*Sigh* I will make Civitas the tyrant, we shall say it was formerly held by the tyrant who was deposed upon defeat. However, Tyrant manages to steal a huge fortune of treasure and what not, which then is pumped into the Civitas economy and the people. However, with defeat the country has it's borders reduced and restricted, losing a great deal of land at home (Not in the colonies). Then becomes a point of debate "Was letting the UTC with a slap across the wrists just or too lenient?" The state of the army can be down to the current administration being very jingoistic on returning these lost lands and supporting a strong army in the state.

EDIT: However having one of the smallest pops for a great power and smaller military, may I then take that the military is super advanced only because steamrolling a continent without numbers would be nigh impossible. 

Edit 2: Can I get a rough date for the Tyrant to be deposed so I can do my first post pre-1915