Alliance of Nations

 
Welcome to Solaris, traveller! This is a slower-than-light science fantasy set in our own solar system.
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Founded at the turn of the decillium, the Alliance of Nations has strengthened the bonds between the planets and moons of Sol. Made up of over two thousand nations across the Sol System, the Alliance strives for a world of peace and prosperity.   The Alliance of Nations is arguably the most powerful organization in the entirety of Sol, but many find them inefficient at weilding and utilizing the power at their disposal. The Alliance's ability of mediation was tested and found wanting during Catamite Wars, and they were heavily criticized for their slow response during the Scorching of Mercury. Their resolution of disarmament was broken when the Interplanetary Solar Defence Council was given dispensation to create the forces and firepower necessary to hold the frontline at Penumbra.   Shepherding a system towards peace is a tall order, and many question whether the Alliance of Nations is truly up to the task.

Structure

 

Principal Organs

The main constitutional bodies of the Alliance of Nations are the Assembly and the Council, which are both supported by the Secretariat. The Alliance Assembly is bound to yearly sessions, while a seat at the Council requires at least one representative to always be present at the headquarters in case of emergency meetings.
 
Secretariat
Administrative and Advisory  
  • Handles day-to-day administrative duties, such as: organizing conferences and preparing the agenda; writing reports, preparing the budget, and so on.
  • Coordinates the commissions and committees.
  • A total staff of about two hundred thousand.
Alliance Assembly
Deliberative Assembly  
  • Forum for interplanetary & intergovernmental debate.
  • Discusses and proposes amendments to legislation.
  • Admits new members to the Alliance of Nations
  • Elects the Secretary-General; the non-permanent members of the Alliance Council; and the judges of the Sol Tribunal.
  • Each nation has one vote.
Alliance Council
Executive Body  

 
  • Takes the lead on declaring threats to international peace and security.
  • May adopt compulsory resolutions or call for sanctions provided the vote is unanimous.
  • Has 24 members, 8 permanent and 16 elected.
 

Auxiliary Organs

The Auxiliary Organs are no less important. Many of them are seperate entites and organizations who get their charter from the Alliance of Nations. The Sol Tribunal predates the Alliance of Nations, but had it's jurisdiction greatly expanded.
 
Sol Tribunal
Interplanetary Tribunal Court of Justice  
  • Settles issues between member nations and gives advisory council.
  • Judges are elected by the Assembly.
Associated Agencies
Autonomous Organizations  
  • Autonomous organizations given charter by the Alliance of Nations.
Committees and Commissions
Specialized Subsidiaries  
 
A great body stands before me, yet where is its soul? You have decided our misery is the price of peace. What is peace to starving men? What is peace when a mother loses her child to entirely preventable disease? What is peace when our homes are taken from us? How dare you decide for us what indignities we must suffer.
— Representative of Vesta

Current Issues

Asteroid Belt

The recent expansion into the Asteroid Belt has been controversial. Living conditions are poor, and labour abuses are frequently a concern. The Alliance of Nations is collaborating with both Mars Abroad and the Jovian Orbital Ministry to investigate these abuses and improve living conditions.

Disarmament

Disarmament has been one of the major goals of the Alliance of Nations. The Alliance works towards banning the creation, testing of, and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and works with governments to safely disassemble what exists. Exceptions have been granted to the Sentinel programme, and weapons contracted by and for the ISDC.

Piracy

The Alliance combats piracy in all forms, organizing efforts to not only apprehend pirates across the Sol System but also attack the root causes of such criminal activity. Digital piracy is another focus. Yggdrasil is a common method of stealing digital goods and is a priority target.

Refugees

Vulnerable populations fleeing war, natural disasters, and political persecution deserve protection. The Alliance provides a framework to help refugees in reaching a safe destination, as well as directly supplying temporary aid for the newly displaced.

Solar Invasion

The Alliance of Nations swiftly responded to the Scorching of Mercury with the creation of the Interplanetary Solar Defense Council. With interplanetary collaboration we have been able to hold a firm frontline at Mercury, and contain the theatre of war.

Synthetic Personhood

As more synthetic life passes the turing tests, it is time for the System to acknowledge our new compatriots. Life, even synthetic, cannot be owned. Together with the Martian Synthetic Society, we are working to secure access to turing tests systemwide so synthetics are given a change to prove their personhood.

History

 

Background

It was not by accident that the Alliance of Nations was founded on the dawn of the twenty-second decillium. Not only was it an auspicious date, but the foundation of the Alliance itself proved it's capabilities as an interplanetary organizer. The work to create the Alliance of Nation began in full almost a decade earlier.   An organization known as the Alliance for Peace drafted the plans for the Alliance of Nations. The Alliance for Peace was a gentlefolks gathering of peace activists and statesmen who believed in the internationalist cause. They established chapters across the Sol System to promote the idea.  
We've stood vigilant against the threats from outside our system while these effete altruists bask in the sun. Out here, we have responsibilities. Out here, we know the meaning of words like duty, honor, and sacrifice. We will not cower simply because it offends their delicate sensibilities.
— Warlord Elisheva
 

Complications

The Alliance for Peace was poorly received in the Outer World. The Jovian Senate and the Empire of Neptune saw the Alliance as thinly veiled attempt to promote the hegemony of the Inner World. The scale and political webs of the Outer World were much more complicated, and conflict more common. Joining a supposed Alliance of Nations meant accepting their authority and resolutions. The outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, who were and are dedicated to the defense of the system against threats from the Oort Cloud, were concerned that the resolutions towards demilitarization would weaken the Sentinel program.
 

Resolution

Convincing the Outer World was not an easy project. The Alliance for Peace had an early ally among the merchant princes in Prince Gatt Divus-Piceni. Merchant Prince Divus-Piceni was himself an altruist, but appealed to his fellow Saturnian princes on an economic basis rather than a altruistic one. He argued that the Alliance of Nations would be perfect way to break the Mercurian monopoly on inner markets, as well as having a greater say in interplanetary taxes and tariffs. With the Merchant Princes on board, the Alliance for Peace was able to bring the leaders of the Uranian fleet, and representatives of the Empire of Neptune in for private talks. With concessions made in their favour, such allowing the Empire to be represented as a collection of nations to strengthen their voice in the Assembly, promising to not just allow but to support the Sentinel program, and more, they were able to secure their participation.   This left only Jupiter standing outside of the Alliance. With all the other planets already represented by at least one nation, the Alliance for Peace was able to switch tactics. Loose lips let slip that there were plans of accepting one of the Jovian moons as a representative for the planet. Talks opened with the Jovian senate not long after, and their participation was secured with far fewer concessions.

Related Articles

Alliance of Nations
Related Organizations Predecessors ( Alliance for Peace ) · Sub-Organizations ( Interplanetary Solar Defence Council )
Related Characters Fritz Fram · Gatt Divus-Piceni · Sofi Casabella
A forum for resolutions, A court for justice without borders, to these ends we agree to the covenant of the Alliance of Nations
— Preamble
Alternative Names
The Alliance
Predecessor Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Notice: This article is a stub. It may be expanded later!


Cover image: Emblem of the Alliance of Nations by Annie Stein
Character flag image: Emblem of the Alliance of Nations by Annie Stein

Comments

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Jul 20, 2023 21:25 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

Laughing at how they got Jupiter to join.   This is such a lovely in depth article, and I love the thought you've put into it all. I really like the representation of the different seats on the Alliance Council. :) AND THE LOGO.

Emy x
Explore Etrea
Jul 21, 2023 06:34 by Annie Stein

Thank you, I started working on this article as soon as we heard the prompts. It took a lot of research and thought about how to work this idea into Solaris. For a while I wasn't sure I would finish it in time!

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Jul 26, 2023 00:58 by Reanna R

This is so cool! I love the detail in the structure of the Alliance and the challenges it faces, and the quotes sprinkled throughout added a bunch of depth to the reality of the article.

May your worldbuilding hammer always fall true! Also, check out the world of the Skydwellers for lots of aerial adventures.
Jul 28, 2023 11:16 by Annie Stein

Thank you!

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Jul 26, 2023 17:57 by Marjorie Ariel

Isn't that just the problem for organizations like this? The bigger they get, the the more power they have, and yet, the harder it can be to get things done.

Jul 28, 2023 11:19 by Annie Stein

Yes, I think so. Bureaucracy can bog you down, but on the other hand I think there should be a lot of checks on this level of power. It's a difficult balance to strike!

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Aug 2, 2023 01:29 by Rayla

Oooh, popped in for the summer camp reading challenge, gotta say, this is one of the prettiest articles I've seen on world anvil! I love how different this feels from the sci-fi genre, it's such an interesting concept for a world, and you are incredibly talented at displaying it! I think you've got a perfect balance between length, and succinctness. definitely going to follow this!   And as the other person said, I'm not sure how you've done the Alliance council thingy, but it's awesome!

Aug 5, 2023 06:39 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much! Ahh, I don't even know what to say. I'm very glad it works well.   As for the Alliance council, it's made with a mix of tooltips, font-awesome icons and colours.

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Aug 3, 2023 20:49 by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

Great work presenting this complex organisation! This is a really clear and pretty article :D And I really loved seeing how they managed to convince everyone to join in with different tactics XD

To see what I am up to: my Summer Camp 2024.
Aug 5, 2023 06:40 by Annie Stein

Thank you! I took a lot of notes from how the UN's own homepage and wikipedia article presented the same information, especially with like, the part of how the organization is structured.

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Aug 12, 2023 05:06 by Chips Dubbo

My favourite part has to be the structure section! It's very well done, especially the Alliance Council chart.

Why not come visit the fantasy realms of Faerûn? Or our spacefaring future in the Milky Way?
Aug 18, 2023 08:28 by Annie Stein

Thank you! I stand on the shoulders of giants ( wikipedia's formatting of the same three branches of the UN ).

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Aug 25, 2023 09:06 by Polina "Line" Arteev

You always do such an excellent job of organizing information in your articles! And, yes, I did spend a long time hovering the council bubbles because they excited my brain. A lot of the time, laying out the information for organization structures just shuts my brain down. But you've made it pretty engaging here :)


Seek a new dawn, in Malkora!
Craft a bright new world, in Ayun Sovos!
The Feral Sovereign returns for Summer Camp 2024!
Aug 25, 2023 09:15 by Annie Stein

Thank you! It shut my brain down too quite a few times, I started this article on the 1st day of Summercamp, and didn't finish until the 20th. It was a lot of trial and error figuring out what I needed to make it all come together.

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!