> "The State is a sapling: Waters of change may drown it, and rays of fear may wither it, but well-tended it will one day bear fruit."
>
> --- Excerpt from *A Comprehensive Guide to the Tennants of Solar Statescraft*. (PdS-120)
Ministerial Publishing House, Neue Waldstätte, Erde, Sol

---

The **Solar Confederation** (officially **The Most Serene Solar and Intersolar Confederation**, colloquially **SolGov**) is a polity based in the [[Sol]] System. It is a federal republic divided into numerous cantons and territories, with federal level institutions based on Erde. The Confederation maintains a policy of armed neutrality; it has avoided international conflict since the events of the [[Night of Fire Incident]] and avoids association with polarizing alliances. The Sol System has become a choice location for numerous international organizations and institutions in spite of its relative remoteness due to this stable peace policy.
# Structure
*Main Article: [[Solar Statescraft]]*

SolGov is a semi-direct democratic federal republic. The territory of SolGov is divided into numerous "Solar" sectors, which function as directly democratic federal cantons, as well as "Intersolar" frontiers which operate under stratocratic martial law. These cantons differ in exact details of governance, but are required to draft and uphold a constitution of their own. There is no private sector in the Solar Confederation, with the vast majority of citizens working in the public sector instead.
### Solar Assembly

The **Solar Assembly** is a pentacameral legislature consisting of representatives selected through various means, which drafts and votes on new policies. Each house of the Assembly selects its representatives differently: the Commons Council has directly-elected parliamentary delegates representing a single constituency, the Electoral Council consists of electors (complicated, described in the [[Solar Statescraft]] document) representing the cantonal and local-level governments, the Auditorial Council is composed of administrative officials falling under the ministry auditor rank-system, the Council of Peers is composed of peerage-holders who manage to retain their title for 30 years, and the Citizen's Council consists of randomly-selected citizens who serve as a representative sample of the populace.

Through referendums, citizens can directly influence and challenge new policies and introduce new amendments to the federal constitution, thus making SolGov a direct democracy. The Confederation is famous for having the largest number of referendums of any polity in history, numbering in the tens of thousands.
### Federal Council

The **Federal Council** directs the federal government and administration and serves as a collective head of state and head of government.

[Exact details must be hashed out in Solar Statescraft.]
### Department of Administrative Affairs
*Main Article: [[Department of Administrative Affairs]]*

The **Department of Administrative Affairs** is the single largest and most powerful organ of the federal government. Formed as a small supportive office intended to aid in miscellany issues regarding interdepartmental cooperation and policy, the Department has since grown in scope and manpower, and now consists of 1.2 billion staff members aiding in every area of the Solar Public Sector. All civil servants and administrators started their career in the Department and still often interact with it when reassigned to a different Ministry.
### The Terran Regency
*Main Article: [[The Terran Regency]]*

Understood to be the remnants of the temporary military emergency government enacted shortly after the [[Night of Fire Incident]], the **Terran Regency** is a faction of old-guard military administrators and bureaucrats that operates as another organ of the Solar and Intersolar Governing Body. The Regency holds great influence over Solarian politics, disproportionately swaying local elections in the Sol system and effectively governing the capital city Neue Waldstätte with their absolute majority in the administrative palace. The Regency is responsible for establishing and enforcing the confederation's borders and customs, along with the military administration of the Intersolar sectors.
# Culture

Solarian culture is largely insular, with many aspects of life being labyrinthine to the average foreigner but simple and intuitive to anyone raised in the Solar Confederation. Solarians often possess highly conservative (not in the party-political sense) and vaguely collectivist (not in the party-political sense, either) values and a sense of spiritual connection to nature.

SolGov's history with conflict and hardships, along with the policy of universal conscription, has lead to a highly structured, vaguely paramilitary society, with most civilians being expected to be able to answer conscription notices. Institutions often have a clearly-defined internal rank structure and corresponding uniforms, with rank in one government institution translating cleanly to the lowest rank of equal status in others. Procedure is heavily emphasized to ensure societal stability, which lowers the logistical and administrative efforts needed to respond to crises.
### Daisy Chain of Duty

Solarian culture is dominated by a daisy chain of perceived duty, with most individual citizens feeling the need to serve society at large, society at large feeling the need to serve the government, and the government feeling the need to serve the individual citizen. In SolGov, these groups overlap so severely that the line between the individual, society, and the government has nearly blurred beyond distinction.

This manifests in a number of ways, such as in SolGov's universal conscription policy, where each citizen must serve at least 2 months in the military, 11 further months in either military or civil service, and 30 further years as either a military or administrative reservist. Universal conscription remains hugely popular in the Solar Confederation, with over 95% of citizens voting 'NO' on a recent referendum to scale back the policy.
### Sonnensöldner and Solar Companies

Anyone who has served 13 months of military conscription is eligible to apply for a permit to become a **Sonnensöldner**, either as part of a Solar Mercenary Company or as a standalone specialist. Sonnensöldners are state-certified elite mercenaries; while they are prohibited from breaking Solar Law or harming a fellow Solar Citizen, they offer a wide range of services.

The many types of Sonnensöldner are well-documented and will not be repeated here.
### Luddism

SolGov displays a pattern of hesitance towards the adoption of new technologies and developments, with digitized recordkeeping and database technology using centuries-out-of-date programs and hardware. In the most extreme cases, even modern computing is eschewed, with some departments within the civil service relying on punch-cards or even pen-and-paper records.

Body modification technology, such as cybernetic enhancements and augmentation, is largely taboo, with low-tech alternatives being preferred whenever possible. In addition, machine decision-making (known sometimes as "artificial intelligence") is almost never used for government purposes in favor of a complete and total reliance on sapient manpower.
### Reverence of Earth and Nature

SolGov’s culture has a deep connection to the human homeworld Earth beyond historical significance. While Earth has recovered well and is once again a jewel of natural beauty, the devastation of the [[Night of Fire Incident]] has lead to a profound appreciation of all things considered “natural”. This appreciation for the natural world, in combination with Solarian values, has lead to most of SolGov culture being tied to vaguely defined senses of spiritual connection to nature. The government and its institutions and systems are often seen and interpreted as a force of nature in itself.

Materials considered natural, such as wood, leather, plant-based textiles and horn, are preferred in construction and manufacturing, being used liberally for interior decoration and anything intended for direct bodily contact. Synthetic materials, to contrast, are almost universally reviled among Solarians, with plastic and polyester never being used.
# Factional Relations

The Confederation avoids most alliances and participation in most international organizations unless a supermajority of recognized polities participate in said organizations. It hesitates to sign any agreements that would force it into action on behalf of the actions of another polity. Along with extensive contingency plans and a large portion of its populace trained as military reservists, the Solar Confederation's policy of 'armed neutrality' has ensured that none would ever dare to attack it.

Outside of this, the Confederation maintains nominally friendly relations with most major polities, trading with others freely and maintaining diplomatic channels. Because of this, the services of Solarian international mediators are reputed for diplomacy, mediation, and arbitration between polities that would otherwise be hostile.