Hello Folks,
I got into a discussion elsewhere about sleuthing the Third Imperium's military machine, and a statement was made that made me think that perhaps I should ask people their own views on what constitutes a "Sovereign world" in a Traveller universe.
Having initiated the thread, I will put down my thoughts and reasonings behind my thoughts. People are free to disagree or agree or point out hidden ramifications of points being raised in discussion. The more who participate, the more we can examine in better detail our presumptions about the Third Imperium.
Ok, here goes...
For me, it all begins prior to year zero in the Sylean confederation. From that seed, certain traditions were retained, as well as certain understandings of what did or did not work. After a near fatal encounter with a rival star faring kindom, the Third Imperium finds itself in a phoenix like rebirth from the ashes of a corrupt and ineffectual senate. Speculation is that each of the worlds in the Sylean confederation were there as a result of non-hostile conquests and thus had some history of diplomacy. As the Imperium grew, much of it without bloodshed, certain "isolated" communities were forcibly brought in - enticed as it were with the threat of a trade embargo, or perhaps an outright assault forcibly bringing the world under Imperial control. An example of a recent such undertaking would include Earth from the Rim War.
Each world by definition has the right to determine what kind of government it has exclusive of Imperial intervention. A democracy for example, can be subborned from within and replaced by a charasmatic dictator. As long as the Dictor respects the ground rules of Imperial control and pays his world's levy of taxation, the Imperials leave him alone. (funny how there doesn't seem to be any incidents in canon about worlds who have engaged in a tax revolt). In any event, certain standard foundational laws are required to be a part of each world's body of laws. These fundamental laws in general tend to be relatively light in burden, and the bulk of the worlds choose their own customs, enact their own laws, and can even determine on their own without Imperial oversight, which goods and/or services are forbidden/contraband. In addition, it appears that each world is permitted to engage in low grade warfare, providing that general Imperial guidelines are not violated.
Member worlds are NOT permitted to engage in succession from the Imperium without permission from said Imperium. How this permission is granted, I'm not entirely certain - although I seem to recall that at least ONE world has done so without reverting to civil war.
Member worlds are not permitted to cause damage that will impede effective trade flows throughout the Imperium. To that end, blanket bombardment of an enemy world, reducing its infrastructure to the stone age is a major no no.
Member worlds must obey Imperial Edits. However, those Edits tend to be of a certain generalized nature and either by custom or by laws unseen in canon, are restricted in capability and/or impact. That is not to say that they have little or no impact, but to say that they don't come at a pace of 1,000 edicts a day, taking control of trivial things such as how thick toilet paper has to be in the Subsector Duke's main resisdence.
There is/are limits to territoriality such that a fence marks the boundary between a world's domain and the domain of what amounts to "Imperial territory". What laws (ie law levels) are in effect on a spaceport's neutral ground I do not know. Suffice to state, it does not appear that the laws of the host world are in effect in a spaceports extraterritoriality region. In some ways, I suspect that a world can enact laws that limit how many of its citizens can access a starport. I suspect too that a world can withhold emmigration rights, thus keeping a population in thrall to its government rather than being able to migrate freely from world to world.
What is a crime on one world is not neccessarily a crime elsewhere. One might speculate that if a man commits murder on a single world, escapes to another, and has the blessings of the world's leader - such an individual will not face extradition proceedings (This could be an unwritten assumption that all worlds MUST honor an extradition request from the Imperial court, or perhaps worlds really are independent)
There are instances where it has stated in canon that the Imperium was limited in its activities relative to a given world. In one adventure, a Noble's son was arrested and sent to prison on a world. The Imperial Noble had no recourse but to accept it and try to spring his son from prison through clandestine means (adventurers naturally).
Striker states specifically, that roughly 30% of a world's military spending is spent towards Imperial procurements. The remaining 70% is spent at the world's discretion. In a monolithic Imperial universe, it would seem that the taxation rates should go the other way, where the LORDS OF THE UNIVERSE demand their just due and let the crumbs fall where it may (ok, so I exaggerate, but you know what I mean).
All of these things imply to me, that each world is considered a sovereign nation subject to limitations by their membership within a larger organization. In a way, using the United States analogy to a degree, each "state" has its own recognized areas of power, but each bows to "Federal Authority" where it has to. The difference is however, that New York for example, can't be run by a Dictatorship, Pennsylvania by a Religious Autocracy, New Jersey by a Mafia beuracracy, or Florida by a limited democracy where only mongoloids are allowed to vote. To that extent - each world is a sovereign government and is extended rights and priveledges as well as protections of some sort from the Abuses of the Imperium (until those rights are trampled perhaps?)
Comments?
I got into a discussion elsewhere about sleuthing the Third Imperium's military machine, and a statement was made that made me think that perhaps I should ask people their own views on what constitutes a "Sovereign world" in a Traveller universe.
Having initiated the thread, I will put down my thoughts and reasonings behind my thoughts. People are free to disagree or agree or point out hidden ramifications of points being raised in discussion. The more who participate, the more we can examine in better detail our presumptions about the Third Imperium.
Ok, here goes...
For me, it all begins prior to year zero in the Sylean confederation. From that seed, certain traditions were retained, as well as certain understandings of what did or did not work. After a near fatal encounter with a rival star faring kindom, the Third Imperium finds itself in a phoenix like rebirth from the ashes of a corrupt and ineffectual senate. Speculation is that each of the worlds in the Sylean confederation were there as a result of non-hostile conquests and thus had some history of diplomacy. As the Imperium grew, much of it without bloodshed, certain "isolated" communities were forcibly brought in - enticed as it were with the threat of a trade embargo, or perhaps an outright assault forcibly bringing the world under Imperial control. An example of a recent such undertaking would include Earth from the Rim War.
Each world by definition has the right to determine what kind of government it has exclusive of Imperial intervention. A democracy for example, can be subborned from within and replaced by a charasmatic dictator. As long as the Dictor respects the ground rules of Imperial control and pays his world's levy of taxation, the Imperials leave him alone. (funny how there doesn't seem to be any incidents in canon about worlds who have engaged in a tax revolt). In any event, certain standard foundational laws are required to be a part of each world's body of laws. These fundamental laws in general tend to be relatively light in burden, and the bulk of the worlds choose their own customs, enact their own laws, and can even determine on their own without Imperial oversight, which goods and/or services are forbidden/contraband. In addition, it appears that each world is permitted to engage in low grade warfare, providing that general Imperial guidelines are not violated.
Member worlds are NOT permitted to engage in succession from the Imperium without permission from said Imperium. How this permission is granted, I'm not entirely certain - although I seem to recall that at least ONE world has done so without reverting to civil war.
Member worlds are not permitted to cause damage that will impede effective trade flows throughout the Imperium. To that end, blanket bombardment of an enemy world, reducing its infrastructure to the stone age is a major no no.
Member worlds must obey Imperial Edits. However, those Edits tend to be of a certain generalized nature and either by custom or by laws unseen in canon, are restricted in capability and/or impact. That is not to say that they have little or no impact, but to say that they don't come at a pace of 1,000 edicts a day, taking control of trivial things such as how thick toilet paper has to be in the Subsector Duke's main resisdence.
There is/are limits to territoriality such that a fence marks the boundary between a world's domain and the domain of what amounts to "Imperial territory". What laws (ie law levels) are in effect on a spaceport's neutral ground I do not know. Suffice to state, it does not appear that the laws of the host world are in effect in a spaceports extraterritoriality region. In some ways, I suspect that a world can enact laws that limit how many of its citizens can access a starport. I suspect too that a world can withhold emmigration rights, thus keeping a population in thrall to its government rather than being able to migrate freely from world to world.
What is a crime on one world is not neccessarily a crime elsewhere. One might speculate that if a man commits murder on a single world, escapes to another, and has the blessings of the world's leader - such an individual will not face extradition proceedings (This could be an unwritten assumption that all worlds MUST honor an extradition request from the Imperial court, or perhaps worlds really are independent)
There are instances where it has stated in canon that the Imperium was limited in its activities relative to a given world. In one adventure, a Noble's son was arrested and sent to prison on a world. The Imperial Noble had no recourse but to accept it and try to spring his son from prison through clandestine means (adventurers naturally).
Striker states specifically, that roughly 30% of a world's military spending is spent towards Imperial procurements. The remaining 70% is spent at the world's discretion. In a monolithic Imperial universe, it would seem that the taxation rates should go the other way, where the LORDS OF THE UNIVERSE demand their just due and let the crumbs fall where it may (ok, so I exaggerate, but you know what I mean).
All of these things imply to me, that each world is considered a sovereign nation subject to limitations by their membership within a larger organization. In a way, using the United States analogy to a degree, each "state" has its own recognized areas of power, but each bows to "Federal Authority" where it has to. The difference is however, that New York for example, can't be run by a Dictatorship, Pennsylvania by a Religious Autocracy, New Jersey by a Mafia beuracracy, or Florida by a limited democracy where only mongoloids are allowed to vote. To that extent - each world is a sovereign government and is extended rights and priveledges as well as protections of some sort from the Abuses of the Imperium (until those rights are trampled perhaps?)
Comments?
