The Coalition
National Protection Party – Centralist, Old Center Right, Pan-Faith, Pro-US
The Nation Protection Party, or NPP, is the traditional ruling party of the Arab Republic. It assumed this role after nearly all of the predominant founders of the Republic created the party in 2033, and won the endorsements of nearly every person of notability within the nation. The NPP went on to win the 2034 election in a landslide of over 72% of the vote against two other non-Israeli parties. Since then, the party has lost its vote share as the parties have fragmented, yet it still is able to muster the most votes and the most seats each election. The NPP positions are largely defined by its role as the dominant party, with positions that seek to preserve the new republic.
The NPP is largely backs by a coalition of the lowest and richest in society. The NPP’s commitment to traditional Rightism and stability means that the non-monarchical wealthy with Arabic society see the NPP as their best bet at profits. The lower classes benefit both from the extensive vote buying programs of the NPP, and the centralist policies that ensure more efficient and fair aid across society.
Party of the Individual – Federalist, Old Right, Wahhabi, Pro-US
The PoI is the Saudi Party. The party split off from the Islamist parties largely over their opinions about statecraft, and the need of the Saudi King to be represented in government. Since then, the party has proven itself an able assistant in government, thanks in no part to the leaderships lack of commitment to their professed ideals. The party freely abandons its Wahhabi doctrines, as long as Pork Barrel spending arrives in Arabia. While the party does profess to be Federalist, it really is committed to Centralism - excluding Arabia.
The reason why the PoI abandons its ‘ideals’ at the drop of a hat is largely thanks to the Saudi electoral schemes. Three restrictions largely allow the Saudi family to control their electoral process. Firstly, all women with Arabia are required to have a Man in the voting booth with them. Second, in addition to the federal and international poll watchers, a Wahhabi cleric is also required to be present. While many other states have coercive and restrictive voting laws, the Arabian doctrine is stands out with the greatest malevolence. Finally, unlike in every other state, the Arabian votes are all required to be in Riyadh before release. This is widely believed to allow the Saudi counters to tamper with the results, enabling the PoI to win over 70% of the vote every time.
The PoI therefore finds it easy to remain in government and pass laws that are against its doctrine, as long as the national government refuses to investigate the elections in Arabia, the Saudi King controls the regions federal elections.
Modern Reform Party – Centralist, New Left, Secular, Pro-US
The MRP is the middle class wing of the coalition and is ironically the strongest competition to the NPP that exists in the Arab Republic. The Modern Reform Party began as a splinter from the NPP, when one of the many factions within he original party realized that the NPP was not as committed to fixing corruption as their propaganda claimed. The original MRP refused to cooperate with the NPP, citing the parties refusal to reform traditional Arab politics into something fit for the 21st century. Ironically, the party saw its greater success in the 2042 elections, the MRP focused on entering government as a coalition partner to hold the NPP accountable. This lead the MRP to purge its traditional hardliners and reach an agreement with the NPP to permanently become a member of the coalition.
Despite their membership inside the coalition, it is a well-known fact that the MRP’s goal is to win more seats then the NPP and subsequently rebuild the coalition along their own lines. The 2058 elections were the best showing of the MRP ever in this regard, seeing the party rise above 25% of the coalition members. It is only a matter of time, in their view, before the NPP is brought down by its corruption and the MRP can rise in its place.
Opposition (Non-Coalition) Parties
National Masses – Federalist, Old Left, Pan-Faith, Pro-China
The National Masses Party was around since the very beginning, existing originally in that 2034 election solely as a camp for non-NPP and non-Islamist voters. While this history does lend the Masses a bit of legitimacy, the parties history as the hiding spot for the unwelcome on the political scene left it’s ideology to be defined by whatever the NPP refused. The only thing that the Masses were originally committed to was their Federalism, born from a need to protect the welfare doles that were in place under the state systems. The parties Old Leftism was defined by the NPP and MFP adopting Right wing and New Leftist ideologies respectively. Their Pro-Chinese stance came about by the NPPs pro-US push. Their voter base was the motivated lower class, the voter who were ignored by the NPPs vote buying schemes.
The National Masses therefore have never have never been seen as a real opposition party, despite them technically holding the role. The NPP voter base opposes their viewpoints, and there is little the Masses can do to swing voters thanks to their history..
Arab Ba’athi Party – Federalist & Centralist, Old Left, Sunni, Arabism
A regional party that is considered the eternal partner of the National Masses. The Ba’athists came about during a local election in Iraq, where the National Masses candidate found that branding himself as an old Ba’athist earned him many more votes than simply running under the National Masses banner. The Ba’athist brand therefore only runs in Syria and Iraq, in the place of the National Masses Party, and constantly wins the most seats in each state.
The main difference between the Ba’athist wing and the National Masses, is on the issue of Centralism. The Ba’athist party tows the traditional leftist line of Federalism, supporting the Masses calls to protect state rights. However, when the Ba’athists hope to gain power, as they have occasionally in Iraq, they support Centralism under their rules. Fortunately, this matters little since nationally the Masses have never come close to entering government.
Hope Party – Centralist, Old Left, Pan-Faith, Pro-China
The Hope Party is the newest party in the nation, founded before the 2054 election. The party was born out of the lower class workers of the Gulf, who were disgusted with monarchical rule and the traditions of exploitation. For them, the Nation Masses offered little assistance. The party was too old, too ill defined, and too committed to Federalism to solve the problems facing the Gulf workers. The Hope Party was founded by splinter delegates from the Masses within the Gulf to fix to perceived inequalities.
Since then, the party has made massive gains from the three delegates they commanded in 2054. Gains have mainly come from the Gulf and Arabia, where monarchical rule persists. In Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, and Algeria – the large democratic or one-party authoritarian states, the National Masses party still holds sway.
Despite these setbacks, the Hope Party is confident in its ability to replace the National Masses as the head of the Old Left. The Hope Party is truly committed to the cause of Leftism, while the Masses were forced into it by the political spectrum. The Hope Party intends to Centralize Welfare, while the Masses prefer to leave whatever is in place now in the hands of authoritarians. Most importantly, the Hope party has momentum.
Liberal Dream – Individualist, Liberal-Right, Pan-Faith, Pro-US
The only Classical Liberal party within the Arab Republic is the Liberal Dream. The party appeals solely to the middle class and the wealthiest in the Republic. In a similar fashion to the Hope Party, the Liberal Dream splintered over issues in the Gulf. However, unlike the Hope Party, the Liberals split from the NPP. This the split happened due to monarchical and delegate opposition to centralization within the Gulf region.
Many on the Far Left and the Centralist Right therefore see the Liberal Dream as the ‘enabler’ party. It regularly wins the endorsements of the Aristocracy of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. Outside of the Gulf, the Liberal Dream appeals to the wealthy and well-to-do middle class – people who prefer a decentralized state and a pro-business agenda. Despite the Party’s official policy of Isolationism, the Chinese styled Centralized Meritocracy frightens the Liberal Dreamers more than foreign ties. The Party is therefore seen as part of the Pro-US alliance of parties.
Development Party - Centralist, New Left, Pan-Faith, Pro-China
To many, it seems as if the Development Party and the Modern Reform Party should join hands and unite in their opposition to the NPP. The two parties are both New-Left style Centralists, and they both oppose the NPP’s corrupt patron-clientelism. The Problems stem from the two parties foundation, and their views on foreign policy. The Development Party began from the small middle class contingent of the National Masses. Upon secession from the party, the rouge delegates would fly to Bejing. Upon their return, they founded the Development Party.
This has always left the party with something of a long shadow. Every election, the DP pulls in far more cash than it could ever hope to raise from the membership. In return, the party constantly makes its pro-China bias memorable in any speech. The division between the loose Pro-US approach of the MRP and the extreme pro-Chinese push of the DP leaves little room for reconciliation. It is the hope of many though, that one party will see their wrongs, and the two can come together to defeat the NPP.
Republican Dignity – Centralism, Centrist, Secular, Pro-US
Republican Dignity is perhaps the largest single-issue party in the Arab Union. Their issue: Democracy. The Party cares little for the political left or right – both are factions within Republican Dignity. Instead, the party uniformly pushes for near constant Centralization. The end goal in their minds is to either form a unity state that eliminates the need for Federal regions, or to create a Federal state without any trappings of the old authoritarian and monarchical regimes. Republican Dignity therefore draws mainly from the activist youth and urban intellectuals.
The party is seen as the traditional ally of the coalition when it needs support from outside parties. Its unabashed support for the United States – thanks to democracy, and hardcore centralism make it the ideal ally if needed. Republican Dignity was previously working with the coalition from 2054 onwards, however coalition losses prevented RD from reentry.
Islamist Parties
Muslim Brotherhood – Federalist, Islamist, Sunni, Isolationism
The Muslim Brotherhood is perhaps the oldest political party in the Arab Republic. Unlike every other party which was founded as a supranational coalition party after the creation of the Arab Republic, the Muslim Brotherhood was born in the early 20th century. Over the next 100 years, the party and their ideology spread across the Middle East and established itself in the Arab population. During the Arab Spring, the Muslim Brotherhood played a crucial part in toppling those Authoritarian regimes that did fall. The party saw the greatest success with inside its traditional home of Egypt, briefly becoming the ruling party inside the republic.
When the many nations of the Arab world came together to for the Unified Republic, they was a very real worry about the Muslim Brotherhood and its sister parties seizing control. The founders therefore created a system which would encourage a diversity of opposition rather than forcing every opposition voter to work together under the Brotherhoods banner. In addition, the founders created the NPP, a party of unity that would stand strong until the political system had diversified. This plan was largely a success – the Muslim Brotherhood received about 20% of the vote in its first election, and since then, the vote share has fallen under 10%.
That said, on the local level, the Brotherhood is traditionally stronger. In Sudan, the party regularly gets above 25% of the vote as a local party, and in Egypt, above 20%. This is largely because of the outreach and infrastructure the party has in those regions that voters wish to preserve. Nationally, there are bigger issues and the potential to improve upon the ad hoc welfare that the brotherhood provides.
Party of Allah – Federalist, Tabrizi-Islamist, Shia, Isolationism
No political party carries as much baggage as the party of Allah. Despite that, the party network still is just as deep as the Brotherhood. The Party of Allah was born from a reorganization of the various Iranian funded networks across the region and Hezbollah. During this early election, the Party of Allah saw impressive gains, rivaling the Muslim Brotherhood in the number of seats. However, the delegates quickly broke into infighting, over the parties goals and issues. This lead to many fundamentalists getting purged from their ranks, and the separation of the Zaydi delegation into their own party.
In a state that is almost entirely Arab, and of which the majority of its residents are Sunni, a party that is openly funded and aided by Iran will not be popular. In addition, Traditional Shia Islamist voters are divided between support for the Tabrizi School and Traditionalism. Therefore, the party gets less than 5% of the seats Legislative Assembly.
Restoration and Belief – Individualist, Islamist, Zaydi Islam, Arabism
In contrast to the Party of Allah, Restoration and Belief is a Traditional Islamist Shia Party, though it technically follows the Zaydi sect of the Shiite faith. After the comparative success of the Party of Allah, the Traditionalist and Tabrizi wings went to war. The Zaydi traditionalists, angered by the PoA’s refusal to respect their local values, left the party to form their own separate faction – Restoration and Belief.
In contrast to the PoA, Restoration is extreme in its beliefs. Instead of an emphasis of local politics and Federalism, the PoA total rights within their local regions. Instead of simply advocating for Isolationism, the party calls for a strong Arab state to protect their vision of the world.
The Restoration and Belief Party is a regional party. The Restoration Party only runs candidates in the Azal and Yemen regions, with the Azal state constantly being the more predominant of the two. Locally, the Party has total control of Azal, without the need of a dictator of monarch. The party regularly wins over 45% of the vote there, resulting in constant Restoration minority governments.
Israeli Parties
Likud – Federalist, Centrist, Jewish, Pro-US
The Likud Party of the Arab nation is a different and distinct party from the Likud Party of Israel. The Local Israeli Likud Party is the main Right Party in the multiparty system of Israel. The Federal/national Likud party is a Bipartisan party of government.
The National Likud party begin in the first session of Legislative Assembly. Likud had won the most seats in the Israeli province, and entered as an opposition party. During this first session, Likud found itself disgusted with the lack of a Jewish voice within the NPP. The NPPs lack of care for the differences between the Jews of Israel and the rest of the Arabs convinced the Jewish delegations that they needed to enter government. Before the 2038 elections, all of the Israeli Parties would meet in Jerusalem and agree to merge into Likud, the largest and most recognizable of the Parties.
The new Likud is committed to maintaining its role in government. Since 2038, the Party has been part of the government making it a part of the coalition. However, the since the party only competes in Israel, it is considered by all to be part of the Israeli group. In order to maintain the parties role in government, and preserve the unity between the various left and right wing factions, the arty commits to no specific economic ideology. Despite its nominal Federalism, the party will constantly vote for Centralist proposals as long as they do not affect Israel. As such, the Likud delegation is often seen as “free delegates” for the victors since their sole purpose is to maintain a role in government.
Zionist Dream – Individualist, Old Left, Jewish, Pro-Us
Zionist Dream was born in reaction to the Policies of Likud. The goal of Likud was to be eternally in government, to impart a voice and sway discussion away from issues that affect Israel. Zionist Dream believes that the Arab Parties can never be trusted. Therefore, it is better for an Israeli party to be in opposition, constantly fighting against support of the government. Zionist Dream sees the agreement over the Israeli-Palestinian territories as a harmful arrangement and seeks to reevaluate the agreement in Israel’s benefit. In order to achieve this goal, the party must remain in eternal opposition until Likud sees the error of their ways, folds into the Dream, and the new party becomes crucial to forming a government. Until then, the best way to preserve Zion is for it to remain outside the control of the deceitful Arabs.
Liberty Now! – Separatist, New Right, Jewish, Pro-US
There are three opinions on the Arab Union experiment in Israel. There are those that support it – they vote Likud. There are those that oppose it as it currently stands, and believe Israel deserves more. They vote for the Zionist Dream. Then there are those that oppose the experiment entirely, and advocate for Israeli secession from the Arab Republic. These voters, typically Orthodox Rightists, vote for Liberty Now!
Liberty Now believes that the Arab republic is corrupting the Zionist goals of an Israeli state. A Jewish province within a Muslim nation is not good enough in their minds; Israel needs to assume full control of her destiny. In concordance with this view, the Liberty Now delegate refuses to take his allotted seat in the National Assembly, preferring to protest the body by not participating in debate. Nearly every other party inside the Arab Republic – including Likud, universally condemns Liberty Now! Despite this, their one delegate tenaciously holds onto a seat in the Israeli delegation.
National Recognition – Federalist, Center – Old Left, Sunni, Arabism
In contrast to the Jewish parties of Israel, nation recognition is the party that actively courts the Palestinian Arab population. Just like Zionist Dream, National Recognition wishes for a renegotiation of the agreement over the Israeli territories – only to the Palestinian Arabs benefit. In the original settlement, Israel was to become a federal Jewish state under the Arab Republic – an eternally preserved right. The Muslim population got oversight and national control over the territory, a situation allowed both the Jewish and the Muslim population to ‘control’ the entire region.
Except, the deal did not really receive approval of the Palestinian population. Local Arabs and the International community alike supported the agreement enthusiastically, yet the Palestinians got very little. The ever-expanding settlements were ignored, and Israel now had technical approval to continue the expansion. When the Palestinian Arabs complained about their situation, Arab authorities would remind the Arabs that they now all were under one state – if they did not like the situation, move. With little hope of government help, the national Recognition party was founded.
Just like their Jewish counterparts, the National Recognition Party is a big tent within Israel. Economic policy takes a back seat to allow for as many voters as possible. The parties sole issue, is Arab strength and unity, which requires the nation to recognize the plight of the Palestinians.
Regional Parties
Berber Freedom – Federalist, Old Left, Sunni, Pro-China
Berber freedom is a party that ironically, does not call for Berber Freedom. The party is a minor regional alliance in Morocco, Algeria, Sahrawi, and Mauritania. Those Berbers cut off and localized by geography give the party their votes. It calls for greater autonomy locally for the Berber peoples and for a reevaluation of the Western border to benefit the tribal Berbers. On every level, the party is considered a minor force without enough seats to challenge even the minor parties.
Independence Party – Separatist, Centrist, Sunni, Isolationist
The Independence Party is a relatively new party, though that is only because it was legalized recently. The party began as the politically acceptable version of the revitalized Fur liberation movement within Darfur. From 2040 to 2045, the Arab Republic would require peacekeepers in the Darfur region of Sudan to try to put down the militant wing of the liberation movement. As the crisis continued with no end in sight, the rebels and the Arab Republic would sit down in Cairo to try to resolve the crisis. The results were the creation of an autonomous republic of Darfur, and the legalization of the political wing of the independence movement.
It did not take long for the Independence Party to seize control of Darfur. The region had been specifically designed for them, and the Independence party was specifically tailored for the Fur people. However, after that first election, the party would lose an absolute majority, and require assistance from the Muslim Brotherhood to govern.