"It is the year 2021. The world and the stars are divided in two bitter competing forces, both advocating completely different ideologies. One bases its legitimacy off hereditary authority in a crowned head theoretically bound by traditional liberties and constitutionalism, the other derives its legitimacy from the workers enabling an authoritarian party-state furthering the revolution. The gap between the two couldn’t be starker.
But the one thing that unites them is that they have in theory transcended the old petty ideas of nationalism. Why be a Russian or an Englishman when you can be a Soviet or an Imperial? The fall of nationalistic forces have led many to foolishly declare that “the Springtime of Nations is at an end”, and therefore we are in the “Winter”, the nadir. The days when people defined their identity off ‘nations’ is at an end. The Soviets say that the struggle against the Imperials is the “final struggle” against capitalism in its death-knell, while the Imperials declare that “reckoning” for the “red tyrants” is coming.
But even as they posture on how their form of post-nationalism is the one that will lead the world, they internally compromise with nationalist forces. The Imperials’ confusing multi-level authorities that are supposed to give ‘more local accountability’ and is ostensibly covered with peerages is all but giving the internal identities their power in exchange for loyalty while we all know the Soviet Union’s ‘national republics’ such as the Korean or Manchu SSRs are touted as “Soviet national liberation”.
Ultimately, even though the cold war is helmed by men and women sitting in Moscow and London, it is one determined by the old relationship between their largest nationalities – China and India. China, or the Chinese Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, eclipsed Russia in the 60s in power, and determines its future direction without equal. Meanwhile its rival, the Union of India, has a much more tenuous relationship within the Imperial Federation due to being first incorporated via colonialism, but as political necessities empowered it, it has rapidly took control much to some Englishmen’s dismay.
Do not be deceived. This may be seen as a cold war between such post-national concepts of Soviets and Imperials, but at heart it is the thousands-years-old rivalry between the great nations of Asia – China and India."
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS ('SOVIET UNION')
Vanguard of the Revolution
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Still the only legal party, although by now it's essentially factionalised to fuck. The labels below are made by Kremlinologists for informal caucuses.
- "Chinese Faction": Not really
all of the Chinese members of the Party Committee, but it's dominated by them, it's the one that talks of "market socialism" and "socialism with patriotic characteristics" whatever that even means. All I know is that it has worked gang-busters in bringing China up to wealthy status [as their former Chairman reportedly said "to get rich is glorious"]. Been the dominant faction since the 90s, the latest Himalayan Crisis has however been egg on their face as Kremlinologists in London predict Xi Jinping's end as Chairman. Still, that has been said a lot...
- "Russian Faction": The "orthodox socialists", they tend to want the old command economy back and idolises those days. Democratic centralism means they don't often say such in public, but it's known that Russia has generally benefited way less from perestroika than China has, and resents it. Also the faction that is
way more into the idea of "Soviet patriotism", contrasting it with the "feudal identity" of the Imperials.
- "European Faction": The more 'liberal' of the factions regarding stuff such as gay rights [although neither superpower has covered themselves in glory here, to be honest], it's dominated by the western republics such as Germany, Sweden and Yugoslavia, they tend to be the most independent-minded of the republics and massively advocate decentralisation of the Soviet Union to empower the republics, even if still following the party line when forced to. Murmurs that they're secret collaborationists with the Imperials are rife. Also has the Koreans, which are massively different from the rest.
- "Agrarian Faction": One of the few major factions that aren't based in a region or nationality, they're generally representing the people disaffected by the mad rush to industrialisation, and call for a restoration of the level of agrarian subsidies that were cut in the 90s in the "Third Industrial Revolution". Mostly excluded those days from power, their strongest base is Mongolia and Central Asia, but even that's being squeezed.
- "Religious Faction": Aligned with the Russians since the 2000 conference, they've been considerably more powerful in the past than they are now, with China's more secular leadership dragging the Soviet Union away from mealy-mouthed compromises with the Orthodox Church. Their sympathisers in the West routinely decry a "second
Kulturkrieg" with the Soviet Union now officially increasing control over religious authorities.
- "International Faction": Aka the ones that the Imperials' John Birch Society [a 'non-political' organisation named after an Imperial missionary killed by Soviet forces in the 40s] thinks are the dominant faction, they're reportedly seen by the others as dangerously close to Trotskyism in advocating an active expansion of the global revolution up to the point of risking nuclear war with the Imperials. Thankfully they're safely irrelevant.
- "Space Faction": Mostly a vague faction that every other faction is sort of aligned to, this is the one that aggressively promotes space exploration and settlement [never colonisation, that's a dirty word for what the
Imperials do], and their symbolic leader is the first taikonaut on Pluto.
UNITED FEDERATION OF IMPERIAL DOMINIONS ('IMPERIAL FEDERATION')
Unlike the Soviets, the Imperials pride themselves on
"public politics", although it is known that there does exist some "Palaceologists" in Moscow, because while the Soviets seemingly have a lack of public information on their political dealings, the Imperials have
too much. Their political parties are so fractious and based in local politics more often than not, that Moscow regularly consult their experts to comprehend what their rival has just done.
Hence we are going to rely on the Palaceologists' analysis of the various party factions here, all under their "official" Imperial party brandings.
Her Imperial Majesty's Government
Conservative Party ("Tories")
The party on the "right" of the Imperial spectrum, it is a ridiculously broad-tent party [tbf like all else] based around three things above all - Anti-communism, pro-tradition and pro-business. But the last two can really vary, while the first is something all (legal) parties in the UFID can agree on...
- "Populars": Mostly dominated by Indian and African MPs, this faction has either sent the Tory leaders or played kingmaker in the various leadership struggles. The current Prime Minister, former First Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi himself is of this faction. He's a curiosity as a relative unknown compared to the dominating political dynasties often seen in Indian politics. The Popular Society tends to be the most flexible on economics (although under Modi has been quite firm on pushing free-market reforms, a notable shift) while firm on social conservatism, and opposes any centralisation to Westminster, preferring to emphasise the
Federation aspect of the Imperial demos. Known as the Progressives in North America.
- "One Nation": Notably different from the Populars in how they prefer to centralise power to Westminster, and tends to be more flexible on social issues as well as fiscal, they tend to be more concentrated in Britain and Canada than elsewhere. Apart from that, there's not much to say, really, apart from their being the loudest on environmental issues, to the point of being called the "turquoise tendency".
- "Unionists": Economically, they tend to be basically the Liberals' Marketeer faction, calling for less state intervention, but combining that with a social conservatism to match the Populars, they tend to be the dominating faction in the American Dominions and hence have enough clout to at times block the Populars' more statist tendencies. Historically they used to be the Liberal Unionists, a splitter Liberal branch, before merging in the 1920s. Those days they and the Populars tend to vote more or often in-sync, leading some palaceologists to wonder if the two have merged in all but name.
- "Nationals": The faction most on the outs those days, it combines social conservatism with a firm economic-interventionist policy, seeing the Populars as traditionally too fickle to implement anything properly interventionist [and under Modi they seem to have been proven correct].
Her Imperial Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
Liberal Party
The party ostensibly on the "left" of the Imperial spectrum, it is too a ridiculously broad-tent party that defines itself rather succinctly, as the party of Liberty above all. To the Soviets of course, this party is nothing but just the peak of bourgeois capitalism with some sops here and there to the workers.
- "Marketeers": The more free-market sort has really rose to prominence in the last few decades, bolstered by both a shift in the Indian liberals away from their traditional New-Liberal alignment and the success of the Chinese Faction in creating wealth in the Soviet Union, leading the Marketeers to call for the Imperials to out-compete the Soviets in the free market. Had quite a few successful PMs since, but since 2015 is now in opposition.
- "New Liberals": The "new" is a holdover from the early 1900s when they were the bright young things on the political stage advocating a radical shift in the United Kingdom and its Empire [as the Imperials were known then], they are famously the faction of Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the greatest Imperial Prime Ministers, but has certainly fallen far since, with their 'social-market' regulations now perceived as stifling the Federation in the 80s.
- "Fabians": Also known as "Liberal-Labour", they're perhaps the most left-wing yet mainstream faction and the only ones who dare to mention the word
"socialism". A key part of Liberal internal party coalition in where New-Liberals used them to successfully marginalised the old Gladstonians in the 'interests of progress', their presence has notably increased the last decade as Marketeer dominance squeezes New-Liberals in more developed areas. They only had one Prime Minister, the ill-fated Harry Lee who oversaw the economic crisis of the mid-70s.
- "Greens": A relative new-comer, this is a faction mostly based in younger faces especially in the "Anglo" Dominions but increasingly in urban areas in India, and often call for anti-corruption measures, environmentalist policies and all those radical-liberal policies that are increasingly popular with young people. They and the One Nation sort have a curious synergy despite their massive policy differences.
Other Parties
The Imperial Parliament is noted for its rowdy nature, something it has inherited from the old British Parliament, and hence this is something that the Soviets often make fun of, contrasting their orderly conferences with the cheers and jeers and sometimes brawls in the Parliament. The plethora of parties does not help with that, and it would take thousands of words to describe all of them. Just think the most variety possible, and you're
close.
[Citation: The flag for the Soviets was created by redrich on DeviantArt here, and the one for the Imperials was created by SunnyCant on Reddit here]