Naming Your Interstellar Empire

Perhaps the most important aspect of a nation’s identity is its name. So why is it that there are so many examples in science-fiction of names that make no sense?
In Incoming, The Templin Institute discusses the theories and ideas found across alternate worlds.
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Includes footage from "The Lord Inquisitor" by Erasmus Brosdau.
• The Lord Inquisitor - ...
Background music: “White Atlantis” by Sergey Cheremisinov. User under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Ending music used under license from Shutterstock.com.
Narration by M.A.R.C.

[@TemplinInstitute]

Before anyone points it out, we are aware of the irony of using "Empire" in the name of the video when a large segment of the video is dedicated towards how you should never use the word "Empire". If you have been affected by this indefensible act of hypocrisy, then make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter! twitter.com/TemplinEdu facebook.com/TemplinInstitute/

[@SupermanBlack1987]

hey can you guys do more video on fantasy stories?

[@a12shotman]

The Templin Institute I don't know if you were sarcastic at that part about the "democratic people's republic" truly showing that they're a government of the people. But I laughed. Also, feudalism in sci-fi? Like Dune? Or Klingons?

[@matthewdowner3057]

I feel like I should point out that the name 'United Federation of Nations' is actually a UN equivalent from the anime Code Geass

[@aarondavidson6743]

Would "United Human Council" work as a good name ?

[@matthewfritz4629]

Does Confederation of sovereign colonies work? You should do more episodes on sci-fi government names and if the name matches the government. If not what would be a better name.

[@nowhereman6019]

Imperium actually means "absolute power". So the Imperium of Man would be "The Absolute Power of Mankind", which is pretty badass.

[@generalripper7528]

Damn that is badass!

[@ortherner]

That name sounds epic!

[@zhangeldy4097]

And pretty accurately reflects their ideology.

[@shanegrimes3455]

@@boom-wj1gt reeeeee

[@fitzcharles33]

It could also mean the Sovereignty of Man which is also cool.

[@alphanoodle1877]

"A nation isn't called the federation of lakes" Chad: "Let us be henceforth called chad, named after this lake, also known as chad, which means lake"

[@colton1325]

“Look at this chad it means lake”-bill wurtz

[@yellowplate4539]

Montenegro:

[@HHLucifer666]

Vatican City, capital of the catholic church and one of the last city states to actually exist in the modern world today:

[@averagecitizen2263]

And Montenegro also

[@redleaderantilles1263]

He follows that with Mountains which made me go right to the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and before that the Mountainous Republic of the Norther Caucasus. I get what they meant, but it is silly in hindsight given how many real countries break that rule so flagrantly

[@Goodmanperson55]

There's a historical precedent for naming a galactic-spanning civilization after the planet Earth, in my opinion. The Roman Empire was, after all, named after the City-State of Rome.

[@saudade7842]

Yeah, they just expanded their definition of "Roman"

[@dontforgetyoursunscreen]

Well he suggest terran which refers to the inhabitants of terra ala earth just as roman refers to the inhabitants of rome

[@robespierregracchus3153]

I also think naming a nation the "State of Earth" or whatever, would invoke a sense of Earth centralism, which could lead to interesting politics. I mean, it's not like Rome was nice to its colonies.

[@PsychShrew]

11:59 Lakes: “Chad” means “lake” Mountains: “Haiti” means “mountainous land”

[@RandomEnjoyer118]

montenegro means black mountain

[@arturzakacz6066]

Farmland: "Pole" means field in Polish

[@reganator5000]

Iceland means exactly what you'd think (though it's spelt Island).

[@TemplinInstitute]

This video got a dislike before it had been up long enough for anyone to watch the whole thing. We're finally becoming a real KZbin channel. Thanks everybody!

[@lordzadd]

Well done!

[@RandomAsianProductions]

I haven't made it that far :( but I love your stuff! I'm basing a new Stargate series of you guys :) (links to your channel will be included naturally ;D )

[@SupermanBlack1987]

proud of you.

[@sirdevonaire3249]

I'm leading a Earth base empire in Stellaris its called the Terran Republic Empire we're a military dictatorship we elect are Emporer after the other dies from the military we use a lot of Xeno slave labor and only humanoid xenos are treated as Terran we control 1567 out of 2000 systems and rest of the galaxy are nothing but our vasilies states

[@Nostripe361]

The Templin Institute this was meet. I like what you said about empires. An empire in the traditional sense could never really work in sci-fi I actually made one before but made sure that it had context. In it the empire was built during conflict as they built by unifying or conquering all the warlords In Their region of space. They also faced external threats that required martial power to defend against. As for government they had a society that values intelligence and skill so one could gain or lose nobility due to personal ability. They also had a senate that could challenge the nobles if needed.

[@TheEventHorizon909]

* *STELLARIS INTENSIFIES* *

[@gluttony3044]

read my mind

[@Valtsuuu]

I will enslave your pops if you take the same logo that I use.

[@intheshade3018]

Way to true to be funny

[@beanslinger4616]

* *EXTERMINATUS INTENSIFIES* *

[@folfielukather8083]

forgive me [species], but i must dim my viewscreen, as your appearence is repulsive

[@MapleLamia]

The Rebel Alliance is also used well considering it's truly made up of a ton of small cells organized under the main Alliance banner

[@Barri2410]

IIRC, their official name is "Rebellion to Restore the Republic"

[@christophersalinas2722]

@@Barri2410 “Alliance to Restore The Republic”

[@Barri2410]

@@christophersalinas2722 ah, yes. Thanks

[@MorgensternX]

This works precisely because it's not a sovereign government. It's a military hierarchy intending to turn rule over to an actual government after completing its task.

[@thuho5316]

Alliance to Restore the Republic.

[@seekingabsolution1907]

12:05 if you delve into the names of most countries you'll find their meanings tied into Geography. For example, the Scottish name for Scotland is Alba, which is derived from Albion which was derived from a Roman word describing the white cliffs of Dover. Literally named after the first bit of geography many Romans saw.

[@Lt.Boomer]

Yeah, also the region of Transilvania, it has a Latin etymology, for Trans means over and silvae is the word used for Woods, so basically Transilvania means The Land From Across the Forest or something. It's not really uncommon to name a nation based on it's geographical intricacies. After all, a nation is fundamentally bound to Earth, ain't it? Perhaps that's why it is rather difficult to name a Space Faring civilization.

[@froglover4203]

@@Lt.Boomer Hypo- meaning low, and -emia, meaning presence in blood

[@Lt.Boomer]

@@froglover4203 What?

[@henryplumb7459]

I think the importance is to worldbuild this correctly in a similar way, Nothing wrong with having say, the Antorran Confederacy for a multi-species multi-planet government, if Antorra is an agreed word for space between its constituents, sort of like how some words in our world stem very similarly. Although how to standardise this would be the worldbuild challenge. That being said having the various constituents engage in contact wars and peroidically undergo occupations by one or a plethora of cross-occupations in their histories would probably solve this through some level of cultural osmosis.

[@Fingolfin_the_Warden]

"So you want to join the Alliance of Awakened Nations, huh? How woke are ya?" "Pee is stored in the ba-" "YOU'RE IN."

[@believemeimherman4319]

poop is stored in the buttcheeks

[@zakaltan-euskaldunen_enjoyer]

Tears are stored in the eyes

[@theloweffortchannel7211]

@@zakaltan-euskaldunen_enjoyer Technically true

[@janusceasar7851]

@@theloweffortchannel7211 True is when things are correct

[@maxwellli7057]

@@janusceasar7851 depends on what you define the as the eyes. Is it just the eyeballs or does it include all things that aid with vision? That would include the tear glands.

[@DoctorProph3t]

Dare I say it... The Holy Human Empire

[@polishplanetpursuer4772]

The Holy Human Empire was neither Holy, Human, or an Empire.

[@admiralduckshmidt2248]

@@polishplanetpursuer4772 except human, all are humans non humans don’t exist in fact non humans never existed! (Edit: Punctuation)

[@asaifaji4490]

The Holy Imperium of Mankind Legion

[@bwestacado9643]

@@asaifaji4490 sounds hot

[@briantarigan7685]

That's what happen when you let Taboritsky colonize the space

[@nathanaelsallhageriksson1719]

You should've included "kingdom" as many countries today still use it in their official name. And that is for historical reasons. Like, I don't remember hearing it's use in a sci fi name. It would be cool.

[@UndeadEmpire472]

Star Kingdom of Manticore

[@nathanaelsallhageriksson1719]

@@UndeadEmpire472 Well, I honnestly don't know where that is from.

[@matthewshedlock70]

@@nathanaelsallhageriksson1719 the Honor Harrington series. Basically Horatio Hornblower IN SPACE!

[@jim.rnilsen9]

A federation is a union of partially self-governing parts, so the ''Trade federation'' is not necessarily disqualified from being a federation

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

I think the word Sol/Solar is actually a good descriptor for anything that is specifically based on our home star system. "The Solar Union" "The Sol Federation"

[@jamesnewcomer4939]

...or for the entire race 'Solomon': the men of Sol...women too, of course!

[@maxwellli7057]

*The Union of Sol-viet Socialist Planets*

[@jamesnewcomer4939]

@@maxwellli7057 ...now with 20% more Chinese characteristics! :D

[@PolskiHetman]

Flapjackpants well played

[@Cyberwar101]

That works in an early interstellar setting, or a unified interplanetary setting. However in a later interstellar setting, all those other systems might feel underrepresented. Additionally in a interplanetary setting that hasn't been unified, calling your government Sol or Solar might be construed as violating other states sovereignty. That could still work if you are a majority power there, but less so if you aren't. Like, we call the USA America, but if it didn't economically politically and militarily dominate North America would people still call it that?

[@aelbion1453]

M.A.R.C.: "If your nation is supposed to have a tyrannical central government, maybe don't call it a league". Classical Athens: "Watch me".

[@SHDUStudios]

You probably know this, but it was technically (very VERY technically) a democratic union.

[@ronaldp7573]

I see you are a well read man. I salute you as I was going to mention this too.

[@obiwankenobi4252]

I mean "Delio-Attican League" is a name made up by historians. The city-states which were part of it called it the "συμμαχία", which means "Alliance"

[@hexcss9153]

Laughs in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

[@oracle8192]

@@hexcss9153 The democratic people's republic of korea is like the holy roman empire. As the HRE was niether holy, nor roman, nor an empire; the DPRK is neither democratic, of the people, a republic, or of all korea

[@duo496]

"The Free Aligned United Democratic Theocratic Congressional Confederated Federal Commonwealth of Hegemonic and Imperial Republics of Terra as a Protectorate of the League of Arcadian States and the Concordian United People's Front" is me trying to use all the adjectives used to describe a country

[@purpleplays69420]

Could only imagine if there’s an alien civilization out there with that name in their language(s)

[@Tacitus3D]

"You can't have a republic and have an Emperor at the same time!" First French Republic: HON HON HON, VIVE' LE EMPREUR NAPOLEON!

[@elsauce4873]

Napoleon actually created the First French Empire when he was crowned - sorry, when he crowned himself emperor.

[@dvdmr9981]

@@elsauce4873 exactly

[@elsauce4873]

@@dvdmr9981 do I witness a fellow Oversimplified viewer?

[@dvdmr9981]

@@elsauce4873 I watch oversmilified sometimes but my knowledge comes basically from books and history channel.

[@maiorian4668]

Rome:Amateurs!

[@pudlordtynan919]

But what about the Republic of Dave?

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Clearly a form of satire. They have a democratic form of government but everyone votes for the same individual.

[@DaniMartVtbr]

WTH happened on Planet Bob that it became the Republic of Dave???

[@abloodraven3856]

I mean, they're the sole remaining bastion of democracy in the wasteland, so they can't be that bad.

[@spectretacitus325]

Well it can't be that great if the leader's father is a butterfly!

[@redforest9269]

Reminds me of the Bobiverse. Maybe everyone is just a copy of Dave?

[@Fingolfin_the_Warden]

"Nations on Earth aren't named after geography" Tell that to the United States of America

[@TheLordUrban]

Muckknuckle Or Iceland, Australia among many others.

[@nickritchie2154]

@@TheLordUrban Or Costa Rica (Rich Coast), Cape Verde (Green Cape), Denmark (roughly "caves on the borderlands"), Equatorial Guinea (it's in the damn name), The Gambia (for "The Gambia River") Haiti (Land of High Mountains), or my favorite, East Timor (Timor means "East", so East Timor is "East East")

[@Carnefice]

USA isn't a good example. States are not geographic features, but rather political bodies. America is just the name of the continent, which isn't "geography" per se either. Iceland, Greenland, Costa Rica, etc are better examples

[@lunsen402]

@@nickritchie2154 denmark as far as im aware (as a swede) is acctually named fro who lived in the land and not so much the feutures of the land. Denmark essentially means the ground of the danes or the land of the danes much like how sverige (sweden in swedish) is simply the relm of the sweds norway however is intressting as it is the norse way or the northern way. finland is the land of the fins obviously and the swedish name for france is frankrike which means the relm of the franks. regardless since the english word for denmark is derived from the scandinavian name for denmark i would imagen that indeed even in english denmark is named for who lived in the region and not from "caves from the borderlands" as you say.

[@BiologyIsHot]

Yeah..like most countries ARE named after geography, they just don't translate well.

[@VulpesChama]

Well, a name can very well represent the history of a nation. So, if a state is born out of an Empire and established during its existence colonies on several planets, it very well can be a "Kingdom" without being a monarchy. For example take the "Herzogtum Lauenburg", an administrative district in Germany, and far from alone. It roughly translates into "Duchy of Lauenburg", yet there is no Duke of Lauenburg at the moment, and the last official one (Bismarck) was gifted the title without any associated power over this region. So, this region keeps this name and also kept the official coat of arms as symbol for the region. So the name has nothing to do with how politics work, but with the legacy of the region. Funny thing I had to argue with someone was, that he couldn't accept that a fictional nation elected an Emperor/King rather than a President for a legislative period. Just the same, this is just a title and may not say anything about what kind of power the person holding the title actually has. In some form "Emperor"/"King/Queen" as title can be interchangeable with "President". Key is, that if you create a culture in any given project, be it sci-fi or fantasy, its not the names which must fit modern definitions, but the names and their definition must fit the world they are created for. If a nation was named "Empire" at some point, why would it need a renaming, if the shift in politics and ethics came peaceful and natural through time and not through an uprising/revolution or by being overthrown? If a "United Nations of Earth" was founded during a time, when colonies were just at their smallest beginnings or even before that, without colonies, the name makes perfect sense.

[@longiusaescius2537]

@VulpesChama exactly, him malding around 7:48 seems pointless exactly because of this

[@erushi5503]

M.A.R.C. "empires are obsolete" Japan(in games and IRL): sharpens katana Britain(in games and IRL): Sharpens Excalibur Brunei: Sharpens Kriss swords

[@thethirdsicily4802]

East Rome lasting over a thousand years past the west *sharpens gladius*

[@cooperross9495]

Japan is no longer an empire in theory or in practice, the British Empire now consists of one large island, a number of tiny islands, and a chunk of Ireland, and Rome, both halves of it, fell for a reason. And then the empire that finished it off also fell. Those aren't exactly good counterexamples.

[@tulipalll]

@@cooperross9495 every government fails and falls. Not just empires. These examples are excellent in debunking the creators claims.

[@cooperross9495]

So you're saying you're an anarchist?

[@tulipalll]

@@cooperross9495 My God. Cathy Newman much? I'm saying that the fact that Rome fell and Britain is no longer a globe spanning empire in no way detracts from the point, because no government entity has lasted forever. They ALL fall apart at some point and are replaced by something else. That's not a political belief, that's just a fact.

[@appa609]

“Confederation of Earth” is a lot like “Senatus Populusque Romanus” Almost the whole empire was not in Rome. But that’s the indisputable center of power and culture.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Exactly, that's why I think the UEG works

[@leopoldjenkins]

A democracy can also be an empire. In the early 20th century Britian was a fully fledged democracy but also held huge colonial possessions and ran an empire

[@juansebastianfragozo674]

Lee Jenkins Exactly! Not to mention a Constitutional Monarchy with Queen Victoria as the head of the Empire and fountain of Honor and Pride. As well as a functioning Aristocratic class which served in Parliament, Armed forces, and Colonial Officials.

[@blurp1235]

Yes, but this is due to weird ceremonial dynastic laws. The king/queen of Britain was also emperor/empress of India. Britain had a democratic system. India did not. They were still part of the United Kingdom though.

[@billhorst-kotter5184]

The French Republic had colonies and the Republic of the Netherlands did also.

[@Gerishnakov]

There was never actually an entity called 'The British Empire' though. That was just the term used to refer to Britain and her various colonies, dominions, and territories, etc... Ergo, there was a British Empire but it never actually called itself that.

[@juansebastianfragozo674]

Gerishnakov It was an Empire ruled by Great Britain ergo British Empire. You are right in the sense that it was not a formal State named British Empire, but the Empire ruled by the British was called and recognized by others as the British Empire. Just as it is now known as the British Commonwealth or formal Commonwealth of Nations.

[@atransarcticfox]

12:25 You could use the Greek alternative (or original, rather) for Terra, Gaia. Confederation of Gaia, Gaian Union, a Gaian diplomat. It sounds much more... Unique than Terran, considering how overused it is.

[@harbour2118]

Both sound pretty good, if ignoring how overused terran is

[@darkleome5409]

I would've used it too, but it sounds too similar to the word "gay" in my native language

[@NJ-e]

@@darkleome5409 god forbid

[@pointly]

In Stellaris, I named my federation, "Federation of Sentient Life"

[@AKUJIVALDO]

But...only human are sentient... All others are just a targets.

[@guillermodiezbazan5638]

That would come across as insulting to everyone not inside your federation, as it implies everyone else is non sentient (even if that is not the intent behind it).

[@Venator-Class_Star_Destroyer]

let me guess...human civilization with full xenophobe settings?

[@theonetruejoe312]

I named mine Galactic Alliance. Granted we don't own anything close to the whole galaxy but I'm working on that.

[@michka841]

@@guillermodiezbazan5638 yeah that's the point

[@johncarpio7902]

"empires are ineffective and outdated". Well that sounds like heresy to me. Time to fire up the exterminatus!

[@revelation3451]

no u

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Rathcore 18 stfu heretic

[@LPVince94]

Isn't one of the major characteristics of the Imperium of Man that it's a bloated mess that is constantly on the brink of collapsing into itself, were it not for the outside threats that allow this behemoth to direct the internal pressure at them.

[@mosteel8]

Vesten ziRnis , not that I'm supporting Monarchs, but the Imperium of Man is a bloated mess because they lost the emperor, not because they had one.

[@self-satisfiedsmirk5544]

mosteel88 But, they had to have had an emperor in order to lose one, which is kind of the point. The biggest flaw with most traditional, monarchical/dynastic forms of government is that they concentrate most, if not all, power into a singular point. That type of government can be useful, particularly when a state is faced with some sort of existential crisis and can't afford to get bogged down with political red-tape, legislation, and constantly having to receive approval from the legislature. The Imperium of Man was born out of necessity, after all. But, it still fell to the pitfalls of most empires.

[@nathang6376]

"Trade Federation makes no sense..." I thought you said alien societies aren't bound by any human definitions or concepts.

[@gamingcrab8017]

@Internet Entity The trade federation ISN'T HUMAN

[@gamingcrab8017]

@Internet Entity True, But They Had Their Own Culture and Traditions

[@ImperativeGames]

All "aliens" in Star Wars are just stupid humans on the cognitive level.

[@BoostedMonkey05]

@@ImperativeGames that sounds like imperial talk to me

[@jimothyworldbuilding3664]

Humans are the majority species in the Trade Federation, and the galaxy at large, and so would have most of the "yee or nee" power with the name. At the same time as making up like 70% of all intelligent life, the 30% that remains is divided up between tonnes upon tonnes of other races -> division among those who aren't you makes you stronger in comparison as it weakens them. This is on top of most of that 30% remaining being very obviously related to humans, most likely mutant strains. Furthermore, species in star wars generally think like humans, even the ones that don't even look like humans, and the point he made was with regards to if they have a different psychology about them.

[@VexJinks]

I think we can all agree that The Rakatan Infinite Empire has the most intimidating name in all of Sci-fi.

[@judeblack4360]

When you get to the point where you can call yourself the “Infinite Empire”, it’s safe to say that you’ve won galactic history. The only ones I know of are the Rakata and the Necrons, both of whom are extraordinarily cool.

[@olafgurke4699]

I think the Eternal Empire of Zakuul is up there.

[@tymeier7570]

Infinite Choose your words carefully

[@jeremychicken3339]

I think the most intimidating name in Sci Fi has to be the Combine from Half life 2. The Combine's name has multiple meanings that being like a harvester sucking resources out of planets and due to the fact that they Combine species together. you will never be able to name a Sci Fi nation more existentially terrifying than the Combine.

[@airbush3000]

the name of my empire would be "I came to chew gum and kick ass, and I am all out of gum" Kind of long but very indicative of what I wish to accomplish

[@douglasallar9176]

My Empire's name is short and simple, not meant to associate a single person or system.( because my empire is also a multidimensional empire as well)

[@erenyeager3829]

"Unlike most federations, membership within a confederacy is voluntary, and states within it can relinquish their membership." Swiss Confederation: *Sweats profusely*

[@Squaretable22]

Canada: *Sweats profuselier*

[@minutemansam1214]

@@Squaretable22 Canada is a federation. To confederate in Canadian law means to become a part of Canada, but Canada is still a federation.

[@Squaretable22]

@@minutemansam1214 Canada calls itself a confederation still, or at least did

[@Venator-Class_Star_Destroyer]

USA : "SWEATS IN CIVIL WAR"

[@michka841]

the only thing holding Switzerland together is that Romands hate French more than they hate Swiss Germans, and Swiss Germans hate Germans more than they hate Romands And there is Swiss Italians who are constantly complaining but they're still there because everything runs fine

[@dacstudios1168]

“Nations on Earth aren’t named geography” Iceland: ._. Greenland: ._. Iceland: should we- Greenland: *don’t Iceland*

[@paulmahoney7619]

In this case, they're named after the name of the region they're in. Something like calling a star nation the 'Orion Arm Republic' or 'Messier Cluster Empire'

[@novaraptorus6250]

Lord Inquisitor Uh... South Africa

[@novaraptorus6250]

@Bungle Booce he's just saying there are places on earth named after locations.

[@secondson1186]

Australia literally means bottom of the world. Long Island Japan/Nihon(Sun rise kingdom) because the sun rose on them first before America was discovered. Haiti means mountainous land Norway means northern way(if that counts, more of a direction then a land feature) Republic of Congo is named after their River Brazil is named after a tree And Antártica is “opposite of the arctic” So when you say countries/places aren’t named after their geographic features well...

[@ortherner]

Iceland does have Ice though. And Greenland does have some Forests.

[@EVER_PRINCE]

For me the the whole trade federation in Star Wars was as far as I knew, the companies within the Star Wars Galaxy were more massive and influential than most individual planets so companies creating a united federation of them kinda makes sense, as for the whole Viceroy part, I always assumed Viceroy was an honorary title or maybe the primitive or pre Trade Federation, were originally a monarchy

[@abdurrazzaqmumin1574]

I don't think every government in fiction should be some form of democracy or total authoritarianism. I think the idea of a corporate is unique and fun, as well as a bit more imaginative.

[@dawoifee]

The Trade Federation was also represented in the Galactic Senate, so I'm not entirly sure how that went.

[@the8eginning886]

Something to point out is, that it was called the trade federation because they were a group of systems that traded with each other for profit and necessity due to lack of senate support. There is also the matter of when they finally went to war they changed to the C.I.S. or the confederation of independent systems.

[@ginger-ale7818]

I’ve heard Empire defined more as “A government that rules over diverse peoples and/or lands, usually by force” By this argument, Rome was an Empire even before it had an emperor and the United States is an Empire today. So an Empire doesn’t need an Emperor or hereditary monarch at all.

[@jamesmatthews5525]

I think a name like "Federation of Earth" can work for an interstellar civilisation, if you deliberately want to depict a government that is terrancentric in its policies and outlook. A neo-colonialist faction, that rules from earth, with its interstellar holdings being mere colonies, could be an intentionally positive name for what is in essence an informal empire

[@jamesnewcomer4939]

@@TargunYssboern ...or it could mean a nation that came into being at a ceremony that was held ON Earth.

[@legionofthedamned157]

HPA = Human Planets Alliance

[@Venator-Class_Star_Destroyer]

french republic : "laughs in imperialism since the 1500's" usa : "laughs in manifest destiny and foreign conflicts" UN : "LAUGHS IN FUTURE COLONIZER OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM"

[@MrMarinus18]

I think it has more to do with rather or not there are rivals. Humans don't see themselves as one because there is no one else like us. An identity can only really exist if you have something else to compare to.

[@arnantphongsatha7906]

A monarchy isn't always doomed to a power struggle every time a monarch dies, succession laws exist for a reason.

[@Adventurerblitz]

Power struggles don't spell disaster necessarily either. Oftentimes the greatest leaders are the ones that emerge from such struggles, harder and stronger than ever before.

[@Nethan2000]

Yeah, that statement is as wrong as saying "democracies are doomed to a power struggle every time someone's term ends". Yeah, sometimes. There've been civil wars because the losing candidate didn't want to step down. Even now there's people in the US insisting that Hillary Clinton is the real winner of last elections. But as long as due process is being observed, the country should be safe.

[@Fabulist]

And in Science Fiction there are plenty of workarounds when it comes to monarchy. In the Sten series by Cole and Bunch, for instance, the empire is ruled by the Eternal Emperor. He started off as an engineer who figured out a way to fuel starships, then applied that knowledge to other things, such as power plants and weapons. He kept control over the material’s manufacture, becoming incredibly wealthy as a result. Anyone who duplicated his method was sued out of existence, and it is implied that when organized crime tried to get a piece of the action, he financed ruthless extermination of such groups. He then turned his vast wealth to cloning technology, memory recording and uploading, and life extension. Once those technologies were perfected, he kept them secret. So he has long life, then if he gets sick, old, or is assassinated, another clone is activated with new memories installed and he carries on ruling. He’s also smart/practical enough to allow both gray and black markets to exist, which work as safety valves. People will rebel, so he contains and directs their rebellion. That’s just one example. There are also hive minds or android bodies or other forms of life extension one could employ to plausibly have an empire.

[@RC15O5]

This was an interesting read. Thank you.

[@brandonlyon730]

Laws aren't always absolute especially when someone has enough power behind them. Many medieval nation has solid succession laws, but all it took was a person with a big enough army to get their way. It happen in Russia with Empress Catherine, even though her husband was the rightful ruler, she forced him to advocate when almost everyone in Russia wanted him out even though I'm all intents and purposes she forced him out of his position.

[@ServantOfOdin]

I remember a history teacher of mine once said that United and Federation are basically a pleonasm (an over-statement of things meaning the same, i.e black darkness, or tall giant). Her reasoning was that a Federation already unified some smaller nations within itself, so there would be no need to call it United.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Yeah

[@JCMPRadio]

I think that the Imperium gets an additional pass because, well, their head of state is basically a god. Same with the Galactic Empire or something like it. If your faction has a leader who's power level dwarfs the basic citizenry, you definitely have an edge.

[@ebiljebus]

About the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances: while it *is* a terrible name, it's meant to be a fourth-wall breaking joke. Galactic Federation of Free Alliances = GFFA = Galaxy Far, Far Away

[@KillerOrca]

Also the shortened name was Galactic Alliance, which is a combination of the two warring factions of the Civil War, the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance.

[@censorduck]

The Alliance of Allied Allies. would be better.

[@CyberiusT]

+Duck ,formally known as Censor : Also, they get first listing in the 'phone book.

[@Dhenz66]

I thought their name was Alliance to restore the republic. Not exactly a governing body but more of a central command of all rebel groups.

[@TalonSvarog]

It's a shame that both Galactic Federation (as a successor to the New Republic) and Galactic Alliance (as an alliance of what was the Republic, the Empire, Hapans, Chiss etc) make sense as names.

[@lisssner]

"Imperium of man" is the only correct name, everything else is Heresy

[@spartanx9293]

Not for another 30000 years

[@nicholasashton768]

THE INQUISITION APPROVES

[@brotheryoungtrad217]

Imperium of Man! *STOMP STOMP*

[@ethannaftalin2395]

the O.D.S.T spartan That’s Heresy.

[@kickassssnation027]

You did good, citizen! The emperor protects

[@Nairat]

I feel like Empire still works, but depending on the faction. Because development can happen, the Empire could be ruled by a single family, which may be split into several branches. The aristocracy may also be specialized in certain areas and trained from young. The laws of the empire and how they develop could have changed, that aristocratic families began specializing in, say, pumping out officers. Current times stuff may be loosened up, that in the future, civilians could still get higher positions, and earn a nobility, or be accepted into a nobility, bringing in fresh blood to their gene pool.

[@MrMarinus18]

10:30 Hegemony and empire are often used interchangably in the real world. Think of like the British and French empires.

[@Gustav_Kuriga]

The Trade Federation was made up of a "coalition" of different trade corporations and worlds, which is where the "federation" part of the name comes in. Furthermore, the "viceroy" of the Trade Federation got his title from his home planet, not from the Trade Federation.

[@k9thexv630]

I would've just chalked up the Trade Federation's name as a "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" type of situation in the form of a megacorp trying to make their organization sound more democratic than it actually is in order to score some PR points via propaganda. But that explanation works as well.

[@pwnmeisterage]

@@k9thexv630 Agreed, "Ruthless Warmongering Corporate Weapons Cartel" has a certain appeal but it doesn't seem like it would be recognized as a legitimate national polity.

[@katekatekate518]

I can’t tell if you like Star Wars.

[@SimpleNobody2420]

Also are they a alien fraction which he stated that he Won't cover in this video?

[@ulyssesfraser3080]

Yup, pretty much.

[@aguspuig6615]

''empires go into a state wide crisis if their emperor dies without succesion'' imperium of man: what if your emperor is imortal and also godlike *loophole aquired*

[@pendragon0905]

Also, the head of government is the Regent/High Commander. The God Emperor merely serves as the head of state.

[@Venator-Class_Star_Destroyer]

roman empire : even the poorest general can be imperator! WE HAVE INFINITE IMPERATORS!

[@michka841]

the Imperium doesn't go to an stade-wide crisis It *IS* a state-wide crisis

[@AntoineSojicYT]

@@pendragon0905 In fact, the God Emperor is de Jure (legaly) both head of state and governement, but is unable to lead du to his injuries. The Primarch Robute Guilliman, who is both Imperial Regent (civil leader) and Lord Commander of the Imperium (military leader), merely runs the Imperium in the name of the God Emperor, being de Facto leader of the Imperium, until his father either dies for his injuries or his healed.

[@pendragon0905]

@@AntoineSojicYT Actually, even when the God Emperor was active, he spent his time in science rather than governance.

[@thisisanalt]

"Empires are outdated and ineffective form of government." Literally ignoring those multi-millenia spanning empires we have in world history often persisting in spite of inefficiencies and the pitfalls of absolutism and that any system with a hereditary monarch does not necessarily imply a top-down despotism where every single decision depends on the whim of the emperor when that was almost never the case in history anyway. If anything a future interstellar government might actually be more effective with a Monarch or Sovereign (whether he wears a crown or is succeeded hereditarily or not) because however else the system runs, it helps to have someone up top whose authority can cut through the bullshit of interstellar bureaucracy in an emergency. And the emphasis on tradition and ordered succession limits the political fuckery of outsiders trying to game the system (it'll never stop corruption because no system does, its how its managed that matters especially on an interstellar scale) I honestly expected the Institute to understand these nuances better, but given it spends its time analyzing the governments of fictional universes, and most fiction is written by writers who have poor, at best, understanding of history, politics and sociology, I suppose it can be somewhat understandable they'd think this given everyone thinks Game of Thrones is a good representation of the Feudal Realities of Medieval Europe in a fictional setting. Which is both enraging and laughable to medievalists and historians alike. Also a 'meritocratic' system always being better organised and more advanced than a system thats not is totally ignoring modern reality. Do you really think all those politicians got where they are because they are the best at what they do? Do you honestly spend more than a few minutes in an academic setting and do not see the politics at play? Or the economic sphere, is it really the best who succeed or merely the most ruthless and cunning and ambitious? You are ignoring one system for perceived flaws in favour of another inspite of real ones you live with and see every day around you. I can't wait to live under the future nightmarish corpotocratic 'Democratic Republic' of the future that lies to me telling me any man can become president and you can succeed and get anywhere you want in life by pulling up your bootstraps and putting the work in. Where have we heard that before all our lives?

[@Milkymalk]

"Multi-millennia spanning empires" in world history? Name a single one.

[@thisisanalt]

@@Milkymalk Japan for one that potentially lasted two thousand years. Rome from the republic to the fall of Constantinople is another definite one.

[@_Muzolf]

@@Milkymalk *cough* China *cough*

[@clay9617]

@@Milkymalk Rome. From the founding of the city: 2206 Years From the Republic: 1963 Years From the Empire: 1426 Years

[@Milkymalk]

@@thisisanalt Japan didn't even include all of Honshu for half of its existence, let alone warrant being called an "empire". What you call "Rome" broke down in the 4th century and evolved into the Byzantine Empire and a shadow of what was once the western part. Also, you can't just count the founding of Rome as the start of the empire. I'd say the "Roman Empire" existed from around 100 BC (encompassed most of the Mediterranean) to around 300 CE (massive loss of area). Constantinople / the Byzantine Empire lasted from around 500 CE when it formally became the capital of Rome to its fall in 1453. Even if you start counting from the split 100 years earlier, that's hardly "multi-millennia".

[@MrMarinus18]

7:40 "empire" is also often used when you have a confederation with one nation being completely dominant over the others. The collenial empires were that. The French empire was ruled by a republic, the British by a constitutional monarchy, the Russian empire by an absolute monarchy. The Austro-Hungarian empire was even a diarchy.

[@LordDim1]

Austria-Hungary wasn’t a diarchy. A diarchy means having two leaders/monarchs. Austria-Hungary only had one Emperor-King. It was a dual state in that it had two governments: the Cisleithenian government (Austria) and the Transleithenian government (Hungary), but it wasn’t a diarchy, because it only had one monarch (who was simultaneously Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary)

[@bonarchy297]

“If you want a tyrannical central government, don’t use league” 5th century Athens: am I a joke to you?

[@thomasjardine2108]

I believe that a space Empire can work through various manners, either genetic modifications to heirs to ensure competency, an immortal AI advisor, loyal chips in the brains of the subjects, a social credit system, a Imperial Cult or having the emperor be the protector of the faith, etc. So I wouldn't rule off interstellar empires, I think technology will be able to support it's dominance

[@srash8854]

I mean you can just make the emperor or royal family to have some kind of special powers that their subjects cannot resist in interstellar settings, not uncommon tbh. That way, the monarchy can protect its authority better.

[@mlg4829]

Warhammer 40k. (The God emperor of mankind.)

[@MEIJIN44]

My empire in my book is literally based on Immortal rulers who lead the nation in war, technology, and meritocracy. The race literally is ordained by an ambivalent god who owns the planet and dictates rule through that royal family. Maybe they have a bias against it

[@winzyl9546]

Or just be future north korea

[@douglasallar9176]

@@srash8854 my Empire is sort of a Republic with a senate. The Emperor (me) is a figurehead with half the power of the Empire, and whenever the Emperor leaves or something happens to the Emperor, an election would take place to select who would be temporary Emperor or empress.

[@nddragoon]

"Union" can also be used in the context of like a territory controlled by a labor union, along with "guild". for example the Transport Union in The Expanse works like a state in many ways

[@austinbeattie2694]

"Settlement defense front" sounds like a branch of the military. It's like calling a nation "Homeland Security", or naming a military branch "The United States of America".

[@MegaBanane9]

Hey, it worked for Prussia ;)

[@ShadowNetWeaver1]

"United Federation of Nations"? Lelouch, is that you???

[@emperordemon8605]

The Delusional Reacts didn’t expect this reference in this corner of the internet

[@CobaltTurquoise_]

I literally pERKed up when i heard him say that lOL

[@HaloFTW55]

All hail Lelouch!

[@miguelrimando6378]

huzzah! a man of quality!!

[@racatkns9977]

ALL HAIL LELOUCH

[@immasword]

The congressional federation of independent democratic collective councils of the imperial theocracy of earthlings

[@DaraGaming42]

sword of war that's amazing

[@immasword]

thanks

[@ursosexmachina]

The C.F.I.D.C.C.I.T.E...

[@Specter5053]

Nailed it!

[@tanktope5453]

You're missing commonwealth xD

[@hklassehutten1476]

"Nations on Earth aren't named after geography" Every country that ends in land: *Am I a joke to you?*

[@Germ_f]

"Ah yes, you're finally awake." *Welcome to the Alliance of Awakened Nations!*

[@gmxealot6236]

Shut up back there

[@elektra81516]

"Nations on Earth aren't named after geography" United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: "Am I a bloody joke to you?"

[@williamsledge3151]

He means more like calling it "The United Kingdom of Islands" though I still disagree with him on that loint

[@generaltom6850]

Montenegro, Means Black Mountain

[@uncleaungzayyafromburma985]

YES

[@Medgator]

USA , South Africa : 💀

[@tymeier7570]

Yes. Yes you are

[@Mandaloreish]

If I'm not mistaken, the Trade Federation was called so because it was built up of many worlds with huge amounts of of business and trade who worked together for mutual gain. Nemoidia was one such world and it's individual form of government included the title of viceroy, who most likely brought the most to the table and was therefore elected to represent the Trade Federation.

[@the_Kutonarch]

Zach Siltanen If I'm not mistaken, they're based off of the Japanese "Zaibatsu" concept. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu

[@timothymclean]

I always assumed it was a federation of planet-owning corporations which came together as a cartel/alliance. But that's partly because I forgot one of their leaders was called a Viceroy.

[@jgt2598]

Yep, just wanted to add that the "Viceroy" thing also makes sense when you consider that the Queen of Naboo was a popularly elected official with strict term limits. In SW, monarchial titles do seem to be used differently.

[@powerist209]

Kinda like Viceroy of Spain or closer to British East India Company who is a corporation with their own army and government in exchange for goods from their territories?

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

The Terran Hegemony is perfectly named in Battletech. It is founded when a military coup wipes out the collapsing Terran Alliance, and the name symbolizes Earth's importance on the galactic scene. It also proclaims their early ambitions to resubjugate all of their colonies.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Yeah

[@mavethorel742]

Templin Institue: Terran is to associated with scifi, People wouldn't change their name just cause they went to space the Random Dude who came up with the name "Space Force":

[@apollo1694]

Space Force wasn't part of a name change, nor is it the name of a government. It's a description of the branch of the US military that operates in space.

[@henryplumb5200]

There's also political consideration with this, if the US Space Force were to go for something to do with earth, it infers the USA is seeing itself as a guardian of Earth, which, should go without saying, would cause a lot of knickers to get twisted, nukes to get sent possibly, etc.

[@yinayush8991]

12:59 Templin: *refers to United Nations Space Command as UNSC* The United Nations Security Council: Am I a joke to you?

[@keisufederationmapping2748]

@@pi1523 the entire UN is a joke lol

[@genericchannelname4110]

@@Bob-lr2xp I mean, China is one of the more powerful nations on earth. Why shouldn’t they get a seat, they aren’t western enough?

[@genericchannelname4110]

@@Bob-lr2xp yeah, and I’m not defending China, but the point of the UN is for every nation on earth to be represented. Even China.

[@darthpalpalzang7914]

@@Bob-lr2xp the seat was originally offered to India(multiple times). But our dumbass of a prime minister at that time, Nehru refused it and instead supported china for the seat.

[@barneytaylor9338]

Ummmmm, yeah.

[@SovietReunionYT]

You lump a lot together under "Empire" and end up missing the point of it. It is not just a society ruled by coercion. It is a society in which the willing members approve the ruling of the unwilling members by coercion. There's nothing stopping an empire having a highly meritocratic organization based on its willing members. See the Galactic Empire from Star Wars, whenever it's not portrayed as comically evil for narrative purposes. There's also no reason an empire needs to be a monarchy, much less have an aristocracy. See the Romulan Star Empire, which is apparently a Federal Republic, but only allows representation to Romulans and rules over subject species by threat of force. It's also possible for an empire with an aristocracy to not have a monarch - see the Klingon Empire, which is ruled by a council of nobles. You're right that rule by coercion tends to waste people's potential. But you're wrong that this means a more inclusive government would always perform better. Most often, the alternative to an interstellar empire is not to have the same realm with better governance due to greater participation by the population, but to have a large number of competing petty states that hate each other's guts. An empire is not formed just to oppress people for the sake of it, it's formed because the willing and unwilling members have irreconcilable differences that prevent a peaceful union. The willing members are simply the winners of that conflict. The alternative would be the winners genociding the losers. In that context, wasting some of the potential of the subjugated populations seems like the least bad thing. They'd otherwise either be dead or wouldn't be contributing to that society at all since they'd be part of a competing nation.

[@armzngunz]

Som also called the USSR the "Soviet Empire"

[@romelllowery9549]

Having only one way of a race to achieve unification is boring. What if the Habsburgs dynasty(which had at one time a relative most of the thrones of Europe) had united together. If all of the European empires had not been fighting each other and were united into a early form of the European Union most of the world would have been under European rule. And to answer your question about how an intelligent citizenry could allow a tyrannical regime to rise (Star Citizen) ask the Germans before the Second World War. Or any of the other societies that started as democracies only to become dictatorships. Fear and desperation can cause even the most intelligent to turn to someone offering to solve the problems. And let's not forget that Empires can have merit based aspects like the Star Kingdom of Manticore from the David Weber Honor Harrington book series. Honor though born a yeoman (basically a commoner) rose the ranks of both the Navy and the Nobility. And the Kingdom itself evolved into a Empire out of necessity as it gain territory and states join it for protection. Lastly I would like to say the power of the monarch could vary depending on the state of the Empire is it takes weeks to travel across the empire then most worlds would be fairly independent and the empire run more like a confederacy or federation. If not then most likely the better choice would be a constitutional monarchy with some kind of parliament or system of checks and balances. Also the monarch could be viewed as central connecting force. The one stable constant in the various parties in parliament or society at large the one person above the politics and champion for the people.

[@Mortlupo]

@@romelllowery9549 The Star Kingdom of Manticore is a democratic monarchy whose sovereign is stylized as an Empress due to the government having holdings in more than one system.

[@colecoal1365]

S

[@evilperson160]

Also misses the point that it is certainly possible for an empire to have once began as some other form of government before branching out into space. The most famous empire in the western world, the Roman Empire, began as a primitive form of republic.

[@Hawkatana]

11:58 **Great Lakes Confederation:** "Am I a joke to you?"

[@HonestObserver]

Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus

[@dorukcider4117]

Now to clear the misunderstanding of the trade federation let me explain like this(it’s normal to not know it since it is Star Wars EU/legends or just happened before the films so it isn’t know): The trade federation at its golden point or before the neumodians took over was actually most had humans and Muuns in the council and in the Viceroy position( Viceroy is actually elected by the council and can be replaced by them) but by the time the films start things have changed. First of all the reason it’s called trade federation is that normally in the past any trader or a merchant could join the organization and work with them to get certain benefits, deals, loans or even given a ship by them and continue to get promotions to use bigger ships like lucrehulks and then be a senior member to join the council/elders. This is also to have a collective trade, monetary and economic influence on systems such as blockades, trade embargoes and cheap materials. Secondly before clone wars neumodians were not a large part of the TF(Trade federation) high command and were mostly low on numbers and in the council which is until Darth plagues’s master(Darth plaguis is the master of palpatine/Sidious) which infiltrated the TF and the banking clans. He evens gets to meet plaguis and take it as an apprentice because he knew The demask family head (The Muun family that plagues comes from) and made the Family head the leader of the banking clans with his influence which inturn the family head gave his son to the sith for training and be its apprentice for a closer relation. This in fact proceed for Hego Demask (Darth plaguis original name) becoming the defacto and then the next leader of the banking clans. Then Darth plaguis and his them at the time young apprentice Palpatine started to influence and assassinate Higher ups of the TF which then they were replaced by the remaining member under their control the neumodians. You should also know that the leader of the neumodians are called Viceroys but when they became the sole ruler of the TF they changed the title of the Elected chairman to Viceroy since the TF ruler was also their elected ruler of the planet. It is also noted that actually the Families of the Kuat (the ten families that lead Kuat and its driveyards which include the Kuat family) were founding or atleast really early members of the TF since these families were merchant families that combined their influence to rule a planet (planet of Kuat) which the most powerful and the most contributing family at the time the Kuat family was named after the planet and had the heridetary ruler position ( it’s like the Kuat family is the royal family chosen at ten founding of a kngdom but the other families are archduke families which are autonomous and are also heridetary/cannot be revoked by the royal family.) It’s also know that each family controls a section of the Kuat driveyards ( The shipyard around the planet). As I was saying when there was an accidents which most of the higher ups of the TF was assassinated which included their representatives, the Kuat driveyards broke their relation as a subsidiary for the TF which is also one the reasons the Kuat system chose to side with the republic and the sith (The planet of Kuat was originally mostly under the Old Sith Empire and that’s where their arrow head designs come from not just the influence of palpatine. So with also the Kuat families and other important organizations of the TF getting of the ship all that remained were the neumodians and the independent people who were mostly suppressed killed or subordinated by the neumodians which is why later on it doesn’t have teh characteristics of a Federation and has the offfice of Viceroy. I hope this has been helpful to understanding SW universe and the TF.

[@firockfinion3326]

This makes me want to create a fictional alien species that just gives simple person names to their countries. Stuff like "Fred", and "Susan". "Hey, did you hear that Bob started a new trade agreement with Jack? Everyone is wondering how Clara is going to react; it seems likely to end in war, from what I've been told."

[@marley7868]

question how would they react to typical human country names

[@firockfinion3326]

Probably confusion, since that would be outside of what they consider the norm. "You name your countries after their geographical location? How does one tell if you're talking about the country or the place?"

[@nadav2003]

This just in Billy has attacked John, Sally is expected to come help John, which may also drag in Bob and Jim

[@thecosmicundead6894]

John just had a terrorist attack by Vince, Grace sent its army to John to back it up

[@thefirstprimariscatosicari6870]

Marley Most human countries are either named after the place or after the people who live there. Then to that we add the political stance and other thing (aka Democratic People Republic of something). So not that wierd.

[@SuperHipsterGamer]

Ok... So about the empire thing. Empire does not mean that the head of state makes all the decisions. The Roman, British and German empires all had highly advanced bureaucracies and Germany was THE most advanced state in the world during it's existence. Empires usually have highly advanced administrations where the sovereign let's the day to day affairs be administrated by smaller organs some even with some form of democratic representation. More often than not Empires are autocracies and the Emperor/Empress can be a mere symbolic figure. If the the sovereign does have highly centralized power there are numerous way to ensure a strong succession: 1: Inheritance is through designated adoptive heirs, as Augustus did. 2: Ensure the emperor have an enormous amount of children through harems, and then let them assassinate each other to decide the heir. As the Ottomans did. Then there's the sci-fi options: The Emperor is immortal/cyborg/machine. The heirs are biologically engineered or enhanced. The heirs are clones. And many many more options. Nothing prevents empires from having elements of meritocracy, especially considering that Democracies often have issues themselves with meritocratic inheritance of power, be it corruption or simply the voters being unable to vote for an efficient leader.

[@kaitan4160]

Theres one Problem with the "German". The "Heilig Römische Reich deutscher Nationen" thers no "empire" word in it. Its jsut poor ..... Translation that got Stuck. So the "Holy Roman Empire of German Nations" wasnt really an Empire in the Name. The Word "Reich" means more Like Teritory. First it was the "Regnum Teutonicum" later on it got the "Sacrum Imperium". Gotta Love my History Teacher for those intense detail on german History (as a German ofc).

[@biggusballuz5405]

A better example for your case would be the Chinese Empire during certain dynasties. Western bureaucracy was influence (whether highly or loosely, it's both to be exact for different aspects) by the Chinese system during the 1700s to 1800s when Sinophilia was at an all time high in Europe but also due to it's relative efficiency in ruling a nation where a single province can be as large as the largest European country (excluding colonies). Chinese imperial bureaucracy was also highly based on meritocracy, although there is no denying it could get corrupted later on, but there are more than enough examples of peasants becoming high ranking officials, generals and even emperors to prove that meritocracy is highly valued in Imperial China. There are also records of some form of democracy during certain periods where people get to vote for their village chief and in some cases town/city "mayors". But all in all, you are right, empire does not automatically means a dictatorship but mostly represents highly centralised bureaucracies.

[@kaitan4160]

Thats the negativ point for the Detailed German history. We had to let out other stuff. As Example WW1 was one school year and WW2 the same. sSo we let out lot of Historic Events to learn more than jsut "there was the Holy roman empire and 1871 it was gone" But mostly i choose the "Holy Roman Empire" because f the Translation problem that "Reich" doesnt mean Empire. "Imperium" is the German for Empire. And Im Sure other Languages got the same Problem with poor Translation leading to misunderstanding. But yeah your Example is a better one and nice too cause i learned something new for me. Thanks

[@SuperHipsterGamer]

Hello Kaitan. I'm NOT speaking about the HRE, I'm talking about Der Deutsche Kaiserreich. Empire is an anglican word that was created to reflect the roman empire. The title of the sovereign of the roman empire was Caesar. Kaiser is a direct germanification of that word. Whether the nation itself was called an empire in german, is quite frankly inconsequential, because administratively they absolutely were.

[@kaitan4160]

But the Kaiser in the "Kaiserreich" didnt had that much Power. There was the "Reichstag" with politicians elected by the ppl. The "Bundesrat" where the 20+ (dont remember exactly how much sorry) States did send Representatives. and those two made Reichs Laws. Otto Von Bismark made the "Reichsverfassung", the Constition. And it stated that the "Reich" (which reminds me Realm is the Word for Reich XD) cant overrule the Constituion of the States. The States didnt even had an "Standard" form of Government. Some still had "Fürsten" (Nobleman?) some were Republics. And Every State had its own Set of Laws (Constituion "Verfassung") to ground new Laws on. The only Power The Kaiser really had was Military. He was Head of Military and even could Decide the Etate for it (How much money per year for Army Navy) and even There it wasnt "fully". Cause Bavaria and Würtenberg had the "reservatrecht" (i believe thats what its called) which stated the Kaiser only could get theyre Armies in War Times. But the Army was allowed to Act inside of the Country. So If you say the Kaiser had Full control you basically say it was a Military Dictatorship. So alot of States with own Lawsystems and different Types of Government came Together. Seems more like a Federation. And they came together while at War with France. So it was more like a necessity to have an Coordinated Military agaisnt an common enemy. Dont forget France was back then stil lthe "Erb und Erzfeind" (Heritage- and Archenemy roughly Translated). Little Fact the Reason the Eagle looks to the left is for That. Always Watchfull to the Archenemy. In the HRE the Kaiser had more Power. If let say Brandenburg attacked Saxonia and took Land. The Kaiser could take the Land and give it back to Saxonia. If Brandenburg in this "Story" trys to hold the Land, the Kaiser could call to Arms so all "German" states had to follow to attack Brandenbrug. So HRE the Kaiser could make Laws, Control Army and Control the Borders of the States. Thats seems more like an Empire. Thats why i thought you meant that. But ofc The Kaiser there was more like a Puppet. Elected by "Kurfürsten" and had always try to hold the Balance and dont make all States his Enemy cuase there where his Power. Sorry for that long Post.

[@henrikkjuus90]

"The United Federation of Nations" OMG Lelouch is part of the Templin Institute!

[@freewyvern707]

All hail Lelouch!!!

[@haraldjensen1839]

A protectorate is also a state ruled by a Protector, as England was under Oliver Cromwell

[@DanielleTinkov]

Actually the name of the Martian state does have a precedent in Earth's history. The USSR is a short for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics with "Soviet" standing for the name of the parliament "The Supream Soviet". It directly translates to "Congress" or "Council" in English. Knowing that, you can see where the name "Martin Congressional Republics" comes from. I reckon if they put "Union" in front of it, it would be a bit too obvious what Mars actually represents :)

[@DanielleTinkov]

Eltaccos Neczy I think they are. Mars is not directly the USSR, but it is close. Consider, they are portrayed as semi-authoritarian and communalist. We never heard anything about Marian corporations or private businesses. Casually militaristic - check. What is added, I think, is the American frontier spirit, however, if they ware a 1:1 copy it would be boring. To me, it seems, that MCR is a mix between the early USA and the USSR, while the UN is a mix between the present day US and the old colonial empires of Europe

[@isaackellogg3493]

The Articles of Confederation (1777) went to some lengths to assure the populace that the government of the proposed Confederation would be limited in the extreme, for example every time "the United States" was mentioned in the text, "in Congress assembled" was suffixed to it without fail, as if to claim that the government existed when and only when Congress was assembled--a part-time government (hence "sessions of Congress") with extremely limited powers. Under such a model, Trump would be "not my President" for all citizens, having rulership only over the Congress. It is possible that the Founders of the original Mars Republic felt that a return to the roots of American political principles was necessary, and explicitly written, to ensure that the new Republic would not decay in the same manner as the old, with nominally opposing Congressmen and Senators instead combining to consolidate power, but would maintain the sovereignty of the individual. And then history did repeat itself, and Congress did gain power to match its o'erweening pride and arrogance. So that what had started out as a Tea Party experiment became an imperialist, expansionist, militarist government, much like the United States between the War Between the States and the rise of the Corporations. As to whether Martian corporations will be mentioned, that depends largely on further developments of the Transport Union, though I would suspect that the Martians have a large, if veiled, interest in the Tycho Manufacturing and Engineering Concern.

[@JonathanFearn]

I don't think it has to do with the USSR. I think they went with "Martian Constitutional Republic" because the initials "MCR" rolls off the tongue easier than "MR" (say "MCR Forces" and "MR Forces" a few times and I think you'll see). And that doesn't address the traditional abbreviation for "mister."

[@michaelcreek3813]

That is wrong. "The United States in Congress Assembled" is the rarely used official name given to unicameral legislative body created by the Articles of Confederation. It was more commonly still referred to as the Continental Congress. It appears so frequently in the Articles of Confederation, because the Articles where the official document that created the United States government, and since the Continental Congress is the only organ of government created in the Articles of Confederation, the document is almost entirely about the powers and function of "The United States in Congress Assembled". There are multiple points in the Articles of Confederation where the United States is mentioned without "in congress assembled", most obviously in Article I: The Stile of this confederacy shall be, “The United States of America.”

[@isaackellogg3493]

Thank you for the correction. But I still think that in the context of Martian Government, there is a good argument to be made in my argument's favor.

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

Next Incoming Idea: The World Backstory The Earth-is-devastated future: (StarCraft, Alien, Firefly, Warframe, Avatar) The middle road Future: (Halo, Battlestar: Galactica) The near-utopian future: (Star Trek, Mass Effect) And the fantasy world: (Star Wars, Middle-Earth, Dragon Age, Witcher, Game of Thrones) Share exactly how to create a back story for factions and how they factor into the themes of the Universe.

[@jeepers8719]

Rainbowhawk1993 Avatar and Alien is earth devastated? Since when?

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

Michael J. Caboose The Extended Cut of Avatar showed Earth being Blade Runner Earth and The Encyclopedia guide explained nearly all national parks were torn down and the Earth is over populated. Alien is a future where Whelen Untani basically monopolized space travel and their obsession with controlling the Xenomorph shows it’s a future that’s doomed with or without a Xenomorph invasion.

[@oliverturner1649]

no green, the entire planet is a huge industrial estate.

[@gnoumenon]

Mass Effect and Star Trek as utopian? You need to read more Banks ;)

[@HaloFTW55]

Or Science Fantasy. Like Warhammer 40’000

[@zetarhythm3503]

The name I use for my Stellaris empire is "Velari Stellar Frontier", with the Velari being the name of the species. As a technocracy whose main focus is to spread the stars, I chose "Stellar Frontier" because that is exactly what the nation is - a first foray into other star systems. Past the year 2300, I change the name to "Velari Stellar League", becuase I like to think they they are somewhat decentralised even once they are established as a galactic nation.

[@pessimisticnihilist3691]

The problem with that name is the fact that it includes the name of a species in its name. Unless they are extremely xenophobic to the point of refusing to accept any non Velari as anything more than second class citizens or even allowing them in. A rule of thumb that I use when playing and making nations in stellaris is imagining what humans would call something if we were in that situation. We would not exactly say 'human stellar frontier', we would probably say something like 'United stellar frontier'. Keep in mind that I am a random person on the internet, do not take my word as law, live in the way that you would like.

[@zetarhythm3503]

@@pessimisticnihilist3691 I get where you are coming from, but I did neglect to mention that there is also another re-name I use, that being based on my position in the galaxy if I start to get other citizen organics. As that empire usually uses synthetic ascension where everyone is assimilated into the "Velari" species, that name change doesn't happen often. The "Velari" species is named after their planet of "Vel", and I'd like to think that any citizen of that planet would be classified as "Velari", at least in spirit. Next time I play the empire, I'll give some more thought into the progression of the naming as time goes on, based on what events I run into.

[@pessimisticnihilist3691]

@@zetarhythm3503 That makes sense, I did something similar when I made a human nation called the United solar federation. Each citizen was a solarian but their species was their species. When I went down synthetic ascension the species name I chose was Solarian. The reason I chose solar as the word to describe them was because that it referred to sol, our sun.

[@KepleroGT]

@@pessimisticnihilist3691 Most current states are named after the people that live in that state which have a name. What would someone living in the Stellar Frontier be called? A Stellan? Frontieran? Personally it sounds stupid. Eventually the name of the original species would become an adjective for all people living in the country's territories whether they are from the original species or not.

[@pessimisticnihilist3691]

@@KepleroGT To show how wrong you are on this, take the example of 'Floridian'. There was not a Floridian people that existed in Florida before it became called that, the same logic applies to space. Unlike an ancient world like ours, there are no people that pre-exist in space. It is just empty space, so what you are saying does not apply. Additionally, species is not something that gets overridden by living somewhere as it is a biological fact and not a culture or social construct. No, you cannot use some vague historical example as we have never had a multi-species civilisation as far as I know.

[@sharksuperiority9736]

This is an old idea for a Sci-Fi setting I worked on a couple years ago and want to revamp. But I want someone more versed in naming to give it their seal of approval If you don’t want to read the entire thing, here’s the important nation names: -UHF (United, Human, Federation) -MGC (Modified Genetics Confederacy) Here’s the full thing About 145 years ago, humans discovered the presence of not only other life outside of their world, but several advanced civilizations. They began to develop technology to stand a chance to the other civilizations across the galaxy. This lead to the discovery of a rare mineral known as Lawrencium (that’s what humans called it, after its discoverer Thomas Lawrence) This element was used in many unique and advanced technologies, such as rudimentary warp engines (used for long distance space travel fast, several other variations of warp engines were invented and used by other civilizations, but most refused to share their secrets), weaponry, and even more advanced levels of genetic engineering. The existence of this material drew the eyes of several other civilizations, one of which, decided to act on their desire for this material, and colonize earth. However they were not met with warm welcomes. They attempted to enslave the humans, but they lashed out and fought back, calling in allies from other nations, the invaders did the same, and this soon lead to the “Terran War”. A war fought for the colonization of earth. The war was waged primarily on planets within “our” solar system This war sparked even more innovation, in an attempt to win, the human settlements of the solar system gathered together, forming the United. Human, Federation, or the UHF. Together they not only fought stronger, but also were able to begin work on creating a brand new genetically modified species, designed to be the ultimate soldier. Once they were complete, they called their “perfect soldiers”, “Brutes”. With the assistance of the brutes as well as other allies, the UFH successfully took back control of the solar system, agreeing to form trade routes with willing nations. Afterwards, several factions of “Brutes” rebelled against their creators, fighting back. At the end of this smaller conflict, the Brutes left the UHF, and colonized a smaller planet far away. The creation of the technology to create the Brutes, lead to several other core species, and more humans creating more genetically modified races. As many of them rebelled and left, or joined their creators civilly, these new races were becoming more common and more seen as sentient. This meant that injustice against them was being recognized, and protests and civil disarray lead to the decree that “Genetic Races” would have the same rights as “Core Races”. As this happened, the Genetic Peoples began to integrate into society, joining nations, forming independent nations, and allying with the Nations dominated by Core Peoples. This resulted in the foundation of the first multi-species, Genetic Race dominated nation. They designated themselves as the MGC (Modified, Genetics, Confederacy)

[@3lloGuvner]

You made no reference to the most likely thing to be used in naming a nation: geography. For example, did you know the spiral arms of our galaxy have names? We live in what is generally know as the orion arm. So if you don't want to rely on references to earth or humanity then why name your nation something like the Orion Federation.

[@pollall2793]

'Ello Guv'ner What I was thinking.

[@EthanThomson]

problem is that includes the entire arm. its like calling the british empire the Empire of Earth

[@this_is_patrick]

@@EthanThomson or referring to China as East Asia. Orion Federation sounds cool tho, ngl.

[@LiterallyMe2022]

confederate states of orion arm

[@MajinOthinus]

@@EthanThomson Are you denying humanity's birthright to rule the Galaxy?! If anything, Orion Federation is far to constrictive! May the Emperor smite you!

[@raejannmelchor2947]

I made Sci-fi factions before and one of them makes sense such as the A'túrii Celestial Dynasty Considering the A'túrii is composed of advanced energy beings that able to forge stars and make them as homeworlds sounds like they get the nickname "Star people"

[@octaviocuesta1155]

In defence of Alliance! Another name for the Aztec Empire in pre-columbian Mexican society was The Triple Alliance. This is because when the Aztecs first arrive in the Lake of Texcoco, they first subjugated their new neighbors, Tetzcoco and Tlacopan, and forced them into a military and economic alliance led by the Aztecs. Only then did they set out to conquer he rest of central Mexico and all it's other civilizations, like the Tlaxcalteca Confederation. "Alliance" as part of a nation's name can be pretty representative of how it rules over it's territory, I see no reason why it can't be used in science fiction in lieu of "Empire."

[@austin9301]

"Democratic peoples republic" Can't imagine who you're referring to there 😂

[@redacted8983]

Austin Greever I think that rhymes with Tim Bong Boon aka Pocketman

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

Austin Greever If your country has democratic in the title, its most likely not democratic.

[@malvoliomaximillian2001]

Send nukes

[@Exodon2020]

Ever heard of the Democratic People's Republic of the Congo?

[@Kolokommouna]

Roland Deschain not necesarilly

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

My method: 1. Figure out the way the country is governed first. A democracy, an aristocracy, autocracy, oligarchy, technocracy and so on? 2. Have words for the culture, the ethnicity, the land itself. 3. Add some form of adjective for flavour, preferably something that fits with the cultural identity or the local viewpoint. For example, The Greater Arctic Federation. Set in a post climate change Earth where a majority of the surface has become a wasteland of dust and firestorms and most nations have long collapsed. Various local city states and nation fragments band together regardless of their past, eventually the infrastructure is rebuilt and they begin claiming everything around the Arctic Sea through diplomacy (both regular and gunboat). Slowly terraforming the planet and taking to space.

[@elmajore4818]

I think you are overthinking it. I like it xD

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

I am definitely overthinking things.

[@tommasoastaldi2513]

Ok so the term "Trade Federation" isn't actually a bad name because the term "federation" also implies a simpler alliance or organisation, rather than an actual federal government. So it actually makes sense.

[@skellyjelly9604]

Alright real question here: I want a futuristic Interstellar-“empire”, in which the people rule about 45% and the government rules the other 55%. It would be the strongest “empire” ever created, always expanding while also keeping peace within the empire itself, so that it doesn’t collapse upon itself. What should it be named? Traits: 1. Greatest military force 2. Always expanding territory 3. People within the empire are at peace and live happily (Definitely not very realistic but I’m still curious)

[@hellionicfrl5268]

I think you forgot Dominion, since this is in many concepts in Science Fiction

[@owli-wankenobi3727]

As I understand it, Dominion is basically the same as empire.. at least, that's the general usage.

[@owli-wankenobi3727]

Ah. I see. Thanks for sharing.

[@CaptainSovereign]

victory is life!

[@ArghastOfTheAlliance]

However, in Latin "dominion" means something along the lines of "possession", "ownership". With such a reasoning, "Human/Earth/Terran Dominion" may indicate a state/international organization representing Humanity.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Would that be the same as a hegemony?

[@CoralPolyps]

Name it whatever you want, as long as the military is called the "Earth Defense Force" *E-D-F!* *E-D-F!*

[@romulusnuma116]

Tsukuyomi Phase EDF EDF EDF EDF

[@tonio103683]

So, Électricité de France ?

[@KossolaxtheForesworn]

you mean Astra Militarum.

[@mill2712]

That ain't the EDF.

[@natesmodelsdoodles5403]

unless it's the Earth Federation, In which case "Earth Federation Space Force" is necessary.

[@daonebest3001]

The combine. Such a unique name, although not made for themselves though it perfectly describes them

[@ferrik1675]

To be honest, even their actual name of the “Universal Union” is pretty badass and terrifying. It gives a sense of inevitability, yet under any other less malicious organization would almost sound comforting and positive. Really fits their almost medically sterile aesthetic in that sense.

[@jeremychicken3339]

@@ferrik1675 Universal Union isn't their actual name either, it's just what breen propaganda calls it. The Combine has no name nor a political ideology, it's just a consuming entity that converts anything to itself, and I refer to the combine as It and not They for a reason, in the Combine's eyes, they are but one organism and the subjugated are but cells in said organism. that's why the Combine uses such medical terminology in military operations rather than military jargon. which is why it's so important that Freeman is referred to as "Individual" by the Combine. In the Combine's eyes, there are only 2 beings in existence, Freeman, and the Combine. with Freeman being that one cancerous cell corrupting other cells into becoming "Malignant" in the body.

[@nextgreatmedia3552]

Named my current Stellaris Playthrough "House of Rhys" after my crusader kings dynasty. Gave a lot of cool roleplay options.

[@CD-Freedom]

"The United Federation of Nations" was a thing in Code Geass

[@cadian101st]

>Empire will lose out to meritocracy >Because those are mutually exclusive It isn't like the first 'meritocratic' state was imperial China. Or the fact the German Empire became one the most advanced states in the world leading in science and statecraft (it was imperial Germany that gave us state pensions).

[@TheGahta]

Germany never called itself empire though, which is his point. At the time you refer to it, the name was Deutsches Reich, first part meanign german, and reich being closest resembled by realm.

[@cadian101st]

TheGahta Reich was often used to denote empires, to say it only means realm is highly misleading. Its leader was Kaiser which means emperor. It was clearly an empire.

[@cadian101st]

TheGahta the British empire for example is Britisches Weltreich in German.

[@SuperGman117]

It was the Deutsches Kaiserreich. Very much an imperial monarchic empire.

[@HydrikMasqued]

TheGahta It was an Empire so the other dude is right

[@OfficialHexcraft]

Honestly, seeing the Eastern Coalition from Starlancer/Freelancer when he mentioned Coalition as a term made this video for me. I love those games.

[@RE-jm9un]

A viceroy is typically an appointed title (in our reality) for someone who rules in a king's or queen's stead. Once the trade federation takes control of Naboo and Gunray is appointed to take on the governance of the planet, he would be a viceroy.

[@ilyamuromets5188]

Two things, The Holy Roman Empire wasn't a empire, it was an Electorial Monarchy. It is okay to have a nation to misname itself out of cultural heritage. Corporates are very unstable and manipulative, so it isn't insane for them to have mislabeled​ names in an attempt to save face in international politics.

[@TalonSvarog]

Nor was it Holy or Roman.

[@Nickname-hier-einfuegen]

It was an electoral monarchy ruled by an Emperor, so it was an Empire. It's as simple as that.

[@abcdef-cs1jj]

@Kory Chouinard The word 'empire' is just a strange label to begin with. And the translations of this 'empire' into different languages makes it even weirder. The 'Holy Roman Empire' was called either 'Sacrum Imperium Romanum' or 'Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation' - the translation is a little different, as you can easily see. 'Reich' is more akin to 'realm' though, it just labels a possession that belongs to someone (or something). And that it was. 'Holy' simply referred to it being a Christian state and 'Roman' was added to make it clear that it was to be seen as the heir to the Roman Empire (as in: kind of a big thing in Europe). The Japanese have an Emperor, the Chinese had one ... but neither of those actually held that title, of course. They had their own words that got translated with Emperor by the people that thought that 'king' wouldn't cut it because of the power or reverence that these figures commanded. All I'm saying is that 'empire' is a very muddy term, I guess ...

[@chrishieke1261]

Hmm, since the elected monarch of the HRE was the "Holy Roman Emperor" it is save to say that it was an Empire in the sense of the word.

[@Yingyanglord1]

BUt didnt have derect control over the entrie empire

[@lordzadd]

All hail the Imperium of man!

[@Gordon519]

yes

[@boldandbrash8431]

Tremble before the Emperor's majesty, for we all walk in his immortal shadow

[@mikeybrokie1516]

#notmyemperor

[@hafor2846]

Tremble before the emperors majesty, fore we all walk in his immortal shadow.

[@TheAxel1105]

For the Emperor!

[@tsardudebroii]

12:02 **laughs in the mountainous republic of the north cacauses**

[@DiscothecaImperialis]

11:48 There did exists the term 'Solar Federation' in Leijiverse (Harlock Mythos) which refers to a faction Earth belongs to (and actually a seat of the said faction).

[@collan5274]

You do realize that empires can be meritocratic? Also many, many countries are named after geography

[@thethirdsicily4802]

Yeah, hell, even many kingdoms can be meritocratic. Where the difference lies between empires and monarchies (the two can and usually are intertwined but its not required) is Rome, I'd sure as hell call the Roman Republic around the time of Julius Caesar an empire, and for much of its time the empire was only partially dynastic. Not to mention he really overstates the problems a bad monarch can cause, because one or two bad monarchs isn't going to change much unless they're back to back, in my eyes the bad monarch isn't the cause of the downfall of nations, but rather it is merely what finally does these nations in. I mean Karl I of Austria-Hungary was a great monarch, and had he stayed in power Austria Hungary could have possibly even stuck around into the 21st century (albeit in a different form), but by the time he came to power, things were already starting to shift in favor of the Entente, and the strain of the war made it an impossibility for a comeback.

[@attila535]

The best example of this is the Amarr Empire from EVE Online, where the succesors are chosen via a proxy war between each candidate.

[@CallanElliott]

Empires can be meritocratic, but they don't ever stay that way.

[@thethirdsicily4802]

@@CallanElliott That is very true, but that is also true of really any government, eventually they will become bloated or corrupt, and no amount of checks or balances will protect it forever.

[@CallanElliott]

@@thethirdsicily4802 Yeah, but even still, some are more meritocratic than others.

[@oliverstianhugaas7493]

"It's not really an empire" *And WHO are you to question the will of the Helghast!?* Our collective willpower has imagined it and the strength of our arms will see it manifest! Helgan and Vekta, together as nature intended.

[@trolley7657]

I think protectorate is acceptable given that the English Commonwealth was largely referred to as the protectorate and was ruled by a "Lord Protector"

[@jon-michaelharris5840]

this is such a fantastic video

[@shaqip]

You know what I love......Narcissism. I love how we now think that empires inherently do not work, and that monarchies are inherently ineffective. I am NOT arguing for the morality of it, obviously they are not moral. The narcissism I refer to is due to the fact that for most of human history the world was ruled over by a bunch of empires that achieved great things. Only recently, and I mean really recently did we shift to a less imperial system, the results of which (when viewed in the grand scheme of things) are yet unknown. in a 1000 years, our time could be called "the couple of centuries where we doubted empires and were then proven to be idiots". LOVE YOUR CHANNEL BTW

[@sombodi200]

I agree. Not only that but all the countries today can barely remain stable or are inefficient in many ways. These forms of government won't stand a fucking chance running a bunch of planets if they can't even retain order and efficiency within continents. Empires aren't much better but if we really going to make an argument for which government would work better in space, the answer is none of them. Distance will always cause a nation to fragment.

[@hafor2846]

Monarchies just have inherent flaws, which are balanced somewhat by its advantages in other areas. The more technologically advanced a society is, the more pronounced these flaws become. Monarchies are just outdated. They were a good idea once, but just aren't anymore. Not that other forms don't have flaws, but at least they circumvent some of the ones that plagued monarchies...

[@jatzi1526]

Sharif Qaddomi so the problems with monarchies just don't fit modern day which is why we don't use them anymore. They can be incredibly effective and they were when the right people were in charge but then some shitty son takes over and ruins it all. They're not stable because while one or a few people having power works on certain situations it doesn't work long term because people are flawed and eventually you're gonna get shitty leaders with a ton of power and things go bad. Republic and constitutional monarchies are much more stable but not as effective when it comes to getting things done. And people like stability not crazy drastic changes every couple of decades. One minute the country is fine, the next it's in a dozen wars. People don't like that which is why they changed the system and nowadays that's good. I'd hate to have somebody like king John from robin hood, the real guy though who lead to the manga carta becoming a thing, having nukes. Seriously that'd suck. Or just imagine Trump with a ton more power.

[@hafor2846]

Exactly. Democracies have checks and balances and institutional drag per design, not as an unfortunate side effect. It takes a good guy longer to achieve things, but the same is true for the bad guy. And while there is a sense of "at least it gets things done" by autocracies, that mostly isn't true. In a state where the public servants don't have to answer to the public, corruption and nepotism always is rampant. Again, democracies aren't perfect, but you at least get a better result than with e.g. an absolute monarchy...

[@shaqip]

@sombodi200 Agreed. The only real scenario, I feel, is when technology gets advanced enough to do most governing for us.

[@MrWheelman82]

An empire wouldn't need to be authoritarian or archaic in any way, Japan is technically still an empire, albeit parliamentary. "Imperium" doesn't actually mean empire (in Latin), it means, or meant "Authority", someone who held an imperium could be in command of an army or govern a province, "Imperium Rōmānum" meant "Authority of Rome", Usually held by an "Augustus" or "emperor". an "Empire" is an aggregate of nations or people ruled over by an emperor, other powerful sovereign or government, many empires in history weren't ruled over by an emperor, (Athenian empire, Dutch empire, British empire, etc.). It is in fact, perfectly suited for a collection of human planets, moons and stations to be called an empire, just as suited as federation or confederation, just look at history.

[@jeeshadow1]

While Japan has an emperor, the actual government is officially known as the "State of Japan".

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

The U.K. is still a kingdom. The Queen is also the sovereign of former parts of the Empire too.

[@eliaarduini5894]

(I'm sorry for any grammatical errors) "Imperium" was the power of the Imperator (or Pontefix or Caesar or Augustus) to lead the armies and the possibility to give orders to which the recipients can not avoid. But also when Rome was a republic the "imperium" and "Imperator" existed, for example: "Magisterium cum imperio" or "sine imperio" (Magistrate with or without the Imperium) or the Dictator (Gaius Iulius Caesar was a dictator)

[@MrWheelman82]

+Jaron Ehlers & Elektron117 True, but the form of government is a constitutional monarchy with an emperor as head of state, they could've called themselves the Empire of Japan and it would still be appropriate, although it might have upset the countries around them.

[@skyworm8006]

Constitutional Monarchies have no power, they're just legacies of history / cultural icons. Japan doesn't call itself an Empire either.

[@the7observer]

13:42 - yep Turians are no joke. The lore is that they are militaristic and don't go for skirmishes: either peace or all out war to totally decimate the enemy with no mercy. Nothing in between

[@Marconius6]

I actually like the Centauri Republic. You're right that it doesn't technically fit, but that's the POINT. The Centauri have this deluded double-think self image, and they're also shown to be quite duplicitous. So I can totally see them naming their nation a Republic, even though that's pretty much opposite of what it really is.

[@presidenttogekiss635]

I love the "Chiss Ascendency" from Star Wars

[@EchoKnightYT]

@@louisduarte8763 The Chiss Ascendency was located in the unknown regions, so they had little to no interaction with the rest of the galaxy. In Timothy Zahn's book Thrawn, nobody knows what he is, and if you can't see his eyes, you could assume him to be a Pantoran. In canon, Thrawn is all that the Empire knows about the Chiss, and believe he was exiled. However, I won't even get into Legends, as there is much more interaction. Go look it up on Wookiepedia.

[@dominiklehn2866]

@@EchoKnightYTand... what is an "ascendency" now?

[@jackobwpierdemoller4698]

Chiss are the best allies for anyone. ( Especially for Sith Empire )

[@sammywhite5127]

@@dominiklehn2866 ascendancy means: occupation of a position of dominant power or influence.

[@REVAN2338]

The republic of moutains formally disagrees.

[@Kolokommouna]

Ryan Sellers the constitutional monarchy of lakes sais that we agree.

[@KossolaxtheForesworn]

Enemies of the Imperium, hear me. You have come here to die. The Immortal Emperor is with us and we are invincible. His soldiers will strike you down. His war machines will crush you under their treads. His mighty guns will bring the very sky crashing down upon you. You cannot win. The Emperor has given us his greatest weapon to wield. So make yourselves ready. We are the First Kronus Regiment, and today is our Victory Day.

[@wyvernscale9634]

8:00 what if, and I'm speaking about my own worldbuilding here, but a nation were both? Say this nation functions similarly to a democracy, where leaders are elected, but it differs in that leaders have no term limit and very extensive power, though limited in some sense. It's basically a constitutional dictatorship with measures in place to stop it turning into a true dictatorship. And they call their leader an emperor.

[@svijj_]

A very interesting idea. I'd perhaps call it either a "Democrature" (a French word that means a hybrid between a democracy and dictatorship), or the word "State" would also fit, as it can be both used for dictatorships and democracies alike. If you have an Emperor here, then perhaps going with "Imperial State", "Imperial Confederation" or "Federal Empire" perhaps would also sound nicely

[@wyvernscale9634]

@@svijj_ oh thank you! This gives me a lot to think about :)

[@sidcada6071]

I know I'm a bit late to this video but to me one of my most favorite sci fi nation names is the Universal Union for The Combine from Half Life. Something about the name just invokes a sense of certainty and authority to it as a multi dimensional government.