Politics of Ustat

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The politics of the Theocracy of Ustat takes place in a framework of a socialist despotic government run by a single party, Unitarnaya partiya Ustata (Unitarian Party of Ustat, UPU), headed by the pravitel (Ruler). State power within Ustat is exercised through the Unitarian Party, the Unitary Congress of Alker, and their Administrative and local representation. The state uses Internal Reference, secret documents produced by the National Ustat Broadcasting Service, delivered to most officials according to the secrecy of the information, a major source of information of the society.

Ustat consists of 24 administrative control zones.

The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Ustat an "Authoritarian Regime" in 2020.

Overview

Each local Bureau or office is under the different authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau, or ministry at the next higher level. Unitary Congress members at the county level are elected by higher officials. These county-level Unitary congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government and elect members to the administrative control zone to the higher sectors of Unitary Congress. The administrative zone of Unitary Congress, in turn, elect members to the Unitary Congress that meets monthly in Alker. The ruling Unitarian Party of Ustat committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and the higher levels.

The pravitel (Ruler) is the head of state, serving as the ceremonial figurehead under the Unitary Congres of Alker. The Unitary Congress of Alker is the head of government, presiding over the inner workings of the government composed of multiple high-ranking officials and party members. As a one-party state, the Unitary Congress of Alker holds disputed power over the state and government.

The economical crisis, social diversity, and cultural differences frustrate attempts to rule from Alker. Economical stagnation during the 1990s and the widespread dissent, combined with the strong interest of local Congress officials in enriching themselves, has made it increasingly difficult for the central government to assert its authority. Political power has become much less personal and more institutionally based than it was during the first ten years of Ustat. For example, Taiguz Austanz isn't a part of the Unitary Congress of Alker but still has major power in the nation that would be unnatural.

The social, cultural, and political as well as economic consequences of the market crisis have created tensions in Ustat society. As Kuzma Novikov, a part of the "Otdykh" clique as 2020, argues, as of September 2018, that gradual industrial reform, as well as political reform, will be essential if Ustat is to avoid an overly turbulent transition into a proper state.

Unitarian Party of Ustat

The 500 thousand-member Unitarian Party of Ustat (UPU) continues to dominate the government. In periods of relative chaos, the influence of people and groups outside the formal party structure has tended to increase, particularly in the economic realm. Under the command economy, every state-owned enterprise was required to have a party committee. The introduction of the new state reforms means that economic institutions now exist in which the party has limited or much power.

Nevertheless, in all governmental institutions in Ustat, the party committees at all levels maintain a powerful and pivotal role in the administration. Central party control is tightest in central government offices and urban economic, industrial, and cultural settings; it is considerably looser over the government and party establishments in rural areas, where the minority of Mainland Ustatians people live. The UPU's most important responsibility comes in the selection and promotion of personnel. They also see that party and state policy guidance is followed and that non-party members do not create autonomous organizations that could challenge the party rule. Particularly important are the leading small groups which coordinate the activities of different agencies. There is no convention that government committees contain at least one non-party member, party membership is a definite aid in the promotion and in being included in crucial policy-setting meetings.

Constitutionally, the party's highest body is the Unitary Congress of Alker, which is supposed to meet at least once every month. Meetings were irregular before the Civil war but have been periodic since then. The party elects the "Koalitsiya gosudarstva" (Coalition of the state) and the primary organs of power are formal parts of "Koalitsiya gosudarstva" (Coalition of the state).

The primary organs of power in the Coalition of the state in the Unitarian Party include:

The pravitel (Ruler), which is a mostly ceremonial figure within the Party. The Kabinet Ministrov (Cabinet of Ministers), consisting of 5 full members. The Voyennoye agentstvo (Military Agency).

Government

The primary organs of state power are the Unitary Congress of Alker (UCA) and the President. Members of the Unitary Congress of Alker include the Cabinet of Ministers and the pravitel (Ruler). During the 2000s there was an attempt made to separate party and state functions, with the party deciding general policy and the state carrying it out. The attempt was abandoned in the 2010s with the result that the political leadership within the state are also the leaders of the party, thereby creating a single centralized locus of power.

Under the Constitution of Ustat, the UCA is the highest organ of state power in Ustat. It meets annually for about 2 weeks to review and approve major new policy directions, laws, the budget, and major personnel changes. Most national legislation in Ustat is adopted by the Standing Committee of the Unitary Congress (SCUC). Most initiatives are presented to the SCUC for consideration by the Unitary Congress of Alker after previous endorsement by The pravitel (Ruler).

Local government

Currently, local government in Ustat is structured in a hierarchy on four different levels. With the village being the grassroots (usually a hundred or so families), and not considered part of the hierarchy, local government advances through the township, county, and the Administrative Control Zones. as the geographical area of jurisdiction increases. Each level in the hierarchy is responsible for overseeing the work carried out by lower levels on the administrative strata. At each level are two important officials. A figure that represents the UCA, colloquially termed the Administrative Chief or the County Chief, acts as the policymaker. This figure is appointed by their superiors. The head of the local Unitary Government, is, in theory, elected by the members of UCA. Usually called a governor, mayor, or magistrate, depending on the level, this figure acts to carry out the policies and most ceremonial duties. The distinction has evolved into a system where the Party Administrative Cheif or County Chief is always in precedence above the leader of the Unitary government.

After Taiguz Austanz took power in 2011 greater autonomy has been given to provinces in terms of economic policy implementation as well as other areas of policy such as education and transportation. As a result, some provincial authorities have evolved tendencies of operating on a de facto federal system with Alker. Prominent examples of greater autonomy are seen in the provinces of Ludz and Voiljug, where local leaders do little to adhere to the strict standards issued by the Central Government, especially economic policy. Besides, conflicts have arisen in the relations of the central Party leaders with the few provincial-level counties, most notably the county government of Wulkur, and the rivalry between former Alker mayor Vladilen Vasilyev and Seriozhenka Smirnov. The removal of Wulkur County Chief Osip Golubev in September 2017 is the latest example.

Ustat's system of autonomous regions and autonomous prefectures within provinces are formally intended to provide for greater autonomy by the ethnic group majority that inhabits the region. In practice, however, power rests with the Administrative Chief. Alker will often appoint loyal party cadres to oversee the local work as administrative Chief, while the local Chairman of the region's government is regarded as its nominal head. Power rests with the administrative Chief. To avoid the solidification of local loyalties during a cadre's term in office, the central government freely and frequently transfers party cadres around different regions of the country, so a high-ranking cadre's career might include service as governor or administrative Chief of several different provinces.

National armed forces

The Unitarian Party of Ustat created and leads the Ustatian National Army. After The Theocracy of Ustat was established in 1925, the UNA also became a state military. The state military system inherited and upholds the principle of the Unitarian Party’s absolute leadership over the Ustatian armed forces. The Party and the State jointly established the Central Military Committee that carries out the task of supreme military leadership over the armed forces.

The 1989 Ustatian Constitution provides that the Unitary Congress of Alker and the President directs the armed forces and made The Voyennoye agentstvo (Military Agency). (Military Agency is an advisory body, it does not lead the armed forces). On September 28, 1990, the Central Committee of the Unitarian Party re-established the Central The Voyennoye agentstvo (Military Agency) as the leader of the UNA and the Ustatian armed forces. From that time onwards, the system of joint Party and state military leadership was established. The Central Committee of the Unitarian Party leads in all military affairs. The State President directs the state military forces and the development of the military forces managed by the Unitary Congress of Alker.

In December 2004, the fifth Unitary Congress revised the State Constitution to provide that the State Central Military Committee leads all the armed forces of the state. The chair of the State CMC is chosen and removed by the full UC while the other members are chosen by the UC Standing Committee. However, the CMC of the Central Committee of the Unitarian Party of Ustat remained the Party organization that directly leads the military and all the other armed forces. In actual practice, the Party CMC proposes the names of the State CMC members of the UC so that these people after going through the legal processes can be elected by the UC to the State Central Military Committee. That is to say, that the CMC of the Central Committee and the CMC of the State are one group and one organization. However, looking at it organizationally, these two CMCs are subordinate to two different systems – the Party system and the State system. Therefore, the armed forces are under the absolute leadership of the Unitarian Party and are also the armed forces of the state. This is a unique Ustatian system that ensures the joint leadership of the Unitarian and the state over the armed forces.

Elections

No substantial legal political opposition groups exist, and the country is mainly run by the Unitarian Party of Ustat (UPU), but there are other political parties in the Ustat, called "democratic parties", which participate in the Ustatian Political Conference but mostly serve to endorse UPU policies. Even as there have been some moves in the direction of democratization as far as the electoral system at least, in that openly contested Unitarian Congress elections are now held at the village and town levels, and that legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time, the Party retains effective control over governmental appointments. This is because the UPU wins by default in most electorates. The UPU has been enforcing its rule by clamping down on political dissidents as well as simultaneously attempting to reduce dissent by improving the economy and allowing public expression of people's grievances, provided that it is not within the agenda of any LOU or other groups openly or covertly opposing UPU ideals. Current political concerns in Mainland Ustat include countering the growing gap between the wealthy and the poorer and fighting corruption within the government leadership and its institutions. The support that the UPU has among the Ustatian population, in general, is unclear because national elections are mostly UPU-dominated, as there are no opposition political parties and independent candidates elected into office aren't organized well enough to realistically challenge UPU rule.

The eight registered minor parties have existed since before 1980. These parties all formally accept the leadership of the UPU and their activities are directed by the Ustatian Political Department of the UPU. Their original function was to create the impression that the Ustat was being ruled by a diverse national front, not a one-party dictatorship. The major role of these parties is to attract and subsequently muzzle niches in society that have political tendencies, such as academia. Although these parties are tightly controlled and do not challenge the Unitarian Party, members of the parties often individually are found in policy-making national institutions, and there is a convention that state institutions generally have at least one sinecure from a minor political party.

Coordination between the eight registered minor parties and the UPU is done through the Ustatian Political Consultative Conference which meets annually in Alker in March at about the same time that the Unitary Congress of Alker meets. In addition, there are a few minor parties that either lack official recognition or are actively suppressed by the government.

Legal system

The Ustatian legal code is a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely focused on criminal law, though a rudimentary civil code has been in effect since January 1, 1987, and new legal codes have been in effect since January 1, 1980. Continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law.

Although the current law of Ustat cannot be categorized by arbitrary rule, it is over-simplifying to describe it as a system of rule of law. While personal freedom is nominally guaranteed by law, officials maintain the right to trespass citizens before proving or suspecting them breaking the law through the use of the Droit administration. In other words, the concept of Habeas corpus does not apply in Ustat. Also, Party members are subjected to different sets of law, namely the Unitarian Party of Ustat which authorizes itself to use state apparatus to regulate behaviors of party members, sometimes overriding Law of the land. One of the most distinctive characteristics of Ustatian law is the lack of a mechanism to verify the constitutionality of statute laws. This in effect allows the enactment of any administrative laws as long as circumstances justify them.

The government's efforts to promote rule by law (not the same as rule of law) are significant and ongoing. After the Nationwide Purge, the Ustat's leaders aimed to develop a legal system to restrain abuses of official authority and revolutionary excesses. In 1993, the Unitary Congress of Alker adopted a new state constitution that emphasized the concept of rule by law by which party and state organizations are all subject to the law. (The importance of the rule by law was further elevated by a 1999 Constitutional amendment.) Many commentators have pointed out that the emphasis on rule by law increases rather than decreases the power of the Unitarian Party of Ustat because the party, in its position of power, is in a better position to change the law to suit its own needs.

Since 1987, when the drive to establish a functioning legal system began, more than 301 laws and regulations, most of them in the economic area, have been promulgated. The use of mediation committees - informed groups of citizens who resolve about 90% of the Ustat's civil disputes and some minor criminal cases at no cost to the parties - is one innovative device.

Legal reform became a government priority in the 2010s. Legislation designed to modernize and professionalize the nation's lawyers, judges, and prisons were enacted. The 1994 Administrative Procedure Law allows citizens to sue officials for abuse of authority or malfeasance. In addition, the criminal law and the criminal procedures laws were amended to introduce significant reforms. The criminal law amendments abolished the crime of "counter-revolutionary" activity (and references to "counter-revolutionaries" disappeared with the passing of the 2019 Constitutional amendment), while criminal procedure reforms encouraged the establishment of a more transparent, adversarial trial process. The Ustat Constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights, including due process, although those laws also provide for limitations of those rights.