Atropia

Atropia is a country found in the Caucasus.

Atropia is vulnerable because of its natural resources and as a result of conflicts over the Lower Janga region. Atropia possesses significant oil and gas reserves in both the northeast and the Caspian Sea. Further, the Trans-Caucasus petroleum (TC-P) pipeline, one of the most critical infrastructure components in the region, originates near its capital city. These rich natural resources generate potential threats from external forces.

Limaria currently occupies Atropia’s Lower Janga region, an area fought over by Atropia and Limaria for over a quarter of a century. At present, over 95% of the Lower Janga region population belongs to the Limarian ethnic group. Refugees displaced from the Lower Janga dispute amount to over one million people. An estimated 400,000 Atropian Limarians and 30,000 Lower Janga Limarians fled to Limaria or Donovia to avoid the conflict. An estimated 800,000 Atropians from Limaria or Lower Janga sought refuge in Atropia. Various other ethnic groups in Lower Janga also evacuated to refugee camps in Atropia or Ariana. All efforts to settle the dispute since 1997 have failed. Ariana contains a large internal Atropian ethnic minority and disagrees with Atropia over the delineation of Caspian Sea oil and gas fields. Atropia, a majority Shia nation, resists Arianian-sponsored attempts to politicize Islam within Atropia.

Political

Atropia is a neutral, Western-leaning dictatorship centered on the Ismailov family. While not a broadly democratic state, Atropia is secularized, and the population enjoys a high standard of living by regional standards due to oil revenue. Government repression is limited, although some degree of censorship exists. Corruption is extensive and creates a reformist desire in the population who, while accepting of the Ismailov family dominance, would like greater freedom of expression and less official corruption.

Military

Like most countries in the region, Atropia possesses a long history of regional irregular and regular warfare that shapes the country’s military attitudes. Donovia’s regional influence and over a century of ever-changing political boundaries never coincided satisfactorily with Atropia’s ethnic groupings. These unresolved issues contributed to the Atropian military’s current state. Atropia contains a majority Muslim population that remains less radical than the religious fundamentalists found in Ariana, but the possibility remains for Islamist attitudes to gain noteworthy influence over the military, with the potential for increased radicalization.

Economic

The Caucasus countries that possess hydrocarbon resources will continue to depend on the oil and gas industries to drive their economies, while those that do not possess such resources will attempt to tie themselves to hydrocarbon-rich nations. Both Ariana and Atropia face geopolitical difficulties in exporting their oil and natural gas. Bordered by adversaries, the Arianians and Atropians must rely on tenuous routes to export their resources. For Gorgas and Limaria, which lack extractive or mature industries, transshipment of hydrocarbon products or providing other services to oil-wealthy countries will be their primary short- to medium-term means to achieve economic development. Donovia continues to recover from a collapse two decades ago that crippled its economy. All nations of the Caucasus have relatively high inefficiency due to corruption, government involvement in the economy, and/or lack of export industry development.

Atropia’s oil and natural gas resources generate most of the country’s wealth. Since it began to actively exploit oil reserves in the late 1990s through international oil consortiums, the country has experienced strong GDP growth. Atropia launched a deliberate program to develop its own natural resources. This hydrocarbon-specific economic policy continues to bring big dividends for Atropia’s economy. Additionally, it bolstered Atropia’s quest to become a regional player and to secure its sovereignty and integrity from encroachment by Donovia and Ariana. The growth in its economy also benefitted Atropia’s security as it became an integral player in the world energy sector, especially in supplying Western Europe. President Salam Ismailov, son of the previous President Hazi Ismailov, sits at the top of the pyramidal patronage system that flows through all aspects of Atropian bureaucracy and economy. Salam Ismailov directs the state oil and natural gas systems, which are the two biggest revenue producers in the Atropian economy. Despite all the hydrocarbon revenue in the country the economy is not balanced between sectors, with large portions of the population working in small service or agriculture industries. Atropia also lacks a significant middle class.

Social

As a long-standing meeting place of the European and Middle Eastern civilizations, Atropian society possesses social elements from both Europe and the Middle East. This is reflected in a culture that embraces the emphasis on higher education as in Europe, along with the social conservatism and traditions of Islam. Many Atropians enjoy a high education level, and some are bilingual. Atropian authorities place much emphasis on their vision of social order, which includes suppression of journalists and restrictions on religious organizations and celebrations. Atropia and the US enjoy a history of cooperation, and this will likely continue into the future. Atropians consider themselves a branch of the Kalarian people and spoken Atropian is linguistically similar to Kalarian. In addition to their links with Kalaria, Atropians have links with Ariana, especially to the large Atropian minority there. Any Arianian attacks on the Atropian minority in Ariana, however, could trigger a reaction from the Atropian government or the people living along the Atropia/Ariana border.

Information

Atropia is slowly developing its public broadcast and INFOWAR capabilities, both of which are driven by oil revenue. TV and the Internet are the most powerful media, while Atropian INFOWAR capability focuses on potential threats from Ariana and Limaria. Atropian INFOWAR assets are generally tier two and three, though increasingly tier one elements are being purchased from abroad and integrated into the Atropian military and government.

Infrastructure

While the region’s five countries have a significant number of rural residents, the majority of each country’s population lives in urban areas. About two-thirds of the Arianian (68%), Donovian (67%), and Limarian populace (64%) and just over half of the Gorgan (53%) and Atropian (52%) populace live in urban areas. All five countries contain a mixture of modern urban cities and almost pre- modern rural villages. Modern utilities can be found in most major cities but not in the rural villages and countryside.

Atropia finds itself at a crossroads between a modern future and an agrarian past in its infrastructure. A dichotomy exists where cities possess most modern society amenities, but many rural people continue to live as their ancestors did centuries ago. About 25% (2.46 million) of the Atropian populace live in the capital city, Baku, or its immediate suburbs. Except for Ganja (307,500) and Sumgayit (268,800), no other Atropian cities exceed 100,000 people. Larger Atropian cities include an old inner city surrounded by more modern construction. Rural village dwellers live in homes built similar to those of their ancestors. Industrial development utilizes modern construction and methods, especially in the oil industry. Atropian industry uses factories and methods that continue to pollute and damage the environment. The government does little to regulate the industrial sector, and businesses continue to operate outdated equipment that harms the environment. Military operations in rural areas will require more logistical support due to a lack of modern infrastructure, but will face fewer problems due to civilians on the battlefield (COB). Military operations in urban areas will allow for greater use of host nation support, but will rouse additional problems due to heath issues caused by pollution, more COBs, and humanitarian support needs for the higher number of civilians.

Physical Environment

Over 200,000 square miles comprise the Caucasus, a mountainous region located between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. The Caucasus includes Atropia, Limaria, and Gorgas, as well as parts of Ariana, Donovia, and Kalaria. The Caucasus Mountains, consisting of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges, traditionally form the separation between Europe and Asia. The Caucasus region contains two major parts—the North Caucasus and the South Caucasus—that are divided by the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The North Caucasus region is contained entirely within Donovia, while the South Caucasus contains Gorgas, Limaria, Atropia, and parts of Ariana and Kalaria.

Time

The Caucasus countries, for the most part, do not believe in the sensitivity of time, and do not view punctuality or the importance of time as the US and most other Western countries do. Most of the people in the region do not view time as a resource and do not feel any compulsion to effectively manage their time. The people in the Caucasus region do not make the connection between effective use of their time and production. This lack of time consciousness will likely frustrate US soldiers as they work with their allies, but it will also give the US a battlefield advantage against its enemies.