The Gavel Republic is a small, relatively new sovereignty in Asia that recently overthrew a military dictatorship in a revolution and became a democracy. The name "Gavel" refers to a corporate conglomerate that established the nation. The region is known for its rich platinum mines, which has become a very lucrative resource amidst the rise of cyberization. It is mentioned in the Ghost in the Shell manga.
History[]
The nation of Gavel was founded sometime after World War IV by a corporate conglomerate, and came to be ruled by a military dictatorship under Colonel Malles. Malles was eventually overthrown by a revolution, and the military government was replaced by a democracy. However, Gavel's military retained control of the country's platinum mines even after the revolution.
On July 27, 2029, after intelligence sources in Korea learn that the hacker known as the Puppet Master planned to interfere with a secret meeting between the Japanese government and Colonel Malles to discuss the latter's request for political asylum, Public Security Section 9 was tasked with providing security for the meeting. When the secretary to a Japanese official was hacked at the meeting, ostensibly by the Puppet Master, Section 9 traceed it to a garbage truck operator in New Port City, who was found to be the victim of a hack himself: he was implanted with false memories to make him believe he was an agent of the Gavel Republic sent to kill Malles. The Puppet Master orchestrated the entire incident as a demonstration of his hacking prowess, and he was offering to sell his services to Colonel Malles and a Japanese intelligence officer. Malles and the officer were illegally conspiring to destabilize Gavel's democratic government by damaging its public image and drumming up sympathy for the former military regime so that the Colonel could return to power, and in exchange for the intelligence officer's help, Malles would open Gavel's platinum mines to Japan. Section 9 exposed this plot, resulting in the arrest of Malles and the officer. Meanwhile, the Puppet Master eluded capture, having only appeared at the meeting via a remotely-controlled body.
The failure of the Malles plot removed some uncertainty in the diplomatic relationship between Gavel and Japan. During the asylum talks, Japan faced a difficult choice since granting asylum to Malles would ensure access to Gavel's platinum, but alienate the democratic government of Gavel. The plot's exposure precluded granting asylum to Malles and also hurt the Gavel military's reputation, which meant their stranglehold on the platinum would likely weaken.