An Examination of Extra-Universal Systems of Government
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Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
Thanks.
I'm so happy this is back!
Anyway, the German Confederation's government reminds me of the United States', just with hereditary monarchs, but it's different enough to be a system of its own. Sort of the inverse of an American dictatorship. Very creative!
I'm just sorry it took so long to get back on track.
Really? I admit that elements of the federal system and seperation of powers were inspired by the American system (obviously), but what other similarities did you notice?
Good to see the TL back, Ephraim!
That it is.
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
Chapter 4
Being a Consideration of Governments of Non-Traditional States
The question of what exactly constitutes a country is a matter of significant debate, with the precise definition varying considerably from universe to universe and even from country to country. The “state” to use a more technical term, is usually described as the primary organizational unit of developed human society and it has been the governments of various states that are the focus of this examination. Some states exist alongside of nations as “nation-states”, some exist purely on paper as “de jure states”, others exist in practice but not legally as “de facto states”…Being a Consideration of Governments of Non-Traditional States
…there are two popular definitions of what constitutes a sovereign state. The first stipulates that a state is not sovereign until it is recognized by the international community. The second on the other hand requires that a) a state must have citizens, b) a state must have territory, c) a state must have functioning institutions, and d) a state must possess the ability to enter into diplomatic relations. These definitions contrast with the traditional conception of the state which in addition to fulfilling the aforementioned requirements also usually includes a stretch of contiguous territory, a national capital, a dominant ethnic group…
...Described in this chapter are “non-traditional states”- that is to say sovereign states that comply fully with the second definition of statehood yet for whatever reason fail to conform to the customary image of what is thought to be a “state”. For the purposes of simplifying things I have eliminated all governments that have not received at least partial recognition of their sovereignty…
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
I had a couple ideas for states and so I thought I would do write-ups on them. Wasn't like my Monarchy chapter was going anywhere anyway.
The next government will be from the mid to late 21st century and exist primarily in Europe.
The next government will be from the mid to late 21st century and exist primarily in Europe.
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
American Overseas Republic
Bayeaux is abominably hot in the summer, humid enough that it feels like the tropics and the sweat refuses to evaporate from my skin. Despite the heat however, the sky is grey and it’s an even bet as to whether or not it will be clear in half an hour or pouring rain. But that is Normandy for you and at least my contact is on time- an octogenarian man of African descent, he is already seated and waiting outside one of the town’s many little restaurants when I arrive. As I approach he stands to shake my hand.
“Good day professor.” Martin Washington’s grip is firm and he meets my eyes with equanimity. This is a man with nothing to prove who doesn’t care if the world knows it. He was for eight years the second president of the American Overseas Republic.
I return his greeting politely and join him at the table, wiping my forehead with a handkerchief. I’ve heard good things about the local cider and I order some as we get down to business.
“The hardest part of being President of the AOR,” Washington begins, “was building up the confidence of the people- convincing them that we were a serious body and that we would not be merely an appendage of the European Union. At the same time, we couldn’t really afford to offend any of our allies so I had to be careful about asserting our sovereignty. You’re probably familiar with the Cuba incident?”
I remark that I am.
“I received a lot of criticism for that, the Washington Regime accused me of acting as a cat’s-paw for the Cubans and even a lot of my own citizens felt the same. But it allowed us to remind the world that we still have a military and Roosevelt Village in is the largest AOR settlement to enjoy extraterritoriality in the world. So you see it’s a fine line.”
I enquire about the future- does he anticipate that his government will ever reunite with America proper.
“Maybe.” The former president’s Gaelic shrug is reminiscent of the country where he has spent the better part of his life. “Perhaps if the United States ever becomes a democracy again we will. But I wouldn’t count on it.”
The American Overseas Republic began its life as a collection of embassies, diplomatic missions, military bases, and even cemeteries located worldwide that were a reflection of the considerable influence wielded by the United States of America in this universe. The USA had extended its foreign presence considerably following the Second World War and the subsequent Cold War between it and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The political collapse of the USSR in 1991 saw a significant diminishment of this presence as it was no longer as important as it had been, but quite a bit remained. In addition to the official government presence many American corporations and private individuals had holdings outside of the country proper. In 2023 all this was cut off.
The details of the fall of the United States Government in November of 2023 are too numerous and complicated to list here, it will suffice to say that events happened quickly due to the efforts of an active wing within the government itself. The “Second Revolution” solidified its control over the fifty-one American states but its reach overseas was limited and the majority of the American foreign garrisons and diplomatic missions refused to accept the authority of the government in Washington. Without a government-in-exile to be loyal to, these forces and personnel- not to mention ordinary American citizens- existed in a curious legal limbo as the United Nations (newly relocated to Geneva) agreed with them in refusing to recognize the new government.
On January 8, 2024 the Council of Ambassadors, consisting of some 73 American ambassadors who refused to take orders from the revolutionary government, along with several military leaders of American troops unwilling to return home, met in London, England to consider their fate. The meeting was facilitated and supported by Britain and France, with tacit approval from the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Hearing of it the new US government condemned all participants and stated that any American citizens who did not return within thirty days would have their citizenship suspended and would be considered criminals. Most of the American military stationed in Africa and Asia (excepting East Asia) complied. Those in Europe however, overwhelmingly did not. A week after the council convened it voted to establish the American Overseas Republic.
It is important to understand that the AOR’s creation was heavily lobbied for by several countries, notably Britain and Turkey which were both very worried about the fate of American nuclear weapons stationed in their countries which they hoped to keep out of the hands of the revolutionary government. Likewise a number of other nations were looking for a legal fig leaf to secure the purely conventional American arms present on their soil and the AOR provided that. The third major supporter for the government’s establishment were American exiles who had vacated the USA to avoid persecution for their political views and who wanted an entity in opposition to America's new rulers.
One of the American Overseas Republic’s first acts was to order the transfer of its nuclear weapons over to Great Britain in exchange for a substantial amount of funds and a guarantee of future support. Its second was to begin a fire sale of military equipment that it could no longer afford to maintain or operate, ultimately raising over a hundred billion Euros. By 2026 all of the former United States presence overseas was either in the hands of the revolutionaries, amalgamated into the AOR, or had been absorbed by former host governments (the latter occurred primarily in Japan and Korea). The Council of Ambassadors was replaced by an elected government with a President and a Senate and the AOR assumed its present form.
As of 2067 the American Overseas Republic counts over seven million citizens and some two hundred facilities in the form of embassies both current and former, military bases both current and former, and territories conceded perpetually to America prior to the revolution, notably American military cemeteries located in France. Although many of the American military bases have been closed and sold off, others (for instance Camp Ederle in Italy and Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany) have been retained as residence communities with limited extraterritoriality that are generally administered and policed by the AOR and inhabited by its citizens. These exist primarily in Europe but are also present in Africa, Asia, North America and Antarctica to a much more limited extent and AOR citizens can be found on every continent. Most of the world accepts passports and stamps issued by the Republic and it has non-voting observer status at the United Nations. The AOR’s official currencies are American dollars issued prior to November 2023 and the Euro, and its primary sources of funds come from leases on American Antarctic Bases (the only Antarctic facility still maintained solely by the AOR is Palmer Station), financial assistance from allied countries such as Britain, and profits generated by investments made by the American Overseas Bank. Total revenue amounts to roughly half a billion Euros a year, about a quarter of which is taxes.
The AOR administrative center is located in the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany which functions as the headquarters of its different institutions. The AOR Join Military Command maintains a force of 20,000 standing troops, with most of its ground forces rotating through tours as UN Peacekeepers. It also retains a fleet of a dozen ships, mostly transports but including two patrol boats and a lone destroyer, and a number of cargo and passenger aircraft most of which operate under the aegis of the American Overseas Airlines. 103 countries recognize AOR sovereignty, 12 of which do not recognize the United States Government, and a further 87 treat the Republic as an NGO and permit it to maintain facilities subject to local laws. The law enforcement arm of the AOR is the American Overseas Bureau of Investigation which serves a police force within its possessions that have extra-territoriality.
The Republic elects a President every four years for no more than two terms and a 100-member Senate at the same time using party lists. The AOR’s politics have been largely dominated by the liberal Democratic Party since its inception, other parties include the Republican Party (centre-right), the Constitutional Union Party (centrist, very new, most of its supporters were born outside the United States and although they oppose the revolutionary government they nonetheless believe they have a responsibility to support America against its enemies), the Pioneer Party (right wing, seeks to obtain territory under full AOR sovereignty), and the Social Democracy Party (socialist, influenced by similar European parties).
Controversy has surrounded the American Overseas Republic since its founding and many allege, even outside of America, that it exists only as a puppet government of the European Union. It is true that the AOR has often acted in the past on the behalf of the EU or various member states, facilitating unofficial negotiations between countries when politically impossible and using the AOBI to investigate matters across national borders when its allies cannot. A major scandal occurred in 2055 when it became apparent that the American Overseas Bank was laundering money for operations by the British MI6. An even bigger scandal occurred in 2032 during the Cuba Incident when AOR troops, with logistical support by the European Union and the full knowledge and approval of the Cuban Prime Minister, seized control of the American Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay and promptly turned control over to the Cuban government. Incidents such as these are frequently pointed to as proof of the Republic’s lack of real independence, a claim denied by Martin Washington.
“The American Overseas Republic exists because it is in the interests of several major powers that it exist.” Otto Hightower is an award winning journalist for the German Paper Dei Zeit who has frequently aired criticism of the AOR and its government- despite himself being a citizen of that country. “If it ever stopped being useful then it would have a life-span measured in days.”
I ask if he’ll elaborate.
“It’s like this.” Hightower uses his hands to frame his thoughts. “Before the revolution America was the world’s most powerful country, a hegemon with influence virtually everywhere. It had treaties with everyone and a lot of money- among other things- was wrapped up in the status quo. Suddenly all that is gone, poof!” The journalist aims a finger at me. “But what about all the treaties? All the companies employing millions of people? They needed a polite legal fiction to reorganize the American corporations without handing them back over to the Washington regime, a way to honor their treaties without giving an unacceptable amount of power to the revolutionaries. Thus the Overseas Republic.”
So how independent is the AOR really?
“Somewhat.” The child of American exiles admits grudgingly. “There is no one clear country to pull the Republic’s strings- so there’s enough give between the competing influences of Britain and France and Germany that Kaiserslautern can get away with a fair bit. But it might as well be an EU member state- when the Union says jump its only question is "how high?”
Bayeaux is abominably hot in the summer, humid enough that it feels like the tropics and the sweat refuses to evaporate from my skin. Despite the heat however, the sky is grey and it’s an even bet as to whether or not it will be clear in half an hour or pouring rain. But that is Normandy for you and at least my contact is on time- an octogenarian man of African descent, he is already seated and waiting outside one of the town’s many little restaurants when I arrive. As I approach he stands to shake my hand.
“Good day professor.” Martin Washington’s grip is firm and he meets my eyes with equanimity. This is a man with nothing to prove who doesn’t care if the world knows it. He was for eight years the second president of the American Overseas Republic.
I return his greeting politely and join him at the table, wiping my forehead with a handkerchief. I’ve heard good things about the local cider and I order some as we get down to business.
“The hardest part of being President of the AOR,” Washington begins, “was building up the confidence of the people- convincing them that we were a serious body and that we would not be merely an appendage of the European Union. At the same time, we couldn’t really afford to offend any of our allies so I had to be careful about asserting our sovereignty. You’re probably familiar with the Cuba incident?”
I remark that I am.
“I received a lot of criticism for that, the Washington Regime accused me of acting as a cat’s-paw for the Cubans and even a lot of my own citizens felt the same. But it allowed us to remind the world that we still have a military and Roosevelt Village in is the largest AOR settlement to enjoy extraterritoriality in the world. So you see it’s a fine line.”
I enquire about the future- does he anticipate that his government will ever reunite with America proper.
“Maybe.” The former president’s Gaelic shrug is reminiscent of the country where he has spent the better part of his life. “Perhaps if the United States ever becomes a democracy again we will. But I wouldn’t count on it.”
The American Overseas Republic began its life as a collection of embassies, diplomatic missions, military bases, and even cemeteries located worldwide that were a reflection of the considerable influence wielded by the United States of America in this universe. The USA had extended its foreign presence considerably following the Second World War and the subsequent Cold War between it and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The political collapse of the USSR in 1991 saw a significant diminishment of this presence as it was no longer as important as it had been, but quite a bit remained. In addition to the official government presence many American corporations and private individuals had holdings outside of the country proper. In 2023 all this was cut off.
The details of the fall of the United States Government in November of 2023 are too numerous and complicated to list here, it will suffice to say that events happened quickly due to the efforts of an active wing within the government itself. The “Second Revolution” solidified its control over the fifty-one American states but its reach overseas was limited and the majority of the American foreign garrisons and diplomatic missions refused to accept the authority of the government in Washington. Without a government-in-exile to be loyal to, these forces and personnel- not to mention ordinary American citizens- existed in a curious legal limbo as the United Nations (newly relocated to Geneva) agreed with them in refusing to recognize the new government.
On January 8, 2024 the Council of Ambassadors, consisting of some 73 American ambassadors who refused to take orders from the revolutionary government, along with several military leaders of American troops unwilling to return home, met in London, England to consider their fate. The meeting was facilitated and supported by Britain and France, with tacit approval from the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Hearing of it the new US government condemned all participants and stated that any American citizens who did not return within thirty days would have their citizenship suspended and would be considered criminals. Most of the American military stationed in Africa and Asia (excepting East Asia) complied. Those in Europe however, overwhelmingly did not. A week after the council convened it voted to establish the American Overseas Republic.
It is important to understand that the AOR’s creation was heavily lobbied for by several countries, notably Britain and Turkey which were both very worried about the fate of American nuclear weapons stationed in their countries which they hoped to keep out of the hands of the revolutionary government. Likewise a number of other nations were looking for a legal fig leaf to secure the purely conventional American arms present on their soil and the AOR provided that. The third major supporter for the government’s establishment were American exiles who had vacated the USA to avoid persecution for their political views and who wanted an entity in opposition to America's new rulers.
One of the American Overseas Republic’s first acts was to order the transfer of its nuclear weapons over to Great Britain in exchange for a substantial amount of funds and a guarantee of future support. Its second was to begin a fire sale of military equipment that it could no longer afford to maintain or operate, ultimately raising over a hundred billion Euros. By 2026 all of the former United States presence overseas was either in the hands of the revolutionaries, amalgamated into the AOR, or had been absorbed by former host governments (the latter occurred primarily in Japan and Korea). The Council of Ambassadors was replaced by an elected government with a President and a Senate and the AOR assumed its present form.
As of 2067 the American Overseas Republic counts over seven million citizens and some two hundred facilities in the form of embassies both current and former, military bases both current and former, and territories conceded perpetually to America prior to the revolution, notably American military cemeteries located in France. Although many of the American military bases have been closed and sold off, others (for instance Camp Ederle in Italy and Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany) have been retained as residence communities with limited extraterritoriality that are generally administered and policed by the AOR and inhabited by its citizens. These exist primarily in Europe but are also present in Africa, Asia, North America and Antarctica to a much more limited extent and AOR citizens can be found on every continent. Most of the world accepts passports and stamps issued by the Republic and it has non-voting observer status at the United Nations. The AOR’s official currencies are American dollars issued prior to November 2023 and the Euro, and its primary sources of funds come from leases on American Antarctic Bases (the only Antarctic facility still maintained solely by the AOR is Palmer Station), financial assistance from allied countries such as Britain, and profits generated by investments made by the American Overseas Bank. Total revenue amounts to roughly half a billion Euros a year, about a quarter of which is taxes.
The AOR administrative center is located in the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany which functions as the headquarters of its different institutions. The AOR Join Military Command maintains a force of 20,000 standing troops, with most of its ground forces rotating through tours as UN Peacekeepers. It also retains a fleet of a dozen ships, mostly transports but including two patrol boats and a lone destroyer, and a number of cargo and passenger aircraft most of which operate under the aegis of the American Overseas Airlines. 103 countries recognize AOR sovereignty, 12 of which do not recognize the United States Government, and a further 87 treat the Republic as an NGO and permit it to maintain facilities subject to local laws. The law enforcement arm of the AOR is the American Overseas Bureau of Investigation which serves a police force within its possessions that have extra-territoriality.
The Republic elects a President every four years for no more than two terms and a 100-member Senate at the same time using party lists. The AOR’s politics have been largely dominated by the liberal Democratic Party since its inception, other parties include the Republican Party (centre-right), the Constitutional Union Party (centrist, very new, most of its supporters were born outside the United States and although they oppose the revolutionary government they nonetheless believe they have a responsibility to support America against its enemies), the Pioneer Party (right wing, seeks to obtain territory under full AOR sovereignty), and the Social Democracy Party (socialist, influenced by similar European parties).
Controversy has surrounded the American Overseas Republic since its founding and many allege, even outside of America, that it exists only as a puppet government of the European Union. It is true that the AOR has often acted in the past on the behalf of the EU or various member states, facilitating unofficial negotiations between countries when politically impossible and using the AOBI to investigate matters across national borders when its allies cannot. A major scandal occurred in 2055 when it became apparent that the American Overseas Bank was laundering money for operations by the British MI6. An even bigger scandal occurred in 2032 during the Cuba Incident when AOR troops, with logistical support by the European Union and the full knowledge and approval of the Cuban Prime Minister, seized control of the American Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay and promptly turned control over to the Cuban government. Incidents such as these are frequently pointed to as proof of the Republic’s lack of real independence, a claim denied by Martin Washington.
“The American Overseas Republic exists because it is in the interests of several major powers that it exist.” Otto Hightower is an award winning journalist for the German Paper Dei Zeit who has frequently aired criticism of the AOR and its government- despite himself being a citizen of that country. “If it ever stopped being useful then it would have a life-span measured in days.”
I ask if he’ll elaborate.
“It’s like this.” Hightower uses his hands to frame his thoughts. “Before the revolution America was the world’s most powerful country, a hegemon with influence virtually everywhere. It had treaties with everyone and a lot of money- among other things- was wrapped up in the status quo. Suddenly all that is gone, poof!” The journalist aims a finger at me. “But what about all the treaties? All the companies employing millions of people? They needed a polite legal fiction to reorganize the American corporations without handing them back over to the Washington regime, a way to honor their treaties without giving an unacceptable amount of power to the revolutionaries. Thus the Overseas Republic.”
So how independent is the AOR really?
“Somewhat.” The child of American exiles admits grudgingly. “There is no one clear country to pull the Republic’s strings- so there’s enough give between the competing influences of Britain and France and Germany that Kaiserslautern can get away with a fair bit. But it might as well be an EU member state- when the Union says jump its only question is "how high?”
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Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
I've never really wanted to give this up, I just didn't have any ideas on how to continue it.
So thoughts about the American Overseas Republic? I got the idea currently being in Europe and wondering about what would happen if the American presence here were suddenly cut off from the homeland. It's also based on slightly more organized White Russians.
the base idea is really cool, but its hard to see how you could have such a significant divergence between the homefront and the homefront military and the troops and embassies abroad such that the folks abroad near-universally decide to go it alone. It's also oddly American-exceptionalist: it tends to assume that America is evolving in this really weird direction but the rest of the world remains pretty much the same kind of place. Really, it sounds like an ISOT scenario where the mainland US was suddenly replaced by some kind of US from another TL that is still recognizably American in some way but pretty divergent from what OTL is comfortable with.
Also, specifying that the coup was 'right-wing' was an egregious political shot. I don't want to get into details, but thinking that the right wing is uniquely prone to extraconstitutional violence is a baseless slur.
I think you're overreacting a bit to a purely alternative and hypothetical situation.
It's his right to pick what sort of dictatorship it is. If he chooses to make it right wing, that's no more "egregious" than picking a left-wing one. Do you think any association of the right wing with anti-democratic forces is a slur? If so, please grow a thicker skin.
Bruce
Some of you are extremely thin-skinned on EBR's behalf. He's a big boy, y'all should be ones too.
Of course, when its your own ox being gored, suddenly the unit of skin thickness measurement changes . . .
My ox is fine, thank you. I just am troubled when I see a seemingly sensible poster getting all huffy and injured about nothing - is this the start of a long, sad descent into banning? Hopefully they just used rough toilet paper today or something.
Bruce
FDW
Banned
Interesting, I see you've been thinking about the Hesperia idea that I talked when we met up last year.
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