Difference between revisions of "Balak colonial administration"

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Revision as of 23:01, 21 April 2021

The standard administrative structure of the Balak Empire as it pertained to its colonies was established in the 1891 Constitution, which established a unified X structure which replaced a more complicated network of constituent states, autonomous regions, personal unions, and land held directly by the Imperial Crown. The systems in place relating to the governance and representation of the colonies would remain in place until the final dissolution of the Balak Empire in 1963, and would influence the structures of some post-colonial governments as direct continuations of the colonial-era systems were maintained.

Organisation of the colonies

Under the 1891 Constitution, colonies were granted the status of autonomous constituencies within the Empire under a federal system, in theory with equal status to one another. Each constituency was granted the right to a degree of self-governance, while the Imperial Government would deal with internal trade, foreign relations, defense, promotion of the Zarasaist faith and values, and other issues that affected the entire Empire. Newly acquired territories not yet incorporated into a constituency would be administered directly from Qersheven, and would therefore be subject to Imperial rule and law directly without any representation or self-governance. These territories would be given the opportunity to apply for constituency status, at which point they were fully incorporated into the Imperial system.

Colonial governments

Executive

Each colony was appointed a governor-general to serve as the Emperor's representative in the territory; unlike the "home constituencies" (core Balak mainland possessions), colonies were not granted the privilege of appointing their own officials to approve legislation. The signature of the governor-general was required to pass legislation in a colonial constituency as a form of royal assent by proxy, and the governor-general was invested with veto power.

Legislative

Colonial legislatures were structured similarly to the central Imperial Assembly, in that they were bicameral. These legislatures were divided into an upper house, comprising members of the government proper (i.e. the cabinet) and being invested with sole legislative privilege, and a lower house which approved proposals from the upper house, consisting of a number of elected representatives at a ratio of 1 representative for every 75,000 people. The colonial cabinets were typically headed by a prime minister, who served as the head of government in the colony.

Imperial Common Council

Under Terminian federalism, the lower houses of the colonial legislatures additionally served as compartments to the Common Council, the lower house of the Imperial Assembly, thereby granting the colonies representation in the Imperial Assembly. Although supposedly equal to the home constituencies, the ratio of representatives to population was lower in the colonies - 1 representative per 75,000 people as opposed to 1 per 50,000 in the homeland - thereby giving the colonies only 2/3 of the representation of the home constituencies. As the colonial lower houses were both components both of their own legislature and of the Imperial Common Council, a given representative would approve legislation from two lower houses - regional and national. In theory, the prime ministers of the colonies were also members of the Council of Kings - the Imperial upper house - but in practice their participation in the Imperial government was infrequent.

Military

Constituents were permitted to raise their own militias, which typically served as reserve colonial units to be called upon in times of war. These would typically be headed by leaders seconded from the Balak Armed Forces. During the collapse of the Balak Empire, these colonial militias gained more power and autonomy as the colonies themselves did, and effectively served as fully fledged units in their own right, exemplified by the Thuoyan colonial militia's role in attempting to quell the Utogo Crisis.