Different Take on a Space Filling Republic

Wondering what your thoughts are on the following idea? Could the death rate for such a scenario be reduced enough to prevent it being a mass death scenario?

I've got a Space Filling Republic in my setting called the Enochian Republic. The entire focus of the story was how unstable it was and those stuck within the nation as it inevitably disintegrated. The nation started as a highly prosperous, more stable and smaller entity that got lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it). It capitalized on global instability, destructive disasters on a global scale and the break up of other entities to grab land. Its leaders at the time were rather over ambitious and ignored the advice of their ministers, incorporating all of that land directly into the nation rather than turning them into vassal states or installing friendly administrations.

After a short period the republic was in dire straits. Its infrastructure was groaning under the strain of its enormous size and the state was beginning to collapse under its own weight. The republic, once seen as liberators from the empires which came before had yet to grant voting rights to its new citizens resulting in only a tiny fraction of the population having a say in government. The nation relied on the Auxilla system where troops were raised from one occupied region and assigned to a different region. Despite this revolts became common and the government started to slip towards bankruptcy fighting it's own subjects.

Exarchs administered huge tracts of land, manpower and wealth and many operated outside the control of the democratic government. Corruption eroded the government which redirected the wealth of the nation to a tiny political elite. Eventually the Exarchs began to fight among themselves and the republic disintegrated.

The old borders took on a strange permanence in the minds of its former subjects, who began to fight to restore the old republic with their own group in charge. It was similar to how the old European Empires drew borders during their occupations which did not represent their subjects with the peoples in these new states fighting to control these new states even after their colonial masters had left.

The world became locked in a cycle called "Humanity's Lament". It started with a growth period where one group or a coalition unified the Enochian Republic. Its enormous size and industrial capacity made it a dominant force in the world and for a limited period it became integral to the world economy and global stability. Then came the collapse period where the nation collapsed under its own weight, taking the global economy and political stability with it. The world plunged into a period of warfare and famine until the next growth phase began. To a single person within one period everything might have looked hopeless but every time a cycle completed the republic came back smaller and weaker.

In universe this led to several theories. One was that when the Enochian Republic could no longer reconstitute the world would lapse into a prolonged dark age. Another was that it would cause life for humanity to improve significantly. The last theory was that another Space Filling Empire or Republic would take its place and continue the cycle.
 
This seems interesting, but it should go in non political chat. It would also fit in the world building thread.
 
So essentially you're showing a global analogue of China? Or Asimov's Galactic Empire?
What's the Enochian Republic a background to? What narrative are you wanting?
 
@Flashman, good point. How do I move it over?

@The Professor, I guess there were actually several reasons for the setting. Yep, it’s an analogue of China but fused with Rome, with elements from across their history and some other stuff mashed together. It’s less the Asmiov’s Galactic Empire as instead of having a workable plan for saving their nation each cycle tried something different. It usually looked like it’s going well initially but then the story showed the cracks developing in each particular approach over time.

One cycle went for small government and eventually got torn apart by the peripheral regions once they escaped central control. Another overcompensated, going for an extremely centralized society with an Orwellian surveillance network in its later years. Corruption resulted in the democracy turning into an oligarchy and collapsing due to a popular revolt supported by a faction in the intelligence network (the ones running the surveillance). Since the oligarchy hid its true nature to the outside world it seemed that the majority of the populace were violently overthrowing a democratic government. A cycle was over militarized and fell to its own generals, one of whom became ruler for life. Another cycle thought that the military was the problem and severely hamstringed its power and size. That went badly.

I also thought it interesting to explore how the people in universe alternate between thinking that the Enochian people and culture are either inherently superior or inferior depending on where in the cycle it is, either making inevitable for them to take over or making it inevitable for their people not to succeed. In truth it’s not their genetics or culture that is the source, it’s just their situation. They got lucky at some point and each cycle passed on some of that advantage to the next. The Enochian Refugees fleeing their failing nation and being sneered at by others have grandchildren sneering at refugees coming into the Enochian Republic during the next cycle.

I know that space occupying empires are unstable but the story explores what would happen if somebody built one anyway, covering its inevitable falls. It also allows a bit of a Three Kingdoms/ fall of Rome/rise of Genghis Khan combination in the modern era.
 
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