SATO

The Southern Axis Treaty Organization is a federal alliance for economic prosperity and military security.

It was founded between Yoahtl, Vinland, Okashima and Hjaltland during the Somber War, in early 2018. The Commonwealth, Caledonia and Southshire later joined as member states.

History
The alliance was founded in early 2018 as a continuation of the Western Alliance. In mid-2018, the rise of the new FRIENDS alliance led to a rivalry with SATO. The tensions were exacerbated by hostilites between their respective members, Yoahtl and Rhodesia in particular. This Cold war was marked by several proxy wars between the two entities such as the Third Yoahtl-Laconia War. The FRIENDS alliance eventually collapsed due to internal conflicts and several of their members created NATO. SATO became less relevant starting from mid-2019 in favor of other entities such as the Entente and the emergence of a new World Police group.

Caledonia left the alliance in mid-2020, following disagreements on the sentencing of several pearled individuals by Hjaltland.

Bounty Hunting
Any bounty hunter seeking to pearl a SATO citizen/resident in SATO territory is obligated to cooperate with local authorities. Permission from the respective member nation is required before any action may be taken. You are emphatically not allowed to walk into our territory and pearl a SATO member without prior authorization just because there are foreign claims on them. Violation can and will lead to prosecution.

Speaker
The speaker is elected by the SATO leadership. He coordinates the external communication of the alliance and also makes sure that internal SATO discussions remain civil.

The current speaker is tankbuster44.

Associate Members
Associate members may participate in discussions held in the SATO discord. Bounty hunting is also prohibited in associate nations. However, associate members do not benefit from the defensive obligations of the alliance.

In spring 2019, SATO welcomed Icenia as an associate member. Upon their joining, relations were hesitantly good, although lingering concerns were present. After a heated debate involving former Icenian judge Figasaur, his associate Cr0codile, and specificlanguage about his involvement in Mount Augusta (CivClassic 2.0), Icenia made a mutual agreement with the rest of the SATO nations that a relationship within SATO would no longer work and left SATO.