A Tale of Devil and The Tigress: Story of AOG in 21st Century

[Asalto]

@der Kriegsherr Meiji Restoration in Germany and the Shogunate revival in Japan...this universe is getting way too crazy.

@Gukpa This really warms up even the coldest reactionary heart.

Constantinople

Prime Minister of Ottoman Empire Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receives the visiting Viceroy of the East Asian Empire Dietrich Teufel in the presence of imperial guards in traditional outfits.​

After the emergence of Nanjing-friendly regime in Germany, East Asian charm offensive in Mideast and Europe has started without delay. Governor-General and Viceroy of East Asian Empire, Generalstathalter Teufel himself has engaged in series of state visits in key allied states that should be able to help him with his strategic agenda concerning the Soviet Republic and other hostile nations. Accompanied by many high-ranking officials and business leaders, the supreme leader of East Asia was being greeted in a manner usually reserved for the heads of sovereign states. Many commercial deals were inked (among these the significant increase of East Asian oil reserves was a goal of paramount imporance), but what was even more crucial was the reinforcement of strategic cooperation between the members of Berlin Pact. Nanjing was devoted to see its allies strenghtened in face of increasingly aggressive adversaries.

Upgraded Leopard 1 export models manufactured in East Asia under German license.

​

No need to mention, the East Asian arms industry loved the ongoing foreign political developments. Former AOG already served as imporant substitute exporter of Berlin Pact standardized arms and military equipment in face of German capital constantly flocking to cheaper sources of manufacturing in German Asia (that has stopped to be just a German China after its massive territorial expansion). Massive expansion of arms production in East Asia has soon turned corporate-imperial state into exporter of advanced arms, with even newer Leopard 2 models not being safe from being turned into customized export trophy of East Asian industry.

Leopard 1 tanks being loaded on freighter in China. ​

This fact proved to be very helpful during the recent state visits as well. Teufel was deeply concerned about the potential outbreak of real world war that would feature nations and alliances beyond the mere threat of most aggressive adversary that is Syndicalist Internationale. Apart fron Atlantic Treaty that was a dangerous historical marriage of old Entente, Catholic League and the Belgrade Pact, it was also unclear how would smaller alliances like the African socialist bloc and the camp of progressive Arab nationalist regimes together with Neo-Mosadeghist Iran swing in case of larger war. African Reds were strongly pro-Internationale oriented and their hatred towards the German-allied Central African Empire would surely stimulate them towards entrying the war on Syndicalist side. On the other hand, the Gulf-centered alliance of Egypt, Hashemite Arabia and Iran was traditionally sitting on the two chairs, constantly seeking support from both Internationale and the Atlantic Treaty against the interests of pro-German Ottoman Empire. Especially the last bloc had to be put under such a pressure that should make them think twice before trying to backstab key anti-Soviet force that was the Ottoman empire, the key guardian of Black Sea operational region that should activate in case of war with the Soviet Republic. The main goal of allied forces in this sector should be the capture of Soviet oilfields in the Caucasus, an action that should damage the Soviet war effort and improve the position of ''Mitteleuropa'' in case of disruptions in Mideast oil supply.

​

Ottoman armed forces were getting their boost for the case of the potential front in Caucasus in form of Eat Asian manufactured SuperHind gunships. The fact of what was seen as even more ''stolen technology'' being deployed at the borders of Soviet Republic was causing a lot of anger in Moscow where Premier Cherdenko was reportedly fuming at the news of further hostile provocations.

But what was even more important for Nanjing was the strenghtening of Ottoman Army of Mesopotamia that should play a key role in prevention of Gulf allies sucker punch attempt against the soft belly of Ottoman Empire. Those troops were designated to hold their ground at any cost, no matter what would be happening in Caucasus. The sight of hostile forces being boosted with a greatly increased number of armour (that was partially provided by East Asian industry as well) should make otherwise powerful Iranian army (and elite imperial guard) think twice about trying to seize the control of Baghdad. The rest of strategically placed forces on the borders with Hashemite Arabia and Egypt should also put fear into hearts of pretenders that are pursuing ''greater pan-Arab liberation'' in defiance of legitimate rule of enlightened Ottoman Sultan in the region full of dangerous rivalries.

...

​

After forging new deals and agreements about coordinated strategic cooperation, the Viceroy of German East Asia has left the Ottoman Empire and headed North to honor his mission of securing the Baltic operational region that was embracingthe areas of Finland, former United Baltic Duchy (now integrated part of German Empire), and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Military presence in this sector was even stronger than in the Black Sea area, but the possible holes in defense were much bigger as well. Finland was especially vulnerable in case to find herself between a hammer of Soviet Republic and the anvil of the Union of Scandinavia.

After passing the Vienna (with Danubian Federation receiving all praises and support for shouldering massive responsibility by guarding the borders with Italy and Danubian Federation while at the same time greatly propping up the forces of Ukrainean Hetmanate) and Berlin (where new goverment together with Kaiser have received him as a war hero), the Governor-General and Viceroy Teufel was later greeted in Helsinki.

​

His Majesty Frederik Kaarle II and king's prime minister Sauli Niinistö have received Teufel with all honors while the commander of Finnish armed forces Otso Virta was especially interested for exchange of knowledge concerning winter warfare tactics between the Finnish Jägers and East Asian elite infantry formations.

​

Due to precarious position of Finland that was squeezed between the Soviet Republic and a Syndicalist Scandinavia, Nanjing was among the loudest supporters of joint reinforcement of Finnish borders as the collapse of Finnish state in the early stages of potential war would be a real gift for Soviets and their allies who could then focus on other sections of European theatre. After the ascent of more hawkish forces in the goverment of Germany, some units of Imperial German Forces were relocated to the North. Creeping mobilization in the Kaiserreich was making sure that the Empire doesen't run out of troops in other important sections.

​

The menacing presence of the Soviet Red Fleet in Murmansk was also countered by deployment of several naval patrol squadrons of Luftwaffe to airbases in Finland.

Finnish Leopard 1 with winter camo and a camouflage net applied to it. Experienced players of certain tank warfare MMOG would probably suggest diffrent use of precious equipment slots.
​

​

Large part of Luftwaffe forces was deployed to Eastern sector in order to secure the air superiority and provide efficient ground support to friendly land forces in case of massive armed conflict. Large air operations against the Union of Britain, or even against the forces of Atlantic Treaty, were not planned until the situation on the potential Eastern front stabilizes in German favor.

​

Smaller part of air forces remained ready for possible operations in Western and Southern Europe while Kaiserliche Marine was ready to offer significant support from its carrier strike groups.

​

The greatest battles in case of opening of the front in Baltic sector are to be expected if German (counter)attacks towards Peterburg and Smolensk should be launched in order to prevent Soviets from claiming the initiative. German army and the forces of regional allies are expected to bear the largest burden. Some allies like the Kingdom of France were excused from sending national units to Eastern sectors in face of the threat coming from the irredentist French Republic. Instead, only limited number of volunteers were attached to internationalized formations of Heer like the ''Franco-German Panzergrenadier Brigade'' and the elite ''Charlamagne Regiment'' attached to it.

...............................................

​

NOTE: The control over all these allied was assumed only for the needs of broader strategic review. In case of war, I will let the AI to do the job for most of other allied forces as even East Asian armies alone are already numerous enough to present a challenging task to deal with in case of large conflict.

 

[Gukpa]

This really warms up even the coldest reactionary heart.

Reactionaries don't have cold hearts, we are more vivid than most of the republicans you can find!

 

[IconOfEvi]

So Jingwei weaponized memes. Truly, he is no mere fuddy duddy, but a visionary.

That said, this is very dangerous, what happened. I can't really see it ending good.

 

[Asalto]

@Gukpa This might be actually very true. A real reactionary rule is ctually based on heartily values like honor. But in democracy there is no esprit de corps, just an oligarchy that reproduces itself trough a mob rule. Democratic goverment is thus corrupted by default and needs the separation of powers to survive (because there's no honor among thieves, the only restraint comes from their rivalry but this is pretty weak guarantee). But the reactionary rule can be either enlightened despotism of philosopher-kings which are virtuous enough to rule alone, or the mixed goverment that features the best elements of diffrent rules. The latter was later abused by proponents of democratic republic, but the goal of mixed goverment (the real ideal of ancient thinkers and Baron de Montesquieu) is to combine the virtuous effects of diffrent rules (mostly monarchic and aristocratic ones), and not the mutual constraint among the (artificially) divided sources of political corruption (the rule that comes from the crown made of mud is corrupted by nature anyway). Divine Right of Kings and the Mandate of Heaven all the way! / Neo-Reactionary mode off.

@IconOfEvi How is potential liberation of the world from the forces of vile Syndicalism and corrupted liberal democracy by the honorable Sino-German Empire not a good ending? I presume you mean it would be bad if the hostile forces of corruption are going to win, I can agree with that...

Sapporo, Hokkaidō Prefecture, East Asian Empire
​

Susukino, the ''entertainment'' district of the city of Sapporo.

​

The virtuous citizens of Sapporo, many of whom were defying ascetic nature of Neo-Shogunal rule in the nightime, did not expect to wake up to shocking news in the morning of the last day of May: The programs on all TV channels provided by the regional network have disappeared just to be replaced by an odd broadcast of what seemed to be modified provincial flag of Hokkaido. The aggressive narrator's voice (that was accompanied by potpourri of Japanese Syndicalist marches and some internationalized socialist songs) was announcing that the ''Revolutionary Forces of the People's Republic of Ezo'' have taken over all the communication networks, outposts and headquarters of all security forces in the region, vital infrastructure hubs, and institutions of the local goverment. The announcement also stated that the new governing body, the ''Revolutionary People's Committee of Ezo'', is in talks with the goverments of Soviet Republic and Union of Britain about the recognition of new state in Hokkaido and even about the deployment of Internationale forces to the island. With rebels already enjoying a strong foreign support, there was no hope for East Asian Empire and its Shogunal lackeys to reclaim the lost prefecture: The rebels were thus advising the people to stay calm and remain in their dwellings.

Unclear and blinking image of what was supposed to be a flag of self-proclaimed People's Republic of Ezo that had appeared on all TV channels in Hokkaido region.

​

After few hours, the hijacked broadcast was gone. The emergency programs of local goverment started to report the news about security forces battling Syndicalist rebels at many points of strategic importance. The live scenes were showing the security forces belonging to local prefectural police and EAA's Army of Japan firing at buildings where rebels were said to be entrenched. Shooting and explosions were heard in many footages. The battle at Sapporo tower was covered by live broadcast and provided scenes of special forces climbing the tower while the helicopters were circling around the structure. After few hours, the scenes were getting less intense, mostly showing the rebels in either civilian clothes or mixed military fatigues (with all of them wearing the distinguishing red armbands) surrendering to security forces. The stacks of captured weapons of obvious Soviet origin could be also seen what has immediatelly fueled the talking about the foreign involvement.

Sapporo TV tower, the supposed target of insurgent takeover that was most likely used (together with some other broadcast centers) for propaganda purposes.

​

On the very same day, the central goverment in Nanjing has declared that the facts are clearly pointing towards the foreign involvement, blaming Moscow and even London (mostly due to supposed heavy presence of UoB intelligence services in Ryukyus). Due to alleged involvement of Soviet and British intelligence services in abortive separatist coup in Hokkaido, Nanjing (trough its representation in Berlin that was now fully in line with East Asian foreign political focus) has provided Moscow and London with a list of several high-ranking Soviet intelligence figures and also a few Ryukyus-based British diplomats, state officials and military officers. The ultimatum that was issued was demanding the conditions to be fulfilled in ''reasonable time'', without clear specification of what were supposed to be a ''dire consequences'' that would follow in case of non-compliance. Foreign diplomats were engaged in frenzy brainstorming about the meaning of ultimatum that was strongly resembling the demanding conditions of Austria-Hungary following the Sarajevo incident in 1914.

​

 

[Anuerin]

@Gukpa This might be actually very true. A real reactionary rule is ctually based on heartily values like honor. But in democracy there is no esprit de corps, just an oligarchy that reproduces itself trough a mob rule. Democratic goverment is thus corrupted by default and needs the separation of powers to survive (because there's no honor among thieves, the only restraint comes from their rivalry but this is pretty weak guarantee). But the reactionary rule can be either enlightened despotism of philosopher-kings which are virtuous enough to rule alone, or the mixed goverment that features the best elements of diffrent rules. The latter was later abused by proponents of democratic republic, but the goal of mixed goverment (the real ideal of ancient thinkers and Baron de Montesquieu) is to combine the virtuous effects of diffrent rules (mostly monarchic and aristocratic ones), and not the mutual constraint among the (artificially) divided sources of political corruption (the rule that comes from the crown made of mud is corrupted by nature anyway). Divine Right of Kings and the Mandate of Heaven all the way! / Neo-Reactionary mode off.

 

[Gukpa]

@Gukpa This might be actually very true. A real reactionary rule is ctually based on heartily values like honor. But in democracy there is no esprit de corps, just an oligarchy that reproduces itself trough a mob rule. Democratic goverment is thus corrupted by default and needs the separation of powers to survive (because there's no honor among thieves, the only restraint comes from their rivalry but this is pretty weak guarantee). But the reactionary rule can be either enlightened despotism of philosopher-kings which are virtuous enough to rule alone, or the mixed goverment that features the best elements of diffrent rules. The latter was later abused by proponents of democratic republic, but the goal of mixed goverment (the real ideal of ancient thinkers and Baron de Montesquieu) is to combine the virtuous effects of diffrent rules (mostly monarchic and aristocratic ones), and not the mutual constraint among the (artificially) divided sources of political corruption (the rule that comes from the crown made of mud is corrupted by nature anyway). Divine Right of Kings and the Mandate of Heaven all the way! / Neo-Reactionary mode off.

You summoned it all

Now let's read Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes while we blow up the parliament

 

[RandomDrongo]

Well, yup. You can say that reactionary rule is centered around the honor, the faith, the national spirit, the spirit of nation, whatever, all these other words that you can find in your run-on-the-mill fantasy novel. I won't even start to argue if those categories are even exists.

I'd ask other question. Do we need them?

 

[HIMDogson]

This might be actually very true. A real reactionary rule is ctually based on heartily values like honor. But in democracy there is no esprit de corps, just an oligarchy that reproduces itself trough a mob rule. Democratic goverment is thus corrupted by default and needs the separation of powers to survive (because there's no honor among thieves, the only restraint comes from their rivalry but this is pretty weak guarantee). But the reactionary rule can be either enlightened despotism of philosopher-kings which are virtuous enough to rule alone, or the mixed goverment that features the best elements of diffrent rules. The latter was later abused by proponents of democratic republic, but the goal of mixed goverment (the real ideal of ancient thinkers and Baron de Montesquieu) is to combine the virtuous effects of diffrent rules (mostly monarchic and aristocratic ones), and not the mutual constraint among the (artificially) divided sources of political corruption (the rule that comes from the crown made of mud is corrupted by nature anyway). Divine Right of Kings and the Mandate of Heaven all the way! / Neo-Reactionary mode off.

I wouldn't agree entirely with that. I think that the aristocracy should be kept out of any Monarchical government. Instead, there should be a legitimate separation of powers between a monarch and an elected legislature. Corruption isince viable in literally every form of government. The key is giving that form of government the means to get rid of it. In a Republic, in a One Party State, in a Feudal society, there is only one group that in theory or practice depending holding power, so they cannot be trusted to get rid of it. The only Republic I can think of that got rid of endemic corruption non violently was the US after the guided age, and that was because my boy Teddy was awesome. As recent events have shown, however, the US has failed to pull it off a second time, and is now poised to go the way of the Roman Republic. In a system with a Monarch and an elected legislature, however, if one is corrupted the other can fix it, and even if both are corrupted at least it won't likely be by the same people. Now, I prefer an elected legislature to an aristocracy as a matter of principle, but also because historically an empowered nobility has done more harm than good for Monarchy.

 

[Kaiser_Mobius]

Just a random question, but is that earlier photo of Erdogan with all the ceremonial guards real? I guess we don't need an alternate timeline to see him becoming sultan of an Ottoman Empire after all!

Good updates, although if (when?) war comes, I think I am going to have to root for the brave nations of the Entente to try and stop God-Emperor Teufel and his schemes.

 

[Duke of Kings]

This world is so fascinating... on one hand it's so ridiculously stagnant, but yet so different...

 

[Asalto]

Good grief, what have I done?!

This was not supposed to be a discussion on polical philosophy at all, I've even used the /end of roleplay/ sign after that ''academic statement'' which was supposed to be just a lighthearted reply to Gukpa.

But I still feel obligated to explain few things. The ''philosophical arguments'' that I have used in that controversal ''thesis'' are based on actual thoughts of historical thinkers like Voltaire and Montesquieu (and not on some fictional novel). Combining these two philosophers together otherwise doesen't make much sense as they were actually ideological rivals with totally opposite agendas, but I cherry-picked something from both and mixed it together into wacky potpourri to get some more theatrical effect (it seems I was actually too genuine and it somehow backfired).

So there's no need to dispute anything in that goofy ''statement'' as it had no academic nor artistic purpose (it wasn't even part of the story canon). But I can still try to clarify some sources as I owe it to those thinkers (and their theories) that I have massacred:

Argument in favor of absolutist rule mostly followed the general agenda of Voltaire. Clearly, he was a known proponent of enlightened absolutism, and I borrowed his fascination with the ancient ideal of philosopher-king as he had believed this concept could be also applied to enlightened absolutist monarchies of Europe as well. What is even more fascinating is that he also admired the supposed virtue-based rule of Chinese emperors and their mandarins: The latter were supposed to be Confucian sages of superior morality that were correcting ruler's mistakes and guiding the monarch in a way so benevolent that there was no need for any external restraints of his power in form of autonomous political institutions or constitutional laws. Voltaire longed for similar model where philosophers like himself would play be guiding the absolutist monarchs of Europe on their path to enlightened rule as well. He also saw centralized absolutist rule as a shield against the particularist interests of politically privileged groups like the Church and nobility (quite contrary to Montesquieu).

Montesquieu was a total opposite to that, but he was still a (realistic) monarchist (at least he can be judged so from his work The Spirit of Laws). For him, absolutist monarchy was not even a monarchy but just a despotic rule (for Voltaire, despotism was irrational absolutism and not absence of the constraints of political power). Montesquieu has formalized three types of rule, each one based on one of several principles:

1. Monarchy, where the king rules according to the laws; the principle of goverment is honor that comes from esprit de corps, a sense of belonging to a privileged group. There is no honor without aristocracy, and without aristocracy, there is no monarchy (just despotism). Both executive and legislative powers can still remain in king's hands as long there is autonomous judicial power provided by autonomous nobility. He drew those ideas from example of his native country: In France, noblesse de robe/Nobles of the Robe were hereditary administrative/judicial officials that staffed the perlements which were provincial appellate courts that were supposed to protect the rule of law and the spirit of ancient constitution of France (the greatest of them, the perlement of Paris, had actually acted as a prototype of constitutional court as it even had a right to review the king's edicts before they were promulgated as laws). @HIMDogson speaks of the separation of powers in the modern parliamentary monarchies, but these are strongly dominated by democratic/republican and not ''reactionary'' values (so it's rather mixed goverment than a typical form of rule, and principle of honor is greatly weakened due to lack of aristocratic power).

2. The republic, where rule is based on virtue that is desire to pursuit the common good. Political sovereignity belongs to the people as a whole (democratic republic), or to a limited group (aristocratic republic).

3. Despotism is an arbitrary and unrestrained rule of an autocrat. For diffrence from Voltaire, Montesquieu had strongly attacked ''Oriental despotism'' the main examples of which were supposed to be Ottoman Empire, Persia, China and Japan. By pointing on those countries, he wanted to prevent the European monarchies (especially France) from drifting into absolutist (despotic) rule.

Montesquieu believed that monarchy is the best form of goverment. Autonomous aristocracy is making sure that the king does not abuse his power, as together with their granted privileges they also protect the rights of everyone else. Montesquieu calls privileged groups ''intermediate institutions'' as they oppose arbitrary rule of the monarch and provide political mediation between the ruling sovereign and the people. That's also why he saw Chinese monarchical model as a nightmare as centralized bureaucratic state was absent of groups that should provide the flow of political power trough the proper channels.

Montesquieu did not oppose republican form of rule and he actually adored ancient republics but thought they could function only because they were small enough to be governed well democratically. In some way, he still predicted the rise of USA as in his opinion, only a federation of several republics (based on example of military federations of Greek city-states) could be governed well. In his opinion, the popular majority rule would ruin a large republic (thus the need for electoral college in USA). This is also where I based my arguments about flaws of democracy on. There was also no real system of the full separation of powers until the USA came into existance, and England was seen just as a special kind of mixed goverment that was in some way similar to Roman Republic where the goverment featured diffrent virtues of various systems. Mixed goverment of Rome contained both principle of honor (provided by monarchical and aristocratic elements), and principle of virtue as the pursuit of common good that came from republican institutions.

To draw a line: Montesquieu who is considered to be a father of the idea of separation of powers also thought that the principle of aristocratic honor in traditional monarchy is sufficient guarantee for preservation of the freedom. Voltaire saw the same in enlightened absolute rule. And that was the base of my ''thesis'' about the virtues of monarchic rule.

@Gukpa should be (at least according to his last post) a Hobbesian, what is in practice a preference of absolute rule based on the concern that the democracy (or even separation of political power) might cause political divisions that would lead to collapse of political society, alias the return to the terrible ''state of nature'' that was supposed to be just a perpetual war between lawless individuals. But Hobbes still paved a way to social contract theory that turned out to be quite republican in nature (there was no long way from Hobbes to Rousseau after that). Social contract theory is still totally opposite to Divine Right of Kings which is a theological royalist concept that justifies unconditional right to rule. It advocates full political sovereignity of the monarch as his authority comes directly from God. Such ruler can only grant concessions that are just temporary by nature (so his soveign power can't be divided or limited, just delegated to specific organs). Social contract creates goverment trough the popular agreement, but Divine Right is based on traditional family structure and legacy of Adam who was supposed to be the first human king (so kingship is natural and has always existed).

East Asian Mandate of Heaven concept is less strict as ruler who lacks virtue should lose the right to rule (at least in theory). Confucian thinkers differed on its extent though. Mengzi even advocated regicide of tyrannical ruler while Xunzi could be in some way seen as Chinese Hobbes with his focus on institutional stability. Though the last comparison is not the best as there is no anarchic state of nature concept in traditional Confucian worldview that is sees the state as an organic concept that can't be separated from society and the universe in general.

Yes, putting all that together into some kind of universal form of reactionary monarchism doesen't make much sense indeed. But still, doing it is fun. I just hope I wasn't trolled into this response for doing it (if so, I promise to be good and not mess around with my answers to readers' comments anymore, I could put together another update in the meantime instead).

@Kaiser_Mobius Indeed, that's actual scene. Afaik they are purely ceremonial (for diplomatic receptions) and didn't replace the regular presidential guards yet:

@Duke of Kings Thank you!

 

[Gukpa]

@Gukpa should be (at least according to his last post) a Hobbesian, what is in practice a preference of absolute rule based on the concern that the democracy (or even separation of political power) might cause political divisions that would lead to collapse of political society, alias the return to the terrible ''state of nature'' that was supposed to be just a perpetual war between lawless individuals. But Hobbes still paved a way to social contract theory that turned out to be quite republican in nature (there was no long way from Hobbes to Rousseau after that). Social contract theory is still totally opposite to Divine Right of Kings which is a theological royalist concept that justifies unconditional right to rule. It advocates full political sovereignity of the monarch as his authority comes directly from God. Such ruler can only grant concessions that are just temporary by nature (so his soveign power can't be divided or limited, just delegated to specific organs). Social contract creates goverment trough the popular agreement, but Divine Right is based on traditional family structure and legacy of Adam who was supposed to be the first human king (so kingship is natural and has always existed).

That's my point, Brazil, like other latim countries like Italy, have been stalled into constitutional or parliamentary deadlocks for years, some time even decades because of our system, we spent the entire 90s with our congress pretty much stalled because the social democratic PSDB had the presidency but the congress was under the hand of mostly opposition parties

while the period of modern brazilian history regarded as the most prosperous by many (including my family) is Getulio Vargas government, and while he was elected by the congress in 1934 and by the people in 1950, his government was authoritarian in many aspects, but this gave enought power to rule Brazil

I'm still young, on a university, but as I enter in my political career I will follow the hobbesian thinking, as I got a solid ideological base that the state, the leviathan, need to be controlled, by force of a strong leader if necessary, that is why Pre 1918 germany fascinates me so much, and a lot of people here in the forum too as I have seen, they were not a absolute monarchy, they had parties, a acting chancellor, but the Kaiser still held political power and he was the main figure that rallied the german people behind, or in another words, In this scenario, I would be Heinrich Jingwei, because he's a non German, but he's fascinated by the german system

 

[Asalto]

That's my point, Brazil, like other latim countries like Italy, have been stalled into constitutional or parliamentary deadlocks for years, some time even decades because of our system, we spent the entire 90s with our congress pretty much stalled because the social democratic PSDB had the presidency but the congress was under the hand of mostly opposition parties

while the period of modern brazilian history regarded as the most prosperous by many (including my family) is Getulio Vargas government, and while he was elected by the congress in 1934 and by the people in 1950, his government was authoritarian in many aspects, but this gave enought power to rule Brazil

I'm still young, on a university, but as I enter in my political career I will follow the hobbesian thinking, as I got a solid ideological base that the state, the leviathan, need to be controlled, by force of a strong leader if necessary, that is why Pre 1918 germany fascinates me so much, and a lot of people here in the forum too as I have seen, they were not a absolute monarchy, they had parties, a acting chancellor, but the Kaiser still held political power and he was the main figure that rallied the german people behind, or in another words, In this scenario, I would be Heinrich Jingwei, because he's a non German, but he's fascinated by the german system

Well, the German Empire itself was very Hobbesian construction and even in long term, the British type of concept of the fusion of powers where the Crown and Parliament share the political sovereignity (Crown-in-Parliament) could be hardly imposed on Germany (didn't work in 1918 as well). It was the German princes (as representatives of their lands and their subjects) that have granted the political sovereignity to King of Prussia and made him the supreme federal ruler/Emperor of Germany, and not the people (that's also why Frederick William IV of Prussia has rejected the ''crown from gutter'' that was offered to him by the Frankfurt Parliament as he would also have to accept the notion of popular sovereignity with it). Thus, you can't demand the rights from German Emperor (by using arguments like the Ancient constitution of England) on behalf of popular electorate. He can only grant them the concessions as a gift of his good will. Unification of Germany was agreement between the constituent German states and not the people as a whole. That's why the parliament has no power to force the monarch to appoint the Chancellor they desire. Of course smart monarch will follow the presumed will of majority for the sake of political stability, but in theory even elected institutions have no right to defy the will of political sovereign. That's the also premise I used for the concept of ''Imperial Restoration'' in this AAR.

German Empire in this universe is de facto running as a parliamentary monarchy with respect to newly developed constitutional rules and customs (like the right of the Reichstag to recall the Chancellor and the custom of Kaiser nominating the Chancellor that is able to command the working majority in Reichstag), but there still were no guarantees for Kaiser to act diffrently in time of national crisis where he is expected to take back the control. And he didn't even have to claim the rule himself as an absolute monarch: He did it by swearing in the Chancellor that was not supported by the Reichstag and in turn the pro-imperial Chancellor has (according to the constition) declared the state of emergency in order to suspend the constitutional powers of Reichstag due to political crisis: In this story, the system is basically meant to be the combination of Imperial and Weimar constitution (in exchange for gradual liberalization, emperor's direct powers were decreased on behalf of parliament but the emergency powers were given to Kaiser's Chancellor in order to secure the stability in case of national emergency). The political reformists in this universe have actually reinforced the Kaiser's hidden powers altough they only meant to increase the strength of independent goverment. But the emergency powers they included in constitutional changes in exchange for political withdrawal of Emperor (and especially to prevent the legislative blockades caused by potential radicals taking over the control of the Reichstag trough election) were in the end their doom. Not exactly sure how would all this affect Bundesrat, but since it was dominated by Prussia anyway, the suspension of general parliamentary operations should not affect the constituent states too much. But actually centralizing the empire (abolishing the federative lands themselves) would be a crossing over the red line even for the Kaiser as the presiding federal sovereign, so on local level not much is supposed to be changed. This is part of story canon, I didn't explain the reformed constitution of modern German Empire well enough before. I also hope it didn't come out too messy, I can't help myself not to complicate.

 

[WdS]

@Asalto

Any chance you could drop us a link to whatever version of the Modern Day Scenario mod you use as a base for your tinkering? Been toying with the idea of a custom MDS AAR for some time now, but haven't been able to find just what I'm looking for - only working scenarios I've came across are pretty ugly on the interface side of things.

 

[Asalto]

@Asalto

Any chance you could drop us a link to whatever version of the Modern Day Scenario mod you use as a base for your tinkering? Been toying with the idea of a custom MDS AAR for some time now, but haven't been able to find just what I'm looking for - only working scenarios I've came across are pretty ugly on the interface side of things.

Of course, here it is:

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...odern-day-scenario-dh-1-03-compatible.777626/
(download link seems to be dead though)

http://www.moddb.com/mods/modern-day-scenario-for-darkest-hour-103/images/gameplay12#imagebox
(but it looks like it can still be downloaded from moddb)

The only problem might be that this mod was made for DH 1.03 version on which I'm playing it as well. On the last page of this thread someone claims that there is updated version for 1.04 but I haven't checked if this is genuine: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ay-scenario-dh-1-03-compatible.777626/page-30

I hope this helps.

 

[der Kriegsherr]

@Asalto

Hey! You stole one of my AAR ideas for traitorous rebel scum on the northern-most island of Japan!
Not that I actually mind, just pointing it out.

 

[NikephorosSonar]

In the comments on the download page user The_Penguin has instructions on how to make the mod work for 1.04

Okay, I did that and the mod isn't doing anything at all. There's a background process for Darkest Hour but that's it.

 

[Asalto]

@der Kriegsherr Good examples are worth following, Master Warlord...

@NikephorosSonar That's too bad, looks like this mod can be played only on older version after all.

June 6, 2018

​

The Soviet Republic and Union of Britain have rejected accusations made by Nanjig, even declaring the events in Northern Japan a false flag event. Things became even more confusing when Canadian authorities revealed the data coming from the North American satellites that was supposed to prove that there even wasn't any actual violence happening in Hokkaido. East Asian authorities were thus getting themselves embarrassed in the face of many indications that the Hokkaido incident was really just a show staged by Shogunal authorities. Soviets even tried to use this opportunity to accuse Japanese proxies of Nanjing of activity directed against the interests of their Sino-German masters in wish to destabilize East Asian Empire and restore the Japanese sovereignity. In reality, those accusations would do no harm as the Hokkaido incident that really was just a well-made artistic setup, created with full knowledge of Nanjing, could not cause any kind of divisions between the Nanjing and Tokyo: Japan was closely integrated in East Asian world order in spite of limited self-goverment, and the high officers of formed Japanese imperial forces were now sitting in very top positions of the central goverment.

All sides were mobilizing their forces, but nobody knew when the storm will erupt. This surreal stance of limbo turned into real conflict when in the early morning hours of 6th June, the forces of East Asian Empire and its allies have attacked the positions of Soviet Republic. Justification was given by German foreign ministry a few hours later, citing the danger of imminent Soviet attack against the members of Berlin Pact. The mutual defense mechanism of Internationale was activated the same day.

Due to rising tensions that preceded the start of hostilities, the element of surprise was not working in favor of EAA supreme command. The general strategy was centered on some crucial points: Hold the line in Himalayas, secure the Tibet by diverting Sino-Soviet attention to Sinkiang, concentrate on Burma that should be considered the soft belly of India, keep Beijing secure and push the People's Liberation Army of China into Mongolia. The rest can wait for now.

Unfortunately, Indian forces proved to be much better prepared than expected, underlining the fact that defense of Tibet will be hard task to accomplish.

The speculation of Indian Burma being suitable to play the role of soft belly of Syndicalist India proved to be justified for now.

Forces of the People's Republic of China were built up with Soviet help to much greater extent than it was speculated before. The quantity and quality of these hostile troops will surely pose a problem at least in initial phases of this war.

In general, the weakling sucker punch launched against the Soviet bloc in Asia was not something to be proud of. Enemy forces were either holding their ground or even counter-attacking, putting EAA and its regional allies under strong pressure.

EAA military attache in Paris has reported that his mission with French royal army was targeted by Republican Air Force of the Union of Britain.

British commandos that have invaded the shores of Northern France in order to annoy Germans in Western Europe were pushed back by French Royal Army and German Heer. At the same time, heavy air battles were taking place over the Strait of Dover. Luftwaffe and her allies were doing their best not to allow British to establish air superiority over Northern France. Dutch neutrality was making things even harder, putting the German allies in Paris into very precarious position. A more substantial deployment of British armies in France would mean the opening of Western Front for German Empire, providing the Soviets with great relief.

In the Eastern front of Mitteleuropa, German and allied forces have made no bigger games in Baltic region thanks to stiff Soviet resistance.

The story was slightly diffrent in Black Sea region where the forces of Ukrainean Hetmanate were engaged in fluid warfare against the Soviet Red Army. Hetman Oleksandr Kravchuk has tried to appeal to the ranks of Cossacks fighting in the Red Army (the participation of ''Red Cossack forces'' in the ranks of Red Army was being promoted by Soviet Premier Cherdenko who often boasted of his supposed Cossack origin) by declaring the ''unity of all Cossack hosts from Dnieper to Orenburg''.

A lone dogfight between EAA and Indian fighters ended in Sino-German victory. First blood was drawn in the skies over the Himalayas, but the real fight for achievement of the air superiority hasn't even started yet.

Campaign in Burma was hitting first obstacles as well, in spite of all jungle warfare experiences that were put into use by EAA armies that were in this region composed mostly of Thai and Indochinese soldiers.

EAA and PLA were engaged in massive tank battles, but the emergence of clear victor was nowhere in sight yet. Supreme command and top political leadership in Nanjing were quickly getting worried about how long will this war have to last. Nobody could even imagine what would situation look like if the Soviet Republic would not have to worry about the defense of its Western flank in Europe.

 

[AvatarOfKhaine]

Liberate the UK from Corbyn and Galloway, you do seem to love tormenting the denizens of these powers IRL, this is even more cruel than KRTL PM Trudeau.

 

[Duke of Kings]

Nice, the next world war.