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Author Topic: A question on the Federation government  (Read 963 times)

Lyn Farel

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A question on the Federation government
« on: 18 Oct 2013, 04:26 »

Warning : a lot of comparisons with what I know best IRL, it may also apply with other examples. I really don't want to fall into the Gallente = lolspacefrench.

As much as I would like to think that we know it works, we actually have very sparse info on its intricacies. We only know that the Federal government is composed of the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch, all 3 kept completely separated from each other in practice and in the constitution (which is very french btw, but probably like other RL countries as well).

We also know that since secession of the Caldari and the U-Nat demise, their last measure was to organize new elections through a referendum after having amended the constitution deeply enough to change the voting process for the presidential elections, removing the old system where the President was indirectly elected by the Senate (thus the executive being elected by the legislative branch), to make it universal suffrage held by the citizens (thus definitely separating the legislative and executive). Which also in the process probably makes the President a lot stronger and more independent politically, and sometimes it makes me heavily think of the "tyrannic presidency" of the current Fifth French Republic, as opposed to the previous ones (3th and 4th), where the assembly elected the president, but whatever.

What we don't know however, is if the federal system is a bicameral one or not ? I mean, we know of the Senate, but do they have another chamber as well ? And if there is one, is it elected through universal suffrage or not (like most IRL that are not) ? I guess considering that PF mentions it nowhere, it might be safer to assume until now that it's unicameral... It disturbs me because that's the last thing I would expect from a bloated cultural monster like the Gallente Federation. Most bicameral systems stem specifically from either strong regional differences and cultures, or either strong social inequalities. Considering how the Federation is the magnified version of both, I am surprised that we do not hear of another high chamber either constituted by the highest class of citizens or a very gallente group. Maybe it has a historic precedent ?

On the executive side too... How is formed the government ? What kind of ministers would we expect ? What are their powers ?
« Last Edit: 18 Oct 2013, 04:28 by Lyn Farel »
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Lyn Farel

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Re: A question on the Federation government
« Reply #1 on: 18 Oct 2013, 05:11 »

Hello, it's me again with bonus questions.

It is stated that all ethnicities in the Gallente Federation can have a citizenship. For example, we have Intaki citizens, Mannar citizens, Minmatar citizens, Jin-Mei citizens, Ni-Kunni citizens, etc. Even if strictly speaking ethnicity does not mean anything in regards to Federation law since they believe in a post ethnicity world where they refer to individual through identities (IDs) instead of races.

1) What are the conditions to become a citizen of the Federation for an immigrant ? It seems pretty easy considering what is written in the demographics article, with probably a very minimalistic list of things to comply to (or none ?). The Federation seems eager to phagocyte every culture and individual it can gets its hands on, yes, but to what limits ? Does it vary between Federal States ?

2) Then there is the concept I am having a very hard time to fully grasp. It's said that you can find citizens of every culture, but it's also said that the Minmatar, Amarr, etc, are not members of the Federation, at the opposite of the Mannar, Intaki and Jin-Mei, for example. How can they still be federal citizens if their worlds are not part of the Federation ? Or wait... does that mean that if you are of Minmatar descent, for example, and living on a Federal world like Luminaire, you are a citizen, and if you are of Gallente descent for example, and living on a Minmatar world inside the Federation borders but not part of it, you are not a citizen, right ? It would make sense like that, but it's rather mind boggling... And has quite a few implications.
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Alain Colcer

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Re: A question on the Federation government
« Reply #2 on: 18 Oct 2013, 09:39 »

You need to think the Federation as a group of sovereign nations that agreed to sign a charter for universal recognition of each other.

Badly paraphrased, its less USA and more European Union, although they do have a president and a senate.

Therefore, as far as i understand, the term citizen applies as an individual born and "registered" in one of those sovereign nations....the thing gets fuzzy however when trying to define if a person who was born and raised in a Space Station is citizen of any of these sovereign nations.....i think he/she could be deemed a "Fed" citizen.
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Lyn Farel

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Re: A question on the Federation government
« Reply #3 on: 18 Oct 2013, 09:59 »

I think space stations (the gallente use more of those than anybody else apparently) are part of districts and probably have their own style of government for the biggest ones (or groups), and the rest are probably attached to land based nations.

Which also means that some are members of the Federation, while other may not be, like some non signatory states. Especially the ones managed by Minmatar and other non member immigrants.
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orange

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Re: A question on the Federation government
« Reply #4 on: 18 Oct 2013, 20:46 »

You need to think the Federation as a group of sovereign nations that agreed to sign a charter for universal recognition of each other.

Badly paraphrased, its less USA and more European Union, although they do have a president and a senate.

Therefore, as far as i understand, the term citizen applies as an individual born and "registered" in one of those sovereign nations....the thing gets fuzzy however when trying to define if a person who was born and raised in a Space Station is citizen of any of these sovereign nations.....i think he/she could be deemed a "Fed" citizen.

The antebellum (pre-Civil War) United States may actually be a good parallel.  I think it is more solidified than either the US Articles of Confederation or European Union, but is definitely not as unified as the post-WWII US.
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