Washakara

The Socialist Republic of Washakara is a small socialist state in Southern Crona, border to the North by the Confederated Provinces of Arcerion and to the South by the Kingdom of Paulastra. It is characterized by its relative agrarian and simple economy, small population, and relatively poor Human Development Index and GDP per capita. Despite neighbors that favour free-market capitalist policies, Washakara remains as one of the few places where relaxed immigration laws allow an influx of foreign refugees from Varshan to arrive. It was formed as a result of a side theater of the First Great War war between Arcerion and Paulastra, with the nation established by treaty in 1898 which formally withdrew both parties from the conflict.

Early history
With the widespread arrival of Levantine settlers to Southern Crona in the late 1700s, Indigenous populations found it increasingly difficult to remain in the same area as what would eventually become Arcerion. Be it border skirmishes, economic issues, famine, or just mass migration away from ancestral lands, the Indigenous populations of Southeastern Cronan peninsula were gradually moved to an area South-East of where modern Arcerion is today.

In the region claimed by settlers of what would become Arcerion, Paulastra began the establishment of its Western Reserve, a new home for tribal people after land clearances and forced relocations in the wake of the new nation's civil war.

By 1874, over 1.5 million men, women, and children had migrated to the Washakaran Basin, and began to set up what would be a proto-Government for self-rule. However, as Arcer settlers continued to venture further inland, there was a continuous influx of people towards the refuge state, and by 1895 this population had reached 3 million. Mostly farmers and agrarian, they were either displaced due to the rapid pace of the Arcer expansion or forcibly through force.

Establishment
The Washakara Basin was claimed by both Arcerion and Paulastra throughout the late 19th century and saw settlement and encroachment by both nations during the 1880s and 1890s. When Arcerion was drawn into the First Great War due to diplomatic commitments in Levantia and Sarpedon, Paulastra moved its armies into the Washakara basin and began to fortify the most extreme border claim, territory largely within the international consensus of Arcerion territory. Arcerion declared war on Paulastra in June of 1897, beginning the Basin War. The Basin War, a side front of the First Great War, largely saw loose columns of forces from both nations fight skirmishes throughout the bush without any major campaigns or battles fought. Due to the increasing ferocity of the war abroad, concerns about the Cape, and other factors, both sides were eager to reach a permanent settlement by early 1898. Negotiations produced an independent state as a condominium in the center of the disputed territory, with both sides annexing significant portions of the basin along the periphery of the new state.

Population
The population of Washakara is predominantly High Alshari, with an influx of refugees from former Varshan representing a growing number of the population every year.

Economy
The economy of Washakara is very agrarian with limited capital projects or large non-nationalized corporations. Communist and socialist government policies, coupled with corruption, have meant that Washakara has traditionally not fared well economically as business tend to prefer either the stable and growing economy of Paulastra to the South, or the deep pockets of Kinnaird, Arcerion to the North. Farming and agriculture still remain a major part of the economy, and frequent droughts or failures to rotate crops due to oversights by the government regularly result in famine and recession. Despite this, the economy manages to export some foodstuffs, despite lacking a major port, usually through Paulastran shipyards.

The Washakaran economy is overwhelmingly import-focused, with the local populace unable to self-sustain based off of their own natural resources. It has a limited mining and raw materials or mineral processing sector, with the government subsidizing what little heavy industry and manufacturing it can.