SR - Goverment
Political Structure
Born amidst the chaos and confusion surrounding the destruction of Marabou and the slaughter of a majority of the nation's original leadership, the political structure that guides the Southern Republic is unique on Terra Nova. Outwardly, a representative democracy (where the people choose their leaders in open ballots once every three cycles) rules the land. I n reality, the Republic is a tightly governed oligarchy, where a small percentage of the political and private castes hold true power and have used secretive organizations such as SRID and Les Témoins (the leading Republican intelligence organizations) to neatly single out and crush any who oppose them.
The key to the success of this system lies in the fact that the citizens of the Southern Republic willingly subsume their political freedom for the greater glory of the state. There exists amongst Republicans an unspoken understanding, a social contract as it is sometimes called, that as long as the leadership of the Republic can maintain the state as an ascendant concern and can perpetuate the bounty and other freedoms that the people have become accustomed to, average Republicans are willing to be led. further, they are even prepared to see state terror applied to those who would challenge the status quo. Thus far, the state has delivered on its promises to expand its borders, dominate its surroundings and "prove" Republican superiority. For most Republicans, the trade off of keeping out of political affairs to keep the state out of their bedrooms is an easy and agreeable one. While Northerners often see little advantage to this system, most citizens of the Republic view it as an ideal arrangement that allows cultural pride and identity to blossom without the headaches involved in actually running the state.
Inside the Estates General
Political power in the Southern Republic Republic is centralized in the Estates General. This parliamentary body is comprised of five hundred councilors elected every three cycles from the 145 electoral districts that divide the Republic. The number of representatives from each county is determined by relative population, leaving the city-states with more representatives than any single rural community, but leaving a majority of the political power in the hands of the representatives from the rural regions of the Republic. The government is formed by the party that occupies the most seats in this assembly and a majority vote i s required to pass any piece of legislation. Louis Philippe deRouen's Liberal Republican Party has controlled the assembly since TN 1919, collecting an especially solid majority of the popular vote in the last two elections.
Power in the Estates General is divided into three tiers, each possessing less official power than the last. The head of the government, and theoretically the most powerful individual in the Republic, is the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is more than the leader of the political party that holds power, he (or she) is the person who has accumulated the greatest amount of influence in the state through guile, subterfuge, or true charisma: often a Prime Minister's power will be rooted in a healthy dose of all three. Aiding him, through advice, counsel and occasionally representing the Prime Minister when he cannot attend events himself, is a body known as the Cabinet of Ministers. Numbering between twenty and thirty, Cabinet posts are seen as desirable by those who seek to gain access to their party's support network. Generally, highlevel members of the Prime Minister's party form the Cabinet, but often important opposition councilors are given a seat as a courtesy. Below the Cabinet sit the bulk of the Estates General members, known as junior councilors. The Estates General sits for three seasons out of every cycle. The Cabinet meets every five days to discuss policy and the direction of the government and the Republic. The Estates General as a whole must, by law, convene once every four days, but they often meet more frequently.
The Ministries
While constitutional power rests in the hands of the Estates General, the brunt of running the state falls on the shoulders of the ministries of the Southern Republic. Supervised by Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, these bodies are staffed by professional bureaucrats. These non-elected officials formulate the bills and plans of action that the government votes into law, and are often given all but free reign by their ministers, who generally prefer to meet with their constituents or to curry the favor of various lobby groups. The chief bureaucrat in a ministry is called the head administrator. It is this individual's responsibility to orchestrate the activities of the ministry as a whole and its guiding council in particular, and ensure that ministers are presented with bills that they can forward to the Estates General for debate. The guiding councils of each ministry meet on a daily basis when the Estates General is in session, to examine their findings, compile information and trade notes and suggestions on how best to fulfill the government's objectives. Naturally not every member is in attendance at every meeting, and there can be season-long stretches where individual members are .off collecting information, or meeting with locals to determine the viability of plans.
The relationship between ministers, deputy ministers and head administrators vanes from ministry to ministry. Theoretically the minister and deputy direct the policies of the ministry, while the head administrator ensures that these are carried out. In many cases, however, the administrator's influence over the nuts and bolts of the bureaucracy makes his power far greater than the elected ministers'. Only very skillful ministers can completely rein in their administrators.
True Power
The secret of the Republic's dichotomy, in essence a multiple party dictatorship, is rooted in the very beginnings of Republican existence. Following the elimination of their fellow unified council members, the Port Oasis Order of the Falcon (led by the ten rogue unified councilors who orchestrated the destruction of Marabou) stepped into the power vacuum they had created and offered leadership. They quickly organized state-regulated education programs, implemented the emergency powers act (which kept them in power and created SRID and Les Témoins, all in one fell swoop) and established the ministries to govern daily life in the state. What few people realized was that these agencies and councils were staffed primarily with people who owed loyalty to the Order of the Falcon. Within a generation, the Order had cemented its influence over the children of the Republic. Those citizens who resisted were either removed by the state-sponsored secret police, or were conscripted to fight in the Second Unification Campaign.
In the TN 1600s, the Order of the Falcon realized that survival over an indefinite period relied on their becoming the powers behind the scene, safe from open scrutiny. Their final act in office was to declare an end to the state of emergency, and throw open the doors of power to any who sought it. They established the electoral patterns and counties (145 over the width of the land) for the state, and retired from public life. This act convinced many of the remaining rebellious voices that they were now free to govern themselves.
The members of the Order had no intention of handing the state they had built to an electorate they considered little more than rabble. Rather, they wished to create a self-perpetuating system that would ensure the Order's power and the continued ascendancy of the Republic. They used their control of education and the media to build support for the Republican social contract, exchanging political free expression for prosperity. With this process underway, the Order gave the population a semblance of control through the electoral process and withdrew from center stage, leaving many to assume they had vanished altogether. They could not have been more mistaken.
Shadow Goverment
The Order of the Falcon had by no means relinquished power; they had simply relocated it to the ministries. These bureaucratic agencies had become so indispensable to the smooth operation of the state, that to incur the displeasure of one of their head administrators was to guarantee societal gridlock. The Order had planned well. Outsiders criticize a schedule of elections every three cycles as a torrid pace, leaving government little time to rule i t s constituents, but this is exactly why the Order implemented the system. Governments had (and continued to have) so little time to rule that they had to leave the majority of the decision making up to the bureaucracy, whose leadership were mostly members of the Order of the Falcon. Even popular Prime Ministers found themselves bowing to the will of the bureaucracy when they realized that the actual extent of their influence was much shorter than they had believed, leaving the highest office in the land as little more than a figurehead position. Through the ministries, the Order of the Falcon rigged elections (as various ministerial sub-councils were responsible for campaign advertising, the approval of candidates and even counting votes), implemented laws and kept a tight grasp on the reins of power.
Over the centuries, the Order's control was far from perfect, and others managed to insert their own desires and agendas into the operation of the South, but it continued to make its will felt. A majority of head administrators, Prime Ministers and Cabinet ministers either submitted to its wishes or joined outright, thus ensuring their influence and avoiding gridlock. From a citizen's perspective, the Estates General ruled the Republic and made all relevant decisions. In reality, almost all major decisions had been made beforehand by the Order of the Falcon, at least until fifteen short cycles ago.
Current events and intrigues
The single most dangerous and divisive struggle to grip the Republic is occurring between the Curia, the Allied Southern Territories' governing body, and the Estates General. Traditionally a placid mouthpiece for the Republican government, the Curia is becoming increasingty hostile towards the Estates, and making its presence felt in the Republic.
Leading the revolt is Lord Protector Jacques Molay, leader of the Curia, who is brazenly defying the orders of the Estates General to cease and desist with plans to violently stamp out the growing rebellion in Basal. Some councilors fear that Molay may use his connections with SRID to organize a preemptive strike against Emir Nigel Shirow. This would simply increase the likelihood of an Emirates-wide revolt, something that everyone knows that Oliver Masao Masao, current Patriarch of the ESE, would do little about.Eastern Sun Emirates Lord Chancellor Kenichi Tanaka is also front and center in the Basal argument. Tanaka is gathering support for a negotiated peace with the rebels, despite the Prime Minister being one of Tanaka's best friends and closest allies. Tanaka is well regarded by the majority of deRouen's cabinet and considered an asset to the administration because of his immense popular support, which stems from his status as a hero of the Battle of Baja during the War of the Alliance.
The Lord Chancellor of the Mekong Dominion, Etienne Durocher, has numerous junior councilors and Cabinet Minister Jean Francois Dulac solidly under his heel, and they act as his mouthpieces in the Estates General. Durocher also curries favor with several large Republican corporations, notably among the Coalition for Rightful Environmental Exploitation (CREE), and freely uses his influence among the Mekong Dominion's taipans and oyabuns to provide illicit pleasures to his corporate friends in return for their considerations.
Laws
Freedom of Movement
Immigration and emigration are viewed as anomalous situations by the Southern Republic. While anyone is permitted to enter the Republic (subject to approval after an investigation by SRID and Les Témoins), those wishing to leave find life considerably more complicated.
The immigration policy of the Republic states that potential new citizens must prove their worth to society. If they can, they are accepted into the fold, and a surprising number do apply for citizenship every cycle. On occasion, long term visas and work permits are issued for jobs which may require the expertise of outsiders. Tourists are permitted within the Southern Republic, and are issued special passes at border checkpoints. Republican peacekeepers reserve the right to demand these passes be shown at any time, and "tourists" caught without them are usually expelled from the Republic, although those suspected of another crime can be arrested and prosecuted under Republican law. Since the War of the Alliance, elements in the government have encouraged tourism and SRID has been under orders not to harass tourists more than strictly necessary for national security.
Exit visas must be obtained to change residence and these are notoriously hard to come by. Permanent visas are almost unheard of, but long-term exit visas are known to be granted, most notably to mlitary personnel stationed abroad and their families. Despite legal sanction, those who wish to leave the Republic suffer the scorn of their leaguemates. Short-term travel i s usually not a problem, with a minimum of supervision. Les Témoins report on those seeking a tourist exit visa, which allows the Republican government to differentiate between those who want to tour, and those who want to leave permanently. Some do manage to use tourist visas to leave the Republic and then seek political exile (or simply never return). These ex-citizens incur an alarmingly high rate of accidents and deaths once outside the Republic. The propaganda machine of the South accredits these deaths to the hostile attitudes of outsiders, (indeed some do perish due to the ill will of others), yet for the most part, these accidents are arranged by SRID dark operatives.
Ironically, the Republicans who have the most direct experience with foreigners and foreign lands are those sent to dominate them. Military personnel - be it Republican Army troops or MILICIAmen - are regularly stationed in the Badlands and the vassal states, while the intelligence and diplomatic corps account for many other Republicans abroad. Government officials have long had to deal with an "unfortunate" tendency for international stations to develop a fondness for the land where they spend their lives. MILICIA soldiers. who serve side by side with recruits from the vassal states, are especially prone to this. Deep friendships are known to develop and undermine the Republican sense of superiority so vital to the league's culture.
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