Hydar State

Hydar Sultanate or Hydar State is a sultanate in Kesh, bordering Kodeshia to the east and Asharistan to the north. It is among the most underdeveloped states in Eastern Kesh, with a GDP per capita of $5,400, an urbanization rate of 68%, and an HDI of .76. However Hydar is extremely variant among the cities and countryside, its cities being among the most developed in Sanqing. The Hydari economy is rapidly growing with growth rates near or above 10%. The geography is extremely rugged with many rainforests and mountains, forcing many rural populations to be cut off from the outside world. Consequently, state power is limited outside of the cities. The nation has been modernizing, however many of the villages remain unwilling to integrate in the wider world. These villages preserve traditions and cultures that have existed for many millennia. Hydar's cities are extremely dense and modern, springing up in the last few decades when peace was achieved against insurgents.

Hydar is ruled by the Sultan of Hydar, a former warlord who broke away from Kodeshia during the Kodeshian Civil War. The Sultan at first saw himself as the rightful leader of all-Kodeshia, and would lead a jihad against Kodeshia during the Great Kesh War. The Sultan would overthrow many of the Hui administrators and generals, replacing them with loyal Persians, Pashtuns, Mons, and Assamese. The Forces of Righteousness would at first move deep into Kodeshia before being expelled, and later his forces were on the defensive. They would flee to remote mountains in the Long Exodus before eventually regrouping and reclaiming Hydar. Kodeshia signed a separate peace a few years later with the Sultan, and the nation became independent. Hydar would get aid from many countries from the 60-80s to support its fight against various socialist insurgents. While Hydar was able to defeat most of them, Soranistan was able to defend itself long enough to see an armistice signed. Still to this day both states do not recognize each other. In the 90s the nation finally saw peace, and would sign various agreements to improve its infrastructure and open up to the wider world. To keep most of the nation's pristine rainforest and nature from disappearing, the Sultan declared over 50% of Hydar a protected space where no urban development can occur in 1995. "Protected space" can still have rural villages and small plots, however development past the rural economy is restricted. Limited space has meant Hydar's cities are extremely dense and walkable.

Hydar has a very diverse, yet fast growing economy. The economy is very unbalanced, with most of the GDP generated in the urban areas. The largest sector of the economy is industry, followed by services and construction. Most banks are under state control, and give out credit according to state plans. Hydar has created a massive manufacturing sector through heavy industries such as steel, many of which are used in construction projects. Hydar has many light industries, such as carpet manufacturing, textiles, and electronics. Hydar also has an agricultural industry around the growing of nuts and citrus. The economy remains poor with a GDP per capita of 5,400 and high inequality as the cities are far richer than the countryside. Most of the economy is under semi-state semi-private companies known as the bonyads who have management structures empowering "technicians" and give to the poor. In recent years fully private companies have been taking larger parts of the Hydari economy. Hydar while open to trade with the outside world has been unwilling to implement reforms to get foreign FDI, nor giving up its capacities for core industries. The state policy is focused on import substitution and the creation of industrial capacity. Vast gongsuos dominate the national economy.

Hydar is a monarchy under the Sultan, who vests significant authority in the royal court and Majlis. The court is made up of many intellectuals, the harem, theologians, older officials, and in recent years even bloggers that the Sultan appoints to advise him. Hydar has a party known as the Sons of the Sultan which all officials are required to be apart of. They have cells all over the country and engage in consultation with many of the citizens. Many local villages have a system of Majlis, and every 5 Years a National Majli is held to see the opinions of various business leaders. Hydari officials are promoted or demoted by the Sultan, often based on their performance. Hydar's political ideology is based on legalism and virtue ethics.

Hydar is perhaps one of the most unique countries in Kesh, being both Sincized yet Islamic, with a diversity of cultures throughout. Hydar has preserved thousands of languages and cultures, while still having some of the largest cities in Anterra. The nation is also noted for its both antiquated yet modernized government system, combining centuries old palace intrigue with the realities of modern governance. It is very popular among backpacker tourists, and is one of the hottest travel destinations in Kesh. It is apart of KTEC and has strong ties with most of its neighbors despite historical tensions.

Hydar Rebellion
As Kodeshia moved to reform and modernize, Kodeshi authority gradually spread to the frontier, and attempted to homogenize the diversity of ethnic and linguistic groups on this frontier. Persian, Pashto, and Assamese populations felt threatened by encroaching Han dominance and created innumerable secret societies and gongsuos to defend their culture. The middle class developing in the cities were dominated by Persian speaking intelligentsia who many Han civil service officials distrusted. This intelligentsia called for a separate tripartite system of ministries to represent the Islamic populations of the frontier. Their grievances kept being ignored by the central government.

When Kodeshia fell into the Grand Campigns, Tiperyn began to arm many of these secret societies and by 1918 they had formed the Brothers for Righteousness and began to revolt. They were a loose rebellion with no central leader, merely the goal of jihad until Kodeshia agreed to their demands of firing all Han civil servants operating in the Islamic regions and a separate system of ministries. The rebellion was known as the Black Headscarf Revolt. It heavily stalled Kodeshian forces and Kodeshia was slowed down by the revolt. Kodeshia had no choice but to enlist "bandits and brigands" to crush the Black Headscarf Rebellion. Mercenaries came from all over the world and initially there was an extremely loose command structure. Gradually Qobad Hydar would take power and lead the mercenaries to defeat the Black Headscarf Rebellion. He acquired great fame in the court and would become an important political ally of Qinghuiguo. Qobad recommended that Hydar should accede to the demand of creating a separate system of ministries to make sure no rebellion would ever happen again.

Rise of the Hydar Clique
From the rebellion Qobad had quickly created a large force, with around 150,000 troops. He occupied the cities of the new province of Huijiang. Qobad created alliances with secret societies who agreed to accept Kodeshi rule while putting down others. He was made governor of the province by Emperor Qinghuiguo who was a major ally of his. Qobad would fire most Han civil servants and replace them with Persian or Pashtao allies. He also began a series of early reforms to modernize Hydar and would build a series of railroads and factories.

He gained a large degree of autonomy due to the separate ministries and would continue maintaining his army. Officals in Kodeshia grew concerned of Qobad's growing power and began questioning him. In 1925 a banquet was held where Qobad's daughter was poisoned by Republican leaning intellectuals. Qobad quickly grew extremely distressed at the death of the young princess and ordered the arrest of all Han officials at the banquet. It was written the Qobad tortured them "day and night" and vowed to slay anyone involved in the plot. He informed Emperor Qinghuiguo and urged him to purge and execute the involved officials. Quihuiguo obliged only for Qobad to see him wait months as the royal court opposed the deal. The Qobad sent a beauty to the Royal Palace and poisoned the wife and children of a prominent reformist, vowing more revenge would come if the officials were not executed. After that Emperor Quihuiguo quickly executed all of them, but the Qobad's trust in him was forever broken.

The incident saw the Qobad accelerate anti-Han reforms and many more radical secret societies began to get patronized. In 1926 all Han officials were thrown out of the Huijiang government and Han professors were thrown out of Huijiang universities. Kodeshi officials grew worried about the emperor's weakness to stop the "renegade warlord" who was gaining power day and night. Republican officials would soon plot the overthrow of the emperor, eager to remove the "barbarian of the East" and his Clique.

Politics and Government
Without an official constitution, Hydar has an unwritten constitution carefully managed by the national sovereign, Reza Hydar. Hydar is seen as a mixed government, giving role to all classes within the country. National policy is decided upon by a popular front of 9 parties known as the Sons of the Sultan, which represent all major classes in the nation through the policy of "New Democracy". The three most important parties in the Sons of the Sultan are the Communist Party of Hydar State, The Students, and Society of Doctors and Engineers. The 9 Parties collectively send representatives to National Majli where they deliberate over proposals, and send them to the Sultan. The Sons of the Sultan operate based on the principles of consensus building and democratic centralism. In this sense, Hydar is proto Leninist. and legalist features also abound in the Hydari state. Hydar is quite meritocratic, with a system of civil service examinations and extensive data gathering on the performance of officials. Hydar's civil service exams test the applicants mastery of the and, their ability to memorize important texts in the national canon, and writing skills. The exams are known to be extremely difficult and competitive with only 2% of applicants actually passing. Students need to be able to quote texts of the Hydari canon verbatim, solve various chess problems, solve a difficult math problems, and write a poem within the 3 days allotted to give the test. Potential candidates are known to study for years since the exam is not only seen as a way up into the upper class but as a way for one to prove he is a worthy and educated man.

Hydar is a unitary state and instead of vesting power in provinces, power is vested in municipalities. Hydar has 2 tiers for municipalities, First Tier, Exurban First Tier Area, and Second Tier. There are only two first tier areas - Santai-Tanzai and Qirya. Both areas have larger municipal unions which coordinate their core city governments and outlying cities. Dependent cities in a continuous urban region are classified as Exurban First Tier Areas. Smaller cities are classified as Second Tier. Areas with a population >100,000 and not in the continuous urban region of a First Tier city are classified as Towns, and >10,000 villages. Hydari cities have one elected official, Director of Government Discipline while the rest are picked through effective work at one of the city's government organs. Every Five Years the Sultan revises the criteria of work. Cities often have extensive bureaucracies, managing affairs such as water, electricity, education and infrastructure. In Hydar the majority tax revenues are collected at the local level, with the federal government collecting revenues for defense, intelligence, and coordination among local governments.

Expounding on tax policy in Hydar, it is unique for its simplicity yet unique ideological principles. Hydar does not levy an income, property, or sales tax - as they are seen as deadweights on productive economic activity. Instead the majority of state revenue is derived through a land value tax, as well as auxiliary taxes on inheritance, natural resources, and carbon. This tax policy greatly simplifies tax collection in Hydar and attracts many corporations all over the world. Hydar is seen as one of Kesh's tax havens, due to its low corporate tax rate of just 5%. All land in Hydar is sold in so called "99 Year Ownership Periods" where after 99 Years the land will be returned to the state unless a renewal agreement can be reached. Also the state, as the ultimate owner and guarantor of all land in the country, has full rights to the land if necessary.

At the federal level the Sultan has a Royal Court, in which his advisors and ministers live in. Hydar has 3 Directorates, The Directorate of Defense, the Directorate of Discipline, and the Directorate of Nature. All 3 are managed by a director, who is picked through competition among lower officials to conduct the best Government Work. The Directors are the closest advisors to the Sultan. All directorates are headquartered in the massive Palace of Government. Hydar has a system of courts known as the mahkama, led by a Qadi. The High Qadi may invent hadiths unless overruled by the Sultan. In recent years makhama have been streamlined to be more effective at contract enforcement as the economy grows.

Hydar's government has been extremely effective in recent decades, taking a small landlocked and wartorn country and transforming it into a fast growing economic powerhouse. Hydar ranks highly in indicators like life expectancy, cost of living, infant mortality, calorie count, and education. However it is far from being a democracy, basing itself more on the tradition of. Many states criticize Hydar for not respecting the autonomy of ethnic minorities and possessing an authoritarian government.

Education
Hydar has a well-ranked competitive education system, achieving a literacy rate of around 99%. Schooling is mandatory for 10 years but around 27% of the population has received tertiary education. Students start in Primary School, move up to Secondary School, and after Secondary School can attend a Gymnasium, trade school, or apprenticeship. After Gymnasium students are required to take the Hydari gaokao exam for college placement and admissions. Graduates from gymnasium are required to be fluent in both Farsi and Kodeshian.

The Hydari gaokao is known to be very intensive and difficult, with a wave of suicides occurring after the exams. Still it is seen as less intensive compared to gaokaos in other nations such as Nanwen. The exam covers 6 subjects - mathematics, science, literature, poetry, theology, philosophy, and physics. The exam takes place over 8 hours where students are isolated within various testing centers. To prevent cheating desks are usually spread apart, students are given special uniforms, and everything will be provided to them by the testing center (pencils, calculators, etc). The Hydari gaokao is infamous for involving rote memorization by forcing students to write down important poems verbatim, and forcing students to write various essays in both Farsi and Chinese. Students often spend hours afterschool preparing for the Gaokao with a variety of testing centers popping up all over the country.

Economy
Hydar has a nominal GDP of 474 billion, and a PPP GDP of of 685 billion. Hydar is quite unequal, mainly due to the difference between the city and the countryside, however the government is working to address inequality. The country is one of the fastest growing in all of Kesh, with growth rates of over 10+%. In recent years it has seen a massive modernization and even celebrated the construction of a high speed rail line between Qirya and Santai in 2017.

The economic structure of Hydar is unique. For profit firms conduct a minority of economic activity, with the majority of GDP being generated by gongsuos and Public Foundations. Gongsuos are alliances of small family owned firms, and TVFs which allow for them to coordinate through means such as vertical and horizontal integration, in order to form a greater whole. Most goods are created by gongsuos or through joint-stock trusts assembling components made by gongsuos. Many other activities - especially related to heavy industry, healthcare energy, finance, agriculture, construction, and infrastructure - are dominated by Public Foundations. Public foundations are seen as equivalent to state owned companies in other countries. Due to the dominance of Public Foundations in areas that would otherwise be subject to monopolies, living costs in Hydar are some of the lowest in the world.

Hydar is an industrial powerhouse - with large steel, machinery, polymers, electronics, defense, and automotive heavy industries. In fact, Santai-Tanzai is one of the largest regions for laptop manufacturing in Anterra. Hydar also posses large light industries in fields such as textile manufacturing, carpet manufacturing, food processing, silk processing, wood processing, and building materials. Overall industry makes up the largest portion of the Hydari GDP.

Hydar is abundant in natural resources. The country possesses the largest reserves of natural gas in Sanqing that it exports to the rest of Eastern Kesh. In recent years the country has cooperated with Kodeshian companies to begin LNG exports as a fracking boom strains energy prices in Kesh. The country possesses large reserves of iron, titanium, cobalt, and vanadium that it mostly sells for export. Another natural resource Hydar is abundant in is fertile land allowing it to be a regional leader in the growth of crops such as citrus fruits, grapes, and sugarcane. Increased mechanization has led to a boom in food production in recent years.

In recent years Hydar has become a growing destination for the information technology sector due to a well-educated population, and cheap labor. However Hydar remains backwards in this industry as compared to Nanwen or Kodeshia. Hydar's most important service sector is finance. Due to low taxation and strict privacy laws many companies across Kesh view Hydar as a tax haven and setup shell companies and escape high taxes in other countries. Another facet of finance, in recent years the cryptocurrency industry has taken root in Hydar due to cheap energy prices. Hydar has been criticized by many in Eastern Kesh for enabling companies in KTEC countries to evade taxes. In Nanwen many scandals have emerged due to high ranking officials moving illicit gains to Hydari banks. Some have noted Hydar uses this as a means to gain capital for its own internal expansion - using these funds to finance large economic projects.

Hydar's economy is noteworthy for having fuzzy and unclear boundaries between private and public assets. Due to the decentral nature of the Hydari polity public foundations have a very large degree of autonomy to manage affairs. Industry is almost always managed by these public foundations or township and village foundations - which are arrangements broked between municipalities and projectors. Township and Village Foundations while technically being partially owned by the city are usually privately controlled and used for private profits. Hydar cities are known to intensely support these Foundations to bolster their economic growth and they are very easy to set up. In fact both Qirya and Santai Tanzai have created online portals to register Township and Village Foundations in a matter of minutes. Most light industry and service industries are done through gongsuos which are effectively large syndicates. These are very often hierarchical and usually follow a strict philosophical and mythological outlook. Many firms - especially newer startups and consumer facing brands - are registered abroad but operate primarily in Hydar as to be fully privately owned and controlled. However the largest consumer facing brands especially in the area of fast moving consumer goods are either foreign brands or not for profit private foundations.