianity, while 2.1% adheres to other Christian churches, 0.7% as other religions, and 1.6% identifies as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious. Weekly religious attendance numbers around 25.5% of the population.