Politics of the United Republic

## Political parties

### Political Parties of the Solar Federation (2150s - 2240s)

The Solar Federation is home to five major political parties. The largest of these are the Social Democrats and the Federalists. The Imperial Republicans, Liberals and Whigs often join coalitions led by the larger parties or lead coalitions of minor parties. The Whigs are sometimes considered the largest of the minor parties.

#### Social Democrats

The Social Democrats tend to focus on social issues and are generally non-interventionist. They are generally socially progressive and non-interventionist Unionists. Social Democrat lawmakers are instrumental in the creation of the Interstellar Union.

#### Federalists

The Federalists tend to focus on fiscal issues and favor the power of the Federal government. Federalists hold a wide variety of views on social and Union issues. Federalist legislators are instrumental in the creation of the Solar Federation.

#### Imperial Republican

The Imperial Republicans tend to focus on interstellar affairs and align themselves with the Imperial government. They are generally socially progressive interventionists who variously align themselves with the Social Democrats to further the goals of the People and Union, and the Federalists to tackle fiscal issues. Imperial Republican leaders are instrumental as brokers in the formations of the Five Systems Alliance, Solar Federation, Interstellar Union and United Republic.

#### Liberals

The Liberals tend to focus on fiscal issues and align with the Social Democrats on social issues. They are distinguished by their interventionist views, and often join coalitions formed by the Imperial Republicans but favor the power of the Federal government.

#### Whigs

The Whigs tend to focus on social issues and align with the Federalists on fiscal issues. They hold strong socially conservative views and oppose many social programs. The Whigs are the smallest party and widely considered to hold fringe views. Members of the other four parties generally agree on social spending, disagreeing primarily on details of policy.

### Political Parties of the United Republic (2240s - 2370s)

During the period of rapid change corresponding to the formation of the Interstellar Union, there is a massive reshuffle of the political parties. During this transitional period, parties across the United Republic begin to unite under permanent coalitions within the United Congress, which evolve into new formal parties.

Many Social Democrats, unhappy with the non-interventionist views of the party, split and join with the Liberals. Others, more fiscally minded, join the Federalists.

The remaining Democrats and the Imperial Republicans initially form the Democratic Republican Coalition with Democrat and Republican Parties across the Old Worlds, which in time evolves into a proper Democratic Republican Party.

At the same time, the Liberals and Federalists undergo a similar process, joining with parties across the Old Worlds, evolving into the Liberal Federalist Party.

At the same time the more conservative Imperial Republicans are  bolstered by support from interventionist former Whigs. Their voter base is primarily on Earth and Mars.

The remaining, isolationist, Whigs are left as an even smaller minority and seen as even more fringe than before. Their voter base is primarily on Earth and Cytherea. They and a small coalition of minor parties are the only ones opposed to the declaration of war against Massifax and its Coalition of outworlds. Their opposition is easily overcome and, as evidence is released of the direct link between the Coalition and the terrorist cells responsible for the attacks triggering the crisis, their already small membership declines further.

#### Democratic Republicans

The Democratic Republicans are defined by their more confederated perspective on the Interstellar Union, wide variety of views on social and military spending, and unifying “discussion and concession” philosophy. Their approach is a moderate and centrist one. Both the democratic and republican wings of the party disagree on many issues but agree that moving forward means making compromises. They are also united in their principled belief in the sovereignty of individual systems. This makes them widely popular and they dominate politics in the United Republic.

#### Liberal Federalists

The Liberal Federalists are defined by their support for a centralized authority within the Interstellar Union. They are otherwise very similar to the Democratic Republicans. Liberal Federalists tend to live up to their name and are more liberal than most Democratic Republicans. They see more intraparty conflict and deadlocks. They are perceived as less effective, and so some voters who would otherwise vote Liberal Federalist, instead support the Democratic Republicans.

#### Imperial Republicans

The Interstellarists are a primarily Terran and Martian political party and more doggedly interventionist than the two larger parties, and strongly favor the power of the United Republic. They do not oppose the Interstellar Union, but argue that it should be less of a government and more of an arbitration body.

#### Whigs

The Whigs, more strongly socially and fiscally conservative than ever, hold strong isolationist views. They agree with the Interstellarists on the strong sovereignty of individual systems but oppose the existence of the Interstellar Union entirely.

### Political Parties of the United Republic (2370s - 2490s)

Well after the end of the Coalition Wars, a strong non-interventionist arm of the Democratic Republicans has emerged, and the Whigs have declined into a minor party. The Imperial Republicans have come to embrace the Interstellar Union as an instrument of Solar power projection. The Democratic Republicans continue to dominate the Assembly, but the Chamber is roughly balanced and the Senate vacillates regularly between the three parties.

The primary distinction now between Democratic Republicans and Liberal Federalists becomes the debate between legislative and executive authority.

### Political Parties of the United Republic (2490s - 2510s)

Over time all three major parties have lost membership to two new parties. The Devolution Party rises as a new isolationist system-sovereignty party out of the legacy of the Whigs. Old-school “social conservatism” has largely died out and the term has come to be associated with this style of devolutionist liberalism.

During this time a rising movement to fully enfranchise the larger satellites in the Solar System comes to dominate political discourse. This movement includes Democratic Republicans, Liberal Federalists, and Imperial Republicans. Similar movements across Inhabited Space link together previously separate political demographics and the omninet as a platform has led to the "galacticization" of political discourse.

### Political Parties of the United Republic (2510s - 2530s)

After the end of the Devolution Crisis, the status quo returns to that of the 25th Century's three-party system. The Devolutionists have been defeated, the survivors disgraced, and the party effectively disbanded. During this short period, galacticization continues and political parties across the Union begin to form coalitions and associate with the major parties of the United Republic. The Democratic Republicans continue to champion legislative authority, while Liberal Federalists tend to favor the executive.

### Political Parties of the Interstellar Union (2530s - 2550s)

Parties across Inhabited Space have begun to unite and while many localized parties still exist, the majority are aligned within an emergent galactic political system.

The Imperial Republicans enter a period of decline as imperial republican ideas of liberal expansionism enter the mainstream of both the Democratic Republicans and Liberal Federalists. A coalition of labor- and system-aligned parties, including most remaining Imperial Republicans, reforms the Party of Social Democrats.

#### Democratic Republicans

The Democratic Republic Party first and foremost champions the power of the Congress as the representatives of the worlds. The Democratic Republicans are confederalists, wary of both centralized executive authority and devolved sovereignty of systems. Democratic Republican power bases are primarily in smaller systems.

#### Liberal Federalists

The Liberal Federalist Party believes in a strong central executive as essential to the efficient function of the modern Union. They believe in a strong federalist system of checks and balances. Liberal Federalists are most powerful in heavily populated systems.

#### Social Democrats

The Party of Social Democrats is defined by its alignment with labor and community organizations. The Social Democrats are most heavily focused on social issues. They are vocally expansionist as a means for increasing access to social programs and internal infrastructure investments.