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Worldbuilding. It's like crack.
Here's an outline for my SF game setting's government. Based heavily on the United Nations.
Essentially, the Terran Confederation government is a Parliamentary Democracy. Legislative power is vested in the General Assembly and Grand Senate. Executive and most Judicial powers are held by the Secretary-General and the Secretariat. Final Judicial authority is held by the Confederation High Court.
Legislative
The Confederations main political bodies are the General Assembly and the Grand Senate. The Assembly is based on population, one Assemblyman per 10 million citizens. 10 million is therefore the threshold for a colony to reach full membership in the Confederation. For each additional 10 million population, a new Assembly district is created and a new Assemblyman elected. The Assembly elects the Secretary-General from their ranks. Obviously, Sol and the older, established colonies dominate the Assembly. Like any parliamentary body, much of the work is done in various committees. There is no set schedule for elections, Assemblymen serve until an election is called in their home district. Many districts do have regularly scheduled elections, others allow members to serve until retirement or conditions demand an election. Bills are passed by simple majority. There are no parties in the traditional sense, but various factions form over issues and broker deals.
The Grand Senate represents governments. For most member worlds, this is a single world government. Earth is divided up into the traditional power blocks that existed at the time of unification. Along with the Cis-Lunar Republic and the Outworlds Coalition, Earth is divided into the North American Union, Eurozone, The East Asian Cooperation Sphere, Unión Soberana de la Gente Suramericana, and the Sub-Sahal Prosperity Zone (Africa south of the Sahara). Smaller nations that are not large enough for representation are treated as "guarded territories." Each recognized polity gets one Senator. The main power of the Senate is veto power over laws passed by the General Assembly. Senators also sit on the powerful Security Council.
Finally, there is the Colonial Moot. Meeting in St. Louis, this body has no legal powers, but is made up of voluntary representatives from smaller colonies and outposts that aren't large enough for a seat in the General Assembly. Widely derided as the "Kiddie Court", serious observers realize that any measure that affects the colonies should be vetted by the Moot before being offered on the floor of the Assembly. Many Moot Legates go on to distinguished careers in the GA and Senate once their home worlds gain full membership in the Confederation.
Executive & Judicial
The Head of State and Head of Government is the Secretary-General of the Terran Confederation. Elected by the members of the General Assembly from their ranks, the holder of this office holds broad powers is administering the affairs of state. The SecGen is assisted by the massed bureaucracy of the Secretariat. The Secretariat is the various government ministries and departments that manage day to day affairs. Each ministry has its own law-enforcement arm and associated court system. The major offices in the Secretariat include:
There are many others, and temporary offices can be created as needed either as a sub-branch of an existing office or as a new top level organization. Established organizations are led by Permanent Secretaries (Mr. Mdobe, the Permanent Secretary for the Treasury) while temporary leaders are referred to as "Standing Secretaries."
The Confederation does not maintain a standing military beyond the Peacekeepers. These forces consist of a fleet of corvettes carrying assault troops; suitable for suppressing revolts or rebellious colonial governments. Member worlds are encouraged to raise local defense forces but are not allowed to equip actual warships. Heavily-armed merchants for "piracy defense" are very common sights around prosperous worlds.
Law enforcement and intelligence is handled by the Confederation Marshals Service and the shadowy Special Intelligence Service. Marshals have the mandate to enforce the laws on colonies and outposts still under Confederation administration. Chronically under-manned and starved for funding, the figure of a Marshal and his team of four or five specialists arriving on a frontier world has become the stuff of legend. Marshals are forever accomplishing their missions with little or no support. One legend has a colonial administrator expressing shock that his call for aid had resulted in a single Marshal. The Marshal looked at the administrator, and calmly told the man that what did he expect? It's not that big a planet, after all. SIS has no such legends, only rumors. Along with traditional intelligence-gathering methods, it is whispered that SIS teams engage in domestic spying and black ops.
Security is managed by the Security Council. Consisting of 8 Senators (elected by their colleagues) and the Secretary-General, the Security Council controls the Peacekeepers, planetary forces called into Confederation service, and the SIS. Meetings of the Security Council are exempt from laws on open government. Critics accuse the Security Council of being an Imperial Court in the making.
Confederation High Court
While each office of the Secretariat has it's own system of courts, final appeal is vested in the Confederation High Court. The High Court's 13 members have the authority to review and rule on any lower court decision. While the Court does meet regularly at their chambers in Geneva, it's more common to have each of the High Justices out "riding the circuit" visiting different worlds to be briefed on legal issues and issue preliminary opinions on cases that might reach the High Court. High Justices can also convene ad-hoc courts to hear cases that require immediate attention. Judges are appointed for life by the Secretary-General, and confirmed by the Grand Senate.
So, what do y'all think?
Essentially, the Terran Confederation government is a Parliamentary Democracy. Legislative power is vested in the General Assembly and Grand Senate. Executive and most Judicial powers are held by the Secretary-General and the Secretariat. Final Judicial authority is held by the Confederation High Court.
Legislative
The Confederations main political bodies are the General Assembly and the Grand Senate. The Assembly is based on population, one Assemblyman per 10 million citizens. 10 million is therefore the threshold for a colony to reach full membership in the Confederation. For each additional 10 million population, a new Assembly district is created and a new Assemblyman elected. The Assembly elects the Secretary-General from their ranks. Obviously, Sol and the older, established colonies dominate the Assembly. Like any parliamentary body, much of the work is done in various committees. There is no set schedule for elections, Assemblymen serve until an election is called in their home district. Many districts do have regularly scheduled elections, others allow members to serve until retirement or conditions demand an election. Bills are passed by simple majority. There are no parties in the traditional sense, but various factions form over issues and broker deals.
The Grand Senate represents governments. For most member worlds, this is a single world government. Earth is divided up into the traditional power blocks that existed at the time of unification. Along with the Cis-Lunar Republic and the Outworlds Coalition, Earth is divided into the North American Union, Eurozone, The East Asian Cooperation Sphere, Unión Soberana de la Gente Suramericana, and the Sub-Sahal Prosperity Zone (Africa south of the Sahara). Smaller nations that are not large enough for representation are treated as "guarded territories." Each recognized polity gets one Senator. The main power of the Senate is veto power over laws passed by the General Assembly. Senators also sit on the powerful Security Council.
Finally, there is the Colonial Moot. Meeting in St. Louis, this body has no legal powers, but is made up of voluntary representatives from smaller colonies and outposts that aren't large enough for a seat in the General Assembly. Widely derided as the "Kiddie Court", serious observers realize that any measure that affects the colonies should be vetted by the Moot before being offered on the floor of the Assembly. Many Moot Legates go on to distinguished careers in the GA and Senate once their home worlds gain full membership in the Confederation.
Executive & Judicial
The Head of State and Head of Government is the Secretary-General of the Terran Confederation. Elected by the members of the General Assembly from their ranks, the holder of this office holds broad powers is administering the affairs of state. The SecGen is assisted by the massed bureaucracy of the Secretariat. The Secretariat is the various government ministries and departments that manage day to day affairs. Each ministry has its own law-enforcement arm and associated court system. The major offices in the Secretariat include:
- Attorney-General
- Colonial Affairs
- Culture & Education
- Ecology, Health, & Environment
- External Affairs (the "Foreign Office")
- Internal Affairs (the "Home Office")
- Trade and Industrial Development
- Treasury
There are many others, and temporary offices can be created as needed either as a sub-branch of an existing office or as a new top level organization. Established organizations are led by Permanent Secretaries (Mr. Mdobe, the Permanent Secretary for the Treasury) while temporary leaders are referred to as "Standing Secretaries."
The Confederation does not maintain a standing military beyond the Peacekeepers. These forces consist of a fleet of corvettes carrying assault troops; suitable for suppressing revolts or rebellious colonial governments. Member worlds are encouraged to raise local defense forces but are not allowed to equip actual warships. Heavily-armed merchants for "piracy defense" are very common sights around prosperous worlds.
Law enforcement and intelligence is handled by the Confederation Marshals Service and the shadowy Special Intelligence Service. Marshals have the mandate to enforce the laws on colonies and outposts still under Confederation administration. Chronically under-manned and starved for funding, the figure of a Marshal and his team of four or five specialists arriving on a frontier world has become the stuff of legend. Marshals are forever accomplishing their missions with little or no support. One legend has a colonial administrator expressing shock that his call for aid had resulted in a single Marshal. The Marshal looked at the administrator, and calmly told the man that what did he expect? It's not that big a planet, after all. SIS has no such legends, only rumors. Along with traditional intelligence-gathering methods, it is whispered that SIS teams engage in domestic spying and black ops.
Security is managed by the Security Council. Consisting of 8 Senators (elected by their colleagues) and the Secretary-General, the Security Council controls the Peacekeepers, planetary forces called into Confederation service, and the SIS. Meetings of the Security Council are exempt from laws on open government. Critics accuse the Security Council of being an Imperial Court in the making.
Confederation High Court
While each office of the Secretariat has it's own system of courts, final appeal is vested in the Confederation High Court. The High Court's 13 members have the authority to review and rule on any lower court decision. While the Court does meet regularly at their chambers in Geneva, it's more common to have each of the High Justices out "riding the circuit" visiting different worlds to be briefed on legal issues and issue preliminary opinions on cases that might reach the High Court. High Justices can also convene ad-hoc courts to hear cases that require immediate attention. Judges are appointed for life by the Secretary-General, and confirmed by the Grand Senate.
So, what do y'all think?
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do your genemod (fascist world view) people have a liking for snazzy uniforms?
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I mean, if i was ExAffairs, I'd take each new Assemblyman and Senator and show them a Powerpoint presentation "History of Germany, 1900 to 1945"
Or is Something Else going on?
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External Affairs and the SIS spend a lot of time watching the Gene Lords. Carefully.