Civil Affairs Committee

### History and Description

The Civil Affairs Committee(CAC) forms the civilian wing of government of the Free State of Vestrines, formed in 1921 after The Consolidation, made up largely of local representatives of the colony that did not join the Aeduai evacuation. The CAC houses 50 members who make up the Committee, elected through district based elections, both industrial and civilian. With some workers getting 2 votes as a result.

Ever since the 20s, the CAC has been in charge of civil matters of Marinoit, dealing with such matters as food distribution and work compensation. However, in 1941, Marinoit went through a period of droughts, ruining the harvest for years and depleting the food stockpiles of the city. After the CAC failed to contain the food riots and the populace set upon the empty warehouses, the 5th Cavalry Corps stepped in, enforcing martial law and taking over many of the previous duties of the CAC which in their eyes had proven to be too weak for the harsh world they found themselves in. This soft coup is known as "The Salvation" by the military, but as "The End of Freedom" by members of the CAC.

Following The Salvation, the military formed it's own government comprised of it's own officers, elected by the soldiers of the 5th Corps, known as the National Conservation Authority(NCA). Among other powers, the NCA would from now on get the final say on any law changes made by the CAC, getting to boot the law back to the CAC if they found issue with it, or scrapping it entirely if needed. During the leadership of Premier Davy Dassalt, however, the NCA would relinquish several of these powers. Most important of which is taking away the power of the NCA to write its own laws, when prior they could write and approve any laws they wanted without the CACs input.

Tensions between the CAC and NCA however, remain tense. The CAC finds itself at odds with the military, regardless of the topics. The Civilian administration is itself more conservative, especially in terms of religious freedom, where the military has adopted a pragmatic form of religious independence, as well as their methods of recruitment, especially among the officers, is consistently criticized for being nepotistic, whilst the NCA argues it's simply a practical solution.

In the current era, the CAC has become increasingly bitter towards the NCA, occasionally going so far as to write laws as "guidelines" to avoid having to pass them through the NCA, and instructing their enforcers and judges to enforce them as if they were laws. Despite this blatant distrust(Or in the eyes of some, rebellion), the NCA has in recent years stopped antagonizing the CAC, but without relinquishing their powers, they continue to drag the CAC as they continue to delay, adjust and remove laws as it suits them, as well as stonewalling the removal of the Draft Act(1948). Which is still a sore point for the CAC, having attempted to remove it 12 times ever since the 50s. The vote having passed 11 times to remove it, only for the NCA to deny it.

### Duties

Originally the CAC had control over all matters except military, nowadays however, the CAC only has control over "civil" matters. This means matters of religion, social freedoms, speech, civilian organization, consumer good price controls, city planning and being responsible for the construction of new housing and roads.

Despite these powers, none of the laws apply to the 5th Cavalry Corps, with the CAC's Civil Guard attempts to arrest soldiers resulting in brawls and occasional armed stand-offs between them and the 5th. Depending on the severity of breaches of CAC law, these soldier's abuses will either get begrudgingly ignored or can result in vigilante-esque hunts of particularly offending men of the 5th, which the CAC claims it has no part in.

### Parties

Whilst the CAC has a long history of agreement within its own halls, this is more of a practical alliance, as the parties that make up the CACs elected seats are often quite opposed in many matters, the only reason for their continued co-operation with one another being their anger at the NCA and their love for their country.

Parties are not exactly "Political Parties" as they existed in the Aeduai mainland, often being described as "Rivers of thought", or simply "Rivers"(This name a result of the rejection of Aeduai thought). And because of this, these rivers often have fluctuating numbers of members as anyone can leave or join a river whenever they wish. However, over the years, several rivers have arisen. Most ideological, some out of self-interest. Due to the nature of these rivers, most of them are made up of "affiliates", these are members of the CAC who have aligned themselves with the river, but haven't bound themselves to the river officially. proper members of a river however often operate as a group, with most officials instead campaigning for themselves. River size is ordered in number of members, rather than affiliates.

#### River of Vestrines Preservation

The RVP is made up out of 24 affiliates, 16 of which are members, making it the largest river in the CAC. It is led by Constantin Dassalt

The RVP believes is the embodiment of mainstream Vestrinian thought ever since The Consolidation. This river was the main driving force behind the initial secession from Aeduai, and initially was made up out of many of the administrative clerks that lived in Marinoit before Vestrines became its own state. Due to this, they spearheaded the religious and linguistic reforms we all know and love today.

In the current times, the RVP is the only river still on speaking terms with the NCA, as one of it's leaders, Premier Dany Dassalt was the primary force in regaining power for the CAC after The Salvation. Thanks to much of their voting base being the natives of the city, they most closely maintain Aeduai values of equality, being a "socialist" movement in much of the same sense as the old homeland was. They believe in the equal treatment of workers, mainly in the form of compensation. But just like their Aeduai originators, they are also traditional, being the most opposed to "heretical" religions and the idea of allowing women into the factories. (Which the NCA forcibly wrote into law in the 40s.) The majority of their voting base is poor civilians and workers in the less-important industries who feel they are being unfairly treated in comparison to the military, Electricians and Mechanics, who receive far richer compensation for their work.

#### River of Democratic Transition

The RDT is made up of 20 affiliates, 12 of which are members, the second largest river in the CAC. It is led by Manuel Roatta.

The RDT's primary concern is separation from the NCA, as they want Vestrines to be a perfectly free society. This river was formed in response to The Salvation and staunchly oppose the 5th Cavalry Corps. This river gets most of it's voters from the Civil Guard as well as from many farmers who believe their harvests are being unfairly taxed by the military.

Besides this anti-military position, the RDT is also the most liberally minded river, with them being the main proponents of religious freedom, the re-introduction of market economics and a generally less overbearing government. Despite this idealism, they do understand the situation the country finds itself in and tempers their expectations to match this. Should the standard of living and the threat of natives wane however, they may grow more bold in their demands and goals.

#### The River of the Electronics and Mechanization Society

The REMS is made up of 9 affiliates, 9 of which are members, the third largest river in the CAC. It is led by Jean-Phillipe Dior.

The REMS is a special interest group made out of the Electricians and Mechanics(These occupations require being spelled with a capital E and M by Vestrines law), whose primary concerns lay with the furthering of the lives of these two particular groups. Due to the extreme shortage of people with the skills to perform these functions, over time they have managed to demand more and more for themselves, including 3 permanent seats in the CAC, as well as their industries and housing getting their own voting districts, leading to them being the most over-represented part of the population.

Whilst primarily concerned with maintaining their lofty positions and bettering their own conditions, the REMS is also concerned with territorial expansion, not just for their own industries and living quarters, but also to gain more power through liberated cities, which would need power and mechanics to keep functioning. Due to this, the members and voters of the REMS are considered a form of "nobility" among the citizens, though their lives are many times better than most, that is only in relative terms, as even a middle-class citizen of any other nation would likely have a much more comfortable life.

#### River for Laborers and Equality

The RLE is made up of 12 affiliates, 7 of which are members, the fourth largest river in the CAC. It is led by Pierre Bessette.

The RLE is a special interest group for workers in middle industries. Most notably the munition recyclers, vehicle manufacturers and other more complex industrial operations. Before the creation of the NCA, the RLE was heavily promoted by the 5th Cavalry Corps due to their reliance on these particular industries to maintain their operations, and by the guiding hand of the military, these industries banded together as a collective, and united their voting power to secure their position in the CAC. After The Salvation, however, the NCA discontinued their investment in this river, as they did not need them to exert influence over the CAC anymore, causing the RLE to gradually change its priorities.

Over the last 40 years, the RLE's ideology has started to resemble the old dead system of "Syndicalism", which they consider the "Vestrinian Socialism", with Socialism in their eyes being a tool of the Aeduai betrayers to control the workers. Their industries are democratic in the sense that they elect their foremen, administrators and chiefs internally, with chiefs of multiple factories that are part of the same production chain voting for a "president" of their respective industries. The RLE is therefor a government within a government, and it's place in the RLE is mainly used to empower its own position, similarly to the REMS, they have a single permanent seat, held by a person elected by their various presidents. Their main concerns are with the growth of industry itself, and due to their power stemming from the factory workers themselves, in workplace safety, reasonable work hours and ethical treatment.

#### The River of Vengeance and Salvation

The RVS is made up of 6 affiliates, 3 of which are members, the smallest river in the CAC. it is led by Milo Charbonnier.

The RVS is a unique river in that it's voting base is mostly military families(Such as the wives and non-military children of soldiers of the 5th Corps) and retired soldiers. They are arguably the most extreme river in the CAC and despite their voter base being military-aligned, the members of the river dislike the NCA, seeing it as an "unpatriotic" institution that undermines the freedoms of the state. Regardless, the river is focused on many military matters and it's voters make up a large part of the militias that protect the city, which primarily continues to exist due to their support for them.

Whilst intensely revanchist, the RVS is interested in the re-institution of slavery, considering killing the natives outright to be too lenient of a punishment for the suffering they have caused the Vestrinian people, with Major General Rickshaw being a sort of figure head of the river. He was asked to lead the river, but due to being part of the 5th Corps, he denied, as to not rile up the rest of the CAC more than they already are.

The RVS is also unique in their isolationist views, which Rickshaw also did not share. They believe that Vestrines is not only the best nation in the world(a fact accepted by many) but also the only civilized one in general. The reconquest of Vestrines is therefor not the goal, but the first step in our resurgence.

### Elections

The CAC is elected through electoral districts. These districts are divided primarily along equally sized(by land area) housing zones and the slums(some parts of which happen to find themselves outside of the districts and thus can't vote), but also divided by industrial districts, these are usually made up of multiple similar industries, but this is not always possible. Some districts are unique in their size for various reasons, such as the Electrical district, which is just the singular power plant of the city.

A list of all districts can be found here(Coming later).

Military personnel may not vote in CAC elections due to their living quarters being inside the military base, which does not contain any electoral districts. Their families and retired personnel however live in districts specifically made for them and their unique background, giving those districts some of the most unbalanced election results out of any housing district. Military personnel however may be voted into a seat in the CAC, but this is historically rare and is looked down upon by most, especially after the formation of the NCA.

People that work in industry may end up being able to vote twice, once for their housing district and once for their industrial district. Due to the importance of what little industry Marinoit maintains, this unequal voting power between citizens is at least tolerated by most people.

Finally, some permanent seats may be granted by the CAC to a particular person, which is inherited by birth or has it's own unique selection system.

Should the Free State of Vestrines borders expand past it's current limits, new districts may be added, increasing the total number of possible seats in the CAC.