The Captain — Roleplayer Guild

Redimita Salis, Et Vaporem Fumi

[NAME]
The Sacrosant Empire of Durstweall

[HISTORY]

[FORM OF GOVERNMENT]
The Empire defines itself as an 'Imperial Constitutionalist State'.
[POLITICAL STATUS]
A delicate balance of power exists between the Royal House of Straud, its appointed Chancellory, and the Parliamentary Chambers. The realm's regency has proceeded smoothly for nearly half a decade without major incident; no overt power struggles, no parliamentary deadlock, and no popular revolt towards the current regime. No one appears to be interested in 'rocking the boat', so to speak. The Durstweall Civil War is still fresh in everyone's minds, despite having occured almost twenty years ago.
[POLITICAL OVERVIEW]
'One might consider the Durstweallian state as a sort of tree, in which the 'roots', as it were, the foundation upon which all day-to-day governance sits, is the Constitution of State, in which the powers of regional and national authority are enumerated, as penned by the royal house of Straud and the now defunct Durstweallian Parliament. The Constituion of State occupies a very important place within Imperial governance, where the common sailor might look to the Many Spined Prince for salvation and safe passage, the lawmaker, the politician of the realm would look to the Constitution for guidance. It is an article of logic first and foremost, a new document for a new era, which is nourished and safeguarded by the monarchy, which acts as the final interpretor of the laws set forth within it. In this regard the monarchy is not at all ceremonial in capacity, as one might find in a common mainland state, but instead occupies a central role in day-to-day governance. The Constitution of State sets forth guidelines along which the government is organized, from the duties of your local mayor to the responsibilities of the House of Straud. Also contained within are the so-called 'Common Laws' of Durstweall, such as the 'Civil Guidelines', an article pertaining to the conventions of inheritance, naming, and civic duties of the realm's nobility and royalty, or the 'Militant Guidelines', which, as the name would imply, pertain to common military law, from the conduct of the infantry man to guidelines along which the admiralty is to operate. The authors of the Constitution quite intentionally did away with any vagueities, but left it in the power of the monarchy to modify the document in accordance with contemporary needs.

The monarchy, the lower, stoic trunk of the great tree of state, explicitly defined as being composed of 'Strauds by blood or by adoption' are, as outlined above, stewards of the Constitution of State and, indeed, the people of the realm. It is their duty, as mandated by law of the land, and by the heavens above and below, to protect you and all other Durstweallian citizens from all threats, be they internal or external. The power vested in them is great, but they are not the masters of some petty kleptocracy, they are not tyrants. The Straud family bears upon its shoulders an immense weight, for they must keep the 'house in order', so to speak, as well as remain vigilant of the machinations of all foreigners, be they great or small. They, and by extension the Imperial Diplomatic Administry, are responsible for the management of our foreign policy, for braving the oft-times turbulent, fickle, and ultimately treacherous interactions with foreign actors. The royal family also maintains the power of nullification, in that they are participant in the decision-making process regarding the appointment of public officials and the enactment and enforcement of national law. Their centralized power works in tandem with the delegated authority of the Upper and Lower Chambers and the provincial governments, allowing the Durstweallian state to act quickly and effectively whilst also not trampling upon the common human freedoms.

The monarchy and its associated ministers, of course, can only do so much for the administration of an entire nation, and so in order to ease this burden the executively empowered Imperial Chancellory was created with the purpose of overseeing the day-to-day affairs of governance and to act as an intermediary between local governments, provincial governments, and the throne. The Chancellory is empowered with the authority of the reigning monarch and acts in the capacity of a 'chief of state' along the lines of elected officials of mainland republics. The Imperial Chancellor oversees a number of 'Administries' which oversee and maintain various facets of Durstweallian society, from finance, to industry, to the national police, and everything in between. The Chancellory, at its most fundamental level, acts on behalf of the monarchy and relays its wishes to the rest of the government. All positions within the Chancellory and the Administries are granted by appointment through the consent of the monarchy, and generally these positions will go to the best and brightest of Durstweall's officials, businessmen, and skilled workers.

To take this metaphor of state to its logical conclusion, the tree next begins to divide outwards at the very peak of its trunk, into a myriad of branches, and the very first of these branches might be labelled as the Lower and Upper Chambers of Parliamentary governance. These two institutions are the successors to the first Imperial parliament, and despite having very different functions and very different membership they both work in tandem to represent the interests of as many Durstweallian citizens as possible. The Lower Chamber represents you, the proletariat, the working man or woman, the tradesman, the factory worker. Its membership is elected through anonymous ballot, in which on pre-selected days you make your voice heard on who shall best represent you. The Lower Chamber has the power of filibuster and jointly votes on the enactment and repeal of national law alongside the Upper Chamber. The Upper Chamber is composed of the realm's oldest, most prestigious families. Those who bear titles handed down to them from the days of sword and horse. While the wants of the populace are entirely valid, the Upper Chamber's presence in the process of lawmaking acts as a sort of moderating factor. Both Chambers serve to balance each other.

The state of national government becomes supremely nebulous beyond this point, with institutions formed to serve the interests of particular regions, be they whole provinces or municipalities, rather than working along any strict Constitutional guidelines. Generally, however, a number of subordinate parliaments and diets exist to serve the needs of far-flung provinces. They most often function in the same capacity of the Lower Chamber, being composed of those elected by the people. Hereditary seats are very rare, given the all-encompassing representation of the nobility through the hereditarily chaired Upper Chamber. Provincial parliaments are able to enact laws within their own provinces, with the oversight of the Chancellory and the Chambers, and Municipal governments are permitted to do the same, except on the lines of city limits. In this way, each branch of government is accounted for and cooperates to the effect of creating a more efficient, more modern state.'

- Excerpt from the Patriotic Working Man's Guide to Statehood

[CURRENT POLITICAL LEADER]
Her Majesty Cornelia Lucine II of the Royal House of Straud is the de jure ruler of the realm of Durstweall, but, in reality, as a woman, she and the nation are, politically speaking, subject to the whims of her cousin, the acting regent and Duke Wilmar Alsond I of the Isle of Cormaeris, who possesses final say in the appointment of public officials, the enactment and enforcement of national law, and foreign policy.
[NOTABLE FIGURES]
Queen Cornelia Lucine Straud II
Duke Wilmar Alsond Straud I
Imperial Chancellor Oswald Mandrake
President of the Lower Chamber Martin Baker
Lord Foremost of the Upper Chamber Duke Johnathan Wickes
Chairman Hadrian Greary of the College of Mundane Sciences
Chairman Jared Vogel of the College of Astral Sciences
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Arthur Crawford
Commandant of the Imperial Marine Corps Clyde Norwick
Commandant of the Imperial Land Force Jeffrey Nelson
Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy Horace Keller
The Imperial Chancellory and Administries
The Imperial Chamber Participants
The Royal House of Straud and members of the Nobility
The Durstweall Capitalists' Society

[TOTAL POPULATION]
82,367,191
[ABLE WORKFORCE]
55,186,017 (Approx. 67%)
[EMPLOYED POPULATION]
51,874,856 (Approx. 6% Unemployment)
[MILITARY POPULATION]
Standing Force: 962,567
Projected Maximum Deployment (From the Durstweall Isles): 7,812,567

[SPECIES INFORMATION]

[ARMY OVERVIEW]
[NAVY OVERVIEW]
[AIR FORCE OVERVIEW]

[NATION'S LOCATION]
Imperial Holdings: 84, 85, 86, 75
Imperial Concessions/Treaty Regions: 94, 95
[NATION'S GEOGRAPHY]

[ECONOMY OVERVIEW]

The Captain Member

HE WHO HAS NO ENEMY CAN NOT BE SLAIN

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