The Pact Council is made up of delegates representing member planets, their number determined by their sentient population.
As far as I can tell, we are never given numbers of delegates or planetary populations. If I think about running a campaign in which political maneuvering or repercussions are important, then it might be useful to develop an idea of the numbers on the Council.
So in the absence of canon, how do you imagine the makeup of the Pact Council?
Voting members: Aballon, Castrovel, Absalom Station, Akiton, Verces, Idari, Eox, Triaxus, Arkanen, Osoro, Bretheda, Kalo-Mahoi, and Apostae
Well, in terms of total vote count, I imagine the dominant players are Abbalon, Castrovel, Verces, and Bretheda. Nobody else can likely match them in population ( well, Akiton *used to*, but not for centuries ).
Absalom Station, Eox, and Apostae probably have influence out of proportion with their populace, though, as for various reasons they all should have above average levels of political savvy. Absalom Station is the center of trade and culture for the Pact, which makes it a defacto center for a lot of politically influential forces. Eox and Apostae, meanwhile, are both ruthless cutthroat societies both likely to spawn skilled intriguers and negotiators, and whose continued survival at least in part depends on their ability to manage their involvement with the Pact. On the flip side of that coin, I see Aballon and Bretheda having less political influence relative to their size and rep count, and for the same reason: to avoid creeping out their neighbors more than necessary. When you are a giant alien hive mind, effectively speaking, it pays to be soft spoken and light handed when possible. So, high rep count, but a lot of abstentions and consensus votes and such.
So, overall, I see Castrovel, Absalom Station, Verces, Eox, and Apostae as the main players, actively defining the political agenda. Aballon and Bretheda are quiet giants, not rocking the boat outside their particular interests, and everyone else happy to keep it that way. Akiton is probably barely active, with the least respect and influence, and what influence they have mostly spent on keeping anyone else from interfering on Akiton. The rest follow their own affairs and interest, and probably spend a lot of time picking allies and playing kingmaker, offering their cadre of votes to whoever currently offers them the best deal.
Metaphysician wrote:
Absalom Station, Eox, and Apostae probably have influence out of proportion with their populace, though, as for various reasons they all should have above average levels of political savvy. Absalom Station is the center of trade and culture for the Pact, which makes it a defacto center for a lot of politically influential forces. Eox and Apostae, meanwhile, are both ruthless cutthroat societies both likely to spawn skilled intriguers and negotiators, and whose continued survival at least in part depends on their ability to manage their involvement with the Pact.
First of all, thank you SO MUCH for your well-thought-out answer. It is singularly the most helpful one I've received on two platforms so far!
Second of all, I think I would solve this "problem" of those three having more influence than would be math-ily indicated much the same way the UN does for colonial powers in our world ~ of the six seats on the Directorate, one is for the Director-General of the Stewards (obvi) and two can only be seated by the Absalomian, Eoxite, and Apostaean representatives. So, although their population gives them very few votes, the system still enshrines their presence and input in the highest decisions. This is in addition, of course, to having very dedicated and skilled social and political maneuverers and (at least for Absalom and Eox) incredibly valuable resources that they can parlay.
Interestingly, I just noted that the Sun is "held in common by Pact World members" as a protectorate, which means that it has non-voting representatives on the Pact Council. I imagine that Absalom, Eox, and Apostae have often maneuvered for its seat(s) on the Council, simply to further amplify their voice in decisions....
The Burning Archipelago, however, is self-governing and so can thus send its own representatives to the Council
Burning Archepillago: "Do NOT make us flip the light on and off!"
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The Threefold Conspiracy AP has a fair amount of detail regarding the Pact Council's composition (Bretheda tends to pull a lot of weight), but not specific numbers.
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Why do I have to think of Babylon 5 when thinking about the Pacts Council?
Humans - Absalom (weak in military power, but great in diplomacy)
Centauri - Eox (dreams of reviving their old power)
Narn - Akiton (destroyed faction, struggle to stay a major player)
Vorlonen - Aballon/Bretheda (mystical forces, with less, but powerfull representatives, who intervene only if needed (but then with POWER))
Shadows - Apostae (working from the shadows, manipulating all other powers)
League of Non-Aligned worlds - Protectorates and others (e.g. Diaspora, Sun etc.)
Devastation Ark also has current post Threefold Conspiracy canon lineup of Directorate
I mean, if it works for your game don't feel beholden to published lore on how to have the government work.
Personally, the easiest way (IMO) to imagine is that you have bicameral chambers, one of which allows a specific number of representatives per governed entity, and a separate one that has a number of representatives based on population.
That is how the US Congress works with the House of Representatives and Senate works. There are two Senators per state and a number of House Representatives is determined by population. This was done to prevent outsized representation from population alone giving control to a single state versus needing to represent a broader band of the people being governed. I don't personally think it's all that great, but it is straight forward.
Impose some restrictions like only the equivalent to the house of reps can introduce legislation (or at least certain kinds of legislation), but it requires both house and senate approval to become law.
there's very likely some strict prohibitions on what the pact worlds government can control as opposed to the members, like the early US constitution or UN
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BigNorseWolf wrote: there's very likely some strict prohibitions on what the pact worlds government can control as opposed to the members, like the early US constitution or UN My read on the situation is that it's somewhere in between the general lack of power held by the UN General Assembly (since the Security Council basically is the only bit that has any power, even if very limited) and the United States Senate and House of Representatives (which, despite the general ascendancy of the executive branch, is intended to be the central governing power in our country).
The lack of a specific executive branch seems to indicate that the Pact Council and Directorate have that power as well as legislative power. It's even possible that they have judicial powers as well! Considering the likely scale of the Council (we're dealing with planetary populations here, mind you - it almost certainly resembles Star Wars's Galactic Senate than, say, the US Cabinet), it seems like those functions could somewhat easily be handled by various committees and subcommittees of the larger Council. Alternatively, the Directorate might represent the executive branch....
I think I'd play it closer to corporate structure, I think (though I am an anti-corporatist by nature). The Directorate, well, directs, establishing a high level, sort of meta-, legislature that the Council is intended to follow while they process the everyday legislative and higher executive/judicial functions. They would then have the power to veto, or even just step in and take over, most any decision or function of the Pact Council that they deemed was either not proceeding according to their Directives or that needed their personal attention to ensure that it does.
No doubt, there is a procedure and/or (probably both) threshold which can protect a decision/function of the Council from Directorate intervention. The Council and most of its sub-bodies would probably require some sort of majority (prolly closer to 50+1 than, say, 2/3rds, but I'm not sure), while the Directorate can only act with consensus.
BigNorseWolf wrote: there's very likely some strict prohibitions on what the pact worlds government can control as opposed to the members, like the early US constitution or UN Pretty much this. IIRC its explicit canon that, outside of a baseline of sentient rights rules, and matters involving interplanetary trade and diplomacy, the Pact Council has no authority over "local matters". This is how Apostae and Eox manage to be such terrible places: they arrange things so they are *just barely* on the right side of the legal line, and thus are free to do whatever else they want. Hence why Apostae technically doesn't have slavery. . . it just has employment contracts and economic conditions that produce effects almost indistinguishable from slavery.
( So why are the baselines so toothless? Well, in addition to the simple fact that no one wants to start another intra-Pact war when there are umpteen existential threats on the horizon? Any more details Pact jurisdiction would mean the Pact having to interfere extensively on the local level. Nevermind urban vs rural, this would mean having your local laws and practices gone over with a fine toothed comb by people who probably aren't even the same *species* as you. . . which might include 'Is a hive mind race that does not intrinsically value individual sentient life forms'. )
Metaphysician wrote: Nevermind urban vs rural, this would mean having your local laws and practices gone over with a fine toothed comb by people who probably aren't even the same *species* as you. . . which might include 'Is a hive mind race that does not intrinsically value individual sentient life forms'. ) I don't think any of the main resident species (by population) in the Pact Worlds have hive minds so I don't think there is a risk of having an hive mind entity in a position of power that doesn't understand the value of individual life forms.
However, there is a high chance of some politician who has a disdain and outright disregard for the life of those they consider to be inferior (to themselves on the basis of species, wealth, etc) to be in a position of authority that would harm people who should be protected by the Pact Worlds government.
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The barathu can form individualized hive minds, and while they're cool with individual sentient life, they don't value it in the same way an ysoki or a shirren might. They have a very fluid sense of "self" that other species aren't really able to experience and therefore understand. Not hostile, just different.
I can't remember if anacites can have linked neural networks with one AI guiding multiple bot bodies. They don't have a singular unifying intelligence, hence why they're split into the various "Those Whos," but AI hive minds are a sci-fan staple.
The Anacites aren't exactly a hive mind, yes, but they also are very, very orderly, a whole civilization used to being run from the top down by godlike AIs. I can't imagine even the fairly lawful Verthani society finding everything being rearranged and run top down Anacite-style as being tolerable, let alone people like the highly individualistic Lashunta.
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