[Vision Statement] The Democratic Republic of Utogo

[Utogo]

The Democratic Republic of Utogo is a large, diverse, and environmentally stunning nation. The capital, Buokagio, is located on the coast in the north and is a primate city, home to ~30% (i.e. ~11,056,000) of Utogo’s approximately 36,550,000 people; the two next largest cities, Wodaa (~3,450,500) and Bogimé (~2,378,000) are also located on coasts or rivers in the north. Another fairly large city exists in central Utogo, Wawisoimpi, containing about 993,250. Generally speaking, the coastal/river settlements of the north are heavily urbanized (this is not the entire north of the country), while the inland communities are less developed.

The way I've described Utogo thus far may make it seem like a lawless backwater, so let me be clear that there is, in fact, a functioning government; it simply appears hidden behind layers of distrust, cloudy history, and red tape. The government consists of the multi-party, unicameral National Assembly (read: parliament) headed by a Prime Minister, who is also the head of the dominant party. The head of state is a President, who is constitutionally obliged to appoint the Prime Minister upon the nomination of the National Assembly. Elections for local province leaders are held every 3 years, and Parliamentary elections are held every 5 years.

Economically, the government takes a mixed position, with larger industries such as healthcare and education controlled by the government, while other industries remain largely private. The GDP per capita is, however, low - approximately $4,750 (making the total GDP approximately $173,612,500,000).

Utogo is linguistically diverse, being home to a language family endemic to the country (Trans-Utogo) as well as multiple other languages from various families that are non-indigenous to the country. Multilingualism is common, especially among the lexically somewhat similar Trans-Utogo languages and particularly within branches, despite the fact that formal education doesn’t penetrate nationwide. Among the TU languages, historical ethnic confederations caused a degree of geographical isolation/separation and deepened the phonological and lexical differences between branches, which is why mutual intelligibility between languages of different branches is uncommon.

Historically speaking, Utogo was first settled approximately 14,000 years ago by Pre-Proto-Trans-Utogo-speaking peoples practicing agriculture and village settlement. These early peoples set precedents for the cultural and geographic foundations and pre-contact linguistic distribution of Utogo. The territory of present-day Utogo was also likely contacted by other groups in her area. Utogo's antiquity consisted mostly of trade networks and wars between several Trans-Utogo-speaking ethnic confederations.

At some point in her early modern history, Utogo was colonized by a foreign power, adopting their language(s). (This language, or the most influential of multiple, will be used as the lingua franca today, serving to unite the otherwise linguistically chaotic nation.). The resource-rich country was fairly thoroughly exploited through a combination of enslavement/servitude and treaties with local leaders who had no other capital to provide and were all too happy to cooperate to preserve their status. A byproduct of this was the creation of an entrenched indigenous elite, who often served in the interests of the colonial government, voluntarily or otherwise. In the early 1960s, Utogoans led a revolution against the colonial regime; while this revolution failed, it dealt considerable blows to the legitimacy of the regime and prompted conversations about a peaceful transition of power as unrest escalated, and this transition occurred in the mid 1960s with the drafting of a constitution. A succession of presidents and cabinets followed until the 1980s, when a cabal of military leaders created a short-lived junta that was disbanded in the mid-to-late 80s following loss of army loyalty.

Utogo’s modern legacy and future consist of numerous overlapping goals. As the country attempts to heal and process being on the other side of a tumultuous few decades, she has set her sights on using domestic resources supported by foreign capital to develop rapidly; if and how Utogo will turn around decades of historical mismanagement, corruption and exploitation is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, the post-revolution government has attempted to reshape the country to its will. The new government leans radical and has a slight preoccupation with ethnic divisions, and while such divisions were never institutionally imposed or supported, groups who were less involved in the revolution - perceived or otherwise - were left behind, most of whom were often rural subsistence farmers with less connection to the wider wurld and to global capital. This has led many of the more disadvantaged minorities to (understandably) perceive systematic bias and has deepened ethnic tensions.

Overall, however, Utogo’s future may best be described as precariously optimistic; she has a lot of potential, and if she plays her cards right, Utogo will be able to make the most of it. I plan for Utogo to try to reach out on the international stage to secure influence and capital, but cautiously so that her geopolitical presence is not aggressive. Utogo doesn't have the resources to go around nuking every nation that doesn't agree with her.

Population - High (2) - ~36,550,000

GDP/Capita - Low (0) - ~4,750

Land Area - High (2) - ~295,000

Edited June 28, 2021 by Utogo
Points added (see edit history)