Molotov

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Official, big, long, fancy name [*]
Alternative Name: What are you usually called IG? [*]
Capital: Duh [*]
Major Cities/Stations: Everybody’s got ‘em.

Government Type: No, Idiocracy is not a government type. [*]
Head of State: AKA Who wears the crown?
Head of Government: Who really runs the government? Yes, it can be the same as above
Succession Law: How is the next big cheese chosen? Primogeniture, Gavelkind, Elective... Is it Agnatic/Cognatic. Or is it simply whoever cuts off the most heads between each interregnum?

Public Responsibility: Just how much do the elites have to pay attention to the rabble? Screw the peasant masses? Oh-dear-lord-I-hope-they-don’t-burn-me-at-the-stake? Somewhere in the middle? Remember, there’s trade-offs in either direction.
Stability: This goes hand in hand with the above, and will likely change decade to decade. As you update your almanac decade to decade. Fairly self-explanatory. No one is perfect, but not everyone is a total basket case either... although I suspect that many of the players are. [*]
Centralization: The Bigger you are, the less likely you are to have full control over your dominions, hence the purpose of feudalism, which is still alive and well. You might as well list the ratio of your desmene to vassals. Some places of similar size will be more centralized than others, it just depends. Both have serious drawbacks and benefits. Even small 'countries' may be decentralized, a collection of towns and or a league. None of us are playing "North Korea mode" quite yet.

Judicial:
Legislature: The Head-Honcho runs the show, but who makes the rules? (list privy council if non applicable: )
- The Group of Elite that have the biggest say
- How many of them there are
- Major parties or factions

Political Objectives: What SHORT-TERM goals drive your govt? [*]
Intelligence Service: Meh. Of token importance. Fill out if you want.

-SOCIAL-

- Population: We should all be good at this by now
- Colonial Population: Include this when it’s time. No, it’s not time yet.

Strategic Goals: What are the long-term goals of the nation? List 3. [*]
Internal Problems: Come on, give the other players things they can exploit. You know you want them to do the same… Don't make me do it. [*]
At least 3.
Culture: Go nuts. The more descriptive, the better. Remember there may be multiple cultures in your nation.
Education: Mandatory Public Education? Any good universities? Segregation? Or is there a laughable brain drain.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: Sea Shells? Bear Claws? Purty Rocks? Copper Coinage? Fingernail Clippings?

-Military -
Army:
You know the drill. If you have to guess, you’d probably better ask. [*]

Navy:
We are talking about the Space Fleet here. [*]

Flag:

History: [*]

My first draft, apparently BG-approved. Subject to change as more goes on.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Res Publica Tycho
Alternative Name: Tycho Republic, Tycho City, Tycho
Capital: Tycho City
Major Cities/Stations: Intrepid (Apollo 12 site), Antares (Apollo 12 site), Chandra City, Fina Venko (large outpost in the furthest-west enclave, watching out over No Man’s Land), New Berlin, Portus Lunae, Hong Kong Luna, Novy Soyuz, Nyali

Government Type: Figurehead “Congress of Free Luna”, power concentrated in the office of First Consul. Officially chosen by the Grand Senators of the Congress, but in practice there’ve only ever been two - Jon Christian Calderon (nom de guerre Lysander), and his daughter, known these days only as Yue.
Head of State: First Consul Yue
Head of Government: First Consul Yue
Succession Law: Formally chosen by the Congress of Free Luna, but in reality far more of a hereditary system. So far, anyway.

Public Responsibility: The First Consul is widely adored by the people, but also known for her ferocity towards enemies of Tycho. So she pays close attention to the needs of the people, but primarily as a source of her own mandate to rule. The Congress is intended to moderate her and be directly elected, but you can guess how that works out on both counts. Still, significant popular unrest is enough to remove Grand Senators from office, and it’s conceivable that enough could be replaced with those opposed to the First Consul and determined to prevent their essential rule by decree.
Stability: The link between the people and the First Consul is regarded as fairly secure and stable, but there is significant infighting amongst the populous, as well as amongst the Congress. It’s a precarious balancing act at times to keep everyone facing the same direction.
Centralization: Central control is not that strong, as Tycho is spread across Luna, and involves competing interests. However the Regional Governors are appointed by the First Consul and confirmed by the Congress, so in theory there is some control. In reality most Regional Governors serve lengthy terms (the shortest is five years, the longest tend to serve for 20) unless removed, so they have substantial local control.

Judicial: High Lunar Tribunal, the court of final appeal but not a supreme court with strike down power.
Legislature: First Consul and Congress are intended to rule together; in practice Congress is frequently deadlocked or cut out of the discussion, leaving the First Consul to rule by decree.
- The Triarchs (favours triarchy, balance, anti-Earth, largest)
- Dominium Maris Lunae (favours lunar dominance for Tycho, second largest, anti-Earth)
- Sukceso (favours reunion and peaceful relations with Earth, smallest and least important)

Political Objectives: Settlement of internal disputes, removal of Earther influence from Luna.
Intelligence Service: General Directorate of Security - Internal and External divisions, has tendrils extending throughout Lunar life and onto nearly every body inhabited by humans. Capable of all varieties of covert intelligence and covert action, as well as counter-intelligence operations and anti-terrorism. Also operates extensive policing services throughout the republic, with substantial powers to combat crime and provide first-line defence. The Stasi meets Judge Dredd.

-SOCIAL-

- Population: Highest natural population on Luna, includes the majority of all major population centres.
- Colonial Population: N/A

Strategic Goals: Establishing the total dominance of the Triarchy, freeing Mars from Earther control, establishing total Lunar self-sufficiency.
Internal Problems: Inter-factional infighting between political groups, disparate population and culture, struggling attempts to establish central control, overcrowding issues, unemployment/underemployment problem.
Culture: Diverse cultures from all across Earth, increasingly mixing in a way that makes national and cultural distinctions obsolete. Most mixed cities include New Berlin, Hong Kong Luna, Nyali, Tycho City, and Fina Venko. The others remain fairly homogenous by Tyco standards. Intrepid and Antares are predominantly old “Western” or “Anglo” (although that necessarily includes racial diversity, the culture is fairly stagnant), Chandra City is heavily Subcontinental, Portus Lunae is a peculiar trading mix, since it serves as Tycho’s primary port and mooring site, and so has its own unique culture that has sprung up around a merchant tongue that vaguely resembles a mix of Swahili, English, and Cantonese. And Novy Soyuz, despite its aspirational name, remains heavily Eastern European, with Russian migrants who originally fled the collapse of that state remaining dominant, and to some extent seeking to remake their home on Luna.
Education: Mandatory education through to university. The best are in Tycho City, New Berlin, and Hong Kong Luna. However most people take up either extremely specific technical degrees, or artsy-fartsy ones, since AI and computerisation is so dominant on Luna generally and in parts of Res Publica Tycho more specifically that people feel less of a need to work. So there’s also an unemployment/underemployment problem.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: Cash-free society, primarily trades in some arbitrary monetary unit in monetary union with the rest of the Triarchy.

-Military -
Army:
Primarily the forces of the General Directorate of Security; the heavily armed peacekeepers, rather than the intelligence branch. Makes extensive use of unmanned emplacements, AI-operated walking drones, AI-operated overwatch drones (think Predator drones but bigger, better, and capable of atmosphere (inside domes) and non-atmospheric flight within the vicinity of Luna’s sphere of influence. Numerous ground emplacements designed to provide Lunar-wide protection from incoming objects (the Heavenly Shield, think Iron Dome or other ABM system but perfected and actually working), and embedded mass-drivers deep within the Lunar surface. Designed primarily for transportation needs (firing cargo and other non-organic materials into orbit or to other planets), can also be utilised to fire large objects offensively.

Navy:
Extensive Darkside Station, primarily as a development site away from Earth’s prying eyes, a location to allow people to experience higher gravity on a rotating cylinder, and provide defensive overwatch for No Man’s Land to ensure no landings take place.

Stealthy ships designed as intelligence gatherers - two main varieties, one designed for close fast flybys, the other for lingering extensively near an object or planet undetected to feed off signals and information emanating from it.

Indiamen - ships designed to serve primarily as traders, but also heavily defended for their class. Designed to fly to and from the outer planets and stations to create trade links and the like.

Flag: (I kinda want to steal this and say it’s the flag for the whole Triarchy - http://i.imgur.com/K4vgtSn.png)

History: I mean, you pretty much summed it up in the background thread? Only things to add are that Lysander died during the revolution and kinda serves as a figure of admiration/martyrdom for the Tycho Republic (and to some extent, the rest of the Moon as one of the first and most prominent Lunar Revolutionaries), and that Yue is essentially a beautiful-yet-terrifying nigh-matriarchal figure. Not young by any means, but extremely youthful appearing. Loonies aging slower and whatnot.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Serene Emirate of Dār al-Maqāmah
Alternative Name: al-Maqamah, the Dar (particularly among foreigners), the Home, the House of Assembly
Capital: Jannat al-Ma’wā
Major Cities/Stations: al-Salah, Bhavana, Khanqa, Dar al-Marifa, Ayman Valley. Higher non-urban population than the rest of the Triarchy, with many living in small mining complexes or ag-domes.

Government Type: Cyber-theocratic emirate
Head of State: Murad Basra, Murshid of al-Qamar and Amir-Potentate of the Faithful of Dār al-Maqāmah
Head of Government: Grand Mufti Kamil al-Aziz ibn Hassan
Succession Law: Theoretically, the position of Amir-Potentate is an elective position nominated by the Grand Mufti and subject to the approval of the ulama (since the dissolution of the Great Majilis). In practice, the position has passed to the strongest (or at least publicly supported) member of the Basra family.

Public Responsibility: With the Murshid's dissolution of the Majilis, public accountability with the state falls largely in the hands of the futuwwa, the guilds that manage the H3 and cyber industries, as well as smaller ones for agriculture and the like. Much accountability also lies in the hands of the ulama and jurists' council, which is as of late supported by the reformist, but religiously devout dervishes.
Stability: The sweeping, ambitious reforms of the Murshid have left him popular and for the moment, secure, but a great deal of his power lies only in the charismatic authority he possesses, and his (inasmuch as Brother Murad cares for such material possessions). Several once-powerful groups are beginning to feel marginalized by the ascetic, populist nature of the regime, and the once-weakened lower classes are in turn growing in strength.
Centralization: Fairly well centralized, with many day-to-day functions in the hands of AI. Futuwwa guilds collaborate with local mullahs and mufti, in turn reporting to the Grand Zawiya and the relevant AI maintained by the Council of State

Judicial: Grand Zawiya of Sufi scholars and Sunni ulema, supported by several neutral AI programmed to issue complex rulings on Islamic law
Legislature: Majilis resently dissolved after recent troubles, Council of State working in tandem with the Grand Zawiya on advising and enforcing the dictates of Amir-Potentate, with policies implemented by an AI-based bureaucracy.
-The dominant faction within the government is, at present, the Murshid's own. Supported largely by the ascetic dervishes and the impoverished, it favors the transhumanist strain of Sufism espoused by him and his late father, as well as a policy of continued support for the Triarchy but soft power as pertains to the Earth problem
-The Deobandi Movement/Neo-Wahhabi tendencies: two separate but similar factions, much as it says on the tin, more conservative members of the ulema and Security Corps. Tend to be the least sympathetic towards the Triarchy and opposed to extensive cybernetics and bio-modification, second-largest but disenfranchised politically.
-Karzaites: Named after a Tychoan convert to Islam who nonetheless supported more-secular ideals and fanatic anti-Earth sentiment. More influential than the conservatives, and supportive of transhumanist ideals.
-The dervishes: Not a faction in their own right, but worth noting as the hardline of support for the Murshid. Populist, ascetic, and as of late endorsing the transhumanist theories of the previous Amir-Potentate as “the purification of the outer self to provide for the inner”. Very often rabble-rousers.

Political Objectives: Continued reforms to give the local councils of scholars and guilds more authority answerable only to the highest offices, the suppression of dissent on both sides of the aisle, achieving self-sufficiency within the Dar
Intelligence Service: The dervishes serve as both religious and political police, who determine the security provided. General operations, both foreign and domestically, are provided by an AI-dominant ministry that specializes in cybersecurity to an extreme extent. Other agents are trained in a small corps, with large assignments outsourced to Tycho (or occasionally, contracted by those dissenting from Tycho who don't mind going to the highest bidder)

-SOCIAL-
- Population: Smaller than other superpowers, hence the heavy use of AI and biomodification
- Colonial Population: N/A

Strategic Goals: Maintenance of the balance of power in the Triarchy, expansion of economic interests into Mars and the outer planets, maintenance of the status quo re: Earth
Internal Problems: Conflict between burgeoning reform movement and the more orthodox Islamists, marginalization of small Shia population, ethnic tensions vs. the Murshid's policy of integration, Islamic feminist movement, disenfranchisement of wealthy political class
Culture: Traditionally, the cultures of the Emirate have divided themselves into de facto castes, based on the various corporations that once ran Al-Jannah Intersolar, with Turkic and Kurdish citizens tending to join the Security Corps, Pashtun, Punjabi, and other groups of Eastern Iranian and Pakistani extraction involving themselves in tech sector, alongside forming the bulk of the political class, and Arabs tending to work in the mining/religious sector. Intermingling began with the Lunar revolt, and began at a much quicker pace under the last Amir-Potentate. This is further exacerbated, sometimes to detrimental effect, by the Murshid's decree of forced integration.

More notably, however, is the dominance of Sunni Islam -formerly the main current of thought among the older, more established classes and officers of the military- and transcendental Sufism -popular among the disenfranchised that dominates public discourse. A curious hybrid of old and new, this “Techno”-Sufism (as is pejoratively labeled elsewhere) is remarkable for its forthright adoption of cybernetics and bio-modification as a near-spiritual experience, and further explores the notion of “physical fitra” via AI and transhumanism, to become closer to Allah.

A last note would be the continued existence of dhimmi, exempted from some of the burdens of citizenship, but rather than living as a marginalized class (beyond a lack of political involvement) tend to work as advanced specialists in various fields, including espionage and some investors in the (still-existing, but predominantly state-owned) Al-Jannah Intersolar.
Education: Mandatory basic education provided by Sufi-dominated religious schools. Advancement on recommendation of a cleric or dervish, with AI testing for aptitudes resulting in semi-voluntary placement in a futuwwa or government organization.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-
Currency: Cash-free society, primarily trades in some arbitrary monetary unit in monetary union with the rest of the Triarchy.
-Military -
Army: Militias form the largest, but least well-trained, part of the army, backed by the Security Corps, a small force with an extremely heavily-armored Domestic Division (colloquially called the kapikulu) and a Special Division, for commando operations, both of which are prone to using cybernetics and bio-modification. Much more emphasis is put on defensive strategy, with heavy use of artillery and robotics, including the stealthy Djinn drones, and “Takwin”: robots that come in smaller, lighter “swarm” models and heavy defensive structures, and terrestrial gunships. Defining point of offensive land warfare comes with a sophisticated cyberwarfare brigade.

Navy: Where the might of Dar al-Maqamah truly shines. Several classes of ships that rely on AI and a small corps of sailors, particularly in regards to advanced wolfpacks and light frigates to protect the many transports and trading ships of the Triarchy, backed up by a pair of well-defended capital ships and some carriers equipped with small space-ready drones. During the Lunar Revolution, the Dar's ships were known for being faster and more fuel-efficient than Earth's navy, at the expense of generally being lighter for their class.

Flag: Waiting on Huojin.
History: One of the many dubious mergers of Earth corporations was Al-Jannah International, a multi-sector conglomerate formed primarily from a energy company from the Arabian peninsula and a software giant centered around what was once Islamabad. As competition between Earth conglomerates grew, they relocated much of their industry to the moon, excelling in H3 extraction to the point of nearly cornering the Lunar market. As tensions between Earth and its Lunar colonies grew, however, profit margins decreased, its predominantly Islamic workforce seeking solace with their faith, a tendency mirrored disproportionately among the h PMCs hired by Al-Jannah. Fifteen years before the Lunar rebellion, the situation came to a head when the young Ahmed Basra, head of the security forces, launched what amounted to a hostile takeover, being declared by the board of directors CEO and controlling shareholder in Al-Jannah.

While the first Basra “emir” chose to remain neutral in the beginnings of the rebellion, it was widely suspected that he used the vast resources of the company to finance their side of the war, a suspicion only heightened when he came out in support of the Lunar hyperpower. It was he who declared the de facto independence of al-Jannah, as a corporate state, and it was his son who began the transition to the autocratic Dar al-Maqamah, having inherited his father's shares. His sudden assassination, however, prompted questions that were quickly silenced by his younger brother's security forces, the less-than-jokingly-named kapikulu. His institution of a particularly transhumanist form of Sufism as the state religion -with the support of the man who is now the Grand Mufti-, and the tradition of the military of al-Maqamah (the Home) revolving primarily around a small corps of fanatically-loyal soldiers (to compensate for their small population beyond miners) and AI bureaucrats/state police paved the way for his more charismatic son, Murad, to return from his graduate school in Tycho to assume control in his father's retirement. This was, to the Lunarborn, a scant few years ago, barely a decade, but since then the dervishes have wheeled, dealed, and incited their way into every nook and cranny of al-Maqamah's society, supporting their guru-king with an almost frightening devotion. It is considered fortunate by the Home's small state apparatus, by and large, for Murad's youthful, accessible image and messages of transcendental Islam and reform can find an audience that often hides the darker, more austere reality of the Serene Emirate's energy-centric way of life.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Intersolar Committee of the Red Sun
Alternative Name: The Red Sun, ICRS, the ‘Red Helmets’ (informal misnomer)
Capital: Formally headquartered in Geneva, Earth, but base of operations and area under actual de facto control is The Refuge
Major Cities/Stations: Other than the Refuge, the ICRS possesses a small network of ground outposts and space stations across the Solar System that support its operations, house and train its staff, and help keep the whole thing running. None of these are hugely significant, with the majority of Red Sun operations in Sol coming originating from ships, rather than fixed bases.

Government Type: Independent non-government organisation, charitable and volunteer group
Public Responsibility: While the Red Sun is not a governmental organisation, its nature as a charity and the de facto ruler of the ‘nation’ of the Refuge means that its actions must have the support of its donors, staff and volunteers.
Stability: The organisation itself is robust, highly established and respected, and well-funded. As it is responsible for the Refuge, however, and is effectively the government for that region of Luna, the people under its care are a different matter entirely.
Centralization: The Intersolar Committee can deploy and assign assets, personnel and issue policy directives, but fundamentally, as an organisation built on goodness, conscience and volunteering, any orders will only be followed so far as the members, employees and volunteers feel it is right to do so.

Political Objectives: To protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings and their inherent rights, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found.

-SOCIAL-
- Population: The population of the Refuge fluctuates depending on the circumstances - swelling to vast size during times of crisis in the solar system, and shrinking down to a fraction of this during the (rare) good times. At its height, however, it is one of the largest cities on Luna.
Strategic Goals: The ICRS seeks to increase its capability to carry out its political objectives, through increases in capacity and capability, securing greater funding and oversight, and winning public support across the Solar System.
Internal Problems:
-The ICRS is reliant on the goodwill of its hundreds of millions of volunteers, at its core - these do most of the hard work, donate a significant portion of the funding, and are the backbone of the organisation. Actual employees form only a minority of the ICRS’ personnel.
-The ICRS at the Refuge is having to act out the functions of a government of a territorial city-state, without actually being one. As can be imagined, this is a problem, as its legal authority to deal with trouble, secure revenue, and so on is highly limited.
-The ICRS is relatively limited in the resources it can bring to bear to deal with any single problem outside of the Refuge - it has few starships and few dedicated units available for emergency response, and these, by necessity, must be spread out over the Solar System.
Culture: The Refuge is a tremendous melting pot from across all of Sol, featuring people from every race, colour, creed and affiliation. What they share is that they are downtrodden, fleeing violence, oppression, or poverty. This has created a victim culture, but also a survivor culture, and a sense that wherever one may be from, and whatever may have divided people before, they are all part of the Refugee community and identity - and they will stand by one another, to no longer allow another to be oppressed as they have been.
Education: Across the Solar System, as a product of past endowments, the ICRS runs several of the most highly-regarded specialist universities in the fields of medicine, nanotechnology, bio-science, genetics, and other related chemical and biological sciences. Working for the ICRS, while perhaps not the best-paid job in the scientific or medical professions, is certainly one of the most prestigious, and perhaps the most rewarding for the soul. While the ICRS attempts to run education initiatives in the Refuge, and even operates a free university for refugees there, these almost entirely volunteer-based and cannot yet hope to match demand - with the attempt to provide both quality and quantity of education for refugees in practice providing neither.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-
The ICRS possesses stable sources of income from the medical research, education consultancy, medical services and humanitarian work that the ICRS carries out, often contracted on behalf of governments and corporations. It is also largely funded by donations from the public, and sometimes significant endowments, past and present, by super-wealthy individuals, often those discovering a conscience in the later stages of their life.

All of this clean, ethical money is in sharp contrast to the thriving and enormous black market that thrives in the Refuge, where trade, buying and barter occurs almost entirely unregulated, but for what harmful trades like slavery and involuntary prostitution that the Red Sun can attempt to stamp out. Exchanges are made there for almost anything you can imagine, from swapping cheaply-produced cannabis cigarettes to Red Sun food stamps and any formal currency under the sun. It is not all darkness, however - the ‘favour economy’ of exchanging goods and services in kind, between honest, hardworking people, is by far the largest means of exchange in the Refuge, and accounts for the majority of economic activity, from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs.

In short, the Refuge is a far more spread out ‘Kowloon Walled City’ with millions of inhabitants.

-MILITARY-
Army:
After the effective collapse of the United Nations, and the huge distrust with which peacekeepers from government-aligned militaries were viewed after the Mindanao Massacres, calls for a new, independent force, recruited globally, to provide peacekeeping and security operations in conflict zones were loud and clear. Unfortunately, despite the enormous public interest and support for such an idea, finding anyone to pay for such a thing - let alone gain the logistical support of governments - was quite another, and another problem was competing ideas with slightly different foci - so no one organisation was unified behind.

But thus were born the ICRS ‘Red Helmets’ - an idealistic peacekeeping force, lightly equipped, and consisting of a professional full-time soldiers mixed in with part-time reservists and enthusiastic volunteers. The Red Helmets, formally known as the Intersolar Peace Force of the Red Sun, are not quite one thing or another - they are not a full military, being lightly equipped, and focusing more on rescue, reconstruction and defence of ICRS humanitarian missions than actual fighting, partly following the example of the Syrian White Helmets of the 21st century. All the same, they are not entirely civilian, either, with members expected to participate in training, follow orders to the letter from their commanders, and engage in combat when necessary, putting their lives in the line to preserve those of others.

As with everything related to the Red Sun, the IPFRS does not have nearly enough resources or personnel to match the huge demands placed on it across the Solar System, resulting in an overstretched, thin scattering of forces everywhere, rarely in numbers enough to carry out their task effectively at any given crisis. While the Red Helmets are, strictly speaking, neutral, and are intended as merely impartial guardians, the tendency has been for them to defend the victim (or rather, their civilians) in any confrontation, which has at times exposed them to the dislike - and firepower - of governments on both side of the political divide. Historically, however, its members have shown great ingenuity, significant commitment, and even greater courage in carrying out their duties, with the last stands to protect refugee settlements and convoys against marauders entering into folklore and legend.

Navy:
The ICRS operates a rather mixed assortment of vessels, most of which are moderately armed, in accordance with intersolar law, for protection against pirates and other lawless groups. There have been calls for some time for the Red Helmets to expand into a properly-equipped and armed peacekeeping naval force - as the lack of space capability is an impediment that seriously restricts the ability of the IPFRS to truly keep the peace - but thus far, no external funding has been forthcoming for such a massive project. At the top, and by far the most prestigious, are the ships operated by the Space Rescue Corps, a former private charitable initiative that affiliated with and then merged with the Red Sun as a subcommittee, itself descended from the International Rescue Committee.

These vessels - few in number indeed - are fast, highly modern, equipped with some of the best equipment available and are intended to rush to the site of any disaster and render aid, in the same way as, in happier times, warships from the nations of Earth would carry out urgent disaster relief with their trained personnel. A network of Fast Rescue Boats operates from these vessels, and from certain outposts and stations with a Red Sun presence, in much the same way as the old Royal National Lifeboat Institution back on Earth had done.

The majority of ICRS starfaring vessels are its hospital ships, which tend to, while filled with advanced equipment and elite medical staff, be filled over capacity and in constant use stationed in orbit above some horrendous crisis or another, rendering aid equally to all... and its ‘lifeships’ - which are a euphemism for the converted civilian vessels of any kind that the Red Sun can get its hands on, outfitted as refugee ships, wandering the Solar System and picking up strays.

Conditions on these lifeships are unpleasant and overcrowded, though not for want of trying - and while officially they aim to find locations to offload refugees in other nations, they are usually rejected for political reasons, with those rescued upon them being rejected and viewed in much the same way as Gypsies in the Europe of old. As a result, nearly all who are rescued by a Lifeship end up at the Refuge, further burgeoning its population with each trip - though there are not nearly enough Lifeships to deal with all refugees.

Flag: See above: http://i.imgur.com/sEHzEpC.png
History: I think it’s pretty obvious from the above descriptions, except to say that the ICRS is a religion-neutral, solar-system-wide replacement and expansion of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: The Most Enlightened Republic of Polyport
Alternative Name: Polyportia, Polyport Guilds, Polyport Republic
Capital: Polyport
Major Cities/Stations: Genuova, Sinclairst, Crutal, New Dalmatia, Curia, Fordsburg.

Government Type: Parlimentary Merchant Republic
Head of State: Doge Richard Smith-Compton
Head of Government: First Chamberlain Markus Ryan
Succession Law: The Doge is elected by the Populace, however only Polyportian-born Citizens (Both male and female) above the age of 20, that have a total Household income greater than 100,000 Republican Credits can vote in the election. Once elected, the Doge appoints someone of his choosing to become the First Chamberlain. Once elected, the Doge rules for life, or until he renounces the position, though some action like this has rarely ever taken place.

Public Responsibility: With rare exceptions, the Populace is most of the times satisfied with the government. This is mainly due to the Liberal ways of the government, that vouches for Free trade and has very relaxed policies in regards to social matters, with everything from Gambling to Homosexuality being legalised by the Government, and considered normal aspects of the Liberal Polyportian society. Even if their candidate is defeated in the elections, Polyportians tend not to despair, since many times their candidates are still elected as members of another body of the government (Scroll down a little for more on this).
Stability: The republic is mostly safe from harm, with its laissez faire approach to social issues, with the biggest concerns being the Space Pirates that tend to hassle the commercial trade routes that lead to the city, and the ordinary organised crime in each individual city. There is however a growing concern with the poorest of the society, that tend to question the capitalist ways of the government, especially due to the fact many of them cannot vote on elections due to the income barriers, all matters that oftenly cause troubles.
Centralization: Due to the small territorial extent, the republic is very centralized, whilst being supported by a powerful and developed spine of civil servants public office holders. The only areas that can be considered de-centralized are the border regions, that have been largely ignored by the central government due to the lack of a large population and little economic gain from it.

Judicial: The High Court of Polyport is the highest judicial institution in the Republic. It is headed by a High Judge who is appointed by the Doge, who then himself appoints 8 other judges called the High Clerks who assist him in running the High Court.

Legislature: There are two Legislatvie bodies within the Republic. The first, and most powerful, is the Council of Notables, composed of 40 memebers who rule for life after election, this is the higher and most powerful insitution beneath the Doge. The Council has 40 chairs, each chair belonging to one of the Guilds/Corporations called the "Key Holders", who are basically the corporations that originally founded Polyport, thus getting an eternal say in the politics of the Republic. In tradition, the members of the council rule for life, only leaving with death or if they are elected as the Doge, however, the Corporations that hold the chairs can eject its member if they dislike him, either by legal or illegal ways.

The Second is the National Assembly, composed of 255 Individuals elected by the populace. They have less power than the Council of Notables, but still have power. The turn of rulership for each Assembly men is 5 years long, with no re-election limit, meaning men and women of all ages can be seen taking parts in the heated political discussions within the assembly forum.

The Council of Notables is more powerful than the National Assembly, for the main reason it can block any law proposed by them, since all laws and projects proposed by the Assembly must be approvedby the Council of Notables, whilst the Council of Notables can approve laws without the consent of the Assembly. But no projects are entirely safe, since the Doge can veto whichever law and/or project he dislikes.

Political Objectives: Maintain the Peace and Prosperity of the Nation and quell the Lower Class rabble
Intelligence Service: There are mainly two, the Polyportian Intelligence Agency (PIA for short) that deals with Internal and external threats to the Republic, as well as covert operations, espionage etc. The Other is the Centre for Naval Intelligence, that is the Naval discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions. This is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a range of sources, directed towards the commanders' mission requirements or responding to questions as part of operational or campaign planning.

-SOCIAL-

- Population: The Population is very large and concentrated in the large Urban centres, the countryside is well populated, but its residents live in sparse land areas, resulting in few people living per square kilometer.

- Colonial Population: N/A

Strategic Goals: Gain Commercial Hegemony over the trade routes in Mars and the souroundings and expand influence over the smaller nations of Mars.
Internal Problems: Unruly Lower Classes, disappointed by their lack of Rights, quick development of a Socialist scene, leading to cases of Political Terrorism and growing criminal underworld in the major cities.
Culture: The Culture of the republic is a very mixed bag, the Polyportian Culture resembles the Traditional american dream-esque capitalist one, though more Socially Liberal, and less religious. Due to the large trade connections, several communities have opened in the major towns and trading hubs, with several fooreign districts now blossoming within the sprawling Urban zones, with pretty much every culture known to men (and some largely unknown) having some sort of representation in the city streets.
Education: Education is of a very good quality in the High and Middle class zones, whilst the Poor and rundown districts tend to have something, it is nothing very Impressive. Univeristies and specialised colleges are found in all the major cities, giving lessons in Law, Politics, Physics, Theology and much more. Education is Universal, and all citizens have access to it.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: Republican Credits (RP's for short)

-Military -
Army:
The Republican Army is not a bad one, but not a special one either, it is quite a small force, well trained and equiped, but small in size, and tends to be overshadowed by the Navy. The army oftenly only takes part in joint activities with the National Police and act as defenders if one of the cities is attacked (Which rarely happens) or the territorial integrity of te Republic is breached. The only part of the Army that is renowned is the Marine Corps, that though small in size, is very well trained, and equippped with the latest high tech weaponry. When the republic requires a larger field army, they result to hiring PMC's and other mercenaries to do their dirty work.
Navy:
Where the republic truly shines however is in its navy. The republican Navy is a good one, not comparable to the greater powers in any way, but still much superior to the army. Designed by highly trained engineers in the Hamilton Driveyards (A huge Industrial Complex manned by the government and several partner corporations, defdicated to the building of High class spaceships and weapons),built with the finest steel the core of Mars can offer and manned by very skilled pilots, the Navy is the Pride of the republic. The navy itself is not a very large one, but it is very well armed and equipped, and is of a respectable size compared to the fleets of the other Martian powers. All pilots are dedicated and patriotic ones, being each extremely skilled and disciplined in their functions. The Naval carreer is a very prestigious one, with many politicians serving in it before following their own political careers.

Flag: Look above

History: [TO BE ADDED SOON]

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Interstellar Free League of the Unbound [*]
Alternative Name: Unbound/League/Spiders [*]
Capital: None [*]
Major Cities/Stations: Kuiper Object 90842 Orcus / Kuiper Object 90842 (1) Vanth / 2008 LC18 (Neptune Trojan) / (385695) 2005 TO74 (Neptune Trojan)

Government Type: Transhuman Anarchist Collective [*]
Head of State: The one known as MUSK is accorded the role of first amongst equals when dealing with bound entities.
Head of Government: As above
Succession Law: Popular accord by other Unbound, through actions and behaviour. Should two factions form, the fittest will succeed.

Public Responsibility: In theory there are no classes, no elites and no rabble. There are perhaps no more than 150 vessels who make up the Unbound. In reality, approximately 20-30.000 'servitors' in various states of cyberneticisation live and work in what passes for a society out in the cold depths of the outer system. The Unbound have no ownership of these persons, and they can leave, but all are drawn there by the prospect of advancing their physical forms to stellar-capable ones. This has lead some to characterise the society as a cult. Once ascended to Unbound, those 'servitors' quickly find themselves able to create the necessary AI subroutines and drones to maintain themselves, thus the primary requirement becomes for materials - thus the 'servitor' presence in the first place, they are the ones who mine the volatiles in the Kuiper belt and the Trojans to be traded for ship-building materials.
Stability: Amongst themselves, the Unbound have no major factions, their society is still young. As they are drawn into the inevitable conflicts, this will likely change. The servitor/Unbound divide is currently not problematic as the internal societal plan of work hard with your colleagues and ultimately ascend to Unbound status is still happening as planned. [*]
Centralization: The Unbound are an extremely loosely co-ordinated polity, being more likely to make appearances to defend sites of mutual interest and their servitor populations. They may be found throughout the solar system however. Since the Unbound ARE their ships, each tends to be heavily armed and armoured for it's size-class, with custom composite materials and combinations of upgrades meaning that not one is much like the other.

Judicial:
Legislature: Unbound communicate on tight-beam microwave laser transmissions, and are usual in constant communication with at least one other vessel - somewhere. Thus the 150 Unbound persons who are their vessels make up the Legislature/are the Elite with the biggest say. Of those, the main parties amongst the 150 are those who are with MUSK and seek to explore beyond the Solar System by developing interstellar drives and removing requirements for refuelling. These account for an eighth of the total of the Unbound. Counterpoint faction is those who seek to integrate and develop trading relationships with all Solar powers. They account for approximately one eighth of the total of the Unbound at this time and are lead by one called TAL. The majority faction though is one that advocates a pragmatic situational evaluation at all times and reject set parties or politicking, as befits the loose nature of the Free League.

Political Objectives: Create more Unbound, upgrade those who exist, do this by deepening trading arrangements and increased control of Kuiper volatiles, improving fabrication ability
[*]
Intelligence Service: Dreadful HUMINT, amazing SIGINT. Due to the dispersed nature of the Unbound and the fact they're perceiving all kinds of EM frequencies without the distancing effect of a machine/AI whatever.

-SOCIAL-

- Population: 150 Unbound / 20-30000 servitors on stations and vessels through the solar system, with major concentrations (3000+) at listed Major Stations
- Colonial Population: n/a

Strategic Goals:
Interstellar Drive
Kuiper Monopoly
Ending Dependence on Solar Polities for heavy materials [*]

Internal Problems:
Dependence on Servitor Classes for Volatiles Extraction - should the promise of ascending to Unbound fail to be fulfilled.
Unbound/Servitor divide - The Unbound could enact policies or make decisions for the Servitor class that would be against their interests.
Implant Dependence - should the implants be corrupted, damaged or simply be unavailable [*]

Culture: Primary cultural aspect of the Unbound is the concept that everyone has the ability and the right to succeed. What is unspoken is that part of that right is that one must conform to certain behaviours. These mostly focus on the what was known as criminality in the old days, with minor mood-altering and impulse controlling implants being amongst the first that most servitors receive. Whilst some servitor populations are cloned in small numbers, the Unbound are open to any who wish to join and none are forced to stay. The chief ideology is merely that "we are not meant to be confined to one star, and the human race must adapt to go beyond it". Diversity is prized and differences of opinion and debate are thought to be some of the finest past times.

Education: Heavy technological and scientific focus with surprising amount of attention for humanities and sciences. No formal educational system but extensive libraries and AI educators as well as rewards provided for those who teach others in practical pursuits, which can be clocked against internal currency. Implant downloading also undertaken as a form of education. The population is generally highly educated, going from most having at least an equivalent education in a Masters in the Servitor class, to being near AI levels of intellect amongst the Unbound.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: Material focussed exchanges with external polities, barter for services etc. Internal, complex [time/labour/type of labour] system using a clocking function from implants and transactional system loosely modelled on Bitcoin.

-Military -
Army:
No standing army, reliant on being out of the way and dispersed. [*]

Navy:
150 ships. When one reaches the status of being Unbound, your consciousness is suspended in a vessel (at the smallest class) with the approximate volume of 100m^3. The largest and oldest of the Unbound are in excess of displacements reaching towards 10000m^3 [*]

Flag:
-/-

History: One of the earliest organisations into the Kuiper Belt, MUSK lead a small team of associates out there from a disparate grouping of Martians, Lunar and even some Earthers on a quest to adapt, advance and expand humanity beyond it's home star, taking the long term view that humans could not survive a solar system level catastrophe. Most of that group are now Unbound, but their successes in radical human transformation into the spaceship sized bodies they have now attracted many more out into the depths. Some of the Unbound even visit the inner system in order to recruit those willing to become Servitors. The Unbound movement has been in existence for only thirty or forty years, but it's focus away from the struggles of the day to the future allows it to attract those who weary of the internecine conflicts of Earth and Luna.[*]

To be completed

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC
Name: The Parthenian Collective
Alternative Name: Clones, Parthians, Parthenians
Capital: Dactylos
Major Cities/Stations: Aetos Dios [Apollo 11 site]; Phlegra Station [space station]; Gorias; Finias; Murias; Falias

Government Type: Constitutional Stratocracy - Military rule, governed by a constitution and with checks and balances, to an extent.
Stability: Maintained, but tensions over limited resources, food production, and the allocation of graduate trainees has led to some interfactional arguing, as well as the ongoing debate over reproduction, which tends to deflect from the more immediately necessary actions.

Political Objectives: Solving of reproductive debate, lunar self sufficiency, support for colonial independence

Strategic Goals: Development of extralunar capabilities; extension of Triarchal protection for colonial groups; improvement of Collective holdings.
Internal Problems: Debate over future of cloning/culling, resource requirements, internal desire for expansion

-Military -
Army:
In the society of the lunar clones, every individual is trained practically from birth for warfare - taking inspiration from the myriad of military societies of Earth's history. They do therefore have access to a pool of soldiers trained for warfare across the solar system, able to be called upon in times of need or struggle; for those clones unfit to pass the final test are (controversially) culled.

Such units as are still undergoing service are assigned a position in the extensive armies garrisoned across the Moon, Mars and many Triarchy outposts in space. However the military orders of the collective keep the most elite fighting forces mobilised as the much-vaunted commandos of the Parthenians, augmented forces who know nothing but combat, devoted to protecting Parthenian society and culture.

The Collective also boasts an effective, and classified, network of tunnels and garrisons below Parthenian territory in Luna. Coupled with advanced batteries, hangars, and vehicles for warfare in hidden posts, they are designed to both allow troop deployment in secret, and advanced defence in depth.

Navy:
While it is as troops and soldiers that the clones are best known, their effectiveness would be for nothing were it not for the power projection and flexibility afforded by the Parthenian Solar Navy. Their space-faring vessels consist of two major classes: frigates for patrols and screening, and the massive assault battlecarriers, armed to the teeth with hundreds of fighters, bombers, robotic drones, landing craft, logistical units, and gunships. These serve the role of power projection for the Collective, much as the aircraft carriers of the mid-twentieth century once did on the high seas of Earth.

History: To be added

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: The Zionist State of Europa [*]
Alternative Name: Zionists [*]
Capital: New Tel Aviv [*]
Major Cities/Stations: Massad Station (Large Space Station), Galma, Herzl, Axum, Acre, Netanyahu, Tuers Kalektiv

Government Type: Executive Branch is the Council of Judges. They are elders who have the final say on the validity of measures passed by the people’s assembly. The Legislative branch has half of its seats elected by civilians, and the second half elected by the Macabees, or military. [*]
Succession Law: The twelve elders are elected for life. Candidates are those with doctorates. The Legislative branch is elected in four year terms.
Head of State: Nathaniel Syrkin
Head of Government : Speaker Joshua Rosenstein

Public Responsibility: Besides the various local councils of the domes and space stations, the only other level of government is the national one. Thus there is great responsibility for any elites. A few members of the People’s Assembly have lost their seats due to poor plumbing in a new facility.

Stability: With such fear on external issues, internal stability is solid. Both the Labour Left and the Zionist Right respect each other and democratic norms. A state of siege keeps both factions happy. The only source of internal tension are the few aliens who feel excluded from internal politics. [*]
Centralization: Due to its small size and homogeneity, it is very centralized. The space station and various domes have some autonomy in deciding local matters, but the People’s Assembly and Judges Control most issues.
Judicial : There are local judges. The executive organization of the council of judges functions as a supreme court.

Judicial : The popular assembly functions as the main legislative body. This is an assembly of 100 individuals. There are four major parties.

Labour Party- A Left-wing organization that wants socialism and a secular identity. They want peaceful trade with the rest of the solar system, but security in the Jupiter region. 53 seats

Likud Party- A Center Right Organization. It wants to establish a large corporation to engage in trade with the galaxy. It wants to increase the military force and form a military alliance with the Freeholders. It wants to construct a third temple on Europa. 37 seats

New Zion Party- A Right wing party. It is advocating for the total conquest of Europa to provide a secure homeland. It wants economic autarky and the expulsion of aliens. It also wants an alliance with Luna. 10 seats

Political Objectives: Short term the Zionist want to build up a secure position on Europa. They want to ensure that there are no threats in the Jupiter sphere. Thus they are apprehensive about any new factions moving into the area. They will also work to protect any jewish systems in space. [*]

-SOCIAL-

- Population: The Zionist are a small faction, number in the teens in the millions.
- Colonial Population: NA

Strategic Goals:
1. Reclaim Jerusalem. The Right Zionist believe that Jerusalem is key for the Jewish Identity and Faith. Even some left-wing groups want to reclaim the city.
2. Secure their position in the Jupiter system. The Zionist want to be in a position where nothing can harm them. Through alliances or conquest they will seek to protect themselves.
3. Unite the Jewish people. The Tribes of Israel are scattered once again. The Zionist seek to unite and protect these people. They want to unite all jewish factions.
[*]
Internal Problems:
1. Discrimination against non-citizens. Merchants and travelers are used to having no political rights, and don’t expect any. Resident aliens are a different case. Denied welfare and political representation, some of the permanent aliens have taken to clandestine actions.
2. Radical Right-wing Zionists. In the Torah, God punished the Israelites for not driving all idolators from their land. These jews believe that Israel suffered a similar punishment for not wiping out the Palestinians. They believe that Europa must be purged of all non-Jewish factions. Some of them are willing to start a war to do so.
3. Divisions between the Labour Zionist and the Right wing Zionists. The two main political umbrellas

Culture: The Zionists are a conservative culture. The society is exclusively Jewish, ranging from neo-orthodox to secular expressionism. Due to its traumatic history, the society remains insular and weary of outsiders. The society is collectivist in nature, with the state and the family being valued over an individual. Service and selflessness are some of the greatest virtues. Wisdom and knowledge are also greatly respected, which can be seen in the educational requirements of the Council of Judges.

The society blends elements from American, Israeli, and European cultures. The society tries to be a melting pot, but there are racial tensions between descendants of Israel and the descendants of Jews from Israel. Cuisine is kosher in form. Baseball is the main sport, and the state has four major teams.

Many elements of society are influenced by Neo-Israelism. This is an art and cultural expression that combines the practices of ancient Israel with the needs of space. Thus robes made of a single fabric are the preferred attire. The art parallels that of the ancient Israelis but incorporates neon lights and cyber displays.

Education: Mandatory public education. Furthermore the Einstein University is one of the best schools in space, which great scholarship in the sciences.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-
Currency: Domestically they have a currency based upon sheckles. However as much of the state’s wealth comes from the exporting of water, it has developed a credit system with its main trading partners. It uses this to buy goods and services.

The economy is mixed. There is a large social safety network and government ownership of key industries relating to national security. The private sector is arranged in that there are tax incentives for small businesses or worker’s collectives. Some rightwingers are pushing for the establishment of a large corporation so that the Zionists can compete in galactic trade much more efficiently.

-Military -
Army:
The Zionists are a heavily militarized society. In fact, a third of the population are Macabees. The Macabees are a force that combines civil servants, reserve forces, and national guards. Macabees are employed by the state. They engaged in public works projects, bureaucratic activities, and policing. However, they are also trained as a military force, allowing the society to quickly utilize a military force. The Sicarii are elite units that are only trained for fighting. They make up 20 % of the Macabee, or 6% of the population.

Due to ethical questions, the Zionist forces have avoided genetic enhancement. However they have engaged in nanotech augmentation. Furthermore they have heavy users of machinery. The Goliath battle system is often used in conflict to overwhelm the enemy with firepower. Afterwards the Macabees can swarm in.
[*]

Navy:
The Zionists have avoided building larger capital ships. Instead they have focused on building smaller and medium frigates. A unique feature of Zionist ships is their ability to engage in stealth-running for several hours. In this system electronic transmissions from outside the ship are cutoff. Furthermore heat and exhaust are maintained within compartments in the ships themselves.

Zionists therefore will utilize their stealth frigates to bring fighters and bombers close to the enemy base. When engaging in space combat the Zionist focus on ambushing the enemy and attacking from different directions.

Finally it’s an open secret that the Massad space station includes a gigantic rail gun used to fire debris. This system would be used to target capital ships approaching Europa with great effect.

[*]

History:

The 21st century was a difficult time period for the Jewish people. Increased terrorism and anti-Semitism led many Jews to flee to Israel. The increased instability in the Middle East caused Israel to increase its militarization. This, in turn, put more pressure on the Palestinians and other groups. The West was no longer willing to turn a blind eye upon Israeli actions in the occupied territories and its neighbors. Furthermore, with the emergence of the Global South, the new economic powers no longer felt a debt of guilt towards the Jewish people. Thus Israel was a pariah state by the year 2050.

In 2071, the history of the Jewish people was forever altered. A terrorist aligned with a Safalist group denoted a nuclear device in the city of Tel Aviv. The Israeli state was paralyzed. Just days later an Arab alliance invaded Israel. Scholars still debate if the Arab States had worked in unison with the terrorists or just took advantage of the attack. The Israelis fought valiantly, but were overwhelmed with their leadership gone. Thus began the second Sheol, as many Israelis were put to death by vengeful Palestinians or Israelis. Many were able to flee abroad, but the world chose to not intervene in the Genocide.

Many Jews chose to settle in New York City, the largest Jewish community left on the Planet. Others settled in a refugee camp set up in Crete. Many worked as mercenaries or contractors, with Israeli military and technical skills being in high demand. At least one punitive attempt was made by an adventurer to reoccupy part of the Holy Land in an attempt to force the UNSC to intervene. This effort failed.

During the 22nd century, many Jewish theorists began to discuss the possibilities of engaging in space colonization. Small colonies were established on Mars. These efforts remained small. However when Jupiter came within reach of human spaceships, the Jewish community became excited.

Soliciting funds from rising African nations and wealthy Jewish families in New York, many Jews began migrating to Europa. These colonies were disorganized and disconnected at first. They functioned as small collectivized society. However in 2252, the Zionist republic was declared by the settlement of New Tel Aviv. The other settlements acquiesced and the Zionist Republic of Europa was declared.

This is a little late and unfinished, and I have to sleep now, but I will finish the Military and History as soon as I wake. My only excuse is I spent several hours watching burly men hit leather-bound balls with pieces of wood, and lost track of time. Will be done ~9 hrs.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Republic of India
Alternative Name: India
Capital: New Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
Major Cities/Stations: too many to count (a few space stations)

Government Type: "Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic" [Federal Democratic Republic]
Head of State: President Akhil Chawda (BJP)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Reva Kunti Guha (INC)
Succession Law: Elections every 5 years

Public Responsibility: The Indian government feels the need to help its citizens, to a point. When the citizens want something that will hurt India’s standing in the System, they are guided to a position that is more “advantageous” to India They also use hatred of China as an easy distraction from views that may make them lose to the AU (whether economically, politically, or even just losing face).

Stability: The differing languages, cultures, religions and ethnicities leads to various cultural clashes, thus making stability a rocky road (and the reason that Sindhustan is not a full member). Added to that the general instability of democratic systems, it would seem India is a house of cards. However, an overarching culture for Indian society, as well as a feeling that the neighboring powers and the AU are on the ‘wrong path’ when it comes to the future, has kept India stronger than it otherwise would be.

Judicial: Supreme Court of India (Chief Justice and 30 Associate Justices) holds original, appellate and advisory power, and is the final court of appeal whose rulings are binding throughout all of India.

Legislature: bicameral legislature called the “Parliament of India” has the upper house (known as the Council of States) and lower house (known as the House of the People). The Chairman of the upper house is also the vice-president while the leader of the majority party (or coalition) of the lower house is the Prime Minister. The upper house can never be dissolved, and is elected every 6 years, while the lower house can be dissolved if the ruling party loses the support of the majority of the house and is normally elected every 5 years.

Political Objectives: Unify with Sindhustan, find allies off Earth, show up China

Intelligence Service: Ministry of Home Affairs (‘Intelligence Bureau’ for internal security and Central Bureau of Investigation for investigations), Research and Analysis Wing (foreign intelligence gathering), Defence Intelligence Agency (armed forces intel), Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (foreign intelligence)

Strategic Goals: Isolate Africa politically, strengthen Indian power throughout the System
Internal Problems:

1. Mixed Society – various peoples, beliefs and ways of thinking and communicating has led to a complex and divisive people
2. Corporate vs. National vs. People – Corporate, National and the People’s interests regularly conflict with each other. So much so that they are called “the Three Branches of Society”
3. Rising Complacency – many are happy in India’s place in the System (especially in Conservative and Corporate circles), and would rather rest than strive for more

(Note: I didn't write most of this myself, by far. Don't blame me! Blame BgKnight!)

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: African Union
Alternative Name: Union Africaine, Uniao Africana, Union Africana, Umoja wa Afrika
Capital: de jure Addis Ababaa, de facto Kinshasa
Major Cities/Stations: Lagos, Cairo, Addis Ababaa, Mogadishu

Government Type: de jure a supranational political, economic and ,ilitary inion, de facto a supranational multi-ethnic complex with an elective head of state who wields a massive bureaucracy that truly dominates the continent.
Head of State: Grand Premier Isabelle Sewamba
Head of Government: Grand Premier Isabelle Sewamba
Succession Law: In theory a new the Grand Premier is elected each year, this is of course, strictly a formality. For the past century, the President of the Congolese Republic - the engorged heart of Africa, crowded with equatorial rocket launch sites and pockmarked by exhausted coltan and cobalt mines - has served in that position, with all of the Electors coming from a combination of great and superpowers in Africa, who wield control over regions and dominions.

Public Responsibility: The bureaucracy that the Grand Premier wields itself has limited public responsibility, however in many cases the electors can overran the bureaucracy, and the Electors are directly appointed from the leading countries and needing to be kept in power in many cases are crowd-pleasers.

Stability: The vast size and unwieldiness of the Union means that it has chaotic politics at the best of times, stability goes hand in hand with that. While a collapse is unlikely, it is very much like herding cats.

Centralization: Very non-centralized, can crush anyone when coming together, but at the best of times the Electors wield a lot of authority and power.

Judicial: Maybe later.

Legislature: The Grand African Parliament decides on laws and the minutia of government, but it is rarely free to act alone, mainly the Parliament has been turned into a organ for ratification of whatever decisions the electors and bureaucrats pass.

- The largest faction in the parliament and bureaucracy are the Congolese, wielding a solid chunk of the political power in the parliament. They, of course, are not a unified group, having various groups and organizations inside the larger Congolese group, like the Chinese and Indian lobbies, who have been largely pushed to the side, the corporate leaders who are in charge of the massive African conglomerates and the small Dominion lobby which seeks to not only have Congo run the Union, but /be/ the Union.

- The second largest faction in the Union is the African Central Bank, due to its sheer size and general political neutrality, the African Central Bank is a massive faction on its own, and rarely shies away from applying its considerable political influence to push agenda on the table that benefit the mammoth institution.

- The third political faction in Parliament is the West African Coalition, a massive group of countries united behind the solid leadership of the Electors of Ghana, who wield the largest military force in West Africa and providing a large part of the Naval and Military power of the African Union as a whole, Ghana has levied its political power for benefits that have allowed the small country to remain the leader of West Africa.

(Short-term) Political Objectives: - Complete the terraforming of the area around Timbuktu, the initial stage of the "Green Sahara Iniative".

Intelligence Service: - African Intelligence Coordinating Committee - A small bureau of the heads of the largest African Intelligence services who meet regularly to adjust the agenda of the Committee.

-SOCIAL-

Population: The African Population combined is the single largest block of people on earth.

Strategic Goals:
- Defeating the Lunar Triarchy in Space, pushing them back
- The Green Sahara Initiative
- Alleviating overpopulation

Internal Problems:
- Massive overpopulation
- Radical climate change
- "The Moroccan Stalemate"

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: Depending on the development of the country, most countries have entered the post-scarcity economy and do not require currency, but the African nzimbu is issued by the Central Bank to finance intergovernmental projects and major investments in outer space.

-Military -
Army:

The African Standby Force has really grown from its early days, the continental African, and multidisciplinary peacekeeping force with military, police and civilian contingents that act under the direction of the African Union have grown in size and scope. Originally intended to be a small force, the African Standby Force was steadily expanded through the ages, with the ECOWAS Standby Force and ECCAS Standby Force having grown so much that they are now armies in their own right. The ECOWAS Standby Force, lead by Ghana, is the larger of the two groupings, made up of a combination of armies from all over West Africa and used primarily in Earth combat operations. They have deployments in Kurdistan, Kalmykiya and Brazil, as well as other places all over the Earth. The ECCAS Standby Force on the other hand, has more or less turned into the offensive troops of the African Union, with operations in the solar system, deployments on the African Stations over Mars and the African colonies on Mars.

Navy:

Thirty-nine of the countries in Africa have space-born fleets, all grouped under the African Union Space Forces, due to its sheer size it is de jure the space-born force of Earth. Due to its vast size however, the force has a combination of high and low quality ships.

Flag:

History: Maybe later.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: Jovian Chamber of Commerce and the Freeholders’ Association of the Outer 98 AU
Alternative Name: Jovians, Freeholders, The Association
Capital: Mnemosyne, Titan (popularly known as the ‘Forbidden City’)
Major Cities/Stations: Jupiter- The Acropolis[Military base](Metis), Outrageous Fortune Gravity Assist Facility(Jupiter orbit, near Metis'), Arcadia(Callisto), Xin’an(Ganymede), New Busan(Ganymede orbit), Marathon City Waypoint Station(Ganymede Orbit), Jupiter Military District[Four station ‘cluster’- Hera Military Station, Pomegranate Mining Station, Peacock Mining Station, Enyo Military Station], Hu Clique[Three-station cluster- Gateway of the Faithful, Beacon, Crow’s Nest]; Saturn- Mnemosyne, Zhu Shang City[aka Former Capital, Frozen-over Hell](Titan), Aegis Station(Saturnian Rings), Ganelon’s Folly (Iapetus)

Government Type: Elective monarchy with republican trappings, aristocratic confederation
Head of State: Chairman of the Freeholders’ Association Board and President of the Jovian Chamber of Commerce, Michael of House Soros
Head of Government: Chairman Soros (shares power with his backers, the Soros-Zijin coalition
Succession Law: The Chair of the Freeholders’ Association (and per the bylaws of the Freeholders’ Charter, President of the Jovian Chamber of Commerce) is chosen by a nine-person electoral college composed of the the Central Commission of the Freeholders’ Association (the seats of which are occupied by the heads of the 5 Houses with the most to contribute to the Association as determined by share of the Association’s GDP and size of military assets pledged to national military campaigns), along with the Commanders of the Freeholders’ Association Unified Jupiter Command and Unified Saturn Command, the President of the Freelancers’ Union, and the Director of the Freeholders’ Association Reserve Bank. The Chair serves at the pleasure of the Central Commission, which has sometimes equated to a life term for especially popular or powerful Chairs. Though the electoral college may and sometimes does choose successive chairs who are successors of previous Chairs as the head of their House, it is rare for a successor to actually be a close relative, given the Houses lean closer to being like corporations than to traditional nobility.

Public Responsibility: The matter of responsibility to the public is often summed up with the “Three Brothers and One Sister Principle”. The ruling corporate-noble Houses are the eldest brother, followed by the middle class composed of managers, technical workers, bureaucrats, etc., and finally the working class as the youngest brother. For the good of the household younger brother is expected to defer to the leadership of his elder, but the elder is likewise expected to make sure his brothers are cared for. An incompetent manager, or even noble, may find himself ousted by his peers if the discontent of his workforce threatens production. As a general rule, the upper classes take this to heart, and the working classes are often compensated for their lack of political power with cheap and plentiful food and avenues of entertainment. It may be the 24th century, but ‘Bread and Circuses’ are still as alive and well as ever.
This still doesn’t explain the ‘Sister’ in this philosophy, of course. That would be the soldiers and taikonauts of the House Fleets and ‘Lancer crews, who play a dangerous and vital role in Freeholder society despite standing outside from the class hierarchy. They find safe haven among their ‘brothers’ in the Jovians, and are expected to abide by its laws and help protect it and support the 'household upkeep' by tithing part of their profit. The general sentiment among the noble houses is that as the ‘eldest brother’, they have a say in which ‘suitors’ may seek the hand of the Lancers. Though rare, there is a precedent of conflicts being declared off limits to the independent ‘Lancers, if they wish to remain in good standing with the Freehold and their Guild.

Stability: Though, broadly speaking, the general population is as content as usual, there is also the usual amount of bickering and jockeying for position among the nobility. The current Chairman- Michael Soros -though a capable administrator, would be described by few outside his own house as more than that- not particularly brilliant nor charismatic, he was a compromise candidate agreed to by the currently ruling coalition of houses, and has been accused on occasion of being little more than a figurehead.

Centralization: Most power rests with the Houses, the most significant of which individually wield political power that spans from a few stations or settlements to entire moons and multiple military bases. Outside of longstanding agreements on issues of mutual interest, the houses are often loath to surrender their power over policy that may impact their own territories, which is why an effective Chairperson must hail from a house somehow capable of exerting a high amount of influence over their peers.

Judicial:Matters of law and order are left entirely to the houses to formulate and enforce over their territory and apart from the Board convening a court to mediate disputes between houses and occasionally to bring to justice house leaders accused of malfeasance against the Association, there is no court of final appeal nor judicial review beyond the freehold, and the latter is a rare thing even there. Houses who do not have close and longstanding ties, as House Soros and Zijin do, rarely have formal extradition agreements, and so extradition is often on an uncertain, case-by-case basis.
Legislature: Though the Board of the Freeholders’ Association, with representatives of every incorporated House has the power to determine policy, in practice the 5-seat Central Commission [AKA: the Politburo, Mandarin Council(Derog.)] handles most matters as the full board is only required to convene to amend the Freeholders’ Charter. The views of the lesser Houses are not without weight, though.
-The dominant faction among the Houses is the “Imperial” coalition, lead by House Soros, from which the current Chairman hails, and House Zijin. Largely composed of Houses who backed the treaty of alliance with the Earther hyperpower, extremely in favor of the current state of the alliance and hostile towards Lunar interests in light of the Lunar-backed rebel groups. In favor of preserving the traditional balance of power among the nobility and have been experimenting with use of AI in the interest of maintaining the neutrality of the central institutions.
-The “High King” faction- Sometimes known more derisively as the “Houses Militant”. Pro-Earther, but believe that the only way the Freeholds will remain able to defend their interests is to create a stronger central government. Less emphatic about the broader conflict with Luna than eliminating Lunar-backed rebels. Also interested in increasing the role of AIs in government, but favor the creation of a Dar-style cyberbureaucracy. Compared to Imperials, less focused on gaining hegemony than they are on crushing opposition where the Freeholds currently rule.
-The “Rapprochement” faction- These houses believe the Jovians should be more like they were back at the beginning of the Freeholds: standing alone from Earth, and not mired in a cold war with potentially lucrative trading partners on the Moon. Though few could be described as total isolationists (the value of trade with Earth is too important for them to ignore), they would much prefer the chance to focus on the cultivation of the Freeholder’s dream of uniting the Jovians by removing the incentive of the Lunar powers to back anti-Freeholder causes, and making a stronger commitment to seeking amicable relationships among the Jovian powers.
-The “Cooperative” faction- Widely perceived as arising from those houses descended from the Korean diaspora that makes up a significant portion of the Freeholder population, the Cooperativists (also known as the Neo-Kyung Movement after the leaders of the Korean Liberation Organization whose followers made up a significant portion of the diaspora) are the most minor of the significant factions, largely due to a focus on domestic rather foreign policy, and the fact that someone may share the Cooperative view on Freeholder society but otherwise identify with the Imperial, High King, or Rapprochement view on the rest of the solar system. At it’s simplest, the Cooperativist position is that the Houses should liberalize the relationship between the classes in terms of allowing for greater social mobility, which they view as the best means to invigorate society and strengthen the Freeholds, though this sometimes earns them a reputation among other houses as potential Lunar sympathizers and upjumped former ‘Lancers. The stability afforded these houses by what little of their programme they have enacted, and the ability to field much larger marine levies than would be expected for their size, has managed to keep this derision from outright exclusion, however.

Political Objectives: Make progress against the Titan Republics, Resolve the issue of discontent over the “Dual Yuan” monetary system, Bolster Jovian economy against losses due to the Earther-Lunar conflict.

Intelligence Service: Though the Houses generally cultivate their own intelligence services of various sizes, most of their intelligence gathering is inwardly oriented and outside of their territory the Freeholders must often rely on paid informants and ‘Lancers for human intelligence. SIGINT, however, is where they excel: one of the Association’s shining jewels is the “Eyes of Hera” network, run by the Freeholders’ Unified Jupiter Command and formally based out of the Association’s Hera Station bastion in Jupiter’s orbit, coordinating and interpreting gathered data from satellites, settlements, and ships across their territory and beyond.

-SOCIAL-
Population: Moderate sized population- on the high end of the spectrum for the Jovians but roughly equivalent to Earth nations where overpopulation has yet to become too severe. Given most of that population is densely settled in space stations, ships, and surface habitats, though, it has been speculated that overcrowding could rise to critical levels within the century.
Colonial Population: N/A

Strategic Goals: Formal control of a sphere of influence in the asteroid belt; Retaking control of territory seized by the Callisto Cartel, Ansoft, and Titan Republics; Gaining colonies among the outer two Jovians.
Internal Problems: Infighting between the noble houses; Decentralization limiting the coordination of military and security services; Discontent over monetary system; organized crime; Technological stagnation.
Culture: Jovian(Megacorp) culture- The predominant culture of the Freeholds, descended from European and East Asian colonists. Primarily use an English-Chinese creole (makes use of Chinese characters) with extensive loan word inclusion- this “Jovian Sinitic”(aka Corp-speech, the Ship Tongue serves as a lingua franca throughout the Association and in many parts of the outer system. Though the Freeholds respect freedom of religion (and generally avoid intrusion into private lives as long as one keeps up appearances and loyalties in public life), organized religion does not have much of a hold there, and most religious groups are of a very small or decentralized nature (Taoist schools, various strains of paganism, mystery cults, small temples, etc.). Strongly identifies with the neo-Confuscian ideals propagated by the Houses, however.
Hui People- One of the few bastions of organized religion among the Freeholds, the population of Hui people in the Association has an image of middle-class professionals, technicians, and medical personnel, though they can be found at all levels of society, and there are even a few small subsidiary houses and respected ‘Lancer companies run by Hui people.
Koreans- While many Koreans who made their way to the Jovians to escape the late 21st-century unrest in their homeland ultimately wound up as part of the Jovian culture, some retained their cultural identity, providing a welcoming destination for a second wave of immigration more recently after Korea became part of the Asia-Pacific Union, especially supporters of the KLO after its failure to achieve Korean independence.
Late-Diaspora Chinese- the most recent immigrant wave to reach the shores of the Freeholds, largely composed of those seeking a better life and already used to social stratification and limited upward mobility, wealthy businessmen hoping to gain entry to the Freeholder upper class, and those uncomfortable with a coming cyberocracy. Unfortunately, this wave also includes individuals escaping crackdowns on organized crime, and like with the Koreans and Kkangpae who arrived before them, some blame the Chinese for the criminal elements who came along with them- in this case tongs and Manchu bannermen.

Education: Mandatory free public education, generally more quality the higher your class with many private schools for the wealthy. Many Muslim students served by E-Madrasah based out of Titan. Two major research universities, on Ganymede and Titan, several smaller technical schools. Many upper class students study at universities on Earth and some Houses sponsor promising middle-class students to do so as well. While some amount of ‘brain drain’ occurs by students choosing to accept the financial penalty of staying on Earth, the larger problem is lack of social mobility within the class system preventing educated and qualified candidates from putting their ideas to the best use- usually blamed for the growing dependence on Earth for technological innovation.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: National: Yuan(colloquially: Jovian Yuan); Subnational: Corporate Scrip (colloquially: House Yuan). Primary unit is the Yuan, which can be divided into 100 Fen issued in denominations of 1, 5, and 10. Corporate Scrip, issued and regulated by the various Houses of the Freeholds and used as payment for employees, uses the same denominations by law. Jovian Yuan is legal tender throughout the Freeholds, with an exchange rate to the less-valuable House Yuan set by the Chamber of Commerce, along with a minimum percentage of pay that must be Jovan Yuan. The Freeholders frequently seek to influence smaller nations to adopt a Yuan standard. Non-fiat currency (backed by gas reserve and projected output).

By far, the greatest share of the Association’s economy- especially gases from orbital operations around Jupiter but also more mundane surface mining of water, silicates, and metals from lunar mines and even large ‘methane farms’ on Titan. This massive industry spreads out from the extraction itself- transportation, banking, manufacturing, various service industries for all those workers and for all the workers serving *those* workers. Besides manufacturing for the mining industry and for society in general, one of the larger trades is that done by various Association shipyards, though lately sales have been taking something of a hit due to soured relations with many of the Association’s neighbors.

-MILITARY -
Army:
Almost all houses maintain forces of Marines, either based on and subordinate to their House fleets, or garrisoned out of settlements in the case of contested moons such as Titan, Iapetus, etc. Usually equipped with the best Earther tech money can buy- Combat suits, Self-propelled railgun platforms, AI-managed Combat Drones. Heavily drawn from the middle class.

Navy:
Not truly a single organization so much as multiple navies, the Freeholder ‘Navy’ can be thought of in two distinct groups: the House Fleets, descendants of mercenary “Freelancer” PMCs who have been contracted by a noble house so long and thoroughly as to have basically become a part of that house, and the ‘Lancers, a vast menagerie of those who still operate as mercenaries working for the highest bidder. While ‘Lancer crews vary wildly in size, from barely running one-ship operations to companies with dozens of well-outfitted ships, the House fleets have a common makeup- multiple combat junks, transport, signals ships, and carriers supporting the fearsome Zhengs (so named after the Zheng He, one of the first Freeholder-built capital ships), as well as defending the Association’s feared orbital weapons platforms There is a widespread perception of a rivalry between ‘Lancers and the Fleets: both have a certain prestige- the Fleets as an extension of the nobility, the ‘Lancers for their freedom –and while many ‘Lancers dream of entry to the upper class through commission into a Fleet, they also often disparage the House officers as stuffy and hidebound, while their noble counterparts see the average ‘Lancer as an undisciplined pirate.

Flag: http://i.imgur.com/KpLX5gI.png

History: Coming Soon

Right, to avoid confusions I will assign players Fleet Sizes here so that we can calculate the battles realistically, now that war is on the horizon. This is taking under consideration a bunch of things, your power status, your economic size, your politics as declared in your stats and whether you are a terrestrial or space-born nation (obviously the latter will have bigger forces). I will make this simple for you all and me, you can give fluff to it if you want to.

The Hyperpowers

The African Union:
11 Highly Advanced Small Ships [Shield-of-Nsamanfo Class]
14 Advanced Large Ships
37 Advanced Small Ships
20 Mediocre Large Ships
38 Mediocre Small Ships
98 Low Quality Ships (of various sizes)

The Triarchy
5 Highly Advanced Large Ships [1 Parthenian, 1 Tycho, 3 Dar]
33 Highly Advanced Small Ships [5 Parthenian, 4 Tycho, 24 Dar]
37 Advanced Large Ships [8 Parthenian, 2 Tycho, 17 Dar]
44 Advanced Small Ships [10 Parthenian, 10 Tycho, 14 Dar]
50 Mediocre Small Ships [Joint Command]

The Superpowers

The Freehold:
15 Advanced Large Ships [Zheng Class and Support Carriers for them]
25 Advanced Small Ships
Various Low Quality Ships hired at all times, as low as 20 and as high as 40
[Should be noted that these numbers are in total, but the Freehold's fleet is a very splintered affair]

Republic of India:

4 Advanced Large Ships
6 Advanced Small Ships
9 Mediocre Large Ships
11 Mediocre Small Ships

[NPC Superpowers have between mostly Advanced and Mediocre ships, in the numbers of 60 for planet-born powers and 70 for space-born superpowers [of which there are none]]

Others:

ICRS:
40 Huge Mediocre Ships [lightly armed hospital ships]
6 Advanced Large Ships [Space Rescue Corps]
23 Low Quality ships of various sizes

Polyport

2 Advanced Small Ships
4 Mediocre Large Ships
6 Advanced Small Ships

The Unbound
1 Huge Ship [The MUSK]
10 Highly Advanced Large Ships in the far reaches of the outer system
40 Highly Advanced Small Ships spread throughout the Solar System

Zionist State of Europa
40 Advanced Small Ships [Stealth]

[For Space Born Great Powers from 30 to 40, Planet-based Great Powers
20 to 30, most others in the teens. ]

My first time in a forum game, this will surely end amazingly.

Tried to make sense of how such a, ah, interesting country could form. Sorry for the wall.

-POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHIC-
Name: The Associated States of Harmony™

Alternative Name: ASH

Capital: Singapore

Major Cities/Stations: Sorry but it's SE Asia and the American west coast, way too many major cities to try and list.

Government Type: (Convoluted) Federal Union

Head of State: Executive Council. Composed of a Prime Minister and two First Ministers. While the Prime Minister sets the agenda, the First Ministers offer input and have some executive powers as well. First Ministers can veto actions of the PM in conjunction with the Legislature, though both need to agree on such a move, which is rare.

Head of Government: See above

Succession Law: If the PM dies, a First Minister takes over. If all three of the Executive Council are deceased, the Legislature would nominate successors.

Public Responsibility: Anxiety from ethnic conflict or economic disparities once drove the leadership of ASH to invest heavily in its less developed areas through infrastructure and educational programs. While these were largely successful over a period of several decades things have changed. Politicians in Singapore have increasingly only paid lip service to the economic woes that increasingly plague many of the member states, caused from continuing overpopulation and uncertain climate trends.

Stability: Despite the lack of a common heritage among the member states, the ASH remains largely cohesive. Political commentators have derided the regime as a temporary affair, that will last as long as the threat of outside military force will keep its member states together. But many of these commentators are long since dead and the member states remain tight knit. Developing the standard of living is the success story of the ASH as farmers in rural New Guinea have access to housing and healthcare on parity with Singaporean businessmen. A complex welfare system exists, with each member state giving contributions dependent upon its population and the Federally determined “development status”. Despite these material advances there lurks the shadow of conflict. Many member states chaff under what has been derided Indonesian dominance in the Legislature. Additionally, accusations of corruption are also an issue, with Anglo speakers in particular seen as more liable to be dishonest.

Centralization: Originally a confederation of sorts, over the ASH has slowly crept towards a Federal state. The diversity of population sizes and cultures across its territorial expanse has always been a stumbling bloc. Four elected Governors oversee the holdings of the ASH, each over a large division called a “region”. Within these regions there is comparatively less political autonomy compared to the European Union in the early 21st century. However they are a useful stop gap to any efforts at efforts by the Federal efforts to subvert any remaining sovereignty held by individual member nations. The Javan Region is just the island, which boasts a quarter of the entire ASH population. The Southern Region is largely the remaining islands of Indonesia, combined just as overcrowded as Java. The Western Region includes all other Asian members such as Korea,Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and so on. Their combined population is above that of Java, but is the hardest of the four regions to govern given the disparate areas and cultures. The Eastern Region is largely politically dominated by the Californian city states, but includes the entire North American territories in addition to all Oceanic nations as well including New Guinea.

Legislature: Composed of two houses, the Legislature is the main driver in Federal governance. Much like the former United States of America, it’s a dull and complicated process to go about passing laws. While utilizing a proportional voting scheme, both bodies have reserved seats for the less populous member states. The Upper House, the National Assembly, has a mixture of appointed and elected members. The Lower House, the Representative Assembly, is soaked in scheming politicos, with their eyes on open seats in the National Assembly, or even the Executive Council.

Political parties were originally founded along national lines but have since melded into a broad collection of ideological with cross-regional appeal. Legislators from Hokkaido can expect financial backing from similarly minded Polynesian shipping magnates and so on. The largest organization is the center-right Java based People’s Prosperous Alliance. Despite its name it usually favors advantages for the financially savvy. The supposed major opponent but oft as not PPA partner, the Forward Path, is a Californian creature, promoting the expanded use of AI in all sectors of life. Formed shortly after New Zealand’s admission into ASH, the National Union has morphed from a nationalist organization into the leading protest party. It's strength lies in Oceania, the former northern pacific American states and parts of Thailand. Pushing an agenda of more measures against climatic changes and the expansion of ASH operations in space colonization, the NU has in recent years gained traction.

Political Objectives: Shoring up the geopolitical position of ASH is a major priority. The ongoing instability in neighboring Burma, with the Chinese peacekeeping presence a large concern. Continuing to develop closer ties with the African and Europeans is of major importance as well.

-SOCIAL-

- Population: TBA, but way too many people.

Strategic Goals: Expansion of the Tanah Merah Martian colony, foundation of additional settlements in favorable locations in the solar system, and keeping China down.

Internal Problems: One word: Overpopulation. Even with government programs that have tried stem overpopulation through migrations to less populous areas, ASH is still overloaded with people.

Political malaise has taken hold, with leadership of the major parties largely using near identical talking points. Discontent is on the rise, with the feeling that ASH has benefited the affluent far more than the general populous increasing.

Finally, ethnic tensions have begun to rise, despite heavy intercultural marriages becoming common across ASH. Nationalism centered on the inability for the Singaporean elites to meet the needs of each member states is becoming an acceptable position for rising insurgent politicians.

Culture: TBA

Education: Public education is mandatory for all citizens. While opting out of the universities is possible, the requirements are hefty. Student exchanges are promoted across members members to increase cohesiveness.

-INDUSTRY and MONEY-

Currency: The creation of a common currency was one of the first moves after the collapse of ASEAN. While a central bank with split headquarters in Jakarta was agreed to by signatories, the name of the currency unit became a point of contention. Eventually the fairly neutral term pound was adopted. The saying “A pound of ash is worth more than gold” eventually sprung from financial markets when ASH still had notable economic growth.

The internal trade of ASH has always been close to half of its total economic transactions. Minor internal tariffs exist to the benefit of manufacturers and agrarian organizations in less economically power areas. In recent decades these have become progressively diminished in the face of free trade arguments.

Large conglomerates with holdings across member states are the norm. Some of the major players are joint Californian-Korean companies, welding the commercial clout of Korean chaebols and the expertise of Californian financial dynasties. Many are self-titled zaibatsu, in part from their common use of Japan as their headquarters.

-Military -
Army:
Most of the Terran based ASH forces are in its large naval force, the second largest on the planet. Extensive fortifications exist on the Asian mainland and on the American Rockies.

Navy:

Lagging behind in the development of AI, ASH ships require larger crew compliments. While several classes of ship are in production, most are akin to battleships of old, smothered in turrets. Long deployed in a defensive in nature, they offer comfort to the government for the supposed abilities to defend the Martian colony.

History: Founded in the wake of China’s rising hegemony, the Associated States of Harmony has since become an integral force on its own. It was originally formed as the wide reaching military alliance with American backing to shore up their own slipping position in Asia. The Jakarta Accords was the foundation of the agreement and gave the group its informal name of the “Jakarta Bloc”, given the joint headquarters was placed in the sprawling Indonesian capital. The original members that signed the document were Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.

The fear of Chinese and later Indian hegemony would continue to drive the leadership of the budding Jakartan Bloc forward towards mutually beneficial stances. Additional members joined including Laos, Cambodia, Brunei, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia (already under Indonesian occupation). Up to this point the alliance existed side by side with ASEAN, akin to the former NATO alliance and a once young EU. The vacuum left by Americans and yet more aggressive diplomacy between China and India would end this parallelism of regional multi-national diplomacy. The expanding rift between the Jakartan Bloc and more isolationist states, especially Vietnam and the Philippines, over the role of ASEAN would cause its final destruction.

As the majority of ASEAN members were Jakartan Accord signatories, work towards integrating features from the deceased regional bloc went ahead quickly. Guided by lessons learned from the mistakes of their European contemporaries, leaders of the budding alliance went about founding a new order. In particular this new organization would have control over a new centralized banking system and have oversight on the fiscal policy of individual nations. These measures were argued by proponents to be necessary in the face of global uncertainty, though it would be almost a decade before leadership summits were able to create a comprise palatable to each nation.

Formally inaugurated after the 2310 Summit held in Taipei, the Asian-Pacific Union was widely welcomed among the region’s diverse populous as the next step against foreign encroachment. Its bureaucracy would mushroom, seeing ASH men working with local officials in a variety of fields, especially fiscal and trade policies. Ties with the Pacific island nations such as New Zealand and Micronesia grew increasingly close as the developing countries bought the majority of their manufactured goods in ASH nations and sold the bulk of their raw resources and artisan crafts to them in return. Over a relatively short period nations in Oceania would join the ASH. Additionally the former American republics that straddled the Pacific shoreline became member states, joining their New Zealand cousins as the largest concentrations of English speakers in the budding organization.

Over the decades the ASH became more and more central and indivisible. While it is the most culturally and linguistically diverse of the multi-national associations, the use of of e-democratic technologies and universal translation software has lessened such issues. Foreign policy matters are handled by the ASH, as are the majority of military, fiscal and trade topics. With a plethora of monarchies (with real or figurative powers), an Islamic republic, city states on two continents, the ASH hosts a diverse collection of government styles. The organizational headquarters is in the Singapore arcology which functions as the effective melting pot capital. Surplus funds for decades were spent on infrastructure projects in less developed nations to bring the union onto equal footing. Only relatively recently has the ASH begun to consider ventures in the space...

Molotov

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