Imperial Politics
The Executive Branch is led by the Thaumacratic Council. There is one member from each province, self selected in a magical competition. They are thought of (incorrectly, more often than not) as the most powerful practitioners of magick in the Empire.
The Council is headed by a President, elected by the Council. Technically a “first among equals,” the President’s only official duty beyond that of any other Council member is to act as moderator when the Council is in session. In practice, the interpersonal dynamics are as varied as the individuals involved. The President is usually the most respected (among themselves) of the Council, and the public generally looks to the President for leadership during times of crisis. The current President is Theodosius Clovis (Aurelia’s father), and he is well liked and respected by all.
Their collective powers and duties are approximately the same as the President and his Cabinet, though with less formal division of specific duties.
The Legislative Branch is composed of a Senate of several hundred. About 75% are elected by the citizenry, with terms of ten years. The rest are reserved as appointed positions for various organizations of political power. The military leadership appoints several seats; the military rank and file elect an equal number. Several guilds have the jealously guarded right to appoint about a dozen Senators, and one family has a constitutional right to one seat (that is thought of as honorary, but is legally identical to any other). The Senate has the right to appoint a Speaker (who does not have to be a Senator, but can be) who has an absolute right to observe the Council when it is in formal session. And the right to “speak to the Senate’s mind to the council.” The Council has the right to veto the elected (by the Senate, from its own membership) Master of the Senate, who acts as the moderator of Senate sessions. Constitutionally, the Senate cannot be formally in session without a Master, but can elect one at any time, who then sits until the Council acts to remove him.
The Judicial Branch consists of thousands of judges at various levels of government from local to Empire-wide. Most are appointed by the executive branch at the Imperial, Provincial or local level, and approved by the corresponding legislative branch. Some are elected by popular vote, many must pass a popular vote periodically to stay on the bench. A handful are appointed by non-governmental bodies, such as guilds.
While most judges have geographical areas of jurisdiction, some have jurisdiction over specific areas of law (the guild judges handle cases involving the business aspects of their guilds, for instance). Sometimes, this provides an equivalent of “small claims court” – a faster, cheaper, less lawyer dependent court for smaller cases, but in some cases, the specialty courts’ authority supersedes that of the more general courts, even at the Imperial level (such as when all litigants are members of the guild whose court the case is in).
Most judges serve a term of a specific length, often with the option to extend it (sometimes indefinitely) by popular vote, sometimes not (and in some cases, judges cannot be judges again after finishing their term). Some serve until they lose a “no confidence vote,” and some serve until the appointment is rescinded by the appointing authority. Most can be impeached by the legislative branch whose laws they enforce, but not all.
On paper, once appointed, judges are completely independent of both the executive and legislative branches, and it is a very serious (capital) crime to interfere with judicial independence. However, it is extremely common for judges to be overtly partisan, and this is generally accepted by the public.
The Senate is organized – sort of – around a series of factions. About 75% of the Senators are members of one of the three largest factions, the Centrists, the Hawks and the Progressives. The rest are members of one or more of dozens, even hundreds, of smaller factions, some as small as a single Senator. The big three factions have existed for centuries, and have comprehensive platforms with positions on every conceivable political issue, and members are expected to be members of only that faction. The smaller factions are generally newer, and more limited in the scope of their political agenda. Many of the smallest are “single issue” groups (or individuals). Membership is generally far more flexible, and many Senators considers themselves to be members of multiple factions, and it is not unusual for memberships to change, sometimes quite frequently.
While factions are, in many ways, like modern political parties, there are some important differences. The most prominent is that there is no formal membership, like registering to a political party, and switching factions is a simple matter of announcing one has done so, even for members of the big three factions (though that is rare, and often bitterly resented).
The largest faction is the Centrists, whose political philosophy is one of stability and order. They believe that the Empire has survived its period of internal strife and civil war, but is not yet recovered enough to look to expansion (or re-conquest) yet. Their policies are of further consolidation and internal rebuilding, with no taste for war. By modern standards, they would be moderate, both socially and fiscally. The Centrists hold five seats on the Council, including the President, Theodosius Clovis (Aurelia’s father), and control about a third of the Senate.
The second largest faction is the Hawks, who tend towards more conservative fiscal and social policy. They desire a return to “the good old days,” and believe the Empire recovered enough to be thinking of expansion (or, preferably, re-conquest). Their most immediate goal is the re-conquest of the two provinces that were lost during the times of strife (one of which is Sassina). Their fiscal policy is that such conquest will pay for itself, as it always has in the past (they believe). The Hawks have four seats on the Council, led by Mallius Pinarius, who has a notable antipathy towards the Centrists, though not towards any particular members. They control about a fourth of Senate, but on the matter of re-conquest, the Centrists are the Progressives are unilaterally opposed, as are nearly all of the other factions.
The Progressives believe that while the Empire has recovered from the strife enough to be looking outward, they also believe that the days of military adventurism are past, and that the Empire no longer has the political will to conquer its neighbors, nor its once famous skill at integrating its conquests into itself. Their agenda is one of peaceful coexistence, trade, and diplomacy. To use a modern anachronism, they want to conquer the world with Levis and Big Macs. They hold two seats in the Council, led by Septius Bamtois, and they control about one sixth of the Senate.