Union of Free Africa

Flag of the Union of Free Africa

The **Union of Free Africa** is a federative state in Southern Africa and a successor to the Union of Africa, following its abolition in 1985 with the end of minority rule. The Union of Free Africa is a member of the NATO+ Global Alliance with close ties to the EFU and Oceania. It's government is currently ruled by the ANC following their return to power in 2054 following a period of governance by the United Party.

## History

The Union of Free Africa officially began with the establishment of the Union of Africa following the end of WW2 during decolonization. It began following the hesitancies by Western Powers to give up their colonies due to the creation of the Eurasian Economic Alliance and their successive failures in Korea and Greece as both nations fell to communism. Africa it seemed, would entirely fall to communism, the establishment of the People's Republic of the Congo at the end of Belgian Rule exacerbated those fears leading the creation of the Union of Africa. Intended to be a British Dominion comprising all British Colonies in the eastern portion of Africa. The union was de jure established in 1949 when the colonies of Southern Rhodesia and Botswana became apart of the Union of South Africa. However the independence of the remaining colonies led to the failure of the Union of Africa with it being relegated to the Southern Part of the continent despite the name. The Union was primarily dominated by the English Speaking white population, however following the beginning of armed insurgency reconciliation with the nation's Boer population led to the formation of a united front. In 1965 the United Party and National Party would form a coalition government intended to oppose what was seen as an imminent African Communist Uprising.

As intended by the Western Allies the Union of Africa would become a bulwark against communism in Southern Africa as it spread to Zambia from the Communist Congo leading to the declaration of the Zambian People's Republic. The Union of Africa would become entrenched in a permanent Bush War with black nationalist and communist insurgencies plaguing the nation, reaching their peak during the Pik Botha speakership. The constant war would lead to the establishment of one of NATO's best armament industries, with the Union of Africa primarily relying on home made goods, as increasing attitudes against White Rule in Africa led to major western arms manufactures suspending Arms Deals with the nation.

In 1974, following a socialist revolution in Portugal they would pull out of their colonies. Rather than have them fall into communist hands the Union of Africa, with covert NATO approval, assisted a Portuguese Settler Coup supported by the remaining army units within the Colonies. Following the success these two newly independent states would opt to join the Union of Africa's federal structure. The mass influx in population into the nation made the continued minority rule untenable and in 1980 Pik Botha opted to release Mandela from prison and began to dismantle segregation within the nation. This led to the democratic elections in 1985 and the change in name to the Union of Free Africa, despite the ANC and Mandela's leftist and communist ties, NATO negotiations with the ANC and United Party would lead to a westward shift from the ANC, in favor of maintaining the UFA's security position. Nelson Mandela's speakership would last nearly 13 years from 1985 to 1997, with Mandela embarking largely on a campaign of reconciliation, with his first 4 years consisting of a unity government between the United Party and Anc. it was during this time, and with the end of international sanctions that the UFA's economy exploded into one of the best in the world, by 1998 the UFA had accomplished the miracle and lifted its formerly impoverished and segregated black population out of poverty and developed a robust middle class. Economic mobility and successful land redistributions largely ended the White control of the economy by 2000, however the white population remains influential in the urban centers of the nation. This successful transition and reconciliation prevented the "White Flight" seen in other parts of Africa during decolonization.

The ANC would continue the UFA's commitment to NATO and disavow all communist elements of the party as agreed upon in the 1982 NATO-Africa Summit. From 2000 until the early 2020s, the UFA would be active in NATO deployments to South Asia and Central America, while building up its arms industry to combat the remaining communist threat from the north. In 2035 following Eurasia's devolution into civil war, the UFA would launch Operation Cetshwayo, a lighting strike into communist Africa to rid the region of Eurasia's military and influence. While the war was an immediate success, and allowed for the integration of Zambia into the union, it would lead to the UFA being embroiled in a decades long conflict in the Congo, who's unpopularity led to the ANC losing the speakership for 15 years years until the 2050 election, during which time the United Party opted for a policy of slowly pulling back troops into the major bases and allowing the new Congo Republic to handle its own security affairs. However in the past 5 years since 2050 the ANC has increased troop presence in the border regions in reaction to civil wars in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

## Politics

The two largest political parties are the ANC and the United Party with both having been elected to government in the last 20 years, the UFA is a widely successful representative democracy with one of the highest press freedom and electoral freedom's in the world. The UFA enjoys a high standard of living and has successfully curbed ethnic strife within the massive country. Elections remain competitive with the ANC having developed into a centre-left political party, dominated mostly by black Africans with most support coming from the Rural black population. The United Party is conservative, with most appeal coming in the Urban centers such as Pretoria, Cape Town, Haraare, and Luanda. Most of the party's ethnic support comes from the nation's influential whites, coloured, and English/Afrikaner speaking blacks.

The UFA exists in a federal system with South Africa, Zimbabwe, South West Africa, Angola, and Mozambique being the principal federal states, with Botswana and Zambia having extra autonomy as self governing associate states within the Union. South Africa remains the dominant power in the nation, with most of the nation's political, economical, and scholarly elite coming from the major urban areas in the south.

## Foreign Relations

The UFA is a member of the global NATO+ Alliance, it maintains close military ties to Oceania and the European Federal Union due to both of them having a common security interest on the African continent and the Indian Ocean. The partnership between these three is called the Triad. The UFA's cooperation with the EFU is controversial within the UFA due to Europe's continued occupation of former colonial territories in Africa. While small they still represent the legacy of colonialism on the continent and directly oppose the vision of the current ruling African National Congress. However due to security concerns in the Congo and the ANC has opted to not suspend security cooperation with the EFU.