[Lecture] 2017 - Growth, Turmoil, and Hope

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Dyl

Princess of the Void
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2017 - Growth, Turmoil, and Hope
By Khevo


2017 saw greater change than any other year in our Union’s history, building on its early stages and finally bringing the region to the world stage. Regional culture began to truly take shape, and many cornerstones of our government were set into law.

On January 1, 2017, The Union of Democratic States was home to 272 nations and had just entered a new phase of its history. The sudden resignation of Prime Minister Ayeris Islands came after mere weeks in office, and Speaker Zion Imperium was elected to fill the role on New Year’s Eve. However, though Zion won with nearly unanimous approval, this election was also the beginning of party politics in the Union. Zion’s ascension to the Premiership left the position of Speaker vacant, and the dominant Liberty Party, led by Zion and United Arkadia, nominated Quantumland, while the newly formed National Commonwealth Party (NCP), led by Khevo, nominated a newer citizen, Brittalia. Though Quantumland proved victorious by a margin of one vote, the election began a period where the two major parties held much of the power in the region. However, unlike later parties, these two proved that opposing forces could work with, rather than against, each other for the benefit of the Union.

Zion’s goals were clear from the outset of his term. He quickly set out plans for regional growth, increased cooperation with various defender-aligned organizations, and the building of an inner circle of foreign allies. These goals were set with the aim of expanding the Union’s size and its presence in the wider gameplay sphere. As part of these plans, the UDSAF was expanded and the Union became more involved in FORGE. In mid-February, the region chose to leave the ITDA, an organization it had founded, as a result of its stagnation and lack of remaining use.

Just a week after Zion’s inauguration, Vice Delegate Khevo was elected as Attorney General following the impeachment of New Babaloosh, along with his running mate Brittalia. Under the pair, the regional Judiciary finally began to take shape, transforming the branch from a one-man position into the region’s first-ever Supreme Court through the passage of the Legal Court System Act. Initially, the Attorney General acted as head of the court.

It was not long before the courts faced their first major issue. In February, an individual had attempted to gain access to the accounts of other leaders, then excessively spammed and flamed the message boards of multiple regions. With the help of the NationStates moderators, the failed “hacker” in question was determined to have been Ethanoria, a budding statesman and Chairman of the Domestic Affairs Committee. The moderators confirmed his actions and his nation was deleted. Initially, he was impeached and removed from the region, but not long after, he tried to rejoin with a poorly-hidden alias. This attempt became the Judiciary’s inaugural investigative case, and he was soon found out and removed. For the time being, the region was Ethan-free.

The region’s Legislature also began to take shape in the early months of 2017. Talks of a Constitutional Convention (ConCon) first began at the end of January, and March brought the Union it’s first-ever ConCon, an event that would soon become an often-used method of fixing regional issues. Most notably, this ConCon brought a bicameral system of Legislature to the Union, splitting the branch into the upper-tier Council of State and the lower-tier General Assembly. While the General Assembly consisted of all citizens, the Council of State, led by the Speaker, was composed of Councillors, the Prime Minister, and the Founder. The new Constitution also created the role of Chief Justice, formally separating the Attorney General from the Supreme Court.

In the March General Elections, the region elected its inaugural class of Councillors. Apart from that, however, the government remained largely the same. Zion and Khevo were re-elected as Prime Minister and Attorney General, respectively. Brittalia, who had first attained the role of Speaker after Quantumland was impeached for sharing screenshots of private government chats, was reelected to his position as well. However, causes for concern began to show around this time. Not long before the election, health issues had led Zion to temporarily appoint Khevo and Kanglia as interim Co-Prime Ministers, and inactivity during his second term forced the region to remove him from its highest office.

Zion’s impeachment led to the Union’s first-ever contested election for the Premiership, with both Khevo and Brittalia expressing their intent to run. Though both had been members of the NCP, Brittalia had chosen to leave and form the Constitution Party, which would soon become the Social Democratic Party (SDP), early in the term. The successive impeachments of Ethanoria and Quantumland had been the death knell for the Liberty Party, and many of its members left to join the NCP. Following spirited campaigning and the first-ever electoral debate, hosted by the Union Post, Khevo prevailed over Brittalia and ascended to the Premiership for the remainder of Zion’s initial term. However, in the shorter term that ensued, little was done, and when Khevo and Brittalia again competed for the position in the June elections, voters chose Brittalia instead. The election saw an impressively high 51 votes cast, with Brittalia earning 26 votes to Khevo’s 23.

This election also spelt the end of the NCP. Soon after, a large chunk of the party separated to form the short-lived People’s Action Party, and Khevo dissolved the NCP mere days later. Most importantly, however, was that this election began a period of rising tensions that would eventually leave the region spiralling towards catastrophe. In the lead-up to the elections, Election Commissioner Zion and Khevo sparred heatedly over campaign rules, forcing Thatcher to step in and stop the matter from escalating.

Additional incidents during the summer term continued to tear at the seams of the Union’s stability. In July, the Bill Packaging Act was marginally passed despite strong opposition. This act notably demonstrated that the people’s voice was still intact amidst fears of an “echo chamber” Legislature, but the heated debate over the Bill Packaging Act gave way to angered tirades that became personal and harmful to regional unity. At the end of June, another Constitutional Convention was called, but moved slowly and was plagued by further tensions, finally ending with a new Constitution in mid-August. The new Constitution’s most notable contribution was the constitutional codification of ministries, which beforehand had been established through regional law. The Ministry of Roleplay had been formed at the end of July, marking the founding of the official roleplaying community within the Union, and the Ministries of Education and the Census had been formed not too long before that.

In the Judiciary, Attorney General Relfa and the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Heaveria, faced two major cases during the summer term. In early July, seditionists under the leadership of Washington & Fairfax formed the Union of Undemocratic States and attempted to infiltrate the Union in order to gain control of the government through a coup. However, “Operation Infiltration” was soon discovered and swiftly silenced through the work of the Judiciary and Executive. Then, in September, Vice Delegate North Plegia, a newer member of the region, was convicted of illegally taking over the World Assembly Delegacy after soliciting enough endorsements to gain the position. However, the true nature of the incident was not entirely clear, as evidence indicated that discussions with Zion had led him to believe that he had permission to do so. This case also contributed to further tensions that arose during the General Elections that were underway at the time, as North Plegia was a candidate for the Delegate position.

That autumn, the tension that had been building throughout the previous term finally reached its climax, splitting the strained seams of democracy and plunging the region into turmoil. In September, Speaker Kanglia was elected Prime Minister. Steady progress continued to be made, with the region momentarily reaching the 500-nation mark, and the Union left FORGE, having outgrown the confines of the interregional alliance. However, a series of disputes in late October left the government bitter and fractured. Through his Unionist Radio YouTube channel, Zion publicly called for the removal of Attorney General Relfa, claiming incompetence and citing his recent resignation from the position of Deputy Prime Minister. Then, a week later, after extreme inactivity had plagued the Council of State for some time, Thatcher threatened to dissolve the body and call for new elections. Though tempers eventually cooled somewhat, these events led to the resignation of both Relfa and The United Alioth States, a Councillor and Press Secretary, while several others threatened to resign as well.

On the evening of November 11, after Prime Minister Kanglia had expressed his desire to depart from the region, Thatcher declared that an election would be held for all governmental positions, lighting the spark of a crisis. This action faced severe backlash from the citizenry and a majority of the government resigned in protest, leaving only Attorney General The Aetherian Isles and Ministers Asdersland and Khevo within the Cabinet. Thatcher nearly left as well but was able to cool down and help move the region forward. A few officials soon rescinded their resignations, and Deputy Prime Minister Diamond Confederacy became Prime Minister in the days that followed. As tensions cooled, the region came to agree that another Constitutional Convention was the correct course to take, after which new elections would be held. However, we were yet to fully grasp what this would come to entail - a nearly three-month-long process in which the region itself hit rock bottom in both stature and activity.

Despite the partial dissolution of the rest of the government, the Judiciary continued to play a key role in regional affairs as 2017 came to a close. Just a few weeks after the “nuking” of the government, the court found a newer citizen, Granderra, to be a puppet of Persona non Grata and former citizen, Ethanoria. Since his initial banishment, Ethan had appeared a few times throughout allied regions and was caught each time. Though the evidence connecting the two was rather clear, the case was rushed and not well-handled, and thus the decision was challenged by other members of the government. However, the challenge could not reach the margin of approval needed, and thus Granderra was banned. Then, in mid-December, Diamond Confederacy resigned the presidency, and United Arkadia, who had stepped in as Deputy Prime Minister, ascended to the Premiership. Soon after, however, Diamond Confederacy claimed that the position had been taken through harassment and fraud, and the Supreme Court quickly and erroneously moved to prosecute United Arkadia. After facing backlash, Diamond Confederacy recanted his claims, and the Supreme Court dropped the case. Following the resignation of Attorney General The Aetherian Isles in the final days of December, the Supreme Court was dissolved, as mandated by the Constitution.

As 2017 came to a close, the Union lay subdued, home to a citizenry worn down by the events of the previous months. Still, though, there was hope in what lay ahead. The Constitutional Convention had continued to make progress, albeit slowly, and an end was in sight. On December 31, 2017, 278 Unionists looked ahead into a new year, optimistic about what was to come for The Union of Democratic States.

 
This is very well written, and I appreciate the insight into a period in our region's history I was not acquainted with.