Political Institutions of the United Commonwealth
What is the job of Goverment, you ask. Personally, I would say order, stability, and making sure we're all still alive the next day, month, year, and decade.The United Commonwealth, is, to say the least, a large, unwieldy, and less than fully efficient organisation. Of course, the task of coordinating the administrative and executive affairs of a transnational government,operating across 12 entire Worlds, while simultaneously working with, or more cynically playing with and managing the whims of, national governments within and without is quite a taxing one, and relies on a great deal of personnel and teamwork, so it does make some sense that there might be inefficiencies. Seeing as the United Commonwealth is still generally a bulwark of democracy in the 12 Worlds, its political system is designed to ensure as much democratic control as possible. Even then, there are simply so many things that need to be done, that it is practically impossible, and inadvisable, to have everyone doing it go through the process of elections and political appointments.
Institutions of the United Commonwealth
Guiding Policy making
-The Council of Nations
"I find that it is rather difficult to convince people who consider themselves the most important people in their respective nations to act as little more than guides and observers on the international stage."The Council of Nations, informally referred to as the Chief Council, is generally regarded as the main guiding body of the United Commonwealth. Comprised of the elected leaders of the Member states of the U.C., the Council of Nations, the body meets every two months, where it "sets the agenda" of the U.C. This includes generating the broad aims and restrictions that the rest of the United Commonwealth uses to decide what to do. Examples include the prioritisation of humanitarian aid in diplomacy and foreign affairs, or support for a decrease or increase in military strength. The Council of Nations also takes control over strategic and crisis decisions, which is most obviously seen during war time, where it outlines the broad political plans and specific rules for engagement for achieving victory, which are then carried out by the Armed Forces. It also has the power over certain appointments, such as over the Chairperson of the Council of Nations, and proposes candidates to be the Chief Commissioner of the Commission of the United Commonwealth, as well as providing candidates to fill in the rest of their Commission, all subject to Parliamentary approval. The Council of Nations also has the responsibility of overseeing cases when a nation outvoted int the Council of Ministers wishes to appeal to the Council of Nations to overturn that ruling. This is not always successful, and the nation in question can still be overruled.
Legislative Power
-The Parliament of the United Commonwealth
"You bloody try and get 2,000 politicians who hate each others guts to agree on quite literally anything for long enough to pass a law, and see how far you get."The Parliament of the United Commonwealth, shortened often to just Parliament, is the primary Legislative body of the United Commonwealth. This body is made up of representatives elected directly by the citizens of nations within the United Commonwealth, over 2,000 of them in total, and shares budgetary and legislative powers with the Council of Ministers. The Parliament, headed by the Chief Minister, is the only directly elected body in the United Commonwealth itself and, owing to its continuously growing powers, likely the most powerful democratic assembly in the 12 Worlds.
-The Council of Ministers
"What the HELL is even the point of having a multi-national government, if national Ministers KEEP FUCKING STALLING IT!"The Council of Ministers is the body of the United Commonwealth comprised of the senior members of the governments of member states of the United Commonwealth. The position as Chair of this body ihas to unanimously decided from among the U.C. member states by the Council of Nations. This body shares legislative and budgetary approval powers with Parliament, and holds minor executive power. The Council of Ministers meet in specific configurations for specific topics, such as the Foreign Affairs Council, the Economic Affairs Council, the Armed Forces Council, and others. Certain specific configurations of the Council have oversight of their respective fields, and vote on legislation relevant to that field.
Executive Power
-The Commission of the United Commonwealth
"The three articles of Commission faith: it takes longer to do things quickly; it's more expensive to do them cheaply; it's more democratic to do them in secret."The Commission of the United Commonwealth, often shortened to the Commission, is the main executive institution of the United Commonwealth, and is in charge of both the initiation and implementation of legislation approved by the Council of Ministers and Parliament. Led primarily by the Chief Commissioner, they are selected by the Council of Nations, are offered candidates to to appoint as the Commissioners, and is then interviewed alongside their Commissioners by relevant Parliamentary committees, before getting approved. Once in office, individual Commissioners take on the portfolios given to them by the Chief Commissioner before entering office. These Portfolios are made up of Directorates-General and independent Directorates, headed by Directors-General and Directors. Individual Commissioner's Portfolio's can consist of multiple such entities, alongside a host of other relevant agencies.
-Executive powers of the Council of Nations, and the Council of Ministers
In wartime, the two councils are given significant powers over almost all aspects of government related to defense, with Parliamentary oversight being relegated to voting on whether or not to continue the state of war. In such times, the Councils can order everything from the launching of major offensives and invasions to the establishment of blockades to engaging in treaties with other nations, with the carrying out of these instructions being conducted by the Commission's relevant sections. More conventional executive powers of the Council of Nations include its control over appointments to offices such as the Commissioners and the President and Vice-Presidents of the Bank of the United Commonwealth.Judicial Power
-The Court of Justice of the United Commonwealth
"Damn, I wanna get one of those wigs."The Commonwealth Court of Justice is the Judicial Branch and Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth. Comprised of judges representing each member nation, one per country, the Court's job is to interpret the laws of the United Commonwealth. The Court of Justice does not oversee criminal cases, which are the purview of national courts, but only adjudicates on the actions undertaken by other Institutions, and enforces compliance with U.C. law by nations and the rest of the Institutions.
Currency and Finance
-The Bank of the United Commonwealth
"Look, unless you want to go out there and explain to a very angry investigatory committee why unemployment just went up 0.3% again, just let them do their jobs"The Bank of the United Commonwealth is the Central Bank of the U.C., the main coordinating agency for the United Commonwealth Financial Community, the maker of most financial policy within the United Commonwealth and particularly for the nations that use the U.C. Cheque as their currency, the administrator of the foreign reserves of most U.C. national central banks, engages in foreign currency exchanges, and generally runs and helps decide the entire financial system of the United Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Bank, as it is informally referred to as, is headed by the Governing Board of the Bank of the United Commonwealth, which sets the financial policies, which are then enforced by the Executive Committee of the Bank. The Executive Committee is comprised of the President of the Bank of the U.C., the Vice-President, and 6 other individuals, who are all appointed by the Council of Nations. The Governing Board is made up of a combination of all the members of the Executive Committee, as well as the chiefs of the national central banks of the U.C.'s member states. This body sets long term financial policy, using and giving advice from and to Parliament and the Financial and Currency Council of the Council of Ministers.
Auditory Power
-The Board of Auditors of the United Commonwealth
"If we could harness the fear that the Auditors create in the hearts and minds of the average senior public servant, and weaponise it against our enemies, we would never lose, or even have to fight, another war ever again."The Board of Auditors of the United Commonwealth has the main and unenviable duty of keeping track of every last Cheque and cent allocated to the annual Budget of the U.C., as well as every last Sovereign, Crown, Mark and Lira spent, and makes sure that all those trillions are spent towards what they were actually meant to be spent on, and not in some unscrupulous bureaucrats pockets. The Board consists of one representative from every nation within the United Commonwealth, and are specifically chosen for there independence and reliability. They issue annual reports detailing the entirety of all spending within the United Commonwealth, give advice and proposals on anti-fraud and anti-corruption policies that could be implemented, and assist Parliament in judging the Commissions use of funding.
Summary
The United Commonwealth is quite simply the largest political entity, by land area, population and economic size, in the recorded history of the 12 Worlds. This fact should go some way to explain the other fact, that even the smaller agencies have more employees than smaller sovereign nations have population. While it is true that mistakes occur, they are often fixed. While greed does spring up, it is stopped. While there will always be ways for the United Commonwealth to be freer, more equitable and more humane, the very fact that the push for such freedom is allowed to happen unimpeded is, especially when measured against much of the rest of the 12 Worlds, testament to just how special the United Commonwealth is.
One from All
Founding Date
0. A.S.
Type
Government, Leadership
Capital
Government System
Democracy, Parliamentary
Power Structure
Transnational government
Economic System
Market economy
Past Government Service
It is not uncommon for National and Local politicians to make the jump to United Commonwealth service, be they as members of Parliament or as Civil Servants. While the experience can and to their credentials, some consider this to be little more than failed politicians desperately finding somewhere they can be relevant.
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I have to say that it reminded me a lot of European law now... except that the UC seems to be stronger and works properly. I hope. No, seriously, this reads like something that could happen in RL, adapted a bit to the realities of your world. Not so much in this article now, but for instance the Inquisition or The Occult Defence Directorate. All in all, it's a really well-done article on a topic that I should also pay a little more attention to.
Thanks for reading, liking and commenting! It really means lot. I'm not surprised it reminds you of Europe, a lot if it took inspiration from the closest real life thing I could think of, the EU. Of course, as you said, adapted to the more unique realities of the 12 Worlds. Thanks for nice words, and yes, one can never put in too much effort into the great and powerful political organisations of one's World.