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by The Goin' Silent of Zukchiva. . 56 reads.

Governments of the East Pacific

TEP's had some interesting governments in the past. Thought I'd record 'em down here, and where I got them from.

Atlantic Alliance "Forward" Military Base (April 2003 to May 12th, 2003)
Source: LinkNociav's History of The East Pacific


History

The Atlantic Alliance was a large invader group that was prevalent sometime during the founding of NationStates, and after. Its primary mission was to form a large political block via conquering and growing what was seen as irrelevant regions, exercising said regions' potential.

The circumstances are unclear. But it's obvious that somehow the AA most likely played a part in the founding of TEP. Either way, they would come to take over TEP and password it.

Design

Given its small residency of 6-8 nations, its most likely that the "government" at this time was just the Delegate (Reubenlucy) holding onto the base following orders from AA command. The region either never had enough time to properly grow into what the AA wanted, or it was always planned to be a mere trophy region.

Farker Governance (May 12th 2003 to October 28, 2003)
Source: LinkNociav's History of The East Pacific, LinkTEP Forums


History

The Farkers were yet another emerging invader group during the early days of NationStates. Using trickery and confusion, they already had a high count of regions they had already seized when they set their eyes on the East Pacific.

On May 12th, as according to Unibot, the Farkers entered the passworded region (the password was leaked to them) and would take the Delegacy under Lothlanderamore. Sometime after the Farkers' self-installment, the East Pacific would be turned into a Game-Created Region by NationStates administration.

Sometime after TEP became a GCR, Lothlanderamore would give 1 Infinite Loop the Delegacy (this would happen sometime around the end of May, 2003), and then disappear off the face of NationStates forevermore.

1 Infinite Loop would go on to found the current regional forums of the East Pacific after becoming Delegate, with said forums being primarily (at first) used for his flag service rather than regional governance.

Government Design

Unlike the days of AA, the Farker Occupation was more similar/akin to a dictatorship than anything else, due to the now growing native population of the East Pacific that was not present when TEP was still a UCR. Presumably, Lothanderamore was the leader of the Farkers who took over the region, and chose a successor in Loop to take over.

Interestingly, the Farker government was built on the mindset of keeping the region as a trophy. It has been reported that when the East Pacific became a GCR, the Farker government would begin banjecting all nations, before decreasing banjections to primarily those who posed a security threat to the region.

The Articles of Confederation (October 28th, 2003 to February 17th, 2005)
Source: LinkTEP Forums


History

On September 28, 2003, Loop would mention that TEP needed a constitution resembling those of a Confederation. He would officially propose said constitution on October 28th, 2003, and after gathering feedback, and would soon declare said government as established. The Articles of Confederation would set the tone for forum roleplay at the time, considering regional government and forum roleplay shared the same world (with all forum roleplay occuring in the boundaries of the East Pacific region).

Government Design

The Articles were generally broad and referenced a multitude of in-real-life items that do not exist within NationStates mechanics, most likely as a result of directly copying the Articles of Confederation. However, this did not make the Articles an inept document, considering the in-real-life matters they dealt with did exist in Forum Roleplay, where the Articles were considered canon. Ensuring the Articles were a Confederacy also allowed for forum roleplay nations to have large degrees of autonomy from the regional government. The Articles were thus a largely roleplay-esque document which successfully reconciled the idea of a "regional government" with that of said region having "resident nations" in a roleplay universe.

On the other end, the Articles were also a basic gameplay document that would set up a practical government for the East pacific. The Articles created a broad democracy with various checks and balances across three branches: a Legislature (which used to contain two houses but later on was merged into one), an Executive (The Delegate and their Moderators/Advisors) and a Judicial Branch called the Supreme Court that was staffed with nine Jurists.

Interestingly, the Delegate was never elected per the Articles. Based on interpretation, we could assume that the Articles identified the in-game Delegate as the legal Delegate - transferring the right of rule from Farker military structure to whomever holds the in-game Delegacy of the region.

The Charter of the East Pacific (February 17th, 2005 to September 2008)
Source: LinkTEP Forums


LinkOn September 26, 2004, Free Pacific States suggested that the East Pacific would need a new constitution. The Articles, while serving their purpose for a small government, were too broad to serve as a constitutional document for the large government that had sprung up since the year the Articles had been made.

The above linked thread would also be where a select group of nations would discuss, and bring to fruition, multiple drafts of a new "Charter of the East Pacific". Eventually, said draft Linkwould be brought to the public for general consideration.

Eventually, the Charter would go to vote to the Senate (the Legislative Branch under the Articles), pass vote, and then go to resident vote. LinkAs such, on February 17th, 2005, the Charter was ratified.

The Charter would serve for a long time as the East Pacific's guiding constitution. However, in 2008, multiple people began talking about reforming the Charter amongst other ideas (Linkexample). The best reason is most likely that inactivity had, for the first time, become a chronic issue within the East Pacific - and many thought a change in government structure could help prevent further inactivity.

Unsurprisingly, this inactivity would cause a death knell to the Charter. Within that same year, the Empire would manage to coup the East Pacific, leading to the formation of two new governments running simultaneously within the East Pacific.

Lady Phedre, now known as NeeNee, would end up taking the Delegacy from the inactive Delegate of the time, Govinidah. Following that, the "Empire", which consisted of an aristocratic government with multiple ranks of nobility, would attempt to shuffle all regional activities within the East Pacific onto the Empire's forum.

At first, East Pacificans were willing to work together with the Empire for a strong future. However, as it became more and more obvious that the Empire was trying to completely dominate the East Pacific and insult the natives in "roleplay", a resistance grew. Eventually, forming into the Elders of the East Pacific.

Government Design

At first glance, it would appear that the Charter was a vastly different government compared to the Articles. In many respects, this is correct. For one thing, the Charter would strip away the Article's focus on roleplay, creating a much more purely gameplay-oriented government instead. The Charter was also a lot more specific with the duties and general procedures for each branch of government, ensuring less issues regarding ambiguity arose. It would also rename the branches.

However, at its basics the Charter was a similar government to that of the Articles. Both had three branches - an Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. The Legislature was open for all Citizens (similar to the Article's House of Representatives), the Delegate was still appointed for the most part (although the Charter instituted elections for when there was no Delegate or the Delegate chose to hold elections), and a Court system existed to deal with regional offences, namely treason against the region. And like in the Articles, the branches of the Charter had an interplay of powers to help balance government functions and prevent corruption.

In short, it's very clear that the Charter is much closer to the Articles than it looks at surface level. Its concepts of a democracy with a monarchical delegate and roleplay rights for constituent nations were goals shared by both documents. The Charter merely specifies and makes clear many holes that were not resolved in the Articles.

The Empire (August 16 2008 - December 18 2008)
Source: LinkTEP Forums


History

Following its invasion of the East Pacific, the Empire quickly instituted itself into power. At first, things were hopeful between the Empire and the native populace as negotiations were conducted to explore how things would be handled. However, things broke down - causing the Empire to begin banjecting those nations who posed a threat to its regime, and flooding the East Pacific with hopelessness even as the natives mounted a mostly futile resistance. However, lowering influence levels and IRL matters led the Empire to resign in late 2008, allowing the natives to re-capture the region and rebuild.

LinkClick here to learn more about the Empire's history in TEP.

Government Design

The government design of the Empire was one that was split into classes. There were various ranks of nobility, with nobility being tied to the moderation permissions one received on the Empire's forums as well as TEP's forums. The highest officials were often titled "Lords"/"Ladies" to showcase their high-profile status, although lower positions were created to accommodate some TEPers suing for peace. While there wasn't much in the ways of formal positions, a position of "High Inquisitional", presumably a nation tasked when signaling out nations to ban, existed. Beyond those simplistic designs, the Empire did not have much government structure.

Interestingly, the Empire was a government that heavily relied on espionage, fearmongering, (in-character) belittling, and liberal use of the ban button to remain in power. It was, essentially, an oligarchy that had to struggle for control in any way possible.

The Elders (September 2008 - January 20th, 2009)
Source: LinkTEP Forums (Linkanother link


History

Following negotiations with the Empire, it was decided to create a government that would co-exist with the government of the Empire. This "Confederate"/native government would suspend the Charter, opting for a more simpler form of governance as the Empire would handle many matters. Multiple proposals were fielded, with many being mere continuations of the East Pacific's democratic tradition. However, one proposal - suggested by Flemingovia - instead restructured the native government into a tribe, led by three Elders. This idea proved popular and was enacted.

The Elders would go on to lead as symbolic leaders of the resistance, although they would end up loosing hope as the months wore on. But in December of 2008, Lady Pehdre would resign from the Delegacy after banjecting 400 nations. This would allow A Slanted Black Stripe to temporarily take over the Delegacy, and strike hope back into TEP's heart.

Following this event, heavy discussion would Linkoccur, Linkwhere many people would discuss a new constitution. After the proposal of two constitution drafts (Linkhere), it was decided that the draft which would become the Concordat would be worked on.

Following heavy discussion in Chatzy, an online chatting service of the time, the Concordat was ready for ratification. On Janurary 11th, 2009, Linka majority of those present on the forum ratified the Concordat, thus setting up the rest of the East Pacific's history.

The Elder government would oversee the first Delegate elections of the East Pacific under the Concordat. LinkFollowing the election of the first Delegate, the Elders were disbanded.

Government Design

The Elder government itself was a simple one in concept, with three Elders (The "Delegate" being one, and two Elders to manage domestic and Foreign Affairs respectively). The Citizenry would form the Indaba, or the citizen's assembly which would discuss regional matters.

Initially, it is clear the Elders were to take a proactive role in the region's government. However as time wore on, they became more symbolic figures of the East Pacific's resistance due to their relative inactivity. By the time of the Concordat's institution, the Elders had taken the form of a caretaker government - guiding discussion and running the first Delegate election. As such, while the initial design was of a three-way-split Executive branch backed by a legislative branch, the Elders really became the equivalent of "Chancellors" or "Electoral Commissioners" found in many regions today - those who take care of background functions and represent the most trusted of the region.

The Concordat (January 11th, 2008 - Present)


The Concordat was another attempt by the East Pacific at democracy, with an Legislature (the Magisterium), an Executive (the Delegate), and a Judiciary (the Conclave). Over time, it would be amended a multitude of times, including the changing from the Magisterium being elected to just the Magisterium deciding how to accept applicants on its own.

Following the Fedele coup of 2019, Viceroy Aelitia would propose to the Magisterium Linka new Concordat. After heavy debate, the draft was passed through the Magisterium and would then be ratified Linkon Feburary 13th, 2020

The current form of the Concordat differs from its predecessor mainly by the establishment of a fourth branch, known as the Viziers. The Viziers would be responsible for regional security and citizenship. Besides that and simplification of multiple clauses, the Concordat remains relatively the same establishing a basic democracy as the current form of governance within the East Pacific.

The Goin' Silent of Zukchiva

Edited:

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