Markus OmniNow excuse me while I go watch the last disk of firefly :3

SonofMacPhistoInteresting reading.  Thanks for posting that (apologies if I missed it earlier).  I'd say go with UN to quickly describe the Alliance.  Their lack of tradition would suggest less cultural hegemony and lead to a diverse amount of folks from various backgrounds - kinda like what I imagine the UN to be.  Everyone hold hands, sing Kumbaya, that sort of thing.

NATO was an organization create to oppose another (Warsaw Pact), so, not really as good.

John "Xeknos" Mathurin

SonofMacPhistoInteresting reading.  Thanks for posting that (apologies if I missed it earlier).  I'd say go with UN to quickly describe the Alliance.  Their lack of tradition would suggest less cultural hegemony and lead to a diverse amount of folks from various backgrounds - kinda like what I imagine the UN to be.  Everyone hold hands, sing Kumbaya, that sort of thing.

NATO was an organization create to oppose another (Warsaw Pact), so, not really as good.

The UN is probably closer, as you say.

Relevant reading

"· What is the current structure of the Council and how exactly does it interact with the Office of the Prime Minister for the Alliance?
Each Alliance Member State has a number of Council Members within the Alliance Assembly, based on the size of their respective populations. Some only have one. The Prime Minister is elected by the Members, and it is his or her job to corral them into some sort of consensus; generally a slow process. There is much less tradition than in the other powers, and processes within the Alliance Assembly are still subject to change – generally when arguments break out, as they frequently do. In practice the Alliance is largely run by Civil Servants – salaried officials that look after day to day running of the Alliance, generally not getting involved in the political struggles.
The Alliance Defence Force is run by the six member Council of Admirals, independently from the Council of Members, but reporting to it after the event, to facilitate rapid decision-making. Each of these Admirals is from a key contributing Navy.

· How are the PM, and Council members selected?
The PM is elected by the Council Members. Each Member State has slightly different electoral rules based on their history.

· Where, and in what manner, are each Alliance member system represented politically?
By their Council Member(s) in Parliament. Parliament is virtual, but run from Turner’s World in Alioth.

· Where exactly is the PM's Office & the Council located?
Garden City on Turner’s World in Alioth, close to the old industrial and ship-building city of New Rossyth.

· What is the length of the PM's term in office, and how long do members of the council serve?
In theory the Prime Minister is elected for six years, but disputes within the Assembly have meant that the PM often doesn’t make it that long. They can suffer votes against them, often resulting in resignation, or occasionally votes of not confidence. They can serve multiple terms, but none have manages to do so yet.

· How does the Council respond in terms of political representation, when a member system's Minor Faction flips?
If this happens within a Member State, then depending on the rules of that Member State it could change who represents them in the Assembly – but given that the Assembly rarely gets anything done, it is unlikely anyone will notice.

· What are the day to day responsibilities of the PM and members of the Council?
The Assembly represents their population. The Council of Admirals runs the Alliance Defence Force. The real power rests with the Civil Servants, and the Council of Admirals."

This looks a lot like the UN, except it doesn't seem have the instant veto power of the Security Council, though the Council of Admirals seem to be able to act unilaterally in times of crisis. It sort of reminds me of the Quarians from Mass Effect, where the military could take over the government at any time, but the tradeoff is all Admirals have to step down afterward.

Luke3107Fair warning, Firefly was supposed to continue. There is only one season but a large cult following rallied and they got enough attention to warrant a movie called Serenity that ties up most of the loose ends.