Politics of Nerotysia

The Nerotysian Social-Democratic Union is a socialist republic in which the ruling Avantist single-party holds supreme power over state institutions, which are organized around the principle of council democracy. The Revolutionary Nerotysian Labor Party is composed of hundreds of localized cells known as cadres, which compete locally for popular influence and power. The cadres dominate political life in Nerotysia's constituent republics, and elect the national leadership (known as the "Inner party") which dominates national politics and the federal government.

Cadres are responsible for recruiting new members, popularizing theory, and representing the workers' interests in the party. Originally, they operated highly independently, directing their own activities independent of central control. This independence was argued to allow them to "adapt to the miniscule nuances of individual circumstance; each worker, in his infinite complexity, will find a cadre that suits him, and thus be fully absorbed into the revolutionary movement." However, a central authoritative body was soon created to ensure a minimal degree of unity, since the party was designed to be diverse, but still fundamentally revolutionary and social-democratic. These pre-revolutionary strategies evolved into the organization of the modern party, which is largely democratic, politically diverse, and populist in its organization. The cadres compete with one another for influence in the worker's councils which govern Nerotysia's constituent republics. A cadre's voting power in the Party Congress, which elects the Inner party, is determined by its influence in its local worker's council, and the size of the population administered by that worker's council. Cadre competition and democracy informs the entire party apparatus, generating a populist and diverse ruling party which is designed to conform to the interests of the workers. This has led many political scientists to label Nerotysia a "single-party democracy" or an "informal democracy," as opposed to traditional "formal" systems like representative or direct democracy.

The federal government apparatus consists of two primary bodies; the Directory and the All-Union Worker's Council. The Directory is a council composed of the chiefs of each of Nerotysia's directorates, which constitute the executive branch of the government. The All-Union Worker's Council is elected by the republican worker's councils, and serves mostly in a symbolic role, rubber-stamping the policies of the party. The republican councils, however, serve as a forum for competition between party cadres, and thus they maintain a significant role in republican politics.

The party apparatus mirrors the government, as cadres elect delegates to send to the Party Congress. The Congress then elects the Central Committee, which itself appoints the Political and Perpetual Committees, which oversee the numerous Inner party committees that draft resolutions and policy. Party resolutions must garner majority support in both the Political and Perpetual committees before it is voted on by the Central Committee (which today also acts as a rubber stamp). Once a resolution is approved by the party legislature, the Secretariat enforces those decisions in the government and military, while also administering a number of commissions and coordinating the party's foreign relations.

The extreme federalism and informality of Nerotysian governance reflects the nation's history. The decentralized, cadre-focused party evolved partially out of necessity, as the party sought to evade Kolish police by ensuring that the destruction of any single cadre (or even many cadres) would not also destroy the party. Even the Inner party leadership could be replaced smoothly by the cadres without destroying the party, should they be arrested. The party also avoided strict rules and regulations regarding its operation, relying instead on informal conventions to confound Kolish authorities. The formal government's federalism is also the product of Nerotysia's history, which is dominated by a multiplicity of competing city-states, and by the revolutionary war, which often featured individual city militias achieving independence without any assistance from the Inner party or central government.