[LoneKnight]

I've always been wondering what type of government the GTA (and later GTVA) was. From what I can gather from FS1 campaign, it almost appears that the GTA is an almost military dictatorship (or at least military controlled) government. The NTF most certainly was. All information about a hierarchy is simply referred to a Terran Command, never with any suggestion of political leadership. Was it ever explicitly said what kind of government the Terrans followed?

Discuss?

[Deadly in a Shadow]

No, you can compare the GTVA with the UN. If you want more information, look at this:
http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Galactic_Terran-Vasudan_Alliance

[General Battuta]

Yes - there's a General Assembly, a Security Council, and the Vasudan Imperium, which no longer has a parliament. This all applies to the GTVA, the GTA was more like NATO and was mostly focused on military and scientific affairs with little political or social presence.

[headdie]

I believe they were/are Federal democracy of some form, well on the Terran side of the GTVA, the Vasudan side was a parliamentary democracy in FS1 and transitioned to a Imperium during the reconstruction. 

The NTF was a military dictatorship out of the fact that the faction was formed by a section of the military breaking loose and claiming the area of territory they were assigned to guard, though I understand there was an element of prior co-operation with the local civilian government.  I have no doubt that should the NTF have claimed a stable territory (possible had not the Colossus not made their position impossible to maintain) the government would have transitioned to an Imperium and from their depending on Bosh's plans and the political situation to a Republic of some form.

[DeltaV_11.2]

The GTA makes more sense in my mind if it's a loose coalition. I simply can't see the rather divisive nationalities on Earth ever uniting in a government, even after hundreds of years. A single enemy can unite an opposition militarily, but cultural differences and old resentments often linger.

GTVA could be closer because the colonies didn't face the competition for resources and land between each other that Earth nations have, and each is smaller, and is less developed. Still, the NTF makes me think that the GTVA is also not an extremely solid state. Maybe an apt comparison would be the United States under the Articles of Confederation, or in the early 1800's.

[Snail]

Before the signing of BETAC in 2358 the GTVA was apparently a trade organisation like the EU between the numerous Terran blocs and the Vasudans. After BETAC it probably became more like the UN, but with its own military.

[LoneKnight]

The GTA makes more sense in my mind if it's a loose coalition. I simply can't see the rather divisive nationalities on Earth ever uniting in a government, even after hundreds of years. A single enemy can unite an opposition militarily, but cultural differences and old resentments often linger.

To that point, I'm fairly certain that the records of the GTA did mention that Earth united following a unification war of some sort.

[Goober5000]

You may be thinking of the Terran-Vasudan War backstory, which is not canonical.

[Mongoose]

I think even the FS1 Terran tech entry mentioned humanity uniting to form a global state at some point, although it didn't mention how it came about.

[Snail]

Or exactly how powerful the global state was. Could be global in the sense of a more influential UN.

[Ypoknons]

The GTVA has the structures and insitutions that resemble the democractic United Nations, yes, but how much do we actually know about how it operates in pratice? One end of the spectrum these insitutions really are what they purport to be and work great, on the other hand of the spectrum these insitutions are merely a smokescreen for where the true power lies.

[Darius]

The Illuminati?   

[Liberator]

  was never super clear on the political landscape of either the GTA or the GTVA, not that I've read anyway.  The issue is that canonically you are a fighter/bomber pilot in the navy both times.  Your job isn't to make, enact or interpret policy.  You fly where they tell you and shoot who they tell you.  It thankfully is shivans more often than not in the two games that are the only official material we have to work from.

In my mind, and most everyone else it seems, the individual colony systems are put into the position of individual nations.  So travel between systems, while relatively quick given the distances, is akin to "going abroad" to Asia, America or Europe back in the 20's and 30's when international flight was a dream and you were weeks away from Bangkok or Paris or New York City.

So what I would think that the GTA would be appropriate given the organizational limitations of being that far apart would be an loose affiliation of trading partners that contribute money, materiel and personnel to a communal military.  With the coming of the Shivans, I don't think much would change save the amount spent on defense.

[Ypoknons]

The Illuminati?   

I was thinking more along the lines of the PRC. There is a National Peoples' Congress, and multiple political parties (Communist Party, the United Front etc...) yet for some reason CPC's proposed laws always pass. I'm not sayin' that the GTVA is the PRC, I'm more saying the presence of insitutions themselves don't nessasarily provide a complete picture of how a political system works. I have no problems with campaigns taking it one way or another.