United Taeran Democratic Republic

The **United Taeran Democratic Republic** (most commonly abbreviated as the **UR**, but also as the **UTDR** or **TR**) is a large interstellar nation-state located primarily in and comprising a majority of quadrant 2. Consisting almost solely of ghar'taeran peoples, it is one of the two superpowers of RG-228, the other being the Confederation. Among citizens of the Confederation and its affiliated states, it is often pejoratively referred to as the *United Hegemony*.

## Government

The central government is primarily operated by the United Senate, composed of several tens of thousands of democratically-elected representatives from across the country. The Senate creates and passes laws and handles most domestic affairs in the UR.

The UR also has a democratically-elected king/queen known as the *autarch*. The autarch mostly serves as a symbolic figure of the country's might and glory, but they still hold an extreme amount of power, more so than any other individual being across RG-228. They are still confined by a constitution, though, which is upheld by the Senate. They serve for life but can resign, and election campaigns begin almost immediately after. Also, since the title lasts for life, the autarch is forbidden to use life extension technology to extend their reign.

The UR is composed of 166 primary divisions, each with local governments but are still largely under the control of the central government. Each primary division can be composed of smaller subdivisions.

## Military

The Taeran Armed Forces are the military forces of the TR. Though composed several specialized branches, the two most prominent are the Space Command and the Air Command. With around one billion military personnel, it is the largest military in RG-228.

## Population

The population of the UR is comprised almost exclusively of ghar'taerans and their offshoots. A small fraction is composed of AIs and samacs, and an even smaller fraction is composed of aliens of non-Eicheron origin. It is believed that no alien peoples whos species are part of the Confederation reside here.

## History

### Collapse of the Eicheron Volume

The TR was founded as the successor state to the Eicheron Volume. In the years after the Seventy Despairs, continued political and social turmoil on Eicheron, the capital of the Eicheron Volume and the homeworld of the ghar'taera, resulted in the planet dividing into competing factions. In 370 IE, the conflict between these factions culminated into the Cobalt War, a nuclear conflict that rendered Eicheron unable to support ghar'taeran life.

The collapse of Eicheron society wreaked havoc among the ghar'taeran colonies and worlds. The Eicheron Volume dissolved and split into smaller states. Billions of refugees fleeing Eicheron put major stress on their economies and societies.

### Union of Ghar'Taeran States

Despite gaining independence, the initial collapse of the Eicheron Volume left most of the states economically crippled, and so sought some form of unity. In 384 IE, the Union of Ghar'Taeran States was founded as an international organization to aid in reconstruction.

#### United Social Party

The Union was composed of many political parties and small factions, each wanting to shape the future of the ghar'taera in their image. The United Social Party is the most notable example. A left-wing nationalist organization, the USP noticed that the system of economic reconstruction that was being undergone was beginning to result in wealth inequality, and continuing this system would result in conflict like that of the Cobalt War, resulting in a loop of war and destruction. To them, the solution was to unify the ghar'taeran states under a single socialist government.

### Ghar'Taeran Socialist Revolution

The United Socialist Party began to utilize propaganda and demagogue techniques to gain public support. The USP began to quickly grow and became the third largest party in The Union. The other parties formed a coalition in an attempt to counteract the USP, resulting in heavy political polarization and rioting. In 389, these riots culminated into a violent revolution, won by the USP and its supporters. The USP ousted the other parties, forcefully unified the remaining states, and declared itself the United Taeran Democratic Republic.