Foreign relations of the Imperial Federation

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The Imperial Federation, founded as the Holy Ralgon Empire since before modern Micrasian history, emerged as an MCS-accepted power in 1655 AN. Since then, the Ralgonese-dominated empire has transformed, and its foreign relations along with it. What follows is a general picture of the Imperial Federation's foreign affairs situation after 1730 AN, especially in the aftermath of the Raspur Pact's fracture along regional lines as a result of the Shiro-Benacian War.

Overall Situation

Global Assessment

In the end of the Wars of the Dispossessed, the Shiro-Benacian War, and the cessation of large-scale hostilities outside of the Third Great Swamp War, the Imperial Federation entered a period of unprecedented domestic prosperity, but simultaneously a sudden and renewed stretching of military forces due to the loss of global partnerships the Ralgonese dominated empire had rapidly come to depend on to maintain a solid hold on their most distant lands, particularly Eternia and Haifa, the latter of which was pacified at enormous expense in effort, materiel, and lives of native allies and, on occasion, Ralgonese blood on the Haifan soil at both sides of the strait's massive banks.

Without the Raspur Pact, the Imperial Federation was compelled to make alliances as needed with regional powers, while redrawing its own diplomatic map in areas where it was weakest: Deep Keltia, Southern Eura, and the international waters in the Skerry Islands, where it depended on friendly powers to maintain its garrison in the International Mandate and its trade with The Hexarchy, which held a significant Ralgonese minority along its southern coastlines. But most of these efforts to find regional partners were, at least partially, successful.

Regionalization

By 1735 AN, the Imperial Federation had established open partnerships with Bassaridia Vaeringheim, and through a joint campaign, largely eradicated anti-Ralgonese piracy along the Strait of Haifa, the inland territories (especially the south banks), and in the Sunfire Sea's Keltian coast by extension. This freed maritime resources for the Ralgonese to better its shipping lanes in the Great Western Ocean, securing its hard-won empire and ensuring factionalism could not settle into the respective halves of the now-vast country spanning three continents. With a rapidly growing population and reliance on maritime trade, the Imperial Federation required regional and intercontinental partnerships to maintain a lasting peace -- at least, outside of Benacia, on which its central government had largely given up on trying to exert any modicum of direct influence.

Still, the loss of allies north of the Straits resulted in the loss of territories in Haifa, which were given referenda on their affiliations, with much of the lands along Haifa transferred to their Bassarid rulers by the end of this conflict. However, a majority of the population (post-census) was maintained (at least on paper) so the population drop was (at least on paper) modest at worst, and barely felt by the time the long peace truly settled into the now-secured Ralgonese holdings on Haifa and near Blore Heath. While this freed significant assets, the collapse of Anhuaco and the weak situation on the north bank still compelled both the Imperial Federation and its Bassarid allies to dedicated additional troops to patrolling the strait for undesirables looking for trouble.

In diplomatic affairs, the Imperial Federation found itself by far the strongest in Cibola, where nearly all surrounding powers of the continent were either openly friendly or at least peaceful with the Ralgonese living in or near other countries. Nearly the entire land border connected with friendly powers, and powerful regional allies such as Natopia off the east coast and in Tapfer protected maritime trade, while the Mondosphere kept the peace to the south. In the Lanzerwald, friendly overtures to the region's respective governments brought peace and prosperity to Bomei Island.

With the peaceful situation ensuring the Ralgonese diaspora were in a better position than at any other point in the nation's history, military matters once more focused on the pressing issue at hand: the Great Swamp, the fierce denizens of which had stirred to the point of full military mobilization to defend against outbreaks of hostile insectoid and dragonid fauna. Known as the Third Great Swamp War, this would tie up the majority of the Ralgonese ground troops on that continent for the foreseeable future, weakening their forward-looking positions elsewhere. Globally, the Imperial Federation's dependence on such organizations had left its own regional nature as a potential weakness, and this was on full display in Eura, where its holdings held a much lower density in populations of Imperial Federation citizens.

Eura, therefore, nearly overnight had transformed from the poster child of Ralgonese reach and ascent in global prestige into the Imperial Federation's worst pain point. While New Alexandria continued to be on peaceful terms after years of cooperation in the Raspur Pact, the Pact's fracture and regionalization post-1735 AN had left questions in the continued status of close cooperation in the region. Thus, while the two powers continued to cooperate, the Imperial Federation still found itself suddenly feeling excluded from Euran affairs for the first time in nearly three decades. Lacking global friends, the Imperial Federation found themselves over-reliant on their base at Akuma-Jima and Beihagh to tie their navy and merchant routes through Imperial Eura to the constituent country of Eternia, and maintain economic ties with geographically close markets.

Cibola

-- Nearly everyone is friendly or, if not, neutral with cooperative overtures lately -- Mondosphere is in good shape, resulting in a safe land border the enire way -- Sanama is cooperative there, guaranteeing peace on a macro level for years to come -- The Lanzerwald countries appreciate their presence and positive impact, making Bomei's residents continually rich -- Natopia is still notionally an ally because RP hasn't flown apart there yet, ensuring maritime peace

Keltia

-- Basssarids are now a friendly power, even more so than before. This guarantees their permanent hold on parts of Haifa, and the mainland coast of Keltia. -- They're still notionally allied with New Alexandria, even if only through the Raspur Pact, making the rest of their border safe. -- Calbion is gone from North Island so they have no more regional rivals, even if Ralgonese authorities no longer find no true friends on Haifa's east bank. -- The Ralgonese-Bassarid alliance defeated the Dispossessed in the region, so have no credible enemies.

Eura

On Eura, they're basically alone now. And that's their biggest weak spot in terms of holdings abroad.

They have few options outside of pursuing stronger relations with New Alexandria, and adjacent powers such as Çakaristan would make the Ralgonese authorities feel a lot safer in surrounding regions as well.

Raspur Pact & Other Global Partnerships

The Imperial Federation sees Benacia as effectively lost for the foreseeable future due to total war between its two main powers. The loss of global support causes them to seek regional partners, and sometimes this comes with a price. In Haifa this means at the cost of territory, even if total population there drops only modestly by the next census. The gain in economic and raw resources proves a good balance in Haifa, leading the central government to bill the venture in Haifa over the prior 15 years as a victory -- despite losing significant territory via referenda.

The collapse of Pact dominance also has knock-on effects in the Imperial Federation's capabilities elsewhere. They are stretched in Eura, where a single set of territories stringed along the coast is their sole means of maintaining constant military connection with Eternia, a fully constituent country. In terms of trade with West Keltia and Appolonia, the Imperial Federation must depend entirely on friendly powers in the Skerries, where the Imperial Federation must pass through for all of is trade with those regions. In terms of the International Mandate and the Ralgonese garrison, they need a friendly Çakaristan to ensure that it stays put and positively contributes to the Ralgonese quarter's continued prosperity in the settlement's confines.

It is in this regionalization that the Imperial Federation finds itself in a post-Pact world. The current goals of the Imperial Federation's foreign team is to secure Euran partners, and ensure its developing relations on other continents remain strong to protect its own great power status in its home regions, while keeping trade lanes open that are vital to its national economy.