United Empire of Earth

The United Empire of Earth (UEE), colloquially referred to as the Empire by its human population, is a sovereign, democratic interstellar empire spanning across 37 star systems. It was founded in 2546 after the conclusion of the First Human-Tevarin War, which saw the ascension of Ivar Messer to the position of Prime Citizen. Using his newfound political power, he restructured the United Planets of Earth into the UEE, appointing himself Imperator.

Until 2792, the Empire was a hereditary monarchy ruled by the Messer Dynasty, which wielded supreme executive and military power over the government. Eventually, the dynasty was overthrown in the Revolution of 2792, restoring democracy to the nation and reforming the government into having the power to impeach the Imperator if all of it acted together. While the Imperator is still the supreme executive office, he is now elected by the populace and bound to a 10-year term.

At current, the title of Imperator is held by Kelos Costigan. Under the Imperator is the High Secretary Illyana Sharrad, the High Advocate Peter Upshaw and UEE High Command.

Overview
The United Empire of Earth is the unified representative government of the entire human race, led by an elected Imperator and his governmental subordinates. The political structure is similar to that of the Roman Empire, which was considered at the time to be by far the most advanced sovereignty on Earth, unparalleled in governance until the 20th century.

Government structure
Main articles: UEE Congress, Citizens, Civilians, UEE Marines, UEE Navy, UEE Army and UEE Advocacy.

Counseled by the High-Secretary, the High-Command and the High-Advocate, the Imperator is the head of the government, now bound to a single ten-year term limit.

The Imperator wields the highest executive and military power, being both the head of government, as well as the commander-in-chief.



Political parties
Due to the massive size of the UEE, there are hundreds of political parties, however only three exert dominance in the Congress:


 * Universal Party - Institution-focused ideology. Government and systems will guide the people.


 * Centralist Party - Traditional, even somewhat libertarian-styled political ideology. It's about sustaining and maintaining the status-quo, and excelling through the values of humanity. They support Earth as the capital of the UEE.


 * Transitionalists (also referred to as 'Transits') - Relatively recent people's party formed around promoting a progressive human agenda. Most of their rhetoric is aimed towards the future. They support the establishment of Terra as the capital of the UEE.

Diplomacy
The UEE is involved in diplomacy with several neighboring empires:


 * Banu Protectorate: The UEE's stance towards the Banu is friendly. The Messer era did not damage relations, due to the Banu being disorganized, while their central government is a loose confederation of planet-states. Border disputes between the Banu Protectorate and the UEE are common, mainly because our criminal element flees across the border and the Banu won't look, much less try to catch them for extradition. The Banu's primary business is trade.


 * Xi'An Empire: The UEE's stance towards the Xi'an Empire is cordial. The UEE has made great strides to try and reconnect with the Xi'An after the tension of the Messer Era. As such, the UEE endorses healthy trade across the borders. While the UEE is diplomatically friendly, the Xi'An are a heavily armed and organized civilization with long lifespans, which still view the human empire as wary.


 * Vanduul: The UEE is at war with the Vanduul clans since the official declaration of war after the Battle of Vega II. Humanity's entire relationship with the Vanduul has been mired in blood. They have never attempted to contact the UEE in any capacity. The Vanduul themselves are nomadic, with fierce infighting between the various enclaves, eliminating the possibility of a central government. Most politicians regard the entire Vanduul species as a violent act of nature.


 * Kr'Thak: Their existence has been recently discovered. The closest Kr'Thak controlled system lies on the other side of Xi'An Empire. Humanity's knowledge of them is very scarce, and the Xi'An weren't keen to share as the two civilizations have unresolved tension, spawning from a multi-century conflict called the Spirit Wars. The human government has not made formal contact with the Kr'Thak, as they are afraid it will unsettle relations with the Xi'An.

Government as a character
When thinking of how the current UEE administration would react to a problem, it's better to think of it as a single entity and a political spectrum with bureaucracy and autocracy.

The early UPE was mired deep in the bureaucracy side, capitalizing on that public disgust with political stagnation was how Ivar Messer was able to consolidate power. Under the Messer Era, the UEE then swung too far in the opposite direction, becoming the stereotypical ruthless fascist government that seized land, power, and might.

When the Messer Era collapsed the UEE swung back and by the game start has ultimately settled in the middle. The government became fixated on making amends for the awfulness it committed for hundreds of years. The UEE now is a mixture of everything. There are good people doing good things, bad people doing bad things and every combination in between. There are seasoned politicos, idealist do-gooders, the palm-greasers, and crusaders.

So, to use an acting term, the UEE's motivation is to make amends. Most of its behavior (from the Ark to the Synthworld) are simply extensions of that need. It's trying (too hard according to some) to appear progressive and totally not evil any more. Seriously, we're really sorry about that and we're better, trust us. Joking aside, the UEE is not insincere about this sentiment. It just might be going a little overboard.

Due to the financial strain on the UEE, the unofficial motto for government & military operations has become "do more with less," which creates an environment for corruption to flourish.

It's also important to reiterate that diversity is good. This is not a simple black-or-white government (i.e. Empire = evil, Rebel Alliance = good). There are all types operating in every facet and on every level of the SC Universe. So, odds are, there's a place for whatever kind of character you're creating.

Local government
Life throughout the UEE is a wide spectrum of experiences. Imagine the variety that we encounter on modern-day Earth (the various ethnicities, backgrounds and belief systems) and multiply that by a hundred (plus potential expansion updates!) — now we're getting into the possibilities of the social and political landscape of the UEE territory.

The various ethnicities we know today have blended; now it's planetary identification. The various languages and roots of names have endured, but you'll often find them mixed together ("Ivan Suzuki").

So, we've established that planets need to lobby to be included/represented in the Senate. In an effort to keep this manageable, we'll break local government structures into two categories; unrepresented and represented.

Represented
Planets accepted into the UEE, named and then given representation in the UEE Senate.

This category can include everything from Terra down to smaller population centers like Magnus.

Governors council
What we would call nations are now called States, each of which is ruled by a Governor. Sparsely populated worlds can have councils of two governors while densely populated ones can have dozens. These council meetings are convened to settle disputes and create planet-wide laws by Council vote.

Governor
A Governor is an elected position with a six-year term (two-term limit), which can be filled by a Citizen or even a Civilian (the highest political rank a Civilian can achieve). Some Governors attempt to run for Senator after their term is up.

Under the Governor there are a hundred elected Representatives. The number of constituents for each Representative varies based on the population size in the State but there are always a hundred in office — for example, a Representative on Terra represents a million people while a Rep in the smaller States of Davien might represent no more than a thousand. The Representatives are divided and assigned to various committees and departments that oversee and regulate the infrastructure.

Law enforcement
Law enforcement is broken down into local and federal police forces. Local Police have their assigned jurisdictions, while the Federal police handle crimes across State lines and report to the Governors' Council.

Depending on the planet's location and status, they may be able to call upon UEE military forces for protection/intervention or support in cases of natural disaster.

Unrepresented
Life away from the population hubs can be tough. Once UEE Inspectors certify a planet as safe for habitation, usually the first settlers are members of the Terraforming Teams. Smaller 'Forming Corps will often entice workers with land payouts. After that the surveyors start showing up, looking for anything that might establish this planet as a potential population center (looking for rare or unique minerals, a confluence of jump points, etc.) The gamble is whether this world will 'grow to be something.'  They're hoping that they're getting in on the ground floor of the next Terra. These surveyors will snatch up land while they look; if they don't find anything of interest, they'll flip the land and move on. All the while, the poor will have been slowly trickling onto the planet, looking for opportunity, a chance to start fresh. Usually their passage is paid with an indentured commitment of some sort.

These planets are also far from the watchful eye and protection of the UEE military forces. While this can be an exciting proposition for traders who want to avoid federal tariffs, it also means that pirates and bandits can lurk around any corner. And that's not even mentioning the possibility of Vanduul attacks.

Governments on the fringe act on a town-by-town basis, usually headed by a governor or mayor (depending on local preference). It's not unusual to see towns effectively declare war on each other.

These settlements will usually have some kind of police/militia in place. At best, they'll have a sheriff or marshal in charge. At worst, the local townspeople band together for protection when a situation arises.

This is frontier life in the future.

As the population on these unrepresented planets begins to grow, the UEE will dispatch political advisors to counsel the planets in the construction of their planetary government, emulating the Governor/Representative structure of the represented worlds. In the early phases of planetary development, there is very little difference between Citizens and Civilians (everybody has to pull their own weight). As the population grows, that distinction begins to come into play. Civilians and Citizens both vote to elect local politicians.

The Governors Council applies to the UEE for recognition. If accepted, Citizens are the only ones able to vote in Senatorial elections.

Imperial law vs local law
As part of the UEE, in theory even the smallest settlements have access to and are subject to the full breadth of UEE laws. Enforcement of these laws is tricky, especially when you get to smaller settlements. In short, they basically go unenforced until someone decides to start enforcing them.

Local governments are allowed to establish their own laws as long as they don't contradict UEE laws.

Jurisdiction
While travelling within UEE governed space, be mindful that you are subject to all its laws and if you violate them, even unknowingly, you may be expelled, fined, arrested, or imprisoned.

UEE Military and Advocacy agents can require you to submit to identification scans to establish your identity, conduct searches of your person and vessel, and detain you with due cause. Always obey the directives of authorized security personnel.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the jurisdiction's criminal activities and comport yourself accordingly.

Extent of influence
The UEE officially has jurisdiction over 37 systems across the galaxy.

Writing for local government
It's all about diversity.

Local governments are made up of all types of personalities. Some small-town mayors rule their settlements with a dictatorial thirst for power, some are thoroughly corrupt, some are crusaders, some are puritanical. So use your personal judgment when conceiving of a small settlement's political structure, but understand that it's unlikely that someone could be exceptionally crazy and be able to get away with it. Even though the nature of communication means that it takes time for information to spread, there are still people with spaceships so it's unlikely that a local corrupt mayor could get away with eating his populace (for example) without word eventually getting to the authorities.

As mentioned earlier, the larger and more organized a planet becomes, the more it starts to adhere to the Governors/Representative structure. So if you're looking to create a more unconventional type of government or political figure for a story, keep in mind that it would have to exist on a smaller size planet.