Velvet Monarchy



Velvet Monarchy (ᛋᚨᛘᛏᛘᚬᚾᚨᛡᚭᛁᛂ Samtmonarchie), also often called Velvet Liberty (Zusian: ᛋᚨᛘᛏᛂᚾᚠᛡᛂᚮᚺᛂᛁᛏ Samtenfreyheit) or Nobles' Democracy (ᛞᛡᚨᛄᛂᚾᛑᛂᛘᚬᚦᛡᚨᛏᛁᛂ Draßendemokratie), is the political system of liberal in Zusea. Based in traditions stretching back to the beginning of Vordic statehood, the system is founded on the legal equality of all Zusian noblemen, the Drassir, who are traditionally held to constitute the meritocratic elite of society, an ideal which originates in the scholar-gentry of the Vordic Golden Age (ca. 102 BC to 570 AD). Comprising roughly one-third of the population, the Drassir as a whole enjoy extensive legal rights and privileges, embodied in the right to elect the senatorial Sentarch as well as their respective regional Senatorial bodies, which themselves together elect the Zusian Basilikar (the head-of-state and commander-in-chief).

Historically, all participation in Zusian government was restricted to the Drassir, which only included roughly one-tenth of the population. However, unlike in other countries, in Zusea the scholar-nobility absorbed the emerging bourgeois and professional classes rather than excluding them, laying the foundations for the revival of velvet democracy during the reunification of Zusea. Today, the system also serves to balance power between the regional and imperial governments.

Though the elections are democratic, the pool of candidates and voters is restricted to the ranks of the Drassir. Additionally, candidates must have lived in Zusea for the preceding ten consecutive years, must hold Zusian citizenship, and cannot have been married or born to foreign royalty. Due to these rules, and the enormous cost of election campaigns, there are normally only six to twelve potential candidates, and the elections are generally dominated by Zusea’s Crown Houses, the ruling families of the Imperium’s constituent Kingdoms. In fact, only two Houses have ever won the throne more than once under the modern system: the Zorian House of Scharbach and the Doesian House of Galian. Combined, they have provided ten of the past twelve emperors.

Each Basilikar is required to appoint a “High Palatine” on the first day of their reign, signifying the individual who will “take custodianship” of the throne upon their death, and manage imperial affairs during the interregnum. In between emperors, however, the Palatine does not enjoy all the powers of a reigning Basilikar – only what is necessary to keep the administration running. For example, Palatines cannot propose declarations of war to the Sentarch or Räichstag, unlike fully-fledged emperors. Additionally, Palatines often serve as informal "vice-kings" to living Basilikars, though the position lacks formal powers while the Basilikar lives. The Basilikar may replace their Palatine at any time, but are constitutionally forbidden from leaving the position empty for longer than two days.

Development
The central precepts and institutions of the Imperium’s “velvet monarchy” (a term used following the Reforms of 992) include:


 * the election of the Basilikar by all senators (imperial, royal, ducal, and princely) wishing to participate, known as the Recht auf Freywahlen (“right to free elections”);
 * the Sentarch, a council of representatives from each of Zusea’s free states (Freystaaten), upon which the Basilikar sits, and to which several imperial bureaucracies are responsible;
 * the election of the Sentarch by all nobles (Drassir) wishing to participate, through an open, equal, and secret vote;
 * the Punctation of Auscha, the treaty between the imperial government and free states which established the modern Zusian nation-state, and which binds the Basilikar to a bill of rights;
 * , guaranteed both by the Punctation and the earlier Treaty of Tarnum;
 * Verband, the right of the Drassir to form organizations to consolidate votes during the free elections.

The Imperium’s political system can therefore be difficult to categorize, and often positions itself as a third way between the extremes of pure (or “despotism”) and pure  (or “mob rule”). Vordic thinkers also often link the system to the ancient Kyrossic conception of aristokratia, “rule of the best.”

Procedure
In total, the velvet elections take just over six months to complete, from the death of the reigning Basilikar to the enthronement of his successor. The process is split between weeks of legal and ceremonial “conferences,” months of campaigning, and several days of voting. Out of the roughly one-third of Zusians ranking as Drassir, only those over sixteen have the right to vote in senatorial elections.

Four special Tagungen (“conferences”) handle the procedure of the imperial elections during the interregnum:


 * Verkündigungstagung, or “promulgations conference,” called upon the death or abdication of the Basilikar by the Chief Praetor of Zusea. Delegates from each of Zusea’s free states assemble in Vordin to set the dates and regulations for the coming election and conferences, and to formally approve the list of candidates. The conference lasts two weeks, and concludes with the delegates authorizing the Central Imperial Office to administer the election.
 * Wahlentagung, or “electoral conference,” during which the Sentarch and regional Senators vote to elect the Basilikar. Held partly in the expansive Auscha state park and partly at Vanaheim, more than 15,000 “honored delegates” attend the conference over the course of six weeks, most simply to attend the ceremonies, all on horseback, in traditional costume. The candidates for the throne themselves are required to reside all six weeks at Auscha, living in elaborate outdoor camps and participating in various ceremonies, including ritualized debates, which can often become very heated. Vladimir Dovek remarks that “in 1961, only thirteen fistfights broke out, and it was said that the conference was unusually quiet.”
 * Abschließendtagung, or “closing conference,” during which the results are formally announced, and the winner is declared, by the Central Imperial Office. This penultimate conference follows a period of three week’s rest after the prior conference. Lasting two weeks, the conference is held at Vanaheim and concludes with thousands of Drassir swearing fealty en-masse to the Basilikar-elect, on horseback, in traditional costume, through an elaborate ceremony. All attendees of the prior conference also attend the Abschließendtagung.
 * Krönungstagung, or “coronation conference,” held in Vordin, during which the High Palatine relinquishes custodianship of the throne to the Basilikar-elect, and during which the Polimarck crowns the new emperor in the Rhapsel Basilica and releases to him the imperial regalia. Lasting another two weeks, the Basilikar-elect undertakes various ceremonial duties, mostly the swearing of oaths; to the Zusian constitution, to the Punctation, and to the citizens of the empire.

Campaign strategy
Election campaigns for the imperial throne, usually called imperial campaigns, are a mixture of old traditions and new innovations, and are often shrouded in secrecy and intrigue. Before the Zusian period, campaigns were deeply personal and small-scale, as the Drassir class was much smaller, and the largest could command thousands of votes. However, the radical expansion of the aristocracy in the early 19th century drove the great houses to invest in vast national campaign infrastructures, in order to reach the largest number of Drassir possible, and also to begin collecting demographic data and targeting specific demographics. Senators in both the Sentarch and the regional assemblies are reliant on their constituencies for their seats and therefore pay close attention to national polling when it comes to their vote in the Wahlentagung.

A central mechanism of modern imperial campaigns are so-called ZI Programs, ZI being an abbreviation for the term "zur Information" ("for your information"). As part of these programs, the great houses distribute millions of "ZI booklets" to Zusian households, which are elaborate publications detailing the virtues of their candidate, usually including a short biography, selected quotes, and statements of approval from various figures and institutions. In the past two elections, these booklets also began to feature prominent sections criticizing other candidates. These booklets are delivered in larger packages which include supplementary pamphlets and other material. Ornate binding and packaging has proven to be effective at attracting voters, and as such these booklets can be enormously expensive to produce and distribute, with costs rising every election. In 2018, leaked emails seemed to indicate that the houses of Scharbach and Tscharnau have even considered incorporating gilding into their booklet covers as a demonstration of wealth.

Beyond the booklets produced by houses, Zusea's secretive political societies play a major role in the elections. Like churches, societies enjoy generous tax exemptions, and they mostly represent broad interest groups. Some are funded by external organizations like, religious groups, or corporations, while others rely on member contributions. Societies maintain close ties with networks of friendly Senators and therefore wield enormous de-facto influence in the Wahlentagung. Moreover, societies often distribute their own ZI booklets, which can have a profound impact on the voting behaviors of interest groups. Competition for their support is often fierce. Following the 1998 imperial election, numerous allegations of and electoral espionage plagued the great houses.

Proverb
The rights and privileges of the Drassir, and even the non-noble Kossir, became. A popular Zusian saying goes:

"Die Koßir und Draßir geichen die Basilikar"

—translated as,

"'The citizen and the noble resemble the Emperor'"

Often enshrined on banners during the electoral conference, the quote not only implies the equality of citizen, noble, and even Emperor, but also implies the nationalist premise that all Zusians share in the imperial glory of the Vordic state, elevating them above others.