Macabee Government Explores Bicameral Legislature
The Imperial Government has succumbed to the public's demands, and is now discussing reforms to the legislative branch. Despite the Senate's success in wrestling power away from the executive — His Imperial Majesty Fedor I —, it is still seen as mostly ineffective. The government is exploring the possibility of reforming the Senate, and introducing a bicameral legislature. This would be another significant step in the process of the decentralization of power.
The Imperial Government has succumbed to the public's demands, and is now discussing reforms to the legislative branch. Despite the Senate's success in wrestling power away from the executive — His Imperial Majesty Fedor I —, it is still seen as mostly ineffective. The government is exploring the possibility of reforming the Senate, and introducing a bicameral legislature. This would be another significant step in the process of the decentralization of power.
There has never been much of an opportunity for democracy in what is now the Golden Throne. Most of its history has been in the form of an empire. The First Empire stood for more than one thousand years, and it was infamous for its resistance to transition — serfdom was only abolished by 1873, only 25 years before the imperial government's collapse. The empire shattered into various kingdoms and republics, which fought intermittent wars between each other for 100 years. Some of these democratized in some sense, but the preference of border conflict over nation building meant that democratic institutions were usually very weak, susceptible to corruption and tyranny. This chaotic period was, of course, followed by the Second Empire, which has only truly begun to liberalize in the past 10 years — although, to be sure, the liberalization has been quite dramatic. The decision to reform the legislative branch, nevertheless, represents a large step forward in democratization, because it allows for true political pluralism.
When the Second Empire was founded 22 years ago, beginning with the reign of Jonas I, it was an autocracy. In fact, it was a power struggle away from being a theocracy. It quickly gained broad international recognition as an authoritarian powerhouse, solidified by its founding member status in the "Right Wing Collective" (RWC). The RWC was co-founded with Holy Panooly — which has been ruled by a fascist, and genocidal, dictatorship for 20 years —, and its members were known for their despotism, their militaries, and their corrupt societies. For the Empire, this state of affairs persisted until Jonas' death. Bequeathing his throne to his grandson, rather than his son, he sparked a civil war that would drastically alter the political landscape in Fedala (the capital city). This conflict has come to be known as the War of Golden Succession — the first true regional war, involving most of Greater Díenstad, at the time. While it came at huge human and economic loss, the silver lining is that it decisively caged Imperial power.
The grandson, Fedor, ultimately secured his thrones, and used the regional war as an opportunity to occupy vast tracts of land in northern Safehaven and Guffingford. But, in order to secure the loyalty of the majority of the home provinces, Fedor agreed to cede legislative powers to the Senate, which beforehand had been mere "advisers." It was thanks to this purchased loyalty at home that Fedor was able to successfully fight a multi-front war against numerous foreign powers. While the war was officially ended via truce and treaty, the Second Empire certainly did not lose. It nearly doubled its size by incorporating much of Safehaven's northern territories and most of Guffingford. But, it was influence where the Empire won the most. The governments of Safehaven, Zarbia, and Atheism collapsed under the pressure of total war, frequently involved in bloody civil conflicts. This left the Empire as the dominant power on its continent. But, only a few months after the end of the war, the benefit of this "success" was put into question.
The Empire's finances were soon crippled by a devastating economic depression. The price of capital goods declined by over 40 percent, and industrial output collapsed. Unemployment rose to 15 percent, and was in no doubt exacerbated by the post-war demobilization — over 45 million men. Strict wartime industrial policy created an industry completely inconsistent with a market economy. Worse still, the war required the consumption of vast quantities of output, both in sheer destruction and the amount of matériel manufactured. Worse still, Fedor's government had accumulated historic levels of debt, and resorted to his central bank to subsidy debt repayments. The combination of excess money and a severe supply-shock caused hyperinflation. The Senate took the opportunity to assert its power over Fedor, without abandoning the government's strong pro-market culture, by dismantling the Díenstad National Bank (DNB) — the Empire's long-time central bank. This, in turn, eliminated the DNB's regulative structure over Imperial banks, effectively de-regulating the financial sector and lifting restrictions on the private production of money. The banking sector ultimately strengthened, but the poor economy persisted for quite some time, and the Senate curried favor against Fedor.
But, the Senate's image has recently reversed. Just a few months ago, the Senate lost much of its credibility by essentially capitulating to Fedor. The Macabee emperor asserted his legal right to rule, ordering the Empire's armies to re-mobilize. The Senate responded violently and aggressively to the invasions of Theohunacu, Zarbia and Monzarc, criticizing the emperor for wasting public resources on military endeavors of questionable justice. However, when Fedor declared his intention to acquire Stevidian Guffingford, one way or another, the Senate stood mute. An institution which had evolved to be purely critical of the country's executive found itself in a position of agreement, leading some to question its relevance. So far, however, the Senate's humiliation has not had the effect that was originally predicted. Rather than strengthen Fedor's rule, mass protests for democratic reform have arisen throughout the provinces.
The Empire's democratic experiment has been short, but it has progressed rapidly. Immediately after the war, the new territories suffered the burden of crippling taxes — which helped to subsidize the minimal tax burden on the provinces. To avoid unrest, Fedor agreed to grant substantial autonomy to his conquests. Guffingford is governed by a complex pluralist legislature, much improved over the one that prevailed prior to the Macabee occupation. In fact, its legislative system is already bicameral. All three Havenic territories have territorial legislatures, as well. Theohuanacu has no official territorial government, except for the governor — appointed by Fedor. The cities enjoy very local autonomy; many of them, especially on the southeastern coast, have almost no Imperial presence at all — a few remain as pirate societies, despite the strong Imperial naval presence. Fedor retains the right to recruit from the territories, and earns a percentage of the tax revenues. The tax codes, however, are determined jointly by the respective territorial legislatures and imperial governors. In the case of Theohuanacu, the imperial governor must negotiate taxes with the cities. The inland industrial sectors are taxed at provincial rates, currently determined by the Senate. Fedor's power is actually quite constrained, but still important — foreign policy, no less. Some have, in any case, begun to refer to the political situation in the territories as "anarchy."
Whereas recent political decentralization has been restricted mostly to the territories, the decision to reform the provincial legislative branch is good news for liberalism. While there is no official discussion, most are absolutely certain that Fedor will call for a closure of the Senate. Why would he institute a bicameral legislature? In the midst of land-grabs and wars, securing the loyalty of the provinces is essential. Besides, democratization of most national policy has brought good results since the depression. Fedor enjoys a sizable budget, and a strong banking sector provides a cheap source of credit. Besides, Fedor has the right to determine his share of provincial taxes. Thus, a bicameral legislature is the perfect way of breaking the Senate, and maintaining the loyalty of the provinces.
Bicameral legislatures are important, because they increase the amount of people involved with the decision-making process, both directly and indirectly. When determining "optimal" plurality, there are two main factors to consider: decision-making costs and external costs. A bicameral legislature undoubtedly increases decision-making costs, because a bill now has to pass two houses to be considered law. However, if each house's basis of representation is sufficiently asymmetric, the new legislature will reduce external costs. These are costs that are externalized to those who are not afforded representation in the political process, so they must bear the burden of legislation that they did not receive compensation for. If the jurisdictions of each representative's constituency are well designed, this reform will increase the amount of voters necessary for a law to pass — in other words, more people must implicitly agree with the bill for it to become law.
The new house would be named "Congress of the Kingdoms," and would include members from the territories, as well. The number of representatives will be a function of the province's or territory's population. The Senate will be reformed so that each province — territories are not represented in the Senate — sends three senators (currently, all senators are from Fedala). Within the provinces, the constituencies raised by members of the Congress of Kingdoms and Senate is as different as possible. The ideal is that the members of one congressman's constituency are randomly distributed in the constituencies of one senator. In practice, this is never the case. But, the reform will try to approach this ideal to be the maximum extent. The government has also toyed with changing the voting rules, to a straightforward majority of total voting base — rather than a simple majority.
The provinces do not immediately benefit as much as they would have hoped. They will, however, have direct representation in the capital for the first time in history. If the process of political decentralization in the territories is evidence, the same is expected to happen in the provinces. Already, provincial capitals have attempted to persuade Fedor to allow for local legislatures, to run provincial affairs. Currently, provincial politics are handled by senatorial governors, appointed by the Senate. But, the fate of provincial governments will soon lie in the bicameral legislature, where the provinces will be represented to a greater extent. This bodes well for those pushing for political reform. To compensate Fedor for even a greater loss of control over the provinces, his veto power will be strengthened — and both houses will be required to overturn his veto.
The transition is shocking in the context of the Empire's history. It is a dramatic change from Imperial politics during the reign of Jonas I. However, if we look myopically at the Empire's post-war history, the change is not so unexpected. Political decentralization has worked well in the provinces. The local economies of Guffingford and northern Safehaven are booming. Piracy has died down around Theohuanacu, and the port cities there once again enjoy copious trade. Further, Fedor hasn't had to trouble himself with domestic policy, allowing him to focus almost entirely on the use of the Empire's armed forces — a job he has taken quite seriously, illustrated by his incorporation of the territories of Theohuanacu, Zarbia, Nuevo León (eastern Zarbia), and Monzarc between 2022–2026. Macabee bureaucracy has become much leaner, the entire system much more efficient, and this has allowed the emperor to truly flaunt his aggressive foreign policy.
Ultimately, all parties will win from legislative reform. A well-designed bicameral system will increase plurality, reduce the external costs of government, and further the cause of political decentralization — not just in the territories, but in the provinces as well. Fedor will lose power in setting domestic policy, but the Senate will no longer focus almost entirely on handicapping his foreign policy. Instead, the division of political labor will be strengthened and specified even more, allowing the emperor much more leeway abroad. Besides, through his right to direct intervention and through his territorial governors, Fedor remains in strong control of their territories — the territorial legislatures set most domestic policy, but their duties to their emperor are determined by the latter. All in all, there are mutual gains from reforming the balance of power. Well, all will gain except for the Senate, which will be turned into a true legislature, paired with a sibling, the Congress of Kingdoms.
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