The Zermanic Republic, sometimes known as Zermania, is a democratic ethnostate located in the valleys that make up the interior part of the northern Great Dividing Range, in the border between Queensland and the Lower Wetlands. As its name implies, the polity's population is mostly made up of Zermans. This republic came about from a gradual process of unification spanning many centuries, beginning after the Zerman Revolt, when these peoples freed themselves from the yoke of the Dow. A great migration northwards began, leaving behind the Bastions of their former slavers for the relatively virgin hills and mountain valleys of the region they now inhabit.
This state is a democratic republic where every citizen of the Sovereignty is entitled to a single vote. Politically neutral institutions keep the system in check. Non-Zerman citizens are entitled to the same rights and obligations, notably enfranchisement and obligatory military service for a year. The republic is led by President Ananda Sakkar, a pragmatic statesman more preoccupied with preventing the historically common occurrence of Zermanic genocide and discrimination across the continent than with great power politics. Her seat of power, and that of all other government institutions, is in the city of Iskar, located more or less in the middle of the Sovereignty. One unlikely friend they do possess in the world stage is The United Kingdom of Scandinavia, owing to a few positive international interactions where they found some common ground with the European monarchy.
Its borders are patrolled by the Zermanic Volunteer Army (ZVA), which is ironically staffed in its majority by conscripts, though its officers and NCOs are professional soldiers. Notably, the Zermans have a habit of assigning roles in the ZVA to soldiers depending on their ethnicity: Ferozen and Kukkurah Zerman soldiers are made into assault troops, while Aboriginals and Marjaraah Zermans are usually trained as marksmen or reconnaissance troops. Other Zerman subraces and Australians are considered universally useful but not outstanding in any particular role.
Zermania's economy largely relies on agriculture, particularly that of mountain-friendly crops such as coffee and potatoes. Its manufacturing sector is largely limited to light industry, much of its input being Zermania's own agricultural output, such as bottled juice, canned food, alcoholic beverages, jams or grounded coffee. The government has, however, invested in the creation of small arms factories for the Oceanykan market, producing cheap guns of doubtful quality for the working man, such as the Kipishter Carbine. It is, overall, a rather idyllic place, but not a rich one by any measure.