Kalistan

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What is the Empire?
Political Theorists analyze Ananto's Regime type
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
July 8, 5592


Portrait of the Royal Family in Eveari, taken last November

The Biennial Conference of the Great Southern Political Science Association was held in Sulari last week, and the topic of the Conference was "The Theory of Empire: Kalistan in the 56th Century."  It was attended by more than 140 of the nation's top scholars who presented more than 60 papers over 12 panels all on the topic of Kalistan as an Empire.  Of the papers presented, the 12 best received papers were entered into the peer review process to whittle down the work to an 8 paper digest of the proceedings of the Convention.  Scholars from Gaduridos and Lodamun were also in attendance for the four day conference.  Of the papers selected to go into peer review, 4 each from Kalistan, Gaduridos, and Lodamun will be reviewed by the Association's panels and considered for publication.

The goal of the convention was to discuss, based on the most robust classification schemes, just what kind of Empire the Anantonese Empire is.  Given the variety of regime types within the Empire, though, it was very difficult, even for this conclave of eminent scholars, to pinpoint precisely what sort of regime type the Anantonese Empire posesses.

1.  Kalistan is Personalist, but the Empire is more cooperative
Scholars all pretty much agreed that Kalistan, as a constituent nation is a personalist regime.  It exists pretty much as an expression of the will of the Monarch, who is a monarch in the truest sense of the word.  The entire national government, and the governments of the Duchies are limited to what they can do outside of the commands of the Empress.  The National Assembly is at best an advisory body, its political features have been utterly abolished, finally eliminated in any sense of the word during the reign of Pavlina I.  During the entirety of Carolina's reign, the National Assembly exists almost entirely to rubber stamp the dictates of the Empress.

However, the political scientists were mixed with regard to the Empire as a whole.  Her Imperial Majesty may hold the power of the fiat within Kalistan, but her influence outside of Kalistan is far more limited.  She has an imperial viceroy in Gaduridos, and a Lord Protector in Lodamun who are Her Imperial Majesty's representatives to Her Governments in their respective countries.  But those Legislatures actually hold political authority within their respective countries, far more in fact that any legislator has held in Kalistan for more than 100 years.  Those political institutions represent the interests of their respective populations and the Gaduri National Congress is actually a robust political institution with multiple ideologies.  Furthermore, these institutions were guaranteed by the Articles of Empire upon accession.  They do not do the will of the Empress, they rarely even hear the word of the Empress.

So it is hard to say that the Empire is personalist, in the way that Kalistan is.  Gaduridos and Lodamun acknowledge the Empire, but in many ways they are still quite free of the Empress' dictates.  And the Empress herself shows no inclination to alter that relationship in anyway.  She may if the constituent nations asked her to, but it is very unlikely that she has any interest in governing Lodamun or Gaduridos the way she governs by fiat in Kalistan.  The variations across the Empire are a result of the nations' differing political cultures, and the freedom of movement within the Empire allows people to move where they please and live under the type of regime that they please.  Contrary to some expectations expressed in the Conference, that seems to create a harmony among the constituent nations, rather than friction.

2.  Kalistan is Absolutist, but the Empire certainly is not
Like the personalism, where all authority comes from the person of the Sovereign, Kalistan is absolutist.  All law comes from the word of Her Imperial Majesty.  She herself stands above the law and may ignore it at her pleasure, because it is impossible to hold her accountable for violating a law when the maxim, "If the Empress does it, it is legal" dominates all conception of law in Kalistan.  The Empire itself is fortunate that its sovereigns have been mostly competent, very conscientious, and far less capricious than other monarchs may be if they had the sort of absolute power that Kalistan's monarchs have.

But very similar to the Personalist/Pluralist dichotomy, as closely as Her Imperial Majesty holds her power within Kalistan, she is that willing to maintain the Empire as more of a decentralized confederation of Northern Seleyan States, where her word really holds sway in matters of security.  In the Anantonese Empire, at least 4 different currencies are legal:  Each of the Constituent Nations have their national currency, and in Gaduridos, the Lourenne Franc is also legal.  Each Nation is entitled to manage its domestic affairs entirely free of Imperial Mandate, and each country maintains great latitude in its own foreign affairs, with Gaduridos working on trade deals with other nations independently of Imperial Oversight, and Lodamun maintaining a continental defense ambition which Kaliburg actually looks to support rather than reduce.  

The Empress maintains this latitude in the Constituent Nations because she no doubt feels that a win for Lodamun or Gaduridos is also a win for Kalistan, and therefore the entire Empire.  If Gaduridos scores a major trade deal, the Empire is more prosperous over all.  If Lodamun increases its reach into southern Seleya, the Empire as a whole is more secure.  So she may govern Kalistan with an iron fist, but she takes a very light touch when it comes to Governing the Empire as a whole, knowing that the variation in policy pursuits of one of the Constituent Nations, so long as they don't drag the Empire down, can only serve to improve and benefit the entire Empire.

3.  The Royal Family are staunch and explicitly religious fundamentalists, but the Empire is a land of civil liberties
The Anantos are staunch and devout members of the Brethrenist faith.  By any measure, Brethrenism is a strongly fundamentalist faith and practice.  Brethrenist testimonies are said to guide Her Imperial Majesty in all things.  Both Her Imperial Majesty and His Highness the Prince Consort are active members in both the Eveari Monthly Meeting and the Kaliburg Yearly Meeting, and both of her children are birthright Friends.  Though Kalistan is explicitly secular as a nation, its rulers are devoutly, almost obsessively devout followers of Brethrenism as a faith and practice.

One would think that a ruler with the absolute power and authority of an Empress would impose her own religious ideas onto a population, but nothing could be farther from the truth in Kalistan, and across the Empire as a whole.  Most people in Kalistan count themselves as Brethrenists, but very few are as serious about the faith as the Anantos are, traditionally.  Nor are they expected to be.  It is said that if every Brethrenist went to Meeting every first day, there wouldn't be enough seating or standing room in all the meeting houses in the Empire.  Instead, Kalistanis are expected to follow their consciences as a matter of daily practice.

As such, Kalistan has an absolute monarch, but surprisingly few laws or rules regarding individual behavior.  The Prison System in Kalistan has been abolished for thousands of years, with most people who violate the law suffering fines and restitution rather than incarceration, and the almost non-existent prison population living at relative liberty on King's Rock, where they own their own homes, grow their own food, and enforce their own laws, but otherwise, do not live in cages the way other nations house their convicts.  Corrections for almost all criminal behavior is aimed at restitution for harm done, and is very light compared to even liberal nations.

Free speech is paramount, and though the national press observes the laws around protocol, the Press in Kalistan is free to print critical stories about the Government or the Empress, as long as it does not slide into a personal insult.  They are free to print news about shortcomings of the Government and economic problems that are often absent from more "liberal" press.  Sex is fully liberated in Kalistan, and drug use is both legal and common in the Empire, as is abortion, co-habitation, and euthanasia.  So long as a person performs his or her duty to society, they can expect to live free of an oppressive state apparatus, in abundance guaranteed by tax supported social services, a national job's guarantee and a universal basic income that allows work to be be a choice rather than a necessity.

The robust civil liberties enjoyed by Kalsitanis even exceeds those enjoyed by citizens of Gaduridos or Lodamun.  The trade off comes in the arena of civil rights, specifically political and economic rights that citizens of the other Constituent Nations enjoy.  There is only a small private sector in Kalistan, and private investment is mostly limited to existing enterprises.  Economically, Kalistan is the least "free" of the three Constituent Nations, and its currency is one of the most tightly controlled currencies in the world.  Kalistan is also probably one of the most austere nations in the world:  People have all they need in Kalistan, but certainly would prefer to have more choice in the market, such as exists in Kalistan.  

Additionally, political choice is non-existent in Kalistan, a nation which is almost completely depoliticized.  Citizens are free to vote all they like, but all parties except the Party of the Monarchy, the Institutional Party, are completely outlawed in Kalistan.  There are some civil society formations, but they too much by law be associated with the Institutional Party.  The one exception are unions and Syndicates, which operate in cooperation of the National Government, but are technically independent and can act as strong lobbyists on behalf of their membership.  Some also say Her Imperial Majesty's Marriage to the Director of the Ananto Growers' Syndicate was an effort by the Syndicates to keep one of their own in the Empress' ear at all times of the day.

4.  While Kalistan remains utterly depoliticized, the Empire remains pluralist and robustly democratic
Kalistan's depoliticization remains legendary:  Few nations have so thoroughly transformed themselves from multi party democracies to single party regimes that have outlawed other parties, and have held onto this formation for so long as Kalistan.  The level of depoliticization of Kalistan is something totalitarian regimes can only dream about, and it has led to a radical transformation of Kalistani society from one where socialists and fascists fought constantly over basic tenets of the social contract in Kalistan to one where all matters of debate have been settled, and the people of the nation are left to enjoy the peace and solitude of not having to stay up on who is saying what or who is passing what laws that hurt their families all the time, and can instead focus on actually enjoying the life they live.

This situation within Kalistan stands in stark contrast with the other constituent Nations in the Empire, and with the Empire itself.  There is not much political wrangling between constituent nations, but its more because there is not much to win.  The question of each nation's place in the Empire is settled by the Articles of Empire.  The Empress is actually attempting to build an Imperial Assembly to build a political, albeit non-binding, super legislature for the Empire, but otherwise, there is not a lot of clamoring for more representation.  That said, all three nations represent a radical variation of regime type.  If you were to put the three Constituent Nations on a spectrum from least to most politicized, Kalistan and Gaduridos would set the limits, and Lodamun would be somewhere between the two.

The variation does not negatively affect relationships between the three constituent nations.  Each Nation does things their own way.  The promise of Her Imperial Majesty for all three states in the Empire was "Full Regional Autonomy."  That promise has been kept to this date, and would extend as well to Baltusia if that nation ever entered the Empire.  The differing levels of popular involvement in the affairs of the Constituent Nations of the Empire, like the differing types of regime and role of the Government is seen as a strength for the Empire.  The seeming contradiction between having an absolute monarch sitting over a multi-national system like the Anantonese Empire actually works because she has the power she needs to ensure that the Constituent Nations coordinate action, but does not exert authority over areas that are more correctly controlled by National Legislatures, or by the people themselves, in places that the people have the right to do so.

5.  Kalistan remains one of the more mercantilist states in Terra, yet, free trade abounds in the Empire
While Kalistan itself maintains a massive public sector, and a large public role even in the private sector, which itself is a hold over from centuries of Socialist Party Government in Kalistan, one of the more economically liberal states, trade oriented states in Terra is also a member of the Empire.  Gaduridos happily looks for opportunities to expand its trade networks across the globe, to many partners that Kalistan has not even reached out to.  As a result of its open trade orientation, it is able to make friends with nations who may feel less friendly toward Kalistan.  This openness have helped stabilize Gaduridos in the last century and make it a base for foreign investment and economic growth in central Seleya.  

On the other side, one of the most successful trading nations in Terra which, though more nationally oriented than Gaduridos, also is a member of the Empire.  The LOD is still used as the standard denomination in much of Terra, an artifact from when Lodamun was the center of international finance some 2500 years ago.  Lodamese trade networks cover vast swaths of Terra, and at any given time you can see Lodamese ships in any given port.  The Lodamese trade position itself accounts for a plurality of all the trade volume in Northern Seleya, and they aggressively market their goods abroad while constantly being on the lookout for new ways to enhance their economy with imports.  The Lodamese trade volume alone dwarfs Kalistan and Gaduridos put together, and Lodamun is widely recognized as economic heavyweights, even after centuries of challenges from places like the Dual Monarchy or Beiteynu.

Kalistan may have a strongly protectionist streak, but it is also a member of one of the customs unions in Terra:  The Anantonese Economic Standardization Accord creates what is essentially a single domestic market in four Nations that allows goods and services to move freely across borders, and this accord predates the Empire by several hundred years.  This variation in trade orientation serves, like all the other variation, to strengthen the Empire by both allowing it to access international trade opportunities via Lodamun and Gaduridos, but also ensuring that in all cases there will be a safe core economy in Kalistan to help the others weather global commodities fluctuations and economic downturns.  It provides the best of both worlds which a nation on its own wouldn't have access to:  A single nation must choose its trade orientation, either trade openness or protectionism.  An empire like the Anantonese Empire can have both and, for the benefit of all three Constituent Nations.

6.  Conclusion-  Kalistan is easy to Classify, the Anantonese Empire is impossible to Classify
Kalistan is obviously a personalist absolute monarchy.  Liberals and fascists alike will call it a Tyranny.  But in terms of regime type, Kalistan is an Autocracy; there can be no doubt about this.  Economically, Kalistan is a highly illiberal, statist and protectionist.  It has far more civil liberties than civil rights, and has almost no democratic institutions or civil society institutions outside the unions and syndicates:  The last thing that resembled a civil society formation turned out to be a front organization for a fascist coup in Kalistan that assassinated the Emperor and almost killed the Chancellor, so it will be a long time before the Empress permits something like this to take shape again.

And yet, the Empire as a whole is anything but personalist or absolutist.  The only things Constituent Nations are required to do is fly Anantonese Flags over foreign bases and government buildings, accept Imperial Rubles, have a Head of State that confers with the Empress on important matters of Imperial Security, and contribute a portion of their budget for the maintenance of the Empire and a naval fleet during time of war.  There are surprisingly few other requirements, mostly around expansion of the Customs union and the security community.  The Empress otherwise fully endorses the concept of Full Regional Economy that allows for variation and innovation within Constituent Nations that enhances the security and prosperity of the Empire as a whole.  Economically, the Empire is a mixed economy, where there is enough trade to take advantage of trends world wide, but enough protectionism to allow at least the three Constituent Nations to weather any storm caused by international capitalists who make their individual fortunes by ruining the lives of countless millions.

It is difficult to classify the Empire, but that didn't stop the political scientists at the conference from trying.  One came up with a Conservative Multi-National Confederation with a Mixed Economy, and that seemed to summarize the Empire fairly well.  The regime type seems to mirror the Ananto's opinion on political ideology:  The Anantos are famously opposed to extremist ideology like Communism and Fascism, which Her Imperial Majesty has said multiple times are the same thing, but also liberalism, which the Anantos believe to the source of so much political strife.  The Anantos take a decidedly centrist approach to government, which is extremely conservative in its orientation:  The position of the Institutional Party is found in its name.  Conservation of the Institutions is the governing ideology of the Ananto Regime, conservation against change of any kind, whether it be the revolutionary changes that comes with extremism, or the gradual erosion and ultimate destruction of Kalistani tradition by a hundred inane votes in the National Assembly.

Attending the Conference, one gets the idea that the Empire itself defies simple classification.  Many other nations in the world are far easier to classify:  Kalistan, Gaduridos and Lodamun individually are much easier to classify.  In this, the Empire may ultimately be violating its own core principle.  The Institution of the Empire is very pragmatic, in that it aims to solve the problem of previous empires by preventing centrifugal forces by preventing movement and change all together, but it is also quite new, and in practice adopts a modern view on Empire as confederation practiced by  groupings like Canrille rather than an older approach to empire one might see, for example, in the Jelbic Empire, or even in the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan.

@LaModa