[Original written by me 5/2020 here. Note that some links, particularily “source” links are broken due to our forum move and I can’t be bothered to find them consider it’s just a few :y]
TEP’s had some interesting governments in the past. Thought I’d record 'em down here, and where I got them from.
Atlantic Alliance “Forward” Military Base (April 2003 to May 12th, 2003)
Source: Nociav’s History of The East Pacific
History
The Atlantic Alliance was a large invader group that was prevalent sometime during the founding of NationStates, and after. Its primary mission was to form a large political block via conquering and growing what was seen as irrelevant regions, exercising said regions’ potential.
The circumstances are unclear. But it’s obvious that somehow the AA most likely played a part in the founding of TEP. Either way, they would come to take over TEP and password it.
Design
Given its small residency of 6-8 nations, its most likely that the “government” at this time was just the Delegate (Reubenlucy) holding onto the base following orders from AA command. The region either never had enough time to properly grow into what the AA wanted, or it was always planned to be a mere trophy region.
Farker Governance (May 12th 2003 to October 28, 2003)
Source: Nociav’s History of The East Pacific, TEP Forums
History
The Farkers were yet another emerging invader group during the early days of NationStates. Using trickery and confusion, they already had a high count of regions they had already seized when they set their eyes on the East Pacific.
On May 12th, as according to Unibot, the Farkers entered the passworded region (the password was leaked to them) and would take the Delegacy under Lothlanderamore. Sometime after the Farkers’ self-installment, the East Pacific would be turned into a Game-Created Region by NationStates administration.
Sometime after TEP became a GCR, Lothlanderamore would give 1 Infinite Loop the Delegacy (this would happen sometime around the end of May, 2003), and then disappear off the face of NationStates forevermore.
1 Infinite Loop would go on to found the current regional forums of the East Pacific after becoming Delegate, with said forums being primarily (at first) used for his flag service rather than regional governance.
Government Design
Unlike the days of AA, the Farker Occupation was more similar/akin to a dictatorship than anything else, due to the now growing native population of the East Pacific that was not present when TEP was still a UCR. Presumably, Lothanderamore was the leader of the Farkers who took over the region, and chose a successor in Loop to take over.
Interestingly, the Farker government was built on the mindset of keeping the region as a trophy. It has been reported that when the East Pacific became a GCR, the Farker government would begin banjecting all nations, before decreasing banjections to primarily those who posed a security threat to the region.
The Articles of Confederation (October 28th, 2003 to February 17th, 2005)
Source: TEP Forums
A version of the Articles of Confederation
History
On September 28, 2003, Loop would mention that TEP needed a constitution resembling those of a Confederation. He would officially propose said constitution on October 28th, 2003, and after gathering feedback, and would soon declare said government as established. The Articles of Confederation would set the tone for forum roleplay at the time, considering regional government and forum roleplay shared the same world (with all forum roleplay occuring in the boundaries of the East Pacific region).
Government Design
The Articles were generally broad and referenced a multitude of in-real-life items that do not exist within NationStates mechanics, most likely as a result of directly copying the Articles of Confederation. However, this did not make the Articles an inept document, considering the in-real-life matters they dealt with did exist in Forum Roleplay, where the Articles were considered canon. Ensuring the Articles were a Confederacy also allowed for forum roleplay nations to have large degrees of autonomy from the regional government. The Articles were thus a largely roleplay-esque document which successfully reconciled the idea of a “regional government” with that of said region having “resident nations” in a roleplay universe.
On the other end, the Articles were also a basic gameplay document that would set up a practical government for the East pacific. The Articles created a broad democracy with various checks and balances across three branches: a Legislature (which used to contain two houses but later on was merged into one), an Executive (The Delegate and their Moderators/Advisors) and a Judicial Branch called the Supreme Court that was staffed with nine Jurists.
Interestingly, the Delegate was never elected per the Articles. Based on interpretation, we could assume that the Articles identified the in-game Delegate as the legal Delegate - transferring the right of rule from Farker military structure to whomever holds the in-game Delegacy of the region.
The Charter of the East Pacific (February 17th, 2005 to September 2008)
Source: TEP Forums
A Version of the Charter
East Pacific Charter
Preamble
0.0 We, the assembled nations of the East Pacific, desiring a more prosperous and perfect region, do hereby gather to establish this Charter of the East Pacific.
Chapter 1: Government
1.0 The East Pacific Government shall be divided into three roles; Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary.
Executive
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This Charter does hereby vest supreme authority in the office of Delegate, and does appoint him sole executor of this charter and of any subsequent laws passed by the legislative branch.
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The delegate shall have ultimate control over membership of the region, and shall have the power to remove from the region any nation seen to be in contravention of this charter or subsequent laws passed by the legislative branch.
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The delegate shall be appointed as the representative of the nations of the East Pacific to the United Nations.
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Such power as is granted to the delegate as representative to the United Nations shall be used to further the interests of the nations of the East Pacific; he does agree to abide by the will of the nations in this matter, as shall be expressed by popular vote of the Ratified Nations of the East Pacific.
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The delegate shall be appointed as ambassador of the East Pacific to foreign regions, and shall have the power to make such treaties as are permissible under this charter, and do not violate the individual rights of nations.
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The delegate shall appoint advisors as he sees fit, and may designate to them any such powers as are granted to him under this charter.
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The delegate shall be elected by popular vote of those nations within the East Pacific who are themselves members of the UN.
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The delegate shall be appointed for life, or until such time as he chooses to stand down, at which point he may either direct the transference of power to a suitably appointed alternative, or allow open election among the UN nations.
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During the period of the delegates incumbency, all nations are actively prohibited from campaigning for the delegacy, and the legislative house is instructed to make such laws as are necessary to enforce this.
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In the event of the incapacitation of the delegate, power shall pass to a prior appointed successor, who shall be nominated by the delegate and approved by the legislative branch. Such appointed nations shall be exempt from clause 1.1.8.
Legislative
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This charter does hereby vest legislative authority with the Magisterial Assembly, and does charge them with the preservation and maintenance of this charter, and with the establishment of any laws necessary for its enforcement and as may be required for the well being of the region.
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The Assembly shall make laws by the popular vote of the Magisters. All laws must subsequently be approved by the delegate, who shall maintain power of veto.
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The Assembly is charged to make no law contrary to the word or will of this charter, such as shall be interpreted by the judicial branch.
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Being aware of the possibility of change, this charter does empower the Assembly to make amendments to the charter itself; such amendments must pass by a margin of 70% of the active members of the Assembly. Such amendments must be further approved by the delegate, and finally by popular vote of Ratified Nations.
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The Assembly is charged to appoint, by popular vote, a Consul, who shall be its representative to the executive and judicial branches, and to whom shall be appointed the task of maintaining order within the Assembly.
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Membership of the Assembly shall be eligible to all Ratified Nations of the East Pacific, who shall signal their desire to join by formal announcement, and who must then be seconded by another ratified nation, and finally must be approved by popular vote of the Ratified Nations.
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The Consul of the Assembly may, at his discretion, remove temporarily from the Assembly any seen to be acting in contravention to the word or will of this charter or subsequent laws passed by the Assembly. At his own choosing, or at the request of the nation in question, he must submit such evidence as he possesses to the judicial branch for ruling.
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At regular intervals to be no less than 5 and no more than 7 months apart, the exact date to be determined by the Delegate, the Assembly shall be dismissed, and all Magisters shall be required to resubmit themselves for election as described in 1.2.5
Judicial Branch
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This charter does hereby appoint as Judicial Branch the Regional Court, and does charge them as sole interpreters of this charter, and of any subsequent laws passed by the legislative branch
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The Regional Court is empowered to make rulings on the actions of the delegate as executor of this charter, and to support them or declare them void, in which case they may instruct the delegate to repeal such actions.
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The Regional Court is empowered, at the request of the Consul of the Assembly, or at the request of a member removed temporarily by the Consul, or at their own choosing, to pass judgement on the actions of a member of the Assembly, and if necessary to order their indefinite removal from the Assembly and any further punishments as the Regional Court shall deem expedient.
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The Regional Court shall further make rulings on the actions of any nation within the East Pacific, and if judging them to be in contravention to this charter or the laws of the East Pacific, may order such punishment as they deem necessary.
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Trials in the Regional Court shall be held in open session, and the proceedings shall be visible to all ratified members of the East Pacific.
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The Regional Court shall be privy to any and all knowledge as is required by them to correctly interpret this charter and subsequent laws, which shall be provided to them by the delegate and by the Assembly at their request.
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The delegate or Consul of the Assembly may, in the interests of regional security, request to the presiding judge that a closed session by held, whereby the judge may permit that the session or certain parts of it be held in private.
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The Regional Court shall be composed of such nations that have ratified this charter, and that are not members of the Assembly. They shall be nominated by the delegate, and must be subsequently approved by the Assembly.
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The number of nations on the Regional Court must always be odd, and shall never exceed seven. In the event of incapacitation of a member of the Regional Court, the delegate is charged to appoint a replacement with all due haste.
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Should a nation being charged by a partial representation of the Regional Court be unsatisfied with such verdict as is passed, they may request that the full Regional Court sit in decision on such verdict, and ratify or nullify it as they see fit. The full Regional Court may choose to accede to or deny this request.
Chapter 2: The Individual Nations
Rights of the Individual Nations
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Being wary of the possibility of misinterpretation, this charter does hereby state the following rights as explicitly preserved to the individual nations.
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That each nation shall have the power of free speech, and that the Assembly shall make no law to limit this, nor shall the delegate take any action to curtail it, save when, at the discretion of the delegate or duly appointed representatives, a nation is determined to be acting deliberately to cause a public nuisance, in which case this right may be suspended pending a full investigation by the judicial branch.
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That each nation shall have the power to make such alliances as it sees fit, so long as these alliances do not act against the East Pacific, nor against the word or will of this charter.
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That each nation shall have the power to form whatever armed forces as they deem necessary for their own defence, or that of the East Pacific.
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That each nation shall have the right to full and unbiased trial by the Judicial Branch in the event of any action being taken against them by the regional authorities, or in the case of any accusation being levelled against them.
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That each individual nation shall be free to enter and leave the region as they see fit. Upon informing the government of their decision to leave the region, Ratified Nations shall be required to surrender any governmental roles such as set out in this charter, and shall not be eligible to hold such roles until they return to the region.
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All other rights not here described or reserved to the government shall remain in the hands of the individual nations.
Charges of the Individual Nations
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No nation shall seek to overthrow the government of the East Pacific, or by their actions, to see it weakened.
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Nations are charged to abide by such laws as are passed by the Assembly.
Chapter 3: Adoption of this Charter
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This charter shall be considered adopted upon approval by the delegate, and by popular vote of the incumbent senate, and by popular vote of the nations of the East Pacific.
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Having passed popular vote of the nations, the Senate may decide when it is expedient that this charter comes into effect.
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Upon adoption by the region, each nation may at its own discretion ratify the charter by formal declaration within the East Pacific Forum, at which time they shall be deemed Ratified Nations, and shall be subject to the rights and privileges ascribed to such by this charter.
On September 26, 2004, Free Pacific States suggested that the East Pacific would need a new constitution. The Articles, while serving their purpose for a small government, were too broad to serve as a constitutional document for the large government that had sprung up since the year the Articles had been made.
The above linked thread would also be where a select group of nations would discuss, and bring to fruition, multiple drafts of a new “Charter of the East Pacific”. Eventually, said draft would be brought to the public for general consideration.
Eventually, the Charter would go to vote to the Senate (the Legislative Branch under the Articles), pass vote, and then go to resident vote. As such, on February 17th, 2005, the Charter was ratified.
The Charter would serve for a long time as the East Pacific’s guiding constitution. However, in 2008, multiple people began talking about reforming the Charter amongst other ideas (example). The best reason is most likely that inactivity had, for the first time, become a chronic issue within the East Pacific - and many thought a change in government structure could help prevent further inactivity.
Unsurprisingly, this inactivity would cause a death knell to the Charter. Within that same year, the Empire would manage to coup the East Pacific, leading to the formation of two new governments running simultaneously within the East Pacific.
Lady Phedre, now known as NeeNee, would end up taking the Delegacy from the inactive Delegate of the time, Govinidah. Following that, the “Empire”, which consisted of an aristocratic government with multiple ranks of nobility, would attempt to shuffle all regional activities within the East Pacific onto the Empire’s forum.
At first, East Pacificans were willing to work together with the Empire for a strong future. However, as it became more and more obvious that the Empire was trying to completely dominate the East Pacific and insult the natives in “roleplay”, a resistance grew. Eventually, forming into the Elders of the East Pacific.
Government Design
At first glance, it would appear that the Charter was a vastly different government compared to the Articles. In many respects, this is correct. For one thing, the Charter would strip away the Article’s focus on roleplay, creating a much more purely gameplay-oriented government instead. The Charter was also a lot more specific with the duties and general procedures for each branch of government, ensuring less issues regarding ambiguity arose. It would also rename the branches.
However, at its basics the Charter was a similar government to that of the Articles. Both had three branches - an Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. The Legislature was open for all Citizens (similar to the Article’s House of Representatives), the Delegate was still appointed for the most part (although the Charter instituted elections for when there was no Delegate or the Delegate chose to hold elections), and a Court system existed to deal with regional offences, namely treason against the region. And like in the Articles, the branches of the Charter had an interplay of powers to help balance government functions and prevent corruption.
In short, it’s very clear that the Charter is much closer to the Articles than it looks at surface level. Its concepts of a democracy with a monarchical delegate and roleplay rights for constituent nations were goals shared by both documents. The Charter merely specifies and makes clear many holes that were not resolved in the Articles.
The Empire (August 16 2008 - December 18 2008)
Source: TEP Forums
History
Following its invasion of the East Pacific, the Empire quickly instituted itself into power. At first, things were hopeful between the Empire and the native populace as negotiations were conducted to explore how things would be handled. However, things broke down - causing the Empire to begin banjecting those nations who posed a threat to its regime, and flooding the East Pacific with hopelessness even as the natives mounted a mostly futile resistance. However, lowering influence levels and IRL matters led the Empire to resign in late 2008, allowing the natives to re-capture the region and rebuild.
Click here to learn more about the Empire’s history in TEP.
Government Design
The government design of the Empire was one that was split into classes. There were various ranks of nobility, with nobility being tied to the moderation permissions one received on the Empire’s forums as well as TEP’s forums. The highest officials were often titled “Lords”/“Ladies” to showcase their high-profile status, although lower positions were created to accommodate some TEPers suing for peace. While there wasn’t much in the ways of formal positions, a position of “High Inquisitional”, presumably a nation tasked when signaling out nations to ban, existed. Beyond those simplistic designs, the Empire did not have much government structure.
Interestingly, the Empire was a government that heavily relied on espionage, fearmongering, (in-character) belittling, and liberal use of the ban button to remain in power. It was, essentially, an oligarchy that had to struggle for control in any way possible.
The Elders (September 2008 - January 20th, 2009)
Source: TEP Forums (another link)
History
Following negotiations with the Empire, it was decided to create a government that would co-exist with the government of the Empire. This “Confederate”/native government would suspend the Charter, opting for a more simpler form of governance as the Empire would handle many matters. Multiple proposals were fielded, with many being mere continuations of the East Pacific’s democratic tradition. However, one proposal - suggested by Flemingovia - instead restructured the native government into a tribe, led by three Elders. This idea proved popular and was enacted.
The Elders would go on to lead as symbolic leaders of the resistance, although they would end up loosing hope as the months wore on. But in December of 2008, Lady Pehdre would resign from the Delegacy after banjecting 400 nations. This would allow A Slanted Black Stripe to temporarily take over the Delegacy, and strike hope back into TEP’s heart.
Following this event, heavy discussion would occur, where many people would discuss a new constitution. After the proposal of two constitution drafts (here), it was decided that the draft which would become the Concordat would be worked on.
Following heavy discussion in Chatzy, an online chatting service of the time, the Concordat was ready for ratification. On Janurary 11th, 2009, a majority of those present on the forum ratified the Concordat, thus setting up the rest of the East Pacific’s history.
The Elder government would oversee the first Delegate elections of the East Pacific under the Concordat. Following the election of the first Delegate, the Elders were disbanded.
Government Design
The Elder government itself was a simple one in concept, with three Elders (The “Delegate” being one, and two Elders to manage domestic and Foreign Affairs respectively). The Citizenry would form the Indaba, or the citizen’s assembly which would discuss regional matters.
Initially, it is clear the Elders were to take a proactive role in the region’s government. However as time wore on, they became more symbolic figures of the East Pacific’s resistance due to their relative inactivity. By the time of the Concordat’s institution, the Elders had taken the form of a caretaker government - guiding discussion and running the first Delegate election. As such, while the initial design was of a three-way-split Executive branch backed by a legislative branch, the Elders really became the equivalent of “Chancellors” or “Electoral Commissioners” found in many regions today - those who take care of background functions and represent the most trusted of the region.
The Concordat (January 11th, 2008 - Present)
The Concordat was another attempt by the East Pacific at democracy, with an Legislature (the Magisterium), an Executive (the Delegate), and a Judiciary (the Conclave). Over time, it would be amended a multitude of times, including the changing from the Magisterium being elected to just the Magisterium deciding how to accept applicants on its own.
Following the Fedele coup of 2019, Viceroy Aelitia would propose to the Magisterium a new Concordat. After heavy debate, the draft was passed through the Magisterium and would then be ratified on Feburary 13th, 2020.
The current form of the Concordat differs from its predecessor mainly by the establishment of a fourth branch, known as the Viziers. The Viziers would be responsible for regional security and citizenship. Besides that and simplification of multiple clauses, the Concordat remains relatively the same establishing a basic democracy as the current form of governance within the East Pacific.