Alternate Electoral Maps II

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fashbasher

Banned
I'm sick of Manchin/Baker realignments. Let's have some fun.
genusmap.php


2052 Presidential Election
Felix Muñoz (Union-TX)/Emily Harper (Union-MA)
def. Aurora Jackson (Alliance-WA)/Kara Hobson (Alliance-WY), John M. Greene (People's-PA)/Adam Avery (People's-KS), Jennifer Castillo (Southern-TN)/Wayne Martin (Southern-MS), Matthew Stanford (UUP-UT)/Harriet Winthrop (UUP-ID), Erin Takaoka (AA-HI)/Estefania de la Cruz (AA-CA)

Felix Muñoz won re-election handily. While his Presidency was considered generally successful - the economy was growing, with many experts hailing the end of the Long Recession, the last American troops left Russia, and the response to Hurricanes Aaliyah and Damien was considered generally competent - his victory owed less to it and more to the hegemony of the Unionist Party, which has held the Presidency for twenty of the last twenty-four years.
Still, all is not well. Water rights remain a major flashpoint in the West and the Midwest, fueling the Alliance (a coalition of greens, Sandersists, Lumumbaists, and rural water activists), the Utah United Party (a socially conservative, largely Mormon, party which grew out of an entryist takeover of Evan McMullin's political movement), and the People's Party (a party which was built as an effort to create "an honest Trumpism"). And the legacy of the Sibley earthquake in 2045 and the Great Tsunami of 2040 fuels regionalist movements, both in the South and Hawaii. And even as the Gulf Coast becomes more economically and politically powerful, the Midwest and Rust Belt become increasingly deprived and disconnected from the rest of the country.

United States of Northern Ireland? UUP and Alliance are both parties in Norn Iron.
 

fashbasher

Banned
Something I came up with while going through the old thread.

The Arab Republic is perhaps one of the most confusing democracies is the modern world. The nation was born in late 2033 in order to resolve the current crisis of the Middle East. With much of the world switching to electric, self-driving cars, one of the major markets for Arabic Crude was vanishing. Shipping, Airplanes, and the plastic market were still huge buyers, but a major, unchangeable decrease in the global price of oil had come. For the Middle East, this meant that oil rents could no longer cover the vast state programs – unless cuts occurred somewhere. The states facing the crisis tried to solve the problem through a variety of methods. The most popular were desert solar farms, though the construction of such facilities required contracts with foreign powers just like the oil wells of the 1920s.

For the United States, the crisis offered an opening. The growing worldwide influence of the Chinese had become a problem, and the United States needed reliable allies to halt Chinese advances. The weakened Arab nations were seen by the state department as only caring about their survival, and would flee the American camp for a better bottom line. The state department floated an idea, unification. The new state would be extremely Federal, with each constituent part having total rights over politics within its boundaries. If said state wished to remain an absolute monarchy – so be it. If a state wished to have an official religion, despite the secular nature of the government, go right ahead. The only difference would be that a new, elected government would supersede said monarchy one that was new and as such could not be criticized for its ability to levy taxes.

The idea of a massive state solved many other of the existing problems within the region. Islamism had long been the dominant opposition to Authoritarianism, but it was believed that a large, unity state could sideline such opposition and build a true, loyal opposition through time. A strong commitment to the US and the West could be fostered, building a reliable ally against the tigers of the east. Most importantly, the idea of a federal super-state offered a way for both Arabs and Jews to rule over the entirely of Israel-Palestine.

The idea was brought forward in 2028, and saw support from many of the nations within the region. Many of the regions leaders’ feared revolution from the austerity programs that now needed to be put into place, and the Arab Republic offered them a way out. Over the next five years, a loose coordination took place among the regions peoples to prepare for the coming unification. Through coercion, treaties, and promises from over a dozen powers, the Arab Republic was put into place – despite not being entirely Arab, or entirely a republic.

Since its foundation the single greatest question inside the Arab republic is the scope of the power of the Federal government. Does it have the power to allocate resources, and nationalize state industries? Or do the individual states have greater power over economic affairs, leaving the central government only with foreign policy and military matters. So, while that nation has remained firm in its commitment to the United States and its ability to ensure the safety of its citizens, it has never done it with one mind and purpose.

Compounding the above problem was the political system. International observers and thinkers had recommended with Arab support a federal proportional system, with a low cutoff of 4%. Such a system had many benefits. States representation meant that everyone was not drawn from some big party pool – a system that was feared, could lead to a one party system over time. The 4% cutoff left the extremes without a voice, something to preserve the fragile democracy. Proportionality would quickly lead to a diversification of political parties, preventing an Islamist party from seizing the opposition role and from getting into power on its own.

The problem with this system was that it prevented a government from forming that was truly one of mind. Nearly all of the political players during the first election endorsed the National Protection Party, leading to it winning the first election in a landslide. Since then though the vote has fragmented, leading to the formation of the Coalition, a group a parties loosely connected and committed to stable government. So, despite elections being largely fair and open, one group of parties and one vision has lead the country for the past 20 years.

This is not to say the government has been a total failure. From the resolution of the Darfur crisis, to the creation of a (loosely) uniform school system, to the EuroArab 2050 Energy plan, the nation in many ways had been a success. Capping off on the victories was the successful bid for the 2052 Olympics in Alexandria, an event that allowed the nation to show off its victories to the world. When polled today, over 70% of citizens prefer living in the Arab Republic than in their individual states.

Role of Government

The single most dominant issue within the Arab Union is how much power the central government should have, what its limits are, and what its duties should be. The two dominant ideologies along this line is Centralism and Federalism. Centralism is the idea that the government’s role needs to be expanded, and the powers of the government ought to be centralized. How far and what issues should be centralized are different between party ideology. Federalism seeks to maintain the rights of the individual states. Like Centralism, which has diverging viewpoints on how far and where the government should unite, Federalism has different views on what should remain within the purview of the states. Some federalists find their views because of the need to protect the large welfare programs built under the rentier states, while others see monarchical and religious liberties under attack.

Also on the spectrum are Individualism and Separatism. Both are similar, yet different. Individualism sees the state not as a strong actor, but as merely a shield. Individualists believe in the weakest state possible, moves that are necessary to protect the rights impeded when the nation formed. However, unlike the Separatists, the Individualists are committed to the success of the state. The Separatists, each for their own reasons, support the dissolution of Arab Republic in order to protect their individual rights.

Ideology

Ideology matters less than the view towards government; however, the political blocks largely follow their political leaning. The views largely follow the traditional left-right spectrum, with the edition of the Islamist viewpoint.

Diving both the right and the left are the two viewpoints, the newer version, and the older version. The old left/right hold ideologies from the 19th and 20th centuries, and are familiar: Socialism, Conservatism, Liberalism, etc. The New ideologies came about in the 21st century as a reaction to globalism and mass communication.

The New Left is an ideology of Technocratic-Meritocracy, forged from both the success of the Asian Tigers and the cultural predominance of Silicon Valley politics. The New Left see the state as the only way to ensure everything happens with the best benefit to everyone, and seek to ensure with the assistance of administrative aids, a fair society. Under the new left, everyone rises as high as their skill allows them. A welfare state is key to the new left and only an efficient state can keep the modern welfare system working. The New Left radicals see elections merely as a tool to ensure the party maintains control, in order to preserve skill, while the common viewpoint sees democracy as a necessary tool to weed out the political weak. New Leftists believe in a strong security regime, to protect the state against extremist ideologies and to protect the government against corruption and inefficiency. Whistleblowers are encouraged and common in New Leftist regimes.

New Rightism, or Modern Statism, is an ideology of reaction against the expansive powers of globalization. The New Right differs from the old Right crucially on economic matters, seeing state assistance as necessary in order to survive in a globalizing world. The state is responsible to ensure both private and public jobs are available to those who have been left behind by the economy. It is the state’s role to preserve those available jobs for those left behind before letting in newer applicants. The new right believe in strong industrial-government cooperation in order to ensure employment, and that the state needs to protect industries from falling by the wayside of competition. The Modern Statist sees free trade as a curse, and seeks to regulate and push away that which harms its own people. Immigration is also curtailed, for a similar reason. The New right pushes integration above all else, and encourages those that cannot integrate to move to places where there is jobs. It is important to note that the New right has very little presence in the Arab Republic compared to other nations, largely thanks to the nation being a target for international job growth rather than an job exporter.

Islamism has similarly undergone changes since the millennium. The traditional Islamist viewpoint argues for a restoration or partial implementation of Sharia Law society wide. This is still the orthodox ideology and is held by the Saudi State, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood. The Tabriz school however is a modern ideology held largely by Shia Islamist parties. This school became the Iranian ideology in the mid-2030s, largely due to the continual push of reformist politicians inside the Iranian state, culminating in the ascension of a reformist Supreme Leader. The Tabriz school still seeks to reform society along Islamic lines, it however recognizes many things that traditional Islamism does not such as the rights of women in court.

Religion

Party Religion in the Arab Republic is less important as policy, but rather as the source of the voting populace. With the exception of the Islamist parties, religion is instead used to define a voter base and make the party seem more attractive to group. The largest parties within the Republic are all Pan-Faith, a loose term to explain that the party appeals to all. Pan-faith parties are not secular – that is its own specific viewpoint, but rather care little about the religion issue.

Within the Arab republic, there are parties that specifically market themselves towards an Islamic sect. Then there are the Israeli parties. In Israel, there are four national parties unrelated to the local parties. Three of the four are Jewish, including the dominant party. One is Sunni, and that party appeals to Palestinian Arabs.

Foreign Policy

With the foundation of the Arab Republic based on a Pro-US foreign policy, the diplomatic functions of the nation are heavily politicized. Does a party inside the Arab Republic support the Chinese in the east, or the US in the west? The establishment viewpoint leans towards a Pro-US viewpoint, largely thanks to the nation being designed to support the United States. The NPP, the Coalition, and the parties of government have designed the nation’s military and diplomatic outlook to benefit the west. In exchange, the government receives US aid for development and electoral stability.

In response, the Opposition tends to Pro-Chinese. Both the New Left and the Old Left parties support Chinese policies to varying levels. This is both a boon and a curse. It benefits the opposition since it is able to receive aid from the east to match the amount of funds available to the governing parties. However, these Pro-Chinese viewpoints are framed by the NPP as anti-democratic and anti-constitutional, arguments that while less then true, push the public away the Opposition.

Then there are the non-ally based opinions: Isolationism and Arabism. Isolationism sees the Republic as inherently fragile, and that any demanding foreign commitments could break the Republic. There isn’t any restrictions placed on economic commerce under the Isolationist doctrine, it simply seeks to keep the Arab Republic from any sorts of conflicts. Arabism on the other hand is inherently interventionist, believing that the Arab Republic needs to create its own “third pole” separate from the United States or China. Arabists are militarists, and typically are in favor of military installation construction to increase the power projection of the nation.

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 PartyFederalist & 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

LikudFederalist, 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.

The 2056 election was widely seen as a MRP party victory. Despite the continued dominance of NPP, the MRP gained seats from their partner, and the NPP lost seats to the opposition. Republican Dignity ended up being forced from the coalition and after talks, the Development Party was added. Tensions between the DPs strong Pro-Chinese push and the Coalitions strong pro-American drive existed, and threatened to drive the deal apart. However, the DP agreed to put aside these values in exchange for a greater say by the New Left in government – the ideal outcome for the MRP. Time will tell if the New Left parties will continue to gain or the NPP will assume the position the have held since the beginning.

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How did they get Israel to join in?
 
This is amazing as usual and I love it, but jeez, this timeline is bleak.
If the individual states are given that much discresion in human and civil rights how does the union even hold its self together, I could easily see places like Alto California boycotting all goods from the most conservative states and vice verse... I mean maybe there just all enjoying the general prosperity of a free trade zone. But like is the US more like the EU at this point? Is there even a federal government what about a SCOTUS ?

Yeah, that's the general idea with the Seventh Party System timeline, ever since the Conservative Revolution lead first by Nixon and later usurped by George Wallace occurred the federal government has had a substantial amount of its powers devolved to the states. Nevertheless the federal government still has firm control over interstate commerce and the military and still collects plenty of taxes to fund everything from NASA to the Post Office, so it's definitely still one country. But with pretty much all federal welfare programs having been long since erased and with the protection for civil rights not going much further than stopping blatant segregation the quality of life for people in the US varies greatly from state to state.
 
How did they get Israel to join in?

I forgot to mention, but Israel was dragged in based on a mixture of force and momentum. Since Israel's ally, the United States, was behind the Arab Republics formation, Israel had to go along in one way or another. Plus there was a element of realpolitik involved - would you want to remain hostile to most of your neighbors when they are all slowly united in a overwhelming force? The entry into the Arab Republic was made more acceptable by the 'resolution' presented to the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and by the extreme federalism offered by the constitution which allowed Israel to maintain its Judaism.

That said, almost nobody in the Israeli territories like the present agreement. All four national parties believe in protecting something that was lost during National Formation through various ways. Likud sees the only way to protect Israeli rights from being sidelined and trampled is to join the government. Zionist Dream understands that Israeli rights are going to get trampled, and a new agreement is needed to protect those rights. Liberty Now! calls for independence to protect those rights. National Recognition understands that nearly everyone has now abandoned the idea of Palestine, and the recognition that was lost with the Arab Republics formation needs to be restored. Most people still think of themselves as Israeli or Palestinian rather then Arab. In that regard I kinda based Israel off of Northern Ireland, a region separate from the rest of the nation where everyone doesn't really like the national government to a varying degree.
 
Yeah, that's the general idea with the Seventh Party System timeline, ever since the Conservative Revolution lead first by Nixon and later usurped by George Wallace occurred the federal government has had a substantial amount of its powers devolved to the states. Nevertheless the federal government still has firm control over interstate commerce and the military and still collects plenty of taxes to fund everything from NASA to the Post Office, so it's definitely still one country. But with pretty much all federal welfare programs having been long since erased and with the protection for civil rights not going much further than stopping blatant segregation the quality of life for people in the US varies greatly from state to state.

I have always seen the seventh party system almost as a critique on parliamentary systems and politics in general. Parties betraying their values in the name of power, parties collapsing over petty disputes, coalitions between left and right wing parties in the name of personal gain, parties formed solely as a vehicle factional and personal gain, racial discrimination, racial factionalism and ostracizing, extremest parties that are enabled via the voting system, total commitment to party values over popular interest and good government, constituency population discrepancies, union and special interest over-representation, and just the general lust for power that associates multiparty parliamentary systems. Oh and the fact that things like civil rights and social security can vanish with a change of parties/coalitions thanks to there not being as many checks and balances as there are under the current american arrangement.
 

fashbasher

Banned
TOR: The greatest troll since the American turn to proportional representation

The election on the left is clearly based on the 2016 election; after Trump's MAGA Party demanded substantial concessions including multiple Cabinet seats, pushing a platform that was not only conservative but perilous, the center-right (led by senators Collins and Murkowski and Ohio governor Kasich) plotted a moderate revolt, even willing to work with the left opposition if needed. The map and diagrams below show TOR's route to kingmaker status. This new party - socially conservative, economically moderate to center-right, and fiercely opposed to boorishness and racism - called itself the Other Right, in opposition to both extreme neoliberalism/the Tea Party and to the crassness of the MAGA bloc.

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Now for something a bit different:

While tensions between Salisbury and London had been increasing throughout the 1960s as the latter sought to pressure the former to expand African franchise, the British Government's handling of the Northern Rhodesia Crisis of 1967 would create an irrevocable rift. The Southern Rhodesia Labour Party, governing as a minority reliant upon Independent MP support, acquiesced to demands to hold a referendum on Rhodesia's constitutional status in relation to the British Commonwealth. Both the "A Roll" and "B Roll" were allowed to vote at equal weighting for the referendum, though European voters still constituted well over 85% of the total share of the electorate. Many African voters, though theoretically eligible to vote, boycotted the vote in opposition to Salisbury's racial policies. Results were tabulated by district instead of parliamentary constituency. While the Southern Rhodesia Labour Party remained officially neutral on the referendum, their opposition, the Southern Rhodesia National Party and most Independents campaigned for a "For" vote in the upcoming referendum.

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The referendum was a decisive victory for supporters of the Republic, with 59.35% of voters approving the decision to withdraw from the British Commonwealth and rename Southern Rhodesia to the "Republic of Rhodesia" with a President appointed by the Prime Minister's Cabinet as Head of State instead of the British Monarch. The six districts where Africans constituted the majority of voters voted strongly against the measure. None of these African-dominated districts saw more than 1,000 total votes cast. The only district where Europeans constituted a majority of voters to vote against the referendum was Marandellas, a stronghold of the left and home to many Jewish refugees that fled the restored German Empire ahead of the Second Great War. The "For" vote saw relations between Salisbury and London sink to new nadir in the 30 years since the African colony was granted Independence. The movement to boycott and divest from Rhodesia, originally a fringe issue at university campuses, began to pick up more mainstream acceptance.
 
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I have always seen the seventh party system almost as a critique on parliamentary systems and politics in general. Parties betraying their values in the name of power, parties collapsing over petty disputes, coalitions between left and right wing parties in the name of personal gain, parties formed solely as a vehicle factional and personal gain, racial discrimination, racial factionalism and ostracizing, extremest parties that are enabled via the voting system, total commitment to party values over popular interest and good government, constituency population discrepancies, union and special interest over-representation, and just the general lust for power that associates multiparty parliamentary systems. Oh and the fact that things like civil rights and social security can vanish with a change of parties/coalitions thanks to there not being as many checks and balances as there are under the current american arrangement.

I'll be honest, I don't recognise a lot of these as being issues with parliamentary systems (as opposed to common critiques on proportional systems) and, well, frankly I'm not all that sure the US checks and balances actually work all that well compared to the systems implemented by other countries anyway.
 
I made a quick map of the counties that I think are most likely to flip in 2020. I'll expand on this when I have the time.


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Oklahoma County (OK) and Monongalia County (WV) are sort of stretches but those are the only counties in their respective states that I think have any real chance of flipping barring a Democratic landslide and I wanted to do at least one county in every state.

Does your county map in MT suggest a 2020 Montana flip? I work in MT politics and that's what it looks like.
 
Revised map of the election results by county in the Rutherford scenario. I changed percentages to more accurately reflect certain states where Rutherford got 60% or more of the vote. I used Democratic Senatorial maps from the last decade as a loose frame of reference. I think this more accurately shows the scale of his victory. I also reduced the number of counties carried by plurality, eliminating them entirely from certain states and especially, cutting down on the ones in Arkansas:

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Also here: http://fiction.wikia.com/wiki/File:...al_election_by_county,_2016_(percentages).png
 
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Revised map of the election results by county in the Rutherford scenario. I changed percentages to more accurately reflect certain states where Rutherford got 60% or more of the vote. I used Democratic Senatorial maps from the last decade as a loose frame of reference. I think this more accurately shows the scale of his victory. I also reduced the number of counties carried by plurality, eliminating them entirely from certain states and especially, cutting down on the ones in Arkansas:

800

Also here: http://fiction.wikia.com/wiki/File:...al_election_by_county,_2016_(percentages).png
Get a new scenario, please.
 
Does your county map in MT suggest a 2020 Montana flip? I work in MT politics and that's what it looks like.

No. If the Democrat wins all the counties Clinton won plus all the blue counties on this map, they still lose the state decisively. Plus I have 3 counties as likely to flip to Trump.
 
No. If the Democrat wins all the counties Clinton won plus all the blue counties on this map, they still lose the state decisively. Plus I have 3 counties as likely to flip to Trump.
You're right. I didn't see Yellowstone county and that's essentially the bellweather for the whole state.
 
I took statistics from the Electoral Calculus site to work out the GE results by ward and got this.

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its so dark blue

but there is some red there

so

yeah

EDIT: Just altered it so that its in line with the proposed new boundaries for Grantham and Stamford.
 
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I have always seen the seventh party system almost as a critique on parliamentary systems and politics in general. Parties betraying their values in the name of power, parties collapsing over petty disputes, coalitions between left and right wing parties in the name of personal gain, parties formed solely as a vehicle factional and personal gain, racial discrimination, racial factionalism and ostracizing, extremest parties that are enabled via the voting system, total commitment to party values over popular interest and good government, constituency population discrepancies, union and special interest over-representation, and just the general lust for power that associates multiparty parliamentary systems. Oh and the fact that things like civil rights and social security can vanish with a change of parties/coalitions thanks to there not being as many checks and balances as there are under the current american arrangement.
I'll be honest, I don't recognise a lot of these as being issues with parliamentary systems (as opposed to common critiques on proportional systems) and, well, frankly I'm not all that sure the US checks and balances actually work all that well compared to the systems implemented by other countries anyway.
I never really thought of my series as a critique on the parliamentary system, as I personally think it can be better than the US system of government in some cases, I just intended my series to be a creative exercise in how politically diverse a semi-plausible US could get. But in making this alternate America extremely politically diverse there of course exists tons of rather unsavory parties and special interests are over represented most of the time. This doesn't mean that there aren't still lots of nicer states with some like Rhode Island and Delaware having rather mundane and tame political systems and other states like Kansas having voted out their extremist governments.

So is the US seen by the other democracies as basicly South Africa in the 1980's.
Not really, especially since this world is a lot more multipolar with the Chinese led East Asian Prosperity Sphere being America's equal and socialist states such as Gran Colombia and the USSR still managing to survive despite American embargo even if they have been eclipsed by the Rising Sun. The only other strong democratic power that exists besides the US is the EU, which is a bit more independent, but even the Europeans still respect the US as a democratic country. As such, since there exists no equivalent to the sort of Western consensus that existed in our timeline America is simply viewed as one of the world's three superpowers and is still seen by many as a bastion of democracy in comparison to the excessively bureaucratic East Asian Prosperity Sphere and the dictatorial USSR.

Also I'd like to thank everyone once again for all the interest you have given this series, I really appreciate it and will continue to develop the Seventh Party System timeline as I go along.
 
Also I'd like to thank everyone once again for all the interest you have given this series, I really appreciate it and will continue to develop the Seventh Party System timeline as I go along.

You know you have created a good series when people are arguing over how to correctly interpret it. ;)

Anyway, I was going through your old posts, and even though you have states governed by left-right coalitions, there is no true European Style Grand Coalition that keeps out significant (40+ish) minor parties, and betrays and satisfies its voters at the same time. The closest you got I think is Oregon with an upstart leftish party forming a coalition with the Republicans and New York with Business and Labour in the same Federalist blanket - though New York was designed to showcase tribalism rather then left-right cooperation. Is this simply not an option in the Seventh Party System, or have we not gotten to the state that will show this off yet? If its going to come, then I can't wait to see it.
 
1997 General Election if every minor party candidate who saved his deposit (i.e. won more than 5%) magically won a seat.

The Referendum Party obviously does very well, mostly taking Shire Tory seats with a couple of Labour and Lib Dem seats into the mix (notably, Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown is defeated). Their Eurosceptic competitors in UKIP, however, only take a single seat, with Nigel Farage taking Salisbury. The far right also does well: the National Democrats unseat the Speaker, Betty Boothroyd, while the BNP seize Dewsbury, Bethnal Green and Bow, and Poplar and Canning Town.

The Continuity Liberals gain Liverpool West Derby. They also saved their deposit in Bethnal Green and Bow (the only time two minor party candidates saved deposits in the same constituency) but I've given it to the BNP, who got 7.5% to the Liberals' 6.6%.

I've grouped all the far-left parties together: Tommy Sheridan of the Scottish Socialist Alliance defeats Labour in Glasgow Pollok, expelled former Militant MP Dave Nellist wins back Coventry South, and Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party wins Cardiff Central, Newport East and East Ham.

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