Kabo Geshaan

Republic of Kabo Geshaan
Flag
Capital	Anjerra
Official languages	Geshaani, Fouawar
Recognised national languages	Daryan, Spanish
Demonym(s)	Geshaanian, Kabogeshaanian
Government	Federal presidential republic
• President	Lazaro Kibiki
Establishment
• Founded as Costenan colony	April 28, 1798
• Annexed by Daryan Empire	March 11, 1907
• Independence	January 9, 1976
Population
• Estimate	21,840,000
HDI (2023)	0.473 low
Currency	Geshaanian rial
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Internet TLD	.kg

The Republic of Kabo Geshaan, known commonly as Kabo Geshaan, is a federal presidential republic in Neria. Bordering Kolda to the south, Kabo Geshaan's geography includes savanna grasslands in the south and the Kibulo Desert in the north. Kabo Geshaan's population of 22 million is further divided into dozens of recognized major clans and numerous sub-clans, many with their own distinct languages and cultural practices. Kabo Geshaan was divided into numerous small kingdoms for centuries prior to unification as an administrative unit under the Costenan Empire in 1698, followed by the brief Kabo Viceroyalty during the Costenan Empire's decline. In 1907, Kabo Geshaan was formally annexed by the Daryan Empire, and gained independence over a half-century later, following the Great War. Since independence in 1976, Kabo Geshaan has experienced persistent underdevelopment, exacerbated by the Kabo War, an intermittent insurgent conflict between Zindawla militants and the federal government which has been ongoing at varying levels of intensity since 2004. Kabo Geshaan is among the least-developed nations in the world according to the Human Development Index.

History

Initial human settlement in Kabo Geshaan is believed to have originated in modern-day Kolda. Kolda's scattered city-states were involved in maritime trade with Serriel as early as the 12th century, with Anjerra serving as a point of trade in textiles, foodstuffs, and enslaved people. This trade also led to the arrival of Islam in Kabo Geshaan, which was largely practiced syncretically alongside traditional animist beliefs. Although Kabo Geshaan was the site of robust international trade during the premodern era, conflict between the city-states and small kingdoms of the various Geshaanian clans was limited in scale, and no major polities emerged.

In the late 17th century, Costenan seafarers opened trade relations with Kabo Geshaan, as the weakening of the Hanifid Caliphate meant that it was no longer able to prevent its Costenan rival from extending commerce as well as coercive protection agreements to northern Neria. By 1798, these trade expeditions had become war fleets, with the killing of a Costenan army captain by rebels used as a pretext for Kabo Geshaan's formal annexation by the Costenan Empire in 1798. The Costenans valued Kabo Geshaan as a source of agricultural wealth, particularly for cultivation of cotton and sugarcane. The anticolonial rebel Japhet Abdullahi Massawe waged a guerrilla war against the Costenans from 1842 until his defeat in 1857; he is today considered one of Kabo Geshaan's foremost national heroes, and the Geshaanian flag is modeled on his revolutionary flag. The Costenan Empire collapsed in 1876, and in Kabo Geshaan, the remains of the colonial apparatus, aided by Daryan merchants who had begun to dominate the colony's trade successfully reformed as the Kabo Viceroyalty, which governed the nation under a continuation of colonial policies from 1878 to 1907. During this time period, the government was nominally independent but effectively run from the Daryan Legation in Anjerra, as the Kabo Viceroyalty was economically and militarily dependent on Darya.

In 1907, Darya abandoned its policy of indirect control of Kabo Geshaan and forced the Kabo Viceroyalty to be abolished, with Kabo Geshaan incorporated as a dominion of the Daryan Empire. Direct Daryan rule meant the continuation of harsh colonial policies, along with the growth of a Daryan settler population and the promotion of Zindism across the colony. By the mid-20th century, anti-colonial agitation swept the colony, with periodic petitions and demonstrations calling for autonomy or independence, which were in turn met with repression by colonial authorities. During the Great War, Kabo Geshaan was a major supplier of goods for the Daryan war effort, and saw an invasion by Lehvantine, Serrielan, and Brissiacan forces, which had defeated Daryan resistance in Kabo Geshaan by 1963. Following the end of the war, Kabo Geshaan was administered as a protectorate by the Coalition powers for ten years, with the intent of allowing the colony to develop domestic industry and prepare for independence. Although founded as a democratic republic, Kabo Geshaan quickly fell to autocratic rule under its first president, Athuman Halifa, who ruled from 1976 until his death in 1995. While Halifa's base of support was in his own Juma clan, the transition in power to General Bernardo Kambi left a weakened regime. In 2002, mass protests over rising food prices and motivated by longstanding frustration over the slow pace of economic development led Kambi to leave office in the bloodless HhB Democratic Revolution, named for the site of the largest confrontation between protesters and soldiers at Anjerra's Handhal Boulevard. A new constitution was subsequently drafted aimed at checking the power of the president and ensuring productive governance through the mandatory three-party system.

The uncertainty of the political transition led to the growth of radical Zindist nationalism (Zindawla) in Kabo Geshaan's northern hinterlands. Attempting to seize power with the support of local warlords who had flourished under Kambi's rule, the Zindawla militant group Dharm-ke-Sainik (DkS, trans. Fighters of Righteousness) launched a lightning campaign in 2004 aimed at seizing power in Anjerra, which was defeated by clan forces aligned with the federal government. Since 2004, Kabo Geshaan, particularly the rugged north, has been the site of ongoing conflict between Zindawla militants (primarily DkS, but also the smaller Venkata Dal terror group) and government forces. The Kabo War has varied in intensity and geographic reach, but has had numerous negative effects on Kabo Geshaan's development and economy. International peacekeeping contingents, largely hailing from other Nerian nations, have at several times intervened in the country in hopes of providing security.

Geography

Kabo Geshaan is a federal republic divided into nine regional states and two chartered cities. The capital of Anjerra and the nation's second city of Tiyela are chartered cities, while the provinces are Jumalo, Yasneera, Mouadiqa, Wishawla, Haladeen, Basta, Kabo, North-Central, and North-East.

Politics and Government

Kabo Geshaan is a presidential republic led by an elected president serving a five-year term, limited to one consecutive re-election. The president holds a legislative veto which can be overriden with a three-fifths majority, and is elected via a popular plurality vote. The Kabo Geshaanian legislature is the Legislative Assembly, which is bicameral with the House of People's Representatives exerting primary legislative power and the House of Elders serving a primarily advisory role.

Federal elections in Kabo Geshaan are competitive and generally fair, yet often marred by electoral violence. The democratic nature of these elections is largely credited to a collaborative political culture with a high prevalence of bargaining between clan elites, as well as the integrity of the Independent National Electoral Commission, which has enjoyed substantial autonomy and is endowed with substantial power, including the ability to nullify and call reruns of election results.

In order to prevent the mass political fragmentation upon clan lines which dominated politics prior to the HhB Democratic Revolution in 2002, the Geshaanian constitution permits only three political parties. Every ten years, alongside presidential elections, Kabo Geshaanians vote to select the three legal political parties for the coming decade. Currently, the three parties are the Union for Development Party (UDP), the Vikantya Democratic Party of Struggle (VDP-S), and the Nationalities Party (NP). Politics are largely based on ethnic and clan allegiances, with the Vikantya Democratic Party of Struggle seen particularly as a vehicle for the country's ethnic Daryan minority. The current president is Lazaro Kibiki, nephew of former president Roselyn Kibiki, of the UDP.

Demographics

Religious Belief in Kabo Geshaan (2022 estimate)

	Percentage
Zindism	62%
Islam	32%
Ambonar Church	4%
Other	2%

Zindism is the most common religion in Kabo Geshaan, as a result of the religion's propagation during the period of Daryan rule. Islam reached Kabo Geshaan in the 10th century. Kabo Geshaan is also home to a small community of adherents of the Ambonar Church of God, largely in the country's second city of Tiyela, due to an intensive missionary effort since the late 20th century.

Clans, regional communities sharing familial and religious ties, are a crucial building block of Geshaanian society. The federal government recognizes over two dozen clans, and traditional clan authorities often hold significant political and judicial power. Amidst the ongoing Kabo War, clans affiliations often shape dynamics of affiliation between the warring sides. Traditions of arbitration between clan elites have also been credited with helping defuse intercommunal tensions amidst political uncertainty.

Culture

Kabo Geshaan is home to a variety of styles of beadwork and pottery, many associated with particular clans. Painting also holds a long history in Kabo Geshaan, with paintings in the Mendulu style, characterized by brightly colored enamels, a noted Geshaanian export. Football is a popular sport in Kabo Geshaan, as is lacrosse, which was introduced during the Daryan colonial era.

Maize, sorghum, and rice are staple crops in Geshaanian cuisine, which is influenced by Daryan seasonings and styles of cuisine. Kabo Geshaan is heavily agricultural, with roughly 80% of the population working in subsistence farming. Fishing and aquaculture are also prominent as sources of food in Kabo Geshaan. Food scarcity and malnutrition remain a persistent problem in many regions.