South Ranomia

The Unitary State of South Ranomia is a country located in south Ozara on the Malag Island. Pre-independence, the area now known as South Ranomia was the Knowles Territory, a colonial holding of Saesland that was founded in 1691. During early settlement, it was believed that the natives had informed the white settlers about the mountainous interior of the island, who in turn began to believe these mountains held great treasure within them that was being guarded from by the natives. Following the Gorge Wars, the native territories were annexed into the colony, encompassing the entire island from coast to coast. Due to the low amount of workers compared to settlers in the colony, was introduced in 1728, where native people were forcibly kidnapped by the local police and sold on the market for the highest bidders. The Knowles Territory continued to grow throughout the 18th and 19th century, becoming an economically prosperous holding on south Ozara and reaping the rewards of its slave population. In 1912, the Knowles Territory was granted independence from Saesland, declaring itself South Ranomia. At first, many in Hatar and even Ranomia itself expected for free elections to take hold of the country. However, many white elites feared loosing their business, and becoming the target of native groups that hold the majority population within the country. Thus, the Unitary Party was formed, and ran on a campaign that promised the status quo of white supremacy to be upheld, and promoted further measures of segregation in the country. After the 1912 election, the Unitary Party won a landslide victory, and soon began to shape the vision of the country. Instead of becoming an island of equality, nothing had changed.

Ever since it's inception, South Ranomia has taken a neutral stance towards foreign affairs, preferring to work on both sides of the ensuing Cold War and remaining out of conflict for it's best interests. This does not mean that the country is pacifist however, as it has a military presence around the region and uses its navy to maintain stability around the Malag Straits and Ranomic Ocean. It also maintains a stance of keeping it's internal native population under control, with the NGNC having the specific task of keeping guard across native reservations. It also is a founding member of the Ozaran Economic Community, along with North Ranomia, a friendly ally of the Knowlestown government.

Etymology
South Ranomia derives from the Ranomic Ocean, of which the Malag Island is surrounded by in the west. The first usage of the name was back in 1791 by Sir Jules Arthur in his biography, East Winds. During early colonization of the island, it was known as the Knowles Territory, named after the territory's capital, Knowlestown, which was itself named after the Saessish foreign minister of the time, Thomas Knowles. After home rule was established in 1912, the government changed the official name of the country to the Unitary State of South Ranomia. The name remains controversial amongst the country's indigenous community, as they prefer to identify each other under the name of their tribe rather than the country's official title. During the late 20th century, various indigenous groups have lobbied for the government to change the name to Hantsana, a word with indigenous origins before Saessish colonization. Despite this, all attempts to change the country's name have been shot down by the government, famously being deemed "pointess" by senator Al Holmes in 1989.

Geography
The total area of South Ranomia is approximately 2,725,000 square kilometers (1,052,128 sq mi). It occupies the almost the entirety of Malag Island besides XXX, which is under the control of Avalonia. The country is divided into four terrestrial ecoregions: The Southern cape, Cottonleaf forests, the Antaras, and the Capricane Flats. The Antaras are the mountain range in the center of the island, stretching down from Flourinse to Capricane. At their highest peek, Mount Mukamerah, it reaches 12,188' above normal elevation. The island is also abundant in rivers and streams, most of which begin at the coasts before snaking inwards into the mountains of the interior country. The longest river is the River Macalla, which stretches approximately 748 km (465 mi), nearly halfway across the entire island.

Segregation
South Ranomia is an regime, where black and peoples of native origin are segregated from society, given less rights, and have little opportunity to gain any social status in urban areas. Consequently, white Ranomians hold an immense superiority in the country despite making up only 22% of the population, with the average white male earning three times the national wage than a black male, being able to vote, getting subsidies for starting a business, and being given more leverage in legal cases. The one most famous cases of segregation in South Ranomia was the 1920 Upsilon Proposition Act, which repealed the colonial civil rights that were in place before independence, and allowed for business owners and landlords to openly discriminate against their clients based on ethnic grounds. In a 2010 study by the international committee, South Ranomia was ranked the XXXth most unequal country in the world, and maintains a high Gini coefficient of 49, the XXXth highest.

Ever since apartheid began, the country has been reprimanded by the international community for its human rights abuses, with major nations maintaining a strict trade embargo on the South Ranomia that still hold up to this day, relegating Ranomia to an state.

Military
The Defence Force consists of 5 professional service branches that each operate a different aspect of security: The Army, Navy, Air Force, Military Police (which includes the NGNC), and the Space Force. The Defence Force is administrated by the Ministry of Defence, which is headquartered in Woolerl, Marlowe Province. As of 2023, over 70,000 active personnel serve in the Defence Force, along with a further 120,000 personnel in reserves, making it the XXth largest armed force in the world and the XXth largest in Ozara. Despite its small size, many in the military regularly praise the Defence Force for its high quality of life, as many are given standardized meals, efficident training programs, and are promoted based on merit rather than interrelatedness. In addition, high ranking members are allowed vacations during low operating hours, while soldiers are allowed to write to their families once a week. Only whites are allowed into the frontline Defence Force, with local native militias being separated and having only marginal voice in their deployment. These native forces also are under the jurisdiction of white officers to ensure that mutiny does not go unnoticed, as well as to control what the battalions are doing at all times. Internationally, the Defence Force has been supplied by several of its former allies over the years, with Saesland and Sundemarck being the oldest supporters militarily. In fact, almost all domestically produced Ranomian equipment can trace its origins back to Saesland due to the contributions by their former colonial overlords. Internally, companies like Ortmann, Insley Blair, KG, and Ottley Group serve as South Ranomias main suppliers. Ottley Group has been seen by many as the largest contributor, as it has been given government subsidies and has been manufacturing most of the countries armored vehicles for the last 20 years. While the Defence Force has played a key role in cooperative efforts, the organization has also been critiqued internationally for its role in supporting the apartheid regimes of other countries like Blausland and North Ranomia, most notably in the Homeland Wars, where South Ranomia assisted the government in "protecting law" by sending thousands of volunteer forces to the conflict and providing close air support to Blauslander divisions and strongholds. Officially, the aim was to protect the white population, although classified documents have shown that the Defence Force purposefully disregarded its own rules and freely attacked native villages and communities. It is rumored that several pilots of the 70th Bomber Squadron were given map pamphlets highlighting areas of the city marked "negro populated", and were encouraged by their superiors to level those areas prior to their flights. South Ranomia has denied these rumors and maintains its stance that its involvement was "morally driven", as stated by then State President John Veldtocht. To this day, South Ranomia maintains a militarized presence within the Trust Territory of Central Ozara, where it has propped up several smaller apartheid republics that it has officially recognized.