Politics of the Kingdom of Sierra

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Kingdom of Sierra

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of the
Kingdom of Sierra

The Kingdom of Sierra is a federation with an asymmetric system and devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy where the monarch, currently Elizabeth II of Sierra, is the official head of state, and the Prime Minister of Sierra, currently Susan Kwon, is the official head of government. Executive power is rested in the hands of the Government of Sierra which exercises power on behalf and with the consent of the Sierran monarch, and the devolved legislatures of the constituted countries of Deseret, Hawaii, West New Mexico, and Sierra. Both the Executive Council of Sierra and the Cabinet also share executive power within the federal government. Legislative power is rested in both chambers of the Parliament of Sierra; the House of Commons and the Senate along with the devolved legislates such as the Council of Fifty, National Hawaiian Congress and the Ranch-Estates of New Mexico with the Sierran Parliament being the legislature of the constituted country of Sierra. The Judiciary is independent of both the executive and legislature and the highest court in the entire kingdom is the Supreme Court of Sierra.

The Kingdom of Sierra is a multi-party state with three major parties and many significant third parties. The two largest and dominant political parties have been the Royalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. Throughout Sierra's history, both the Democratic-Republicans and the Royalists have shared power in a two-party system that would dominate Sierran politics up until the 1990s which saw the birth of the country's three-party system which persists into the modern era. Coalition and minority governments have been formed numerous times throughout the country's history, but the usage of first-past-the-post ballot methods in general and provincial elections have generally favored both parties and have helped maintain their positions as the dominate force in Sierran politics. Despite their dominance, both parties have relied on the support of third parties to help form coalition governments with the Royalists frequently work with the Libertarian Party while the Democratic-Republicans frequently work with the Social Democrats of Sierra. Most Prime Ministers have been either a Royalist or Democratic-Republican with the two exceptions being Hiram Johnson of the Reformed Republican Party and Susan Kwon of the Social Democrats.

As a federation, Sierra possesses 23 provinces each are allowed to have their own semi-autonomous government lead by a governor and lieutenant governor respectively and a lord superintendent to act as a representative to the Sierran crown. The provinces are organized in away reminiscent of how the federal government of the former United States was structured as aspects of both the American and Westminster systems are used in Sierra's government which has a federal system, but fused with a parliamentary legislative structure similar to that in the United Kingdom. The federal government invests in the different cultural, geographical and political regions of Sierra which has been a priority following a civil conflict in the Styxie, though the latter continues to remain a very unhealthy region in the country. The government also administers the countries overseas territories as well, though the responsibility for administering the territories is handled by parliament while the crown dependancies are handled by the crown and subjected to the authority of the monarch instead.

The Crown[edit | edit source]

The Sierran monarch, currently Elizabeth II, is the official head of state of the Kingdom of Sierra. While she has limited powers due to her powers being handled by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Parliament due to her position as a constitutional monarch, the Sierran monarch remains the most important position in Sierran politics with the Crown being at the core of the entire executive branch. The Monarch has a council of advisors known as the Privy Council which help with the powers that the monarch does have known simply as the royal prerogative and is used for functions such as the ability to issue or withdraw passports, the ability to dismiss the Prime Minister and even declare war. The powers that are delegated to the monarch personally, in the name of the Crown, can be and often are handled by various ministers or officers of the Crown at the consent of Parliament.

The head of Her Majesty's Government is the Prime Minister which has weekly meetings with the monarch where she can express her feelings, warnings, and/or advise the Prime Minister on the government's work.

According to the Constitution of Sierra the monarch has the following powers;

Domestic powers[edit | edit source]

  • The ability to appoint or dismiss a prime minister.
  • The ability to appoint or dismiss other ministers.
  • The ability to summon or prorogue parliament.
  • The ability to grant or refuse Royal Assent to bills (make them valid in law)
  • The ability to commission officers in the Armed Forces.
  • The ability to command the Sierran Crown Armed Forces.
  • The ability to appoint members to the Privy Council.
  • The ability to issue or withdraw passports.
  • The ability to to grant prerogative of mercy.
  • The ability to grant honors.
  • The ability to create corporations via the Sierran Charter

Foreign powers[edit | edit source]

  • Power to rarity or make treaties.
  • Power to declare war or peace.
  • Power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas.
  • Power to recognize foreign states.
  • Power to credit or receive diplomats.

Executive[edit | edit source]

Executive power in the Kingdom of Sierra is exercised by the Sierran sovereign through Her Majesty's Government and the devolved national authorities in Deseret, Hawaii, and West New Mexico.

Sierran federal government[edit | edit source]

The Prime Minister is the formal head of government and is appointed to the position by the monarch. The Prime Minister governs under a conviction as a representative of the Crown and is also a Member of Parliament with the Prime Minister also serving as the President of the Senate of Sierra. In practice, the Prime Minister also serves as the leader of the dominant political party in Parliament with a majority of seats in one or both chambers. If no party holds a clear majority in parliament, the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime Minister selects Ministers as part of forming the new government and act as the heads of various ministries and government departments. About twelve of the most senior ministers picked by the Prime Minister make up the Cabinet and 100 ministers in total make up the acting government. In accordance with the constitutional convention, all Ministers are Members of Parliament or peers in the Senate.

As seen in other parliamentary systems (especially in the Westminster system), the executive (officially referred to as the government) is drawn from and answerable only to parliament and a vote of no confidence will force the government to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution and seek a general election. All members of parliament of all major parties are controlled by whips who help maintain party discipline in the legislature in practice. If a party has a large enough majority, they'll be able to pass legislation without the fear of losing enough votes to stall said legislation.

Prime Minister and the Cabinet[edit | edit source]

The Prime Minister is the most senior member of Her Majesty's Government serving as the head of the Cabinet, responsible for picking Cabinet members and other government ministers, and formulating government policy. As the de-facto leader of Sierra, the Prime Minister exercises executive functions that are normally vested in the monarch and carries them out on the monarch's behalf. Historically, Charles I of Sierra was the only monarch to fully exercise all executive power that he was vested in his position, but willingly rescinded it in the first decade of Sierra's history trusting the office of the Prime Minister to carry them out on the Crown's behalf instead and other responsibilities to be carried out by a Cabinet lead by the Prime Minister. As a result of Charles I's decision, day-to-day functioning of the Sierran government and all other executive functions and responsibilities are carried out by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet with the consent of the monarch.

Theoretically speaking, the Prime Minister is primus inter pares (i.e., Latin for "first among equals") among their Cabinet colleagues and is bound to make policy decisions in a collective fashion along with other Cabinet members despite being the most senior member of the body. The second senior member of the Cabinet is the Deputy Prime Minister which serves primarily as the most senior advisor of the Prime Minister and a senior aid to the monarch. The Deputy Prime Minister lacks any legislative powers as the Prime Minister serves as the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons of Sierra is elected by the House of Commons itself. Other ministries are those that lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education among other government ministries and offices and are approved by the Senate of Sierra after being chosen by the Prime Minister.

Government ministries and civil service[edit | edit source]

The Government of Sierra contains many ministries and are lead by a government minister, many of whom are members of the Cabinet. Ministers are also supported by deputy ministers and junior ministers who serve as advisors, representatives of the minister, substitute and potential successors in the event the minister is either absent, resigns, removed or is unable to carry out their duties. In practice, several government ministries, departments and agencies have responsibilities that are within the jurisdiction of Sierra alone, with devolved bodies carrying out similar responsibilities in the other constituted countries such as the Department of Education in Hawaii and Ministry of Public Security in West New Mexico. The majority of major ministries and ministers have the bulk or all of their responsibilities based within Sierra alone due to it housing the government and most of the population, though the constituted countries aren't ignored.

The implementation of the policies from the ministers is handled by the Civil Service, the permanent bureaucracy and non-partisan political neurally agency responsible for implementing such policies into law. The constitutional role of the civil service is to support the federal government regardless of whatever party holds the majority and is in power. Unlike other modern democracies, some senior civil servants can remain in power in the event of a change of government. The official responsible for managing the agency and administration is known as the Secretary of the Civil Service. The majority of civil service staff also work in other executive agencies and ministries as well.

Current cabinet/ministry[edit | edit source]

Devolved governments[edit | edit source]

Deseret[edit | edit source]

The Government of Deseret is responsible for all issues not reserved for the Sierran parliament at Porciúncula. The Organic Act of 1896 established a semi-autonomous government in Deseret and was later expanded upon following the ratification of the Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra in 1950 which granted Deseret and other constituted countries their own respective governments, legislatures, judiciaries and more autonomy. The Deseretian government is unique in that it operates as a theodemocratic representative democracy in which the government and the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are paralleled to one another. The President of the Deseret is the head of government and the primary legislature is the Council of Fifty. The governing collective decision-making body is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the president is accompanied by two other advisors; the First Counselor and the Second Counselor. The government of the Deseret is responsible for handling healthcare, education, taxation and law enforcement within the constituted country while the national armed forces handles the country's security.

Hawaii[edit | edit source]

The Government of Hawaii is a semi-parliamentary constitutional monarchy in which the head of state is the Prince of Hawaii who serves as the representative of the Crown to Hawaii while the head of government is reserved to the Premier of Hawaii. As part of the Charter, Hawaii is semi-home rule and has its own independent legislature, the National Hawaiian Congress, and its own respective government ministries and agencies. Hawaii has its own departments to handle services such as healthcare, education and other public services and carries out all functions not reserved to parliament or the Crown. The Hawaiian Congress is divided into two chambers; the Senate and the House of Representatives and is able to pass laws and legislation of their own accord as long as such laws do not violate the established laws, rulings, constitution and charter of the kingdom at large.

West New Mexico[edit | edit source]

Similar to the Deseret, West New Mexico has its own devolved government, though has more autonomy than Hawaii. West New Mexico has its own legislature, the Ranch-Estates of New Mexico, and is lead by the First Minister of New Mexico and is responsible for running the executive office and the New Mexican Cabinet. Unlike the other constituted countries, New Mexico does not have its own constitution and instead has a Declaration of National and Human Rights as its constitutional document which dictates the rights and freedoms that the citizens of New Mexico enjoy. West New Mexico has its own agencies responsible for public services and its own political parties as well alongside devolved affiliates from the national political parties.

Legislatures[edit | edit source]

The Parliament of Sierra is the national legislature of the Kingdom of Sierra and the Government is drawn to and answerable to parliament. It is a bicameral legislature composed of two houses; the Senate and House of Commons. The devolved governments of the Deseret, Hawaii and New Mexico also have their own respective legislatures, though their legislative authority varies upon each legislature.

Sierran parliament[edit | edit source]

House of Commons[edit | edit source]

Parliament Building, the meeting place of the Sierran Parliament.

Each of the four constituted countries of the Kingdom of Sierra are divided into constituencies whose borders and boundaries are set by the Legislative Boundary Commission and its four branches within the constituted countries. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons at general elections and snap-elections if called. As of 2017, there are 250 constituencies up from 232 in 2010. All MPs are elected in general elections from single-member districts and typically belong to a political party.

In the modern era, all Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition are elected from the House of Commons, though some Prime Ministers have been elected from the Senate in snap-elections rather than general ones. Such a system has been in place since the Parliamentary Reorganization Act of 1912 was passed by Robert Landon on September 27, 1912. The recent Prime Minister, Nemesis Heartwell, was elected from the Senate after assuming the position in November 2017 after replacing Leslie Steele as official Prime Minister after wining the 2017 Royalist Party leadership election.

Usually, one political party holds a majority in the House of Commons either on their own or in a coalition with another party or two. The usage of the first-past-the-post electoral system generally helps keep the Royalists and Democratic-Republicans as the two dominant parties, though third parties such as the Social Democrats and Libertarians generally hold more influence in the House of Commons in comparison to the Senate. The Monarch normally asks the Prime Minister to form a government and asks if it's possible it can survive in the House of Commons, an act that the majority of modern governments are expected to be able to do. In the event that a majority government is unable to be formed due to no party holding any majority in parliament, the Crown will permit and ask for the creation of a minority government and recommends a coalition government and/or a confidence and supply agreement.

Senate[edit | edit source]

The Senate of Sierra is the upper house of the Sierran Parliament is is a unique blend of Westminster-style parliamentarianism and Anglo-American-style federalism. The Senate is a 125 member legislature with 48 of its members being known as commissioned senators, members of the Senate that are appointed by a government official rather than a general election, while the remaining members are all democratically elected in general senate elections. 13 commissioned senators are appointed by the Prime Minister while the remaining 35 are appointed by their respective PSAs and are either approved by the provincial legislature or appointed by the governor.

Each province has a delegation composing of three Senators each with two being democratically elected in provincial Senate elections while the third is appointed by the governor and/or approved by the legislature. Both Santa Clara and San Joaquin have their commissioned senators elected by the people and chosen by the legislature, a fashion similar to those of regular senators. The Prime Minister serves as the President of the Senate and is supported by the Senate Majority Leader while the Opposition is lead by the Leader of the Senate Opposition who's also the deputy of the Leader of the Opposition.

The Senate reviews and votes on legislation passed in the House of Commons and is also given the jurisdiction to approve nominees for the Supreme Court and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Senate also has the power to propose amendments and can exercise a suspensive veto. This allows the Senate to delay legislation they do not approve of for twelve months at max, but the max usage of vetos is restricted by the Parliamentary Reorganization Act of 1912 and the Senate Convention Act of 1951 which restricts how often the Senate can veto legislation they don't approve of from the House. Term limits vary in the Senate as no average term limit actually exists with commissioned senators being allowed to serve in the Senate for as long as possible, if their respective provinces approve of it, while regular Senators must be re-elected once every two years and can be dismissed from their hosts by the will of the Monarch or Prime Minister if they reach the age of 75.

Devolved legislatures[edit | edit source]

Judiciary[edit | edit source]

Electoral system[edit | edit source]

Political parties[edit | edit source]

Throughout the course of Sierra's history, the two largest political parties have been the Royalist and Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. Both parties functioned in a two-party system until the arrival of the Libertarian Party in the 1990s and since then, Sierra has had a three-way system between the three parties. Many other fourth parties exist and such parties have been gaining traction in recent years.

The Royalist Party emerged from the original supporters of Charles I of Sierra both before and after the establishment of the Kingdom of Sierra in 1858. The Royalists were the successors of those that sided with Smith during the Constitutional Convention of the California Republic and sided with Smith in establishing a Westminster-style parliamentary constitutional monarchy combined with elements of an American-style federalist system as well. In the modern era, the Royalist Party is the leading conservative party in Sierra and serve as the leading force in favor of preserving the monarchy and are commonly known as the "Tories" like the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. The Democratic-Republicans were originally citizens of the California Republic in the western states and some coastal communities that were opposed to a monarchy and formed an opposition political party that sought to abolish the monarchy. The Democratic-Republicans formed around supporting a democratic republican-style government and were inspired by the Democratic-Republicans of the United States. In the modern era, the Democratic-Republican Party is supportive of cultural republicanism, but only specific members and factions continue to support political republicanism. The Democratic-Republicans are the largest and leading liberal party of Sierra and are the largest political party in the country with over 22 million registered members.

Major parties[edit | edit source]

Royalist Party[edit | edit source]

The Royalist and Federalist Party, commonly known as the Royalists and Tories, is a center-right political party and the largest conservative party in the Kingdom of Sierra.

The Royalist Party is a primarily socially conservative, Tory, pro-monarchist political party with adherence towards Sierran humanism, a major political ideology and philosophy from the Sierran Cultural Revolution, and are one of the two major political parties in Sierra. Initially based in urban areas during its early years, the Royalist Party is primarily based within many rural communities, agrarian communities and provinces, small towns and some cities, though have little influence on major coastal cities. The Royalists were one of the first parties to be formed and have been ardent defenders of the monarchy since its inception in 1858. The first Prime Minister, Frederick Bachelor, Sr, was a Royalist and 18 out of 34 of Sierra's Prime Ministers have been Royalist, including the incumbent Prime Minister, Nemesis Heartwell.

During the Sierran Cultural Revolution, the Royalists and Democratic-Republicans had supported the cause to gain the support of racial minorities that were pushing for greater civil rights and the Royalists had used the revolution to expand the role and public image of the monarchy and gain political influence among Latinos, Asians and other racial, ethnic and cultural minorities in Sierra. While being the leading conservative party in the modern era, the Royalist Party generally struggles within the Styxie, a region where many hold conservative views, especially in San Joaquin and Reno, but the Royalists are the opposition parties within Styxie provincial legislatures and the region remains largely aligned with the Democratic-Republican Party. One group that the Royalists have the strongest support of are the Sierran Jacobites, an ethnoreligious group that have been ardent supporters of the monarchy throughout Sierra's history. In the modern era, the Royalists have also voices support for Ameroskepticism, criticism and opposition of the Conference of American States, but generally support Soft Ameroskepticism favoring political reform over leaving the organization entirely.

In 2014, the Royalists entered into an alliance with the Libertarian Party and Hawaiian Sovereignty Party to form the Conservative Coalition in opposition to the Progressive Coalition during the tenure of Steven Hong as Prime Minister.

Since 2017 the Royalists have been the incumbent party and make up the largest party within a minority government since 2018. The party collaborates with the Libertarians on economic issues and some social issues (specifically gun related matters), but has been facing increasing criticism over dissatisfied conservative voters, accusations of nepotism, corruption and incompetence from Nemesis Heartwell, and issues over losing support to the Christian Democrats have come up in recent years. Other analysts have pointed out major ideological divisions with many Royalists being neoconservative, paleoconservative, fusionists, libertarian, new rightists and Christian democrats which have all been cited as major factors in internal ideological disputes within the party.

Democratic-Republican Party[edit | edit source]

The Democratic-Republican Party, commonly known as the Dem-Reps, is a center-left political party and the leading liberal party in the Kingdom of Sierra.

The Democratic-Republicans are a primarily liberal and socially progressive political party that focuses on advancing civil rights for women, LGBT people, and minority groups. The party was originally formed in opposition to the monarchy and sought its abolition, but dropped political republicanism from its platform following the Convention of 1903 and has supported cultural republicanism instead. In the modern era, the Democratic-Republican base is primarily centered around the northern and coastal provinces and has strong support in the Gold Coast, Santa Clara. and San Francisco. Despite being more conservative and politically polarized in nature, the Democratic-Republicans have strong support from the provinces in the Styxie. The Democratic-Republicans also have a strong presence within the western provinces of Sierra and its affiliate in New Mexico, the National Democratic Alliance, is the leading force in West New Mexican politics. 17 out of 34 of Sierra's prime ministers have been Democratic-Republican and the party has played a major role as one of the two largest political parties in Sierra and the Royalists' primarily political rival in Sierra's politics and elections.

The latest Democratic-Republican government was the Progressive Coalition from 2008 to 2016 that was lead by Steven Hong and Preston Bolivar. The coalition was between the Democratic-Republicans, Social Democrats, and the Green Party, and such parties continue to cooperate in politics as a unified opposition in parliament.

Since 2017, the Democratic-Republicans have been the leading opposition party and continue to work with the Greens and Social Democrats, though some have floated working with the Progressive Socialists. In the 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic-Republicans made many legislative gains and managed to achieve many upsets in House of Commons elections and other provincial elections. The Democratic-Republicans have managed to weaken the Royalist-led majority, but remain in the opposition and have faced heavy criticism over insufficient commitment to left-wing and liberal causes and concerns over political divisions, mainly between cultural and political republicans, establishment liberals and progressives, and even conservatives against social democrats/left-wing populists.

Libertarian Party[edit | edit source]

Major fourth parties[edit | edit source]

Social Democrats[edit | edit source]

Progressive Socialists[edit | edit source]

Green Party[edit | edit source]

Christian Democrats[edit | edit source]

Other political parties[edit | edit source]

Many other political parties exist in Sierra, but are either relatively small to count or are not ballot-qualified. Such parties include:

  • Prohibition Party: A far-right prohibitionist, anti-drug and temperance political party. Founded in 1901, the party runs on an anti-drug, anti-alcohol platform.
  • Libertarian Socialist Party: A far-left political party espousing libertarian socialism and self-determination.
  • Hawaiian Sovereignty Party: An autonomous and semi-separatist political party pushing for greater autonomy for Hawaii.
  • National Socialist Party of Sierra: A far-right neo-Nazi political party. Banned from running candidates in certain districts and provinces.

Conference of American States[edit | edit source]

International participation[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Navigation[edit | edit source]