Melenavenian Pacifism

The Republic of Melenavenia has no standing armed forces and relies on diplomacy to maintain its territorial sovereignty. However, the nation has a paramilitary system and contingencies in place to deter any possible invasion.

Firstly, Melenavenia only has a shared border with Vikoland, another nation with no standing armed forces, and it shares no maritime borders with any other nation other than Vikoland. This isolation and its sole neighbor being in a similarly disarmed state means that Melenavenia believes it can reject having traditional armed forces.

Melenavenia has also invested heavily in defensive infrastructure such as bomb shelters that can function as schools and playgrounds and naval fortifications that are used by the Melenavenian National Police as bases to monitor offshore activities and help friendly and neutral vessels navigate via radio communication and radar. Some of these naval fortifications have public areas that are accessible by the public, although cameras and sketchbooks are not allowed inside and being found with either can result in a heavy fine as well as impoundment and possible imprisonment if these mediums are found to be brought in with the purpose of spreading information about the internal area of the fortifications.

The National Police of Melenavenia is also in possession of an armory similar to that of a military. Although they are prohibited from using much of this military equipment in day to day policing, with exceptions only for cases of grave threats to national security such as terrorism and small patrol vessels, on which the heaviest armament that they are equipped with is a 20 mm cannon. The NPM is also prohibited from operating outside the territorial waters of Melenavenia and, therefore, Melenavenia is unable to directly participate in international peacekeeping, though Melenavenian citizens can enlist as international peacekeepers on their own accord.

Finally, in the case of a national emergency, the Prime Minister is able to call up temporary armed forces and call up Melenavenian citizens from 18 to 25 years old to serve. Under these circumstances, the NPM is tasked with distributing their military equipment and is temporarily partially absorbed into the Temporary Melenavenian Armed Forces.