Design the United Earth government!

[Sci]

A challenge to those of us Trekkies who are also political junkies:

The year is 2130 (or 2113, or whenever you think United Earth was founded). You have been selected to be on the committee to design the governmental structure of United Earth. You have to issue a proposal to the rest of the committee.

How would you design the UE government? Would it be a presidential republic, like the United States? Or would it be a parliamentary system, like Great Britain? Or perhaps a semi-presidential system like Russia or France? Does it use first-past-the-post voting, or does it use proportional representation? Or both? How many chambers would the legislature have? How many members would make up the cabinet, and what departments/ministries would it consist of? What would be the powers and composition of the judiciary? Where would you put the capital city (Rule: No new cities, just existing ones!), and what would you name the new capitol building? What would you call the monetary unit (since money exists at least until the time of TOS)?

Have fun!

 

[FalTorPan]

I think I'll just read this thread with both curiosity and dread. I loathe the idea of a united Earth government.

 

[Sci]

FalTorPan said:
I think I'll just read this thread with both curiosity and dread. I loathe the idea of a united Earth government.

Well, while you may or may not have positive or negative opinions about a planetary state in real life, United Earth is an essential element of the story of Star Trek, and I'd be very interested in hearing how you would want such a government to function if it had to exist (even if you didn't want it to exist).

After all, the people who didn't want the US Constitution to exist ended up being the driving force behind one of its most important features, the Bill of Rights!

 

[captcalhoun]

like the UK, but with PR, no House of Lords and a Ministry of Space.

Capital city: Geneva.
Monetary unit: the Credit
Two chambers, one with representatives from each nation, the other with regional senators.
The Judiciary would be more like Britain's in that they couldn't make the laws like the US Supreme Court and more like America's in that they'd be appointed for longer terms by the Parliament.

 

[Crewman6]

The U.S. Supreme Court cannot make laws.

 

[stupidname]

I would have a two-chamber legislature, with the first chamber being elected in accordance with each region being given a weighting in a similar way as in the EU. The second chamber would be composed of experts, appointed by a panel. That way they could properly scrutinise legislation, leaving political considerations to the first chamber.

 

[Sci]

captcalBOO!n said:
like the UK, but with PR, no House of Lords and a Ministry of Space.

Capital city: Geneva.
Monetary unit: the Credit
Two chambers, one with representatives from each nation, the other with regional senators.
The Judiciary would be more like Britain's in that they couldn't make the laws like the US Supreme Court and more like America's in that they'd be appointed for longer terms by the Parliament.

Like the UK? So who's the head of state -- a hereditary monarch, or an elected president, or other?

 

[Colonel Green]

Parliamentary democracy with a Monarch (with executive power) elected to a life-log reign. One representative house and one regional one.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Crewman6 said:
The U.S. Supreme Court cannot make laws.

See Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade.

 

[Eternality]

I would draw upon the example of the largest democracy we already know of for inspiration: India. A Parliamentary system with strong state powers.

~Legislature
The State level would consist of whatever preexisting sovereign states that were in existence prior to Unification.

The Union government would have a bi-cameral legislature.

The lowest house would be known as the General Assembly (representing local constituencies), with a PR single transferable vote. This would be the strongest house.

The upper house would be known as the Union Council, representing state interests. Councillors would be elected by a plurality vote. They confirm political appointees from the President, as well as ratify treaties with the Assembly.

There would an independent body, known as the Chamber of Elders, which would be an advisory body of officals elected from non-state interests, such as minorities, corporations and non-governmental organizations. The Elders, both individually and collectively, have the power to raise questions of constitutionality for the Courts.

~Executive
The cabinet would consist of:

The Prime Minster, Head of Government
Minister for Interstellar Affairs
Minister for Defense
Minister for Finance
Minister for Justice
Minister for Colonial Affairs
Minister for Human Services
Minister for Procurement and Resources
Minister for the Environment
Minister for Planetary Infrastructure
Minister for Orbital and Sol System Infrastructure
Minister for Education
Minister for Media and Culture

A President is also elected, at large via 2 round majority vote. They would mostly be ceremonial, with limited powers of appointment to non-partisan bureaucracies and to the Courts. They would also preside over the Union Council.

~Judiciary
Let's assume theres a nice developed lower and appeals court system. A Supreme Court is appointed to life terms. Formally nominated by the President, and confirmed by the Council. 15 justices, but they rarely all sit together. Rather, most of the time they function solely as a court of last resort in 5 judge panels. 15 justices means they can split the caseload. The only time they'd all get together is if a ruling by one panel conflicts with the prior ruling of another panel on the same issue. All courts may deal with questions of constitutionality.

~Other Stuff
The Executive (The President and his office) is located in Paris.

The Legislature is split, with the Union Council in New York and the Assembly in Buenos Aires.

The Judiciary sits in Tokyo.

The Elders meet where they see fit.

The Currency should be called the Solus.



OK, I think that's more than enough of me describing my version of Terran government.

 

[captcalhoun]

Roe VS. Wade was going to be my point, thanks Shameless...

Sci: PM would be head of state as well as head of government.

 

[Brannigan]

We're talking institutional design (my specialty) here, so we need to take certain things into account. First each nation would still need its own government, so the United Earth Government would have to be a federalist system. Second, a presidential system might not be the best, so I would want a parliamentary system so that weaker nations would have an equal share in the law making. Thirdly, a first past the post or majoritarian system (like the US and Britain have) would not work for the same reason, so the UE govt should have proportional representation. The reasoning for this is the same reasoning behind parliamentary government: more equality for less populous nations. These are just three of the elements I would expect a UE government to have.
Oh yes one other point: the UE government would have to be a democracy (despite what some Star Trek episodes might suggest otherwise, see the DS9 episodes Home Front and its companion whose name escapes me at the moment). For that reason, the government should be headed by civilian leaders, and not Starfleet, a decidely military orginization from TWOK-present.

 

[captcalhoun]

^ Paradise Lost

 

[Sci]

Brannigan said:
Oh yes one other point: the UE government would have to be a democracy (despite what some Star Trek episodes might suggest otherwise, see the DS9 episodes Home Front and its companion whose name escapes me at the moment).

When did "Home Front"/"Paradise Lost" suggest otherwise?

 

[Brannigan]

If im not mistaken didnt the Starfleet admiral declare martial law, something usually reserved to the decision of the PM/president (think Lincoln when he declared Martial Law in Maryland in 1862/63). If im wrong, I stand corrected. But to me it indicated that starfleet held more power than is normal in a typical democracy, where the military is still headed by civilians (the president, chief of staffs, etc).

 

[Sci]

Brannigan said:
If im not mistaken didnt the Starfleet admiral declare martial law, something usually reserved to the decision of the PM/president (think Lincoln when he declared Martial Law in Maryland in 1862/63). If im wrong, I stand corrected. But to me it indicated that starfleet held more power than is normal in a typical democracy, where the military is still headed by civilians (the president, chief of staffs, etc).

You're misremembering the episodes. Admiral Leyton convinced Federation President Jaresh-Inyo -- who was specifically identified as Starfleet's commander-in-chief and as a civilian -- to declare martial law on Earth (in the same way that the US President might declare martial law throughout a state).

 

[Brannigan]

ok, thanks Sci, its been awhile since Ive seen those episodes.

 

[Jamaica Jive]

ShamelessMcBundy said:

Crewman6 said:
The U.S. Supreme Court cannot make laws.

See Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade.

The Legislative branch (Congress) makes the laws, The Executive branch (President and Cabinet) enforces the laws, and the Judicial branch (Supreme Court) interprets the laws.

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) was a United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion.[1] According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings. Roe is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history. Its lesser-known companion case, Doe v. Bolton, was decided at the same time.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954),[1] is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, by declaring that state laws which established separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court's unanimous (9-0) decision stated, in no uncertain terms, that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." As a result, de jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, this victory thereby paving the way for integration and the Civil Rights Movement.

They did not create new laws, their decisions overturned existing laws.

 

[LRT]

My version of a United Earth government would be a weak federalist government.

Pre-existing nations would remain and would continue to exercise primary power over strictly internal matters. The UE government's powers, which would be enumerated in a constitution, would cover planet-wide issue, common defense and external relations with other planets.

I would propose a bicameral legislature, with the lower house directly elected within each nation with the number of representatives based on the population of the country. This house would have final authority over budgets and general legislation. The upper house would contain one representative for each nation, selected according to the preference of each nation (i.e. some nations may appoint a representative, some may elect the representative in a national election, while others might have a president or other head of state serve as the representative). The upper house's concurrence would be needed to sign treaties, declare war and appoint senior officials.

As for the head of state, I would adopt the EU model of the rotating presidency, with each nation's head of state serving a fixed term as planetary head of state. The head of government would be general secretary, who would elected by majorities in both houses of the legislature. Statutory cabinet offices would include secretaries or ministers of defense, external affairs, trade and economic development, science and technology and exploration.

The planetary constitution would guarantee civil liberties for all citizens of Earth and preserve the authority of national governments over internal matters. It would also prohibit the UE's joint defense forces from deployment on Earth and would prevent their use against any nation on Earth.

 

[Michael_Kroh]

A dozen nations band together in 2064 to found The United Nations of Terra.

The Global Credit Monitor controls the digital monetary system.

The Global Transport Affiliate is an international effort to distribute the building blocks of recovery throughout the member nations of the expanding UNT.

A small number of Vulcan students establish First Contact with various populations on the Frontier. Recovery is slow going, most nations are still quite splintered and internalized.

The GTA Iron Horse APC pushes east across a shattered American Wasteland...