Libertarian Socialist Federation

*This article is currently under construction. Information may change as the article is updated.*

* Socialist Workers Front
* COMECON

**Military Pact - Level not Disclosed**

The **Libertarian Socialist Federation (LSF)** is an anti-authoritarian, directly democratic, horizontalist and anti-capitalist alliance, primarily featuring Pink team members. It is the oldest surviving leftist alliance on Planet Bob, and is also the oldest surviving Pink Team alliance. The LSF has historically been a more militant leftist alliance

The LSF has traditionally been the home of many of CyberNations' Anarchists and Libertarian Marxists, although the alliance is open to any willing to work within a Libertarian Socialist framework. The early membership of the Federation primarily consisted of two blocs - more collectivist Anarcho-Communists on one end, and mutualists and individualist left libertarians comprising on the other. Over time, authoritarian socialists, such as Marxists and Trotskyists began to comprise a larger section of the membership joining the alliance, though this did not impact the Federation's Libertarian structure. Relations with other leftist alliances have varied in the past, from the outright opposition and antagonism between the LSF and the Socialistic Empire, to excellent relations with other leftist alliances, such as The International, and the former Communist Party of CyberNations. The Federation's closest ties are with the Socialist Workers Front, with a long shared history, and more recently the Union of Communist Republics. The LSF was a founding member of the Die Linke bloc, and RED ALERT alongside these alliances.

## History

### Origins

The Federation was officially founded on May Day 2006, after the collapse of the International Coalition of Socialist Nations, by former member Haraldur. His charter put forth a highly democratic structure, with all decisions made by all the delegates in the alliance, making it arguably the most democratic alliance in CyberNations. The alliance attracted both former ICSN members, as well as other socialist nations into its ranks. The Federation ballooned to over 150 members at its peak in 2007, but after a series of brutal early wars, its numbers declined. The LSF fought in the First Great War, waging an anti-imperialist war against the New Pacific Order and The New Polar Order. Just a few months later, they unsuccessfully supported the International Communist Party in the Maroon War, a war waged to support ICP's move to the Maroon team. In March 2007, Nordreich launched a surprise attack on the Federation in retaliation for sponsoring antifascist actions. The slow response of the LSF's allies arguably contributed to their surrender to Nordreich's coalition. LSF had garnered a reputation as a militant alliance during this time.

### The War of Resistance

In October 2007, a rogue LSF nation launched nuclear weapons against the Kaiser of Norden Verein (a successor state to the first Nordreich). Although the attacker was expelled and ZI'd by the Federation, the Norden government claimed that the attack was planned, showing forum logs of LSF members ostensibly supporting the attack on Reich Zealand. Norden Verein, along with allies Nueva Vida and the Fellowship of Elite Allied Republics, declared war on the Federation. No peace terms were offered, as Norden Verein sought to dismantle the LSF through its war. The state of perma-war decimated the membership, with many forced into peace mode to wait out the conflict. The war dragged on for over 200 days, with the Federation refusing to disband. At this point in the war, most hostilities had ceased as LSF nations took refuge in peace mode. By mid 2008, a combination of internal and external crises (including the Fall Gerechtigkeit scandal, that saw the cancellation of nearly all their treaties, and their involvement in the Continuum War) left Norden Verein politically isolated. In June, the government of Nueva Vida and the Communist Party of Cybernations negotiated a surrender agreement to the Federation. Among the terms were forced disarmament, massive technology reparations, and most notably, reducing the Federation to a protectorate of the Communist Party of Cybernations. The Kaiser of Norden Verein protested the signing of a peace deal excluding one of the active combatants in the war, but NoV itself would disband within the following weeks. By the end of the war, only 14 members remained on the LSF AA.

### Reform and Reconstruction

These early wars, and the many defeats that came with them, demonstrated the need to many members for a more formalized constitutional order. Indeed, many of the Federation's early conflicts were consequences of the loose nature of the original charter, which allowed nations to act completely independently of the Federation while on its AA. Palachinov drafted the constitution in early November 2007. The draft went through a lengthy period of discussion and revision as a result of the Resistance War and the LSF Forum hack. The fallout of the hack caused the constitution discussions to remain tabled until later in 2008. On May 29, 2008 the Delegates Congress approved the new constitution. The first elections for the newly created Coordinator offices were held. The new constitution introduced an elective government in the form of the Coordinators, but these officers hold no legal authority over their fellow members.

## Political Structure

Under the original Charter, the Federation was an entirely stateless free association of communes. All decisions were made by unanimous democratic consensus, and no formal leadership positions existed. This anarchist structure was appealing to many socialist nations across the leftist spectrum, allowing the LSF to become the largest socialist alliance at its peak. This also caused the young Federation to be overwhelmed with diplomatic crises, having a reputation for encouraging rouge attacks. This culminated in the Liberation War, which led to the near destruction of the LSF and the temporary loss of its independence. During the final stages of the war, the remaining members of the Federation ratified a Constitution.

With the Constitution, the Federation attempted to introduce formalized mechanisms of decision making while retaining its original founding values. The Delegates Council, consisting of all member states and communes, was introduced as the first form of government in the LSF, with the power to make decisions by majority vote. To assist in the administration of alliance affairs, the Constitution also introduced the Co-ordinators. Co-ordinators are elected directly by the Delegates Council, and provide guidance to the Council on matters of foreign and internal affairs, security and defense, and economics. The Council also elects a Public Announcer, or Puba, to make announcements to the Open World Forum on its behalf. These Co-ordinators and the Puba are not granted any state authority, and may only advise the Federation, as all power belongs to the Delegates Council.

## Flag

The Flag of the LSF is a black banner with the Black Guards emblem, the skull-and-swords on a red star, in the canton. The black color and the historical pirate emblem represent the Federation's anarchist traditions. The red star represents socialism.

It was adapted from an earlier version, which featured the text "Libertarian Socialist Federation" and "Black Guards"