CoSM:Dossier/Definitions of state in World

Unlike on Earth, World (as well as most of the planets in the project) did not conclude on the same concepts of what defines a country. As such, if you were to look at a political map of the planet, large swaths of land would look "empty," as if there were no states within, or, more confusingly, look as if they were covered in coloured spiderwebs, rippling spheres of influence, or loose blobs of vaguely "claimed" land. This is a direct consequence of some of the different political organisation strategies used across World. This page of the Cradle of Songs Meta Dossier will explain how these different definitions of "state" in World work.

Types of state

There are several different types of state that exist in World, only some of which resembling modern Earthen countries.

Federation

The federation type of state is practiced in most of inland Anidon, originating with the proto-federative model used by the Bhymian empire, and having developed and formalised over centuries of inter-city trade. Federations have, by nature of their economic and political model, no explicit borders. The extent of their influence ends where the trade routes stop. They derive their legitimacy from the curation of trade routes between autonomous city-states. These are bound by common currency, constitutional law, (usually) cultural elements, as well as free trade within–and shared membership to–the federation. Unlike nation-states, federations see no single head of state being appointed, instead relying on an assembly of representatives of each constituent city-state for large-scale political affairs and collective trade route stewardship, who decide on matters through a variety of methods that highly depend on the federation itself, usually majority vote or common consensus.

Federations are, through cultural association, strongly anti-hegemonic and extremely averse to single centres of wealth developing within them. This is a common source of conflict within federations throughout history, as equitable redistribution of wealth is central to the function of this system. As such, the main method federations use to block hegemony is fixing the numbers of representatives for their city-states to only a handful (3 to 5) per city. Rarer, but still practiced, is the scaling of representatives with the size of their city's population, although this is a common point of contention, as it runs the risk of creating political (and cultural) hegemons, even while keeping economic parity intact. Members who find parts of their federation overreaching or being anti-constitutional may break away and flip their allegiances with another federation.

Because federations are defined by trade routes and not borders, they, unlike nation-states, sometimes freely overlap. One city-state may form part of transitional, non-partisan or, more commonly called, neutral areas between federations. These city-states may decide to not be subject to any federation's constitution or membership, and may even use multiple currencies for trade. However, internally, they usually prefer one over others, or may decide to mint their own currency for use within city confines.

Nation-state

The nation-state is the model preferred by resource-rich areas such as most of the Orddonach, especially its western coasts. They developed as a direct result of the nature of conflict in these areas, which favours the definition of borders for large-scale areal control. These pre-national entities, usually patrimonial in nature, required expeditious and efficient internal bureaucracy through common organisation and, most importantly, a common tongue. Conflict also drove state sponsorship for the creation of national identities, as conscription becomes a much simpler process when the justification for war becomes to protect one's country and its integrity. A nation-state therefore derives its legitimacy by claiming to represent its people. It is defined by a common tongue, national identity, and borders.

Nation-states are overseen by heads of state, usually one or two per nation, which are elected through a variety of methods, including citizen vote, assembly vote, and referenda, among others. Similarly, lower-order administrative districts of these states, named in a variety of state-specific ways–provinces, regions, cantons...–have their own elected representatives, who convene together in assemblies for large-scale political affairs, usually with the tie-breaking vote falling on the head of state.

Conflict in nation-states is tied to cultural incompatibility, resource control, border disputes, usually in combination. Nation-states, therefore, tend to be significant in military might, as an attack from another nation may result in catastrophic territory loss, thereby losing resources, and, most importantly, cultural control and citizen morale—their very legitimacy depends on these two points.

Patrimonial state

The patrimonial state is a largely historical model previously used around the Orddonach and Luhan, although remnants of it exist in whole or part in the modern day, either as true patrimonial states or as elements within other forms of state. These states are, like nation-states, partly defined by their borders. However, unlike nation-states, patrimonial states are also defined by being owned, usually by a family or single individual, who rules over the state and inherits their status through blood and familial ties. Thereby, its legitimacy is entirely derived from personal claim to land. The concept of a national identity is absent in these kinds of country, replaced by allegiance to the head of state and the prestige derived from being under them.

Because of the highly personal form of government that defines these states, conflict usually takes the form of intra- or inter-familial disagreement. Houses in conflict see each other as threats to their existence, and their respective subjects as threats to each other's glory and prestige. Like nation-states, then, patrimonial states place significant importance–and resource distribution–to their military.

Patrimonial states are, by nature, highly susceptible to succession crises. A ruler without an heir is threatened with internal conflict, dissolution from within, or attack from other patrimonial states. To alleviate and prepare for these cases, patrimonial states have developed a large variety of contingency plans: appointing other members of (or people unrelated but close to) the family, promoting consorts/dowagers to regents, forming assemblies of trusted individuals to choose among themselves, among others.

Ripple state

The ripple state is found in Bahl and most of Nashkarul, and is similar in nature to the federation, in that it is defined by the economic relationships between city-states that are unbound by explicit borders. However, in the ripple model, only certain cities are fully independent. These cities are called capitals, and exert their influence through the accumulation of wealth and prestige. Ripple states, in fact, derive their legitimacy from this. Cities within their periphery choose to become part of their sphere of influence, and therefore be subject to their laws, currency and culture, usually independently but frequently also through coercion, as cities with less material wealth and those closer to the capitals simply have less of a choice to become bound to them. Ripple states are thereby extremely fluid at their outer bounds, and losing prestige and importance is met by peripheral cities switching allegiances with different capitals. Conflict usually arises at the periphery as well, where the concept of the "neutral" or non-partisan territory is seen as a direct threat to the capitals' prestige. Capitals strongly compete amidst each other through primarily economic means, and the rise of new capitals is met with strong opposition by older, established ones, who respond by diverting their economic influence elsewhere.

Theocratic state

The theocratic state is found in Cicea and Eluvh, and generally resembles the patrimonial state in that it is also defined through administration by a single individual or a select group. Unlike patrimonial states, however, theocratic states select their heads of state, who usually also take the role of religious leaders, through ritual rather than inheritance. This type of state derives its legitimacy from divine appointment and religious influence. Selection rituals take a variety of forms, with the most popular being the interpretation of omens, trial, and divination. Unlike federations and ripple states, these territories are bound by clearly defined borders. Conflict may arise internally, through schism, heresy, contested selection, or tension between religious and political power, or at the borders, where the influence from neighbouring states is a direct threat.