Redon

The Republic of Redon (: République redonienne), commonly known simply as Redon, is a socialist republic in southern Amphia. It is bordered to the west by Kyrossia, to the north by Zusea and Stursea, to the east by Almia, to the south-east by New Hyspania and to the south-west by the Silver Sea.

Redon is a federal directorial socialist republic. The Republican Assembly, consisting of the Council of Representatives and the Federal Council, is the primary legislative branch, while the Supreme Directory of Redon serves as a collective head of state and government.

Redon is a founding member of the Amphian Compact, and is closely allied with Zusea, though it shares cordial relations with a few socialist states within CODEX. Consequently, Redon is sometimes seen as a bridge across the Amphian Divide. Redon has been a member of the Ordic League since 1979, and is an observer state in the Non Aligned Movement and FETO.

Prehistory
The earliest traces of human settlement in Redon date from approximately 1.8 million years ago. Anatomically modern humans are believed to have arrived in Redon around 43,000 BCE, and first settled on coastal plains of the southwest. Early hominids led a primarily  lifestyle. Northern Redon has a large number of decorated caves from the era, including one of the most famous and best preserved, Maganaux (approximately 17,000 BCE). As the climate warmed with the retreat of the last glacial period (13,000 BCE), the region entered the era and its inhabitants generally became more  or semi-nomadic.

After strong agricultural and demographic development in the 4th and 3rd millenia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millenium, initially working gold, copper and bronze, as well as later iron. Redon has numerous sites from the Neolithic period, such as the Tarnac necropolis in Vereton, a large collection of standing stones, obelisks and burial mounds dating to between 4,500 and 3,200 BCE.

Antiquity
Around 600 BCE, the Kyrossic colony of Silipe (present-day Silbe) was founded on the northwest shore of the Mesogean sea. This makes it Redon's oldest city. At the same time, Vallo-Kaltish tribes began to penetrate into northern Redon, gradually settling throughout the entire country between the 5th and 3rd century BCE.

bla bla bla kyrossic conquests

After the devastating War of Five Princes (104 BCE - 102 BCE), the Kyrossic Empire was divided between the three surviving sons of the late Laconicus III. The southwest portion, centered on the Almish provinces and encompassing eastern Redon, parts of southern Zusea, Hyspania and modern-day Zeeduyn, is known by historians as the Eastern Kyrossic Empire, or commonly the Concordian Empire (after Emperor Concordius The Great).

The Anémone Revolution & the First Republic
bla bla revolution happens

Bettencourt however was inspired by the fusion of neo-monarchist and radical enlightenment ideals espoused by Alexius the Magnificent in the Punctation of Auscha, and eventually sought to organise the Republic along these lines, cracking down on the feudal authority of the aristocracy while also attacking populist organisations on the fringe. Unlike Alexius however, Bettencourt proved to be a middling strategist and politician at best - reactionary magnates quickly grew tired of his insubordination to their will, while he failed to secure wider popular support for his reforms. Discontent against the new regime quickly grew. Bettencourt survived five attempts on his life between 1837 and 1850, two of them secretly orchestrated by ministers within his government.

The final straw for the First Republic was the Auchané Massacre of 1853, where a minor riot by farmers in the town of Auchané resulted in the indiscriminate shelling of the town by Redonian artillery. Whether the massacre was actually ordered by Bettencourt himself is disputed, but the event was used as a pretext for the [[ that forced Bettencourt to flee the capital and saw the Princely family (then living in exile in Hyspania) reinvited to rule the country. The move immediately plunged the country once more into chaos, as Bettencourt’s loyalists, liberals and more radical left-wing parties all scrambled to mobilise their supporters and attempt to seize power, while national minorities on the Republic’s fringes made their own plans for seccession.

Second Republic
The Second Republic that emerged in the wake of the civil war was a far more egalitarian government than its predecessor. The 1871 constitution wholly abolished the aristocracy, introduced equality of the sexes, and made Redon an officially secular state with a parliamentary system of government under universal suffrage; the modern Redonian constitution is still modelled to some degree on that of the Second Republic.

Though dominated by the middle class, the Republic also made concessions to organised labour movements and was initially envisioned as a 'United Front'. Basic workers rights were expanded, including the institution of an 8 hour workday, the abolition of child labour and the introduction of a national minimum wage. Nevertheless, issues persisted; successive governments remained reluctant to tackle the issue of land redistribution, which would have required taking on powerful landowners and former aristocracy who still, somewhat reluctantly, helped to prop up the state’s finances and military even after the civil war, and the practical enforcement of the new rights and freedoms was inconsistent. National minorities, such as the Kyrossi of the western cantons, continued to agitate for greater autonomy or outright independence, and the traditional religious divide of Redon into Horizon and Vordic messianist communities provided further division. Redon was also isolated, surrounded by reactionary monarchies on all fronts. Relations were in time normalised with Zusea, but conflict with Hyspania remained a specter over the Republic; the 1881 - 1882 Hyspano-Redonian War saw the loss of significant territory to Hyspania.

These factors culminated in the Years of Troubles from 1882 - 1900, during which the Second Republic became increasingly weak and unstable as the carefully balanced United Front began to unravel. In 1902, after prolonged riots in Senon over a suspected fraudulent election, the De Montfort Coup (after its leader, General Camille de Montfort) was launched with the support of conservative factions to restore order and impose a new constitution. Though initially successful in seizing power, the coupsters were soon met with a general strike by Senonese workers, which quickly spread to other parts of the country. Eventually, the military government collapsed, and a new National Reformation Council was founded by leading figures of the strike to draft its own new constitution.

Politics
The Federal Constitution of Redon, introduced in 1969, defines Redon as a. There are three primary governing institutions in the federal government of Redon: the bicameral Assembly of the Republic (legislative), the Supreme Directory (executive), and the Supreme Court of the Republic (judicial). The Assembly of the Republic consists of two chambers, the Council of Representatives and the Federal Council. The Council of Representatives consists of 575 seats, filled via ; the number of seats is set by the constitution, which defines a minimum ratio of one seat per 100,000 citizens, and a maximum ratio of one seat per 150,000. The Federal Council is made up of 32 councillors representing the Federal Cantons of Redon. Each canton elects four councillors for a term of eight years each; however terms are staggered so at any time only two seats per canton will be up for election at any time. Elections for both chambers take place every four years, with and universal suffrage for all citizens over the age of 16. As of 2015, non-citizens have been allowed to vote in Federal Council elections in two cantons, Agathy and Caton.

The twelve-member Supreme Directory of Redon serves as a collective head of state and government. Its members are jointly elected by both houses of the Republican Assembly via an, serving for a term of four years. Although every adult Redonian citizen is elegible for election, in practice only Assembly representatives, members of cantonal governments and, more rarely, former military officials are nominated by the political parties and receive a substantial number of votes. Once elected, ministers of the Directory remain members of their political parties but typically distance themselves from broader party politics, as under the directorial system they may often be required to promote an executive decision which does not match the political conviction of their party (or of themselves).

The President of the Supreme Directory is elected by the Assembly from among the twelve members for a one-year term; the President chairs the government and assumes representative functions. However, the president is a with no additional powers, and remains the head of a ministry within the administration.

Since 1979, the Redonian government has generally been dominated by broad coalitions of the 3 - 4 largest parties, each party having a number of seats that roughly reflects its share of electorate and representation in the Federal Assembly. Following the 2020 Directorial Elections, the twelve seats in the Supreme Directory were distributed as follows:
 * 4 seats for the Federal Union Party (PUF)
 * 4 seats for the Social Democratic Party (PSD)
 * 3 seats for Community (CM)
 * 1 seat for Eight Stars (HE)

The function of the Federal Supreme Court is to hear appeals against rulings of cantonal or federal courts, and to interpret the Federal Constitution.

Administrative divisions
The Republic of Redon is divided into eight cantons.

* Special Canton

The cantons are with varying degrees of autonomy defined in the Federal Constitution, influenced by their ethnic composition. The three Special Cantons of Hautbourg, Agathy and Aphète are majority non-Redonian, and are thus granted slightly greater powers in terms of cultural, linguistic and security policy (such as the right to maintain their own cantonal police forces).

All cantons have their own parliaments and courts, and are equal at the federal level regardless of population or other factors. All cantons elect 4 councillors to the Federal Council of Redon. In addition, the Executive Council of each canton exercises peacetime command over their respective division of the Militia.

Departments, arrondissements & communes
The 8 cantons are further subdivided into 120 Departments. Departments are subdivided into arrondissements, which are themselves subdivided into communes (equivalent to townships or municipalities). Some major cities, such as Senon and Lutèce, are governed as Municipal Departments and are subdivided into Quartiers (quarters, or districts).

Military
The Redonian Republic Defence Forces (Forces de Défense de la République Redonienne) are the military and paramilitary forces of Redon. They consist of the Redonian Army (Armée de Terre), the Redonian Navy (Armée de Mer), the Redonian Air Force (Armée de l'Air), and the Redonian Militia (Milice), a paramilitary reserve and internal security force.

Regular command and control of the Defence Forces is exercised by the Commissary of Defence, who heads the Directory of the Defence Forces (Directoire des Forces de Défense).

The Central Military Intelligence Service (Service Central de Renseignement Militaire, commonly known simply as the SCRM) is the primary of Redon, and is considered to be part of the Defence Forces. Its counterpart, the Directorate-General of Public Security (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Publique, DGSP) is meanwhile part of the State Police Service under the Ministry of the Interior.

Redon manufactures much of its own military equipment, but has also worked closely with Zusea on military development and procurement, particularly in the sector. Other military-industrial partners of Redon include New Hyspania, Zeeduyn, Anglia and Chisei. Examples of indigenous Redonian equipment include the main battle tank, the  self propelled howitzer and the -class anti-submarine frigate. According to the Cheongu Peace Research Institute, Redon was the sixth largest exporter of arms in the world from 2014 to 2018.

The Redonian Defence Forces are the second largest armed forces in Amphia after the Zusian Vahrmacht, with 449,394 total personnel as of 2021. In 2020, military spending was at ¤124.14 billion, or 2.6% of the national GDP. There has been no national since 1998. Women were first inducted into the Defence Forces beginning in 1921, and have served across all branches since 1981.