Ministry of Defence (Themiclesia): Difference between revisions

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==Civilian-military relationships==
==Civilian-military relationships==
Themiclesian statute law reserves a number of important military powers to the sovereign, such as raising of troops, their movement from home prefectures, and the question of war and peace.  However, custom dictates that all communication (and therefore decisions) be made through the [[Council of Correspondence]], which assumes political responsibility for them.  Within the Council, the Secretary of State is responsible for defence matters and makes, on the Emperor's behalf and in his name, all decisions in that portfolio, and these decisions are legally equivalent to those of the Emperor, who is ''de jure'' the fount of public power in Themiclesia.  As such, the Secretary of State is ''de facto'' leader of all government bodies pertainint to defence and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Themiclesian statute law reserves a number of important military powers to the sovereign, such as raising of troops, their movement from home prefectures, and the question of war and peace.  However, custom dictates that all communication (and therefore decisions) be made through the [[Council of Correspondence]], which assumes political responsibility for them.  Within the Council, the Secretary of State is responsible for defence matters and makes, on the Emperor's behalf and in his name, all decisions in that portfolio, and these decisions are legally equivalent to those of the Emperor, who is ''de jure'' the fount of public power in Themiclesia.  As such, the Secretary of State is ''de facto'' leader of all government bodies pertaining to defence and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.


Unlike some monarchs, the emperors of Themiclesia did not, generally, personally command or directly access any military formation, on land or at sea.  A contrary suggestion would have been ludicrous, since the throne was held beyond the taint of warfare and the violence it implies, and also since the Themiclesian aristocracy viewed military officers during peacetime with great suspicion.  The army's militia system was therefore organized through civilian departments, over which the monarch retained a large number of powers.  As is typical, a secretary of state was appointed to oversee that policy area by reading all papers submitted by those departments to the emperor.  Technically, these departments submitted their reports and appeal directly to the emperor, but, by the 3rd century, the secretary of state began developing a co-ordinated policy across the entire military, relieving the monarch of the tedium of administering an army and its complex economics, while retaining his trust.  This made the secretary of state, in effect, the person managing the militia apparatus, a state that continues to this day.  When the Navy was established in the 8th century, its departments were supervised by the Secretary of State for Finance, until 1770; that minister's relationship with the Navy's departments are similar but not identical to those between prefectural militias and the Secretary of State for War.
Unlike some monarchs, the emperors of Themiclesia did not, generally, personally command or directly access any military formation, on land or at sea.  A contrary suggestion would have been ludicrous, since the throne was held beyond the taint of warfare and the violence it implies, and also since the Themiclesian aristocracy viewed military officers during peacetime with great suspicion.  The army's militia system was therefore organized through civilian departments, over which the monarch retained a large number of powers.  As is typical, a secretary of state was appointed to oversee that policy area by reading all papers submitted by those departments to the emperor.  Technically, these departments submitted their reports and appeal directly to the emperor, but, by the 3rd century, the secretary of state began developing a co-ordinated policy across the entire military, relieving the monarch of the tedium of administering an army and its complex economics, while retaining his trust.  This made the secretary of state, in effect, the person managing the militia apparatus, a state that continues to this day.  When the Navy was established in the 8th century, its departments were supervised by the Secretary of State for Finance, until 1770; that minister's relationship with the Navy's departments are similar but not identical to those between prefectural militias and the Secretary of State for War.


In the early 19th century, the accreting [[Themiclesian Army]] did not have a unified professional leadership at its peak; rather, it had a number standing and reserve units, regional militias, and civilian and military bureaucracies that had other functions, all answering directly to the Secretary of State for War.  By the end of the century, progressing complexity in administration had shown a standing military leadership requisite. The Army Staff therefore began to grow around the Secretary of State for War.  At the time, generalships were ad hoc positions, but if staff officers did not possess a rank of distinction above regimental commanders, they were not able to exercise the minister's devolved powers effectively; in 1891, a statute permitted the appointment of generals while not at war, and today the Chief of the Army Staff customarily receives the rank of a full or lieutenant-general.  The [[Themiclesian Navy|Navy]] recognized the Board of Admirals as its representative to the Secretary of State for the Navy, not only as to the Consolidated Fleet, but also the five other departments.
In the early 19th century, the accreting [[Themiclesian Army]] did not have a unified professional leadership at its peak; rather, it had a number standing and reserve units, regional militias, and civilian and military bureaucracies that had other functions, all answering directly to the Secretary of State for War.  By the end of the century, progressing complexity in administration had shown a standing military leadership requisite. The Army Staff therefore began to grow around the Secretary of State for War.  At the time, generalships were ad hoc positions, but if staff officers did not possess a rank of distinction above regimental commanders, they were not able to exercise the minister's devolved powers effectively; in 1891, a statute permitted the appointment of generals while not at war, and today the Chief of the Army Staff customarily receives the rank of a full or lieutenant-general.  The [[Themiclesian Navy|Navy]] recognized the Board of Admirals as its representative to the Secretary of State for the Navy, not only as to the Consolidated Fleet, but also the five other departments; a considerable amount of power-jockeying is understood to have occurred to result in this pre-eminence.


[[Category:Septentrion]] [[Category:Themiclesia]]
[[Category:Septentrion]] [[Category:Themiclesia]]

Revision as of 23:58, 14 June 2019

Ministry of Defence
djang’-stja-kwek-bjang-be’
尚書國防部
Ministry overview
FormedOct. 30, 1970
Preceding agencies
  • Ministry of War (三十四兵部)
  • Ministry of the Navy (艦航部)
  • Ministry of Air (空航部)
JurisdictionThemiclesia
HeadquartersDormitory Building, Kien-k'ang, Themiclesia
Employees56,860 civilian staff (October 2015)
Annual budgetOSD$63 bn
Minister responsible
  • tbd, Secretary of State for Defence
Ministry executives
  • tbd, Minister of State for Defence
  • tbd, Permanent Under-Secretary of State
Parent departmentCouncil of Correspondence
Child agencies

The Ministry of Defence (尚書國防部, djang’-stja-kwek-bjang-be’) of Themiclesia is the government department for implementing defence policies set by the the government of Themiclesia. It is currently led by Secretary of State for Defence, Geoffrey Sdjem Tsuih (沈最), with the assistance of four junior ministers and the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, the professional head of the Ministry. Within it, there exist three subordinate departments that represent each of the three military services, the Themiclesian Army, the Themiclesian Navy, and the Themiclesian Air Force.

The principal objectives of the Ministry of Defence are the defence of Themiclesia and her interests against foreign invasions, the discharge of Themiclesia's military obligations as required by statute and international treaties, and the general maintenance of the peace and stability in Septentrion as directed by the government. The senior and responsible minister of the department, the Secretary of State for Defence, is the de facto commander-in-chief of the armed forces, under the country's statutory and customary law, cabinet ordinances, and government policy, and further is responsible politically to the country's parliament.

History

Preceeding bodies

The current Ministry of Defence is the result of the merger of the Ministry of War (三十四兵部, sem-gljep-spljih-prjang-be, lit. "ministry of 34 forces"), the Ministry of the Navy (艦航部, krams-gang-be), and the Ministry of Air (空航部, kong-gang-be) in 1970. Previous to the merger, the civilian bureaucracy that compose of their respective staff have already underwent extensive evolution, mostly under the process of centralization and simplification. This process was largely independent of the evolution of ministerial portfolios, which were created and dissolved according to policy needs.

The Ministry of War came into existence in the early 19th century, when maintenance of prefectural militias were centralized for economy. At the time, active units were subordinated to the direction of the Secretary of State for War, but their maintenance was still inextricably tied to their home prefectures. Inactive units were held by the prefecture on furlough or summoned for local peacekeeping work. An exception existed when a expeditionary army was assembled, in which case a headquarters with administrative powers would be created; otherwise, all units were administered by the prefecture, with approval or delegated dispensation, from the central government. Since, then, soldiers on furlough received compensation in land allotment and were obliged to support their active comrades with agricultural and craft products, it was convenient to administer them locally. When enlistment was made voluntary, this system which presumed that each prefecture would have a predictable amount of soldiers, proved ineffective and prone to corruption, leading to centralization and the creation of the Ministry of War's bureaucracy that managed all militias. At first, central organization imitated the local, but advancements in warfare necessitated more specialist departments; ultimately, the Ministry expanded from nine departments to 41, at the high point in the Pan-Septentrion War.

The Ministry of the Navy was created as a co-ordinating organization of the six traditional departments (Fleets, Guilds, Ancillaries, West Woods, Engineers, and Customs) that administered the Themiclesian Navy. The youngest of these departments, the Department of Engineers, dates to 1360. Until 1781, the entire naval apparatus reported to the Secretary of State for Finance, though a dedicated portfolio has been argued for and created. It was thought that the Finance portfolio was growing too busy and diffuse, with duties spanning domestic agricultural and commercial taxes, customs, poor relief, and discount medicine, palace expenditures, to naval warfare in the Helian Ocean and land warfare in Meridia; though these were all historically related, by the 1700s the incumbent was hard-pressed to attend to all of them, resulting in questionable decisions. The Ministry of the Navy thus began as the new minister's personal advisors, further to concentrate decision-making power in a well-informed departmental leader. After the naval fiasco at Rad in 1791, the Navy Ministry began reforming its six departments, though statutorily the six all survive into the modern day.

The Ministry of Air was established by statute in 1919, to manage civilian aviation in Themiclesia. At the time, several aviation clubs already existed for enthusiasts, operating largely without statutory oversight and regularly encountering disputes with local authorities. In 1921, it was decided that an air force would be strategically valuable in defending Themiclesia's very remote border regions and that it would be best managed together with civilian aviation; hence, the Themiclesian Air Force was created as a function of the League of Aviation Clubs in 1922 and became independent in 1923. At the same time, the Ministry of Air was created for both the Air Force and the LAC, which was envisioned as a reserve organization for the Air Force in wartime. In 1935, with war encroaching, civilian aviation was placed under the Ministry of Transport. The Ministry of Air is, therefore, the only ministry to have preceded the creation of its components, reflected as a much more tightly organized structure and integration with the Air Force itself.

Inter-service rivalry and merger

While many armed forces experienced inter-service rivalries, particularly if there is little notion of a more general belonging, Themiclesia's experience was less pronounced than others during the early 20th century. A number of factors may be cited to explain this observation. Foremost, there was a traditional boundary between the Army and Navy's jurisdictions: the Army focused on everything east of Themiclesia, accessible by land, while the Navy dealt with everything west and south, accessible by sea. This would not be challenged until the PSW. Later, due to a defensive military outlook and stable diplomatic relations, there was comparatively little disagreement over upcoming military activity; however, since the Liberal government prioritized economy over defence, disputes between the services still arose, albeit for financial reasons and not strategic ones; a represenatitve dispute would in replacing ageing equipment of similar function. Also, since the services were ultimately represented in Cabinet by their respective secretaries of state, elected politicians, it was difficult for the services to induce the minister to defy government policy. Equally, with the overwhelming advantage of social status for the civil service over the armed forces, even senior admirals felt reluctant to challenge the government.

Nevertheless, changes in perspectives still drove the two (later three) ministries towards sharing of resources, thus elucidating redundancies amongst them. These were addressed in two phases, first in the 18-19th centuries, and then after the PSW. The Navy originally had a large establishment, with two fleets and three land armies, each more or less independent. After Themiclesia's colonial ventures ended, a round of internal simplifications eliminated all three land armies and merged the two fleets by 1800. Yet, an MP still opined in 1810, "There is a miniature navy in the army and a miniature army in the navy." As a result, the Army's Lake Fleet (內航, nups-gang) was handed over to the Navy in 1815, with the proviso that the Navy's smaller ships can assist in defending hypothetical Maverican invasion by way of the Lake. Conversely, the Navy Secretary adduced that the Marines should not be handed over to the Army, since there would be no savings; however, their training site was moved to the shores of the Inland Lake, using the old garrisons of the Lake Fleet. The War Secretary later sold the premises to private investors in 1837, to establish a (highly polluting) dye factory, ending co-operation between the services. Surprisingly, the Navy Secretary did not complain or refer any complaint, suggesting that the government's will, at the time, fully supercedes any sectarian interest in the armed forces.

Structure

As responsible minister, the Secretary of State for Defence is ultimately answerable to the Council of Correspondence and to parliament for the implementation of government policy and thus holds final power over the ministry's statutory remit. A number of junior ministers have been appointed to oversee specific policy areas; while some positions, like the Minister of State, the deputy of the Secretary of State, are statutory, others may be impermanent.

The body which advises the Secretary of State is called the Ministerial Conference (部議). Statutorily, all ministers and civil servants ranked Ninth Class or above are members of the body, whose meetings ranges from daily to weekly, according to defence needs. Civil servants need not be departmental heads in the Ministry to attend the meetings, though the majority are. The professional heads of the military services are, as chiefs of their respective staff, also automatic members in the Ministerial Conference. Other officers, both civil and military, may be granted a seat in the body by ministerial decree; the title of such an appointee is "Counsellor-Within", (內參議, nups-tsem-ngjars). Counsellor-Within status deprecate automatically upon the incumbent Secretary of State's vacating office. Military officers attending the Ministerial Conference must swear an oath of secrecy not to reveal government policies still under deliberation, even to their own subordinates.

  • Secretary of State for Defence (國防尚書, III)
    • Minister of State for Defence (尚書監, V)
      • Under-Secretary of State for the Army (兵曹郎, VI)
        • Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (兵曹從丞, VIII)
        • [Chief of the Army Staff (兵長史, IX)]
      • Under-Secretary of State for the Navy (航曹郎, VI)
        • Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (航曹從丞, VIII)
        • [Chief of the Admiral Staff (航長史, IX)]
      • Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force (空曹郎, VI)
        • Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (空曹從丞, VIII)
        • [Chief of the Air Staff (空長史, IX)]
      • Permanent Under-Secretary of State (尚書丞, VI)
        • Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (尚書從丞, VIII)
      • Under-Secretary of State for Procurement (市徵郎, VI)
      • Under-Secretary of State for Strategic Development (虞曹郎, VI)
      • Under-Secretary of State for Welfare and Disabilities (復曹郎, VI)
      • Under-Secretary of State for Public Access (佈郎, VI)
      • Under-Secretary of State for Equality and Prevention of Abuse (等禁暴郎, VI)
      • Under-Secretary of State for Civil Defence (民衛郎, VI)

As of early 2019, the following individuals are Counsellors-Within:

  • Under-Secretary of State for Palace Affairs (殿中郎, VI), for his role in organizing security around the monarch, his family, and the palaces
  • Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (客曹尚書監, V), as supervisor of diplomatic and military intelligence in the Foreign Office
  • Secretary of the Right (尚書右丞, VI), as supervisor of domestic security services
  • [Captain-General of the Marines (舫冗人校尉, IX)], as representative of the naval infantry branch
  • Secretary of the Gentlemen-at-Arms (郎中丞, VIII), as manager of the day-to-day affairs of the Emperor's close guard
  • Secretary of Capital Defence (中尉丞, VIII), invariably a high-ranking officer of the Army, managing the defence of the Inner Region (the area around the capital city)

Civilian-military relationships

Themiclesian statute law reserves a number of important military powers to the sovereign, such as raising of troops, their movement from home prefectures, and the question of war and peace. However, custom dictates that all communication (and therefore decisions) be made through the Council of Correspondence, which assumes political responsibility for them. Within the Council, the Secretary of State is responsible for defence matters and makes, on the Emperor's behalf and in his name, all decisions in that portfolio, and these decisions are legally equivalent to those of the Emperor, who is de jure the fount of public power in Themiclesia. As such, the Secretary of State is de facto leader of all government bodies pertaining to defence and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Unlike some monarchs, the emperors of Themiclesia did not, generally, personally command or directly access any military formation, on land or at sea. A contrary suggestion would have been ludicrous, since the throne was held beyond the taint of warfare and the violence it implies, and also since the Themiclesian aristocracy viewed military officers during peacetime with great suspicion. The army's militia system was therefore organized through civilian departments, over which the monarch retained a large number of powers. As is typical, a secretary of state was appointed to oversee that policy area by reading all papers submitted by those departments to the emperor. Technically, these departments submitted their reports and appeal directly to the emperor, but, by the 3rd century, the secretary of state began developing a co-ordinated policy across the entire military, relieving the monarch of the tedium of administering an army and its complex economics, while retaining his trust. This made the secretary of state, in effect, the person managing the militia apparatus, a state that continues to this day. When the Navy was established in the 8th century, its departments were supervised by the Secretary of State for Finance, until 1770; that minister's relationship with the Navy's departments are similar but not identical to those between prefectural militias and the Secretary of State for War.

In the early 19th century, the accreting Themiclesian Army did not have a unified professional leadership at its peak; rather, it had a number standing and reserve units, regional militias, and civilian and military bureaucracies that had other functions, all answering directly to the Secretary of State for War. By the end of the century, progressing complexity in administration had shown a standing military leadership requisite. The Army Staff therefore began to grow around the Secretary of State for War. At the time, generalships were ad hoc positions, but if staff officers did not possess a rank of distinction above regimental commanders, they were not able to exercise the minister's devolved powers effectively; in 1891, a statute permitted the appointment of generals while not at war, and today the Chief of the Army Staff customarily receives the rank of a full or lieutenant-general. The Navy recognized the Board of Admirals as its representative to the Secretary of State for the Navy, not only as to the Consolidated Fleet, but also the five other departments; a considerable amount of power-jockeying is understood to have occurred to result in this pre-eminence.