[RentACop]

Does anyone know what type it is? I can't remember any real references to it. A dictatorship doesn't seem right, but then neither does a democracy. I guess I've always pictured it as some sort of military......dealy.

[KappaWing]

They seem opressive and facist from what you see in the game, but then again, you are part of the military.

[knn]

The GTA is not the government. From the refbible: The Galactic Terran Alliance was formed many years before FreeSpace begins.  It’s largely a defense and research organization, and has few domestic influences, focusing it’s attention on matters in outer space, and the exploration thereof.

[Flipside]

I read that as Grand Theft Auto for a second....

[Goober5000]

I gather the GTA is much more decentralized than the GTVA.  The GTVA seems to have its fingers in everything.  It mentions BETAC every chance it gets and refuses to let any of its systems secede.

[FireCrack]

All things considered, the terrans had been fighting a war ofr the past 14 years at the start of FS1, so that definitley would have a hand in things...

[freespacegundam]

I'd say that the GTVA might be a mixture, with some obviously democratic elements.  The Security Council, for instance, means that its not just one person running the whole show.  That's not to say that the Council is elected, but its obvious that many voices are involved in making decisions, unless you're the SOC of course .  

I'll just put out a wild guess and say that the Terran citizens of the GTVA vote and elect the members of the Security Council, with the Vasudan members following the emperor's lead.  I'm not sure if the emperor is the supreme leader for Vasuda or if he has representatives that the people choose to talk to him, but given the fact that most Vasudans don't seem too unhappy with their current leader ; he's either very good and beloved or does the former.

Of course this is all speculation, but I don't imagine the GTVA could truly function, or last as long as it has, without having some kind of representative government.  Otherwise rebellions like the NTF would be much more commonplace, no matter how benign the government is.

[Rand al Thor]

I think you're right about the Vasudan emperor being at least in some aspects totalitarian. Afterall, didn't Khonsu II dissolve the vasudan parliament, even if it was for the benefit of his race.

Whether he created a new replacement assembly I can't remember.

The Terrans of the GTVA era seem to have an elected democratic governement, albeit one that has a huge big brother complex.

[Flipside]

I would suspect the role, and power, of the GTA/GTVA increased massively after the first Shivan incursion, and the removal of both races' centre of government. After that, both races were more reliant on them than ever. I wouldn't be surprised to find that by the time of FS2, the GTVA was swiftly moving towards a military-based society, with the occasional humanitarian nod to the local governing bodies.

[Cobra]

I always thought the GTA had 2 governments, one for Earth and one for outer space stuff. I dunno.

[freespacegundam]

I always thought the GTA had 2 governments, one for Earth and one for outer space stuff. I dunno.

You may have a point in that specific systems may have their own local governments to govern internal matters.  It could be that the Security Council is just in charge of military matters, but then again I seem to remember the council having enough authority to order an evacuation of Capella, but I could be wrong.

I would suspect the role, and power, of the GTA/GTVA increased massively after the first Shivan incursion, and the removal of both races' centre of government. After that, both races were more reliant on them than ever. I wouldn't be surprised to find that by the time of FS2, the GTVA was swiftly moving towards a military-based society, with the occasional humanitarian nod to the local governing bodies.

There's a distinct possibility of just such a situation occuring.  It may be the GTVA is totalitarian, using advanced propoganda to control the public.  A good propoganda machine can convince the people the Shivans are lurking just around the corner, and call for strict military control.  For all we know, the NTF could have started out as a peaceful movement moving towards independence, and the GTVA simply villafied them to create a tangible enemy to direct their efforts.  The NTF, with their own anti-alliance ideology would have fought back, and as we all know bad things happen in war.  Bosch could have then pulled the same thing, convincing the NTF citizens the Vasudans were out to eradicate them, forcing them to respond in kind.

Kind of makes you wonder if the whole game isn't just a propoganda war until the Shivans arrive, since the only information we're given concerning all of its events comes from the military.

[RentACop]

There's a distinct possibility of just such a situation occuring.  It may be the GTVA is totalitarian, using advanced propoganda to control the public.  A good propoganda machine can convince the people the Shivans are lurking just around the corner, and call for strict military control.  For all we know, the NTF could have started out as a peaceful movement moving towards independence, and the GTVA simply villafied them to create a tangible enemy to direct their efforts.  The NTF, with their own anti-alliance ideology would have fought back, and as we all know bad things happen in war.  Bosch could have then pulled the same thing, convincing the NTF citizens the Vasudans were out to eradicate them, forcing them to respond in kind.

Kind of makes you wonder if the whole game isn't just a propoganda war until the Shivans arrive, since the only information we're given concerning all of its events comes from the military.

I doubt that the NTF started peacefully, "Vasuadans are teh suck" was a major plank of their platform. They're also fond of attacking civilians, though that was some time into the war.

I think, myself, that stabilty is probably a huge desire for both the Terrans and Vasudans (14-year war+Shivans+Bye-bye homeworlds+2(3) major insurrections+More shivans+Another blown planet)  so local republics controlled  by a stable, strong Militarist government would be enticing.

But then, I'm thinking more "Starship Troopers" than "1984".

[Goober5000]

I doubt that the NTF started peacefully, "Vasuadans are teh suck" was a major plank of their platform. They're also fond of attacking civilians, though that was some time into the war.

But a) Bosch doesn't hate Vasudans and b) he mourned the fact that he would be remembered as a butcher of "innocents".

My feeling is that the NTF was comprised of three distinct segments:

1) Those who were disillusioned/dissatisfied with the GTVA and wanted to make a new start
2) Those who simply hated the Vasudans
3) Those who wanted to ally with the Shivans

Number 1 was made up of the Lost Generation (the largest segment, as it potentially includes every single Terran pilot in the GTVA).  Number 2 could be made up of just about anybody but probably consisted mostly of line officers who were pilots during the Terran-Vasudan War and still carried around repressed hatred from way back then.  Number 3 was likely made up of only Bosch and a very few people in his inner circle.  All three segments' goals were different, but the NTF provided a way for them to all overlap.

You can probably compare it to the American Civil War, as the majority of people wanted to simply be left alone to live their own way of life (#1) but there were quite a few very vocal people who tried to make it an issue over slavery (#2).  And the North (GTVA) used the pretext of fighting to abolish slavery (racism against Vasudans) as an excuse to tighten control over the rebelling government.  Note that neither the Confederacy nor the NTF wanted to overthrow the US/GTVA; they merely wanted to secede and become independent.

The only different element in FS2 was #3.  Bosch probably saw that there was a lot of restlessness in the Lost Generation and a lot of leftover hatred from the T-V war, saw that it would probably lead to a civil war eventually, and decided to hijack the whole thing so he could have a vehicle (no pun intended) for accomplishing his vision.

[Shade]

He was certainly smart enough for that. Only command-level officer in Freespace to actually prove he had a brain. Really   is too bad he was the enemy

As for the GTVA having the power to order an evacuation of Capella, I doubt they'd really need to... just send someone into a public place, and whisper 'I heard the Shivans were headed this way' to noone in particular, and within a couple of hours the whole system is panicking and heading for the nearest jump node Easiest mandatory evacuation ever.

[NGTM-1R]

It's worth remembering that the GTVA is...well, that's it folks as far as Terran government goes by the time of FS2. BETAC centralized power in the GTVA General Assembly (sounds elected to me...) and disassembled the various Terran blocs, if the intel briefs are to be believed.

I personally believe that although the GTVA is likely to start resembling an armed camp the representive form of government is going to remain. (A military coup would run into trouble, too...Vasudan trouble. Khonsu II backed the GTVA's current form, and it's doubtful he'll change his mind.) We also don't know who exactly is to blame for what occurred in FS2. (Security Council? Admirality? GTVA version of the Joint Chiefs?) Or for that matter if the folks who deserved the blame will actually get stuck with it.

Given what the Shivans did the last time they were in the neighborhood (torched Vasuda Prime and came close to getting Earth too), I imagine that the GTVA was set up with specific clauses granting the government extraordinary powers in the event of a second encounter with the Shivans. The evacuation of a system was probably originally concieved of as a means of getting people out of the way of another Shivan orbital bombardment.

[Cobra]

I always thought the GTA had 2 governments, one for Earth and one for outer space stuff. I dunno.

You may have a point in that specific systems may have their own local governments to govern internal matters. It could be that the Security Council is just in charge of military matters, but then again I seem to remember the council having enough authority to order an evacuation of Capella, but I could be wrong.

I think of it Federation-ish. Even with the smaller governments, the GTVA Security Council still has the authority to issue orders for top-priority situations.

[Ace]

As stated by both Goober and ngtm1r, the GTA was a defense and research pact. Pretty decentralized, consisting of many member-states. (probably the core reason the Terran blocs formed so quickly after the Hades Rebellion)

The GTVA is by far more centralized, but it's still based on the treaties between the blocs and the Imperium (though the treaties did lead to the dissolution of the blocs).

Interestingly enough, most of the aparratus for Vasudan governance are seperate from the General Assembly, etc. Something to keep in mind in case you want to overthrow the GTVA. Find a way to nail the 'zugs first

[Goober5000]

Interestingly enough, most of the aparratus for Vasudan governance are seperate from the General Assembly, etc. Something to keep in mind in case you want to overthrow the GTVA. Find a way to nail the 'zugs first

Interesting.

And that's "zods", if you're using Eishtmo's epithet.

[bfobar]

I always got the feeling that the Vasudans were the dominant force in the government of the GTVA and that the terrans were just kind of satellite protectorates with the manpower but not the coordinated structure to rule the alliance or feed themselves really, with the Vasudan economy and Terran lack theirof mentioned in several ship descriptions. I thought the NTF was partly an expression of Terrans feeling conqured after BETAC because the terran colonies were more third-world sounding.

[Janos]

I'd love if GTVA was more like Imperium of Man.

Come on, what use do pacifism and humanism have when your existence is threatened by a repulsive scourge from beyond cold dead stars kill them etc. etc.