Structure of the Earth Federation Government

The Structure of the EFA
This file details the structure of the EFA at the time of writing. As this is a MUSH, obviously it is all subject to change at the hands of players...but this is what you're a part of - or up against! - as things stand.

This file is also pretty long, but I figure it's better to overwhelm you with a relatively full civics situation rather than leave a patchwork where things will get iffy.

History
The Earth Federation Alliance is only two years old. It was created by Ruler of All Space Wong Yunfat and Secretary General Rose Approval (who, critically injured shortly before its announcement, was replaced by the current Sec-Gen, Olbani) as a countermeasure against the aggression of the PLANTs. Until then, the Earth Sphere was ruled by two different regional governments: Space, by the United Colonies Federation, and Earth, by the United Nations. The UN itself was reformed to be more effectual after Second Impact; until then, the nations of Earth held relatively little power due to their un-unified structure.

Structure
The EFA is ruled in a manner similar to the modern United States, with a judicial, legislative and executive branch.

Judicial
The judicial branch works basically identically to the US model and requires little explanation (because nobody cares!). Global governmental law is tried in the World Court. I'll make up more about it only if you make me. :(

Legislature
The legislative branch employs committees drawn from the United Nations: the lower house, the General Assembly, contains a single representative from every nation in human space. The upper house, the Security Council, has a more selective membership, based on a somewhat arcane formula of political power. Who gets a seat is voted on by the General Assembly. The global-level rulership of the EFA makes sweeping decisions and rulings; it is up to the individual nations to govern within their territory, unless a subject becomes a global matter. The nations of both the Ruler of All Space and the Secretary-General automatically receive seats on the Security Council, but only the Ruler of All Space receives a veto vote.

The General Assembly has singular authority over the EFA's budget. The Security Council has singular authority over military action. Otherwise, they must both pass a bill before it goes into effect.

How exactly representatives are accorded is based on the government of a nation. The Kingdom of Azadistan's representatives are appointed by the Princess Royal, and then voted on by the assembly. The United States' representatives are selected by the nation's usual democratic processes. The Autonomous Republic of Kanka appoints representatives unilaterally, with no vote by the populace. In some nations, the leader of the nation is also its representative to the Assembly. This is uncommon, but not unheard-of.

A nation's government is a subsidiary entity to the EFA, subject to its rulings but otherwise expected to handle the smaller-scale subjects of nation-running. For instance, the Congress of the United States was not outmoded by the formation of the EFA, but it is largely irrelevant to the ongoing global conflict. There are no mandates for how a government is run; there are military dictatorships and juntas in the EFA, right alongside democracies. They do not get along very well, but with the current war against the DC, and ongoing Orb Remnant terrorism, settling matters among these disparate governments is on the proverbial back burner.

Due to the size of the General Assembly, most nations there belong to one or more voting blocs, which are more-or-less political parties arranged along geopolitical or ideological lines. Blue Cosmos controls a voting bloc, as does the AEUG, and the Atlantic Federation.

Executive
The executive branch's most important members are the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Ruler of All-Known Space. These two offices are of approximately equal power, but how much pull an individual holder of the office has depends as much on their political acumen as on the actual powers of the office. Wong Yunfat was a tremendously powerful ruler, because he was associated with military, industrial, and political allies from across the Earth Sphere, regardless of their politics. This included powerful but extremely dubious allies like Blue Cosmos and the Romefeller Foundation. These allies gave him unprecedented ability to move the political machine. Secretary-General Olbani, by contrast, is a weak man with nearly no political pull, despite the station he holds, because as an interim Secretary-General he was selected more for controllability than political acumen...plus, it's rumored Wong Yunfat had some kind of blackmail material on him. The Riksent Administration is weaker than Yunfat's, because Shine Hausen's regent is not as willing to sully his politics with such an ugly spread of allies.

Secretary General
The Secretary General is the leader of the General Assembly, and is therefore charged with overseeing debate, setting a budget agenda, and similar goals. The Secretary General is the primary domestic rulership figure, being also responsible for maintaining the relationships between individual nations. The Secretary General is primarily responsible for the Earth nations, and nominally the position specifically represents their interests. However, this balancing point is in question, now that a nation with no space presence controls the seat of the Ruler of All Space.

The current Secretary General is Rose Approval, an elderly French woman, but because she was critically injured in a terrorist attack, an interim Sec-Gen was appointed, named Olbani. Technically, Sec-Gen Approval can reclaim her seat at any time...provided she ever wakes up. In the meanwhile, Olbani is proving to be an unremarkable holder of the role. When Wong Yunfat was in office, Olbani was loyal to the point of sycophancy; many believe Yunfat had some kind of blackmail material on him. With Yunfat gone, Olbani has been somewhat less helpful to the Riksent Administration, sticking unhelpfully to the middle and generally not promoting anyone's agenda.

Ruler of All Space
The Ruler of All Space is the leader of the Security Council, but that is her only source of domestic power. The Ruler's power comes from broader responsibilities. Namely, the Ruler is charged with setting foreign policy objectives, which in this day and age mostly means the handling of the Martian and Jovian colonies. Nominally she is also responsible for relationships with extrasolar colonies like the one at Sirius, but communication with those colonies barely exists in the first place.

The Ruler also directs overall military goals, but the execution of those goals is up to the military's leaders, and total shifts in policy might be challenged if the military leadership feels they are unsuited. The Ruler is also responsible for directing aid to areas that need it. In general, the Ruler's position is also supposed to represent the executive interests of the space colonies, but in the current climate this is in question; many space colonies are opposed to the EFA, either siding with the Divine Crusaders or Orb Remnants, and the Rulership being held by a small Earthly nation with no space presence has caused many to call into question the ability of the government to reflect the will of the Colonies.

Most of the Ruler's powers may be challenged in the Assembly, but the Assembly is so massive and divisive that an actual overruling vote is only likely if a given subject is massively unpopular.

Military
The EFA military works like a military, and requires little explanation. Admiral Paptimus Scirocco and First Space Lord Laker Randolph are its leaders at the time of this writing. They do not surpass the Ruler of All Space politically, however their word carries far more weight in military matters, as they are much more experienced. This is why Shine Hausen's rank is lower.

Specific Notes
Shine Hausen is not, technically, the Ruler of All Space. She is much too young. The position is held by a regent from Riksent. However, Shine is a respected leader of her nation, and the regent is her representative; she is fully able to make proposals to him, and provided they do not involve anything too outlandish, expect to see them carried out. She is accorded as much right to respect as any other world leader. Her word is not law, but with her level of popularity and power it would be exceedingly unwise to dismiss her out of hand. That said, the Ruler of All Space /is not/ an omnipotent position. The Riksent Administration wields great clout, and can strongly encourage things to get done, but not even the Ruler of All Space can unilaterally move budgeting decisions around, or cancel ongoing programs single-handedly.

Occasionally, the EFA military allows civilians, mostly citizens of the EFA with unusual circumstances, to serve alongside them. These people are not outside of the chain of command. By agreeing to operate with the EFA military, they are effectively accepting a position in the military, with all the priveleges and responsibilities that entails. Such contractors who go against the military's wishes will most likely be removed from service, and asked to move to another faction. This requires the approval of both facheads, and staff will probably weigh in too, so don't worry about it too much.