American Union Government
The American Union is a Representative Republic with power concentrated in the hands of those with both the political capital and actual-capital to hold office. While the member states and territories have wide freedom to elect their representatives, the American Union's rules heavily favor certain member states leading to power being concentrated in the hands of the few.
This in turn leads to a political system where change is infrequent but sudden when it does come. The American Union's policies and priorities swinging wildly when new administrations come to power.
"Cash Rules Everything Around Me"
This in turn leads to a political system where change is infrequent but sudden when it does come. The American Union's policies and priorities swinging wildly when new administrations come to power.
"Cash Rules Everything Around Me"
-Wu Tang Clan
The Branches of Government
The American Union largely grew out of the need for the North American Nations to exert more influence over its sphere of control. It is no surprise that the organization that was created to carry out this mission was built using the existing building blocks of state that were available at the time.
The Senate
The Senate is responsible for the legislative side of the American Union. The basic rules are simple, each senator gets a vote on legislation brought to the floor, and legislation requires only a majority vote to pass.
However there are a number of rules regarding how legislation is brought up in the chamber for a vote, and even more rules regarding how those rules are governed.
Senators themselves are appointed by the member states of the American Union. Each member state has the right to select its senators how it sees fit. This chamber is largely dominated by the major North American political parties who tend to vote together in major blocks. However the smaller states, typically those in Latin America, tend to have outside influence by appointing 'super senators', individuals who get to cast all the senate votes for their state. Member states are free to appoint senators however they see fit, with some nations choosing to let their elected leaders appoint senators while others allow for a direct vote for their representatives.
Corruption and a desire to maintain power generally make the Senate extremely slow to act on anything.
The Executive
The Executive branch is headed by a president chosen by a vote cast by the various member states and territories with member states getting a number of votes equal to their population, with the votes cast based on how the local government choses to cast them. Territories also can cast votes based on population, but each vote only counts for 1/4th of the vote from a member state.
Over the years the idea of what constitutes 'an individual' as regards to the president of the American Union has been greatly expanded. Elections are now for a collective individual, a single person that is responsible for handling executive functions how they see fit including the specifics of how the executive branch is managed such as positions, chain of succession, and method of appointing members to existing government institutions. This has opened the door for presidents to be anything from cunning statesmen to reality TV stars who represent a crew, corperate body, or even AI that handles the actual workings of government behind the scenes.
The Judicial
Judges on this level of American Union typically only handle cases that involve issues that arise between nations, states, or territories. They are appointed by the Senate and Executive branches of government and generally have life-time appointments to the court, however the existing court Justices have the option of simply ignoring appointments they see as unfit.
Administrations
Daviros Administration 2304-2316
Progress Party
The Daviros Administration appeared to show up at the right time with just the right initial policies to ride the wave of success brought into the American Union largely through technology development coming out of the Hawking System. While they did contribute much to the success of the Union in the early years they soon found themselves in over their heads. Instead of trying to continue to invest in high performing areas of the Union, the administration doubled down on authoritarian tendencies which would turn people against them over time. The administration would hold on for a long time, riding on its initial success until its eventual loss to the Ralston Administration in 2316
Ralston Administration 2316-2320
Freedom Party
Riding into power on a wave of antigovernmental sentiment and discontent with the status-quo, the Ralston administration promised great new freedoms for the citizens of the American Union. Emilio Ralston would lead the American Freedom party to majorities in The Senate. Ralston would prove to be a better leader in social media than in reality, seeing several large projects fail to complete, legislation being bogged down in the senate despite having control, and a series of high profile diplomatic failures resulting in the New Years Revolution and then the battle of Reiss. This would give the Ralston Administration the first high profile defeat of American Union forces in recent memory and ensure that their approval rating dropped more than 20 points going into the 2320 elections.
Lewis Administration 2320-Present
Progress Party
The loss of the 6th fleet would allow Tamara Lewis to position herself as the competent choice for righting the missteps of the previous administration. Her claim of an urgent need to help restore the military's capability seemed to resonate with voters who were dissatisfied with the loss of face from military operations in the Hawking System. While trying to appear outwardly harmless, the Lewis Administration would use the conflict with the Magnetic Assembly as cover for fulfilling their own agenda of protecting and expanding the interests of the American Union.
Political Stability
The Union exists in state of stable political instability, lurching from one crisis to another, and from one ruling party to another with some regularity every 4-10 years. Constant churn and political attacks over hundreds of years have allowed the American Union to develop institutions of government that are very resilient to attack.
There is a lot of debate over if this political structure is an asset or a liability. There are many that would prefer a more streamlined, dictatorial governmental form within the Union and claim that the current system is inefficient. There are also many more who consider the ability for the government to withstand the constant handover of power as one of the defining reasons for the longevity for the American Union itself.
As of 2319, the American Union had managed to remain intact, steadily adding new nations, planets, and space-colonies. It had survived unrest and flair-ups with some member states approaching the verge of leaving or even temporarily being 'sanctioned' by the federal level of government until order could be restored. The Union's greatest challenge would come in 2320 with the New Years Revolution, when the Hawking System would become the first to successfully break away and completely expel Union forces.
There is a lot of debate over if this political structure is an asset or a liability. There are many that would prefer a more streamlined, dictatorial governmental form within the Union and claim that the current system is inefficient. There are also many more who consider the ability for the government to withstand the constant handover of power as one of the defining reasons for the longevity for the American Union itself.
As of 2319, the American Union had managed to remain intact, steadily adding new nations, planets, and space-colonies. It had survived unrest and flair-ups with some member states approaching the verge of leaving or even temporarily being 'sanctioned' by the federal level of government until order could be restored. The Union's greatest challenge would come in 2320 with the New Years Revolution, when the Hawking System would become the first to successfully break away and completely expel Union forces.
Political Corruption
While bribery is illegal within the American Union, there are many other mechanisms with which influence can be bought and sold. While politicians do need to hold some amount of good will, the political parties maintain powerful propaganda arms that need to maintain good ties to tech and media giants as well as a consistent flow of cash. This allows them to pass legislation, but more importantly it requires cooperate money to continue to operate which ensures that most are beholden to their major donors.