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We are a Republic, so why does D'Tan get to be dictator?
cosmicdefiler
Member Posts: 24 Arc User
First and foremost, the new expansion is awesome and I'm really diggin it.
As I've been playing through the Romulan story I got to thinking. There is all this talk about democracy and creating a new Republic where the people rule themselves within the story. In reality D'Tan holds all the power in this "Republic" and there is no talk of elections or creating a legislative body. The way I see it is that the only difference between D'Tan and Sela is that Sela already has all the power and is trying to hold onto it while D'Tan is attempting to gain power at the expense of Sela under the guise of the unification movement.
The Romulan Republic seems to be a Republic in name only. I understand that the Republic is young but if the goal is to create a government where the people rule themselves, one of the first things on the agenda should be to elect a governing body. Instead we have zero talk about actually creating a real Republic in the story and instead D'Tan seems to be the defacto dictator of the so-called "Republic" and this is just accepted as the way it is. D'Tan seems to answer to no one. Maybe the Romulans are so used to being ruled that they don't even think twice about how much power D'Tan has and how unaccountable he is?
What does everyone else think about D'Tan's apparent dictator status?
As I've been playing through the Romulan story I got to thinking. There is all this talk about democracy and creating a new Republic where the people rule themselves within the story. In reality D'Tan holds all the power in this "Republic" and there is no talk of elections or creating a legislative body. The way I see it is that the only difference between D'Tan and Sela is that Sela already has all the power and is trying to hold onto it while D'Tan is attempting to gain power at the expense of Sela under the guise of the unification movement.
The Romulan Republic seems to be a Republic in name only. I understand that the Republic is young but if the goal is to create a government where the people rule themselves, one of the first things on the agenda should be to elect a governing body. Instead we have zero talk about actually creating a real Republic in the story and instead D'Tan seems to be the defacto dictator of the so-called "Republic" and this is just accepted as the way it is. D'Tan seems to answer to no one. Maybe the Romulans are so used to being ruled that they don't even think twice about how much power D'Tan has and how unaccountable he is?
What does everyone else think about D'Tan's apparent dictator status?
Post edited by cosmicdefiler on
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Honestly, even if the Republic is in name only, it works for the moment, because there is no real infrastructure to allow for a democratic vote. That is not to say that there won't be votes later on, but many people are just trying to get their lives together before they worry about politics. And At least D'tan isn't using the old school tactics of sicking the Tal Shiar on upset citizens to maintain loyalty.
Cryptic probably does not want to bore us with the intricacies of how this government works...
I also have to wonder how the whole "unification" thing will go. Even if some Romulans are committed, are the Vulcans? And will the Romulans all join the Federation, or will the Vulcans leave to become part of the Romulan Republic?
I would pause at Sela in a tutu as well.
I imagine it clashed with her cape.
Actually, they do.
The kinda do, although he's just a spiritual figurehead alongside the Chancelor.
I don't care how long you've been playing. I only care about how you play.
And remember to follow the rules.
Well, he left:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B6ewnvQWdQZ-lPQwh3EXbvlRW9_WrCW9cmvqCn2aIQk/
I mean, think about it. Striking from the shadows and using advantage is all about what the romulans have always been about. Hell, Roddenberry would approve...
Dtan asked you to help him find other colonies and help unify them.
Dtan allows the colonies to choose their own path.
So you have seperate colonies. Each colony has a leader that the people chose then the people choose to fight with dtan or not.
Sounds like a republic.
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If this is the case, that's not a single Republic, that's just a bunch of individual worlds.
They are all romulans with a simular goal.
Think of each colony as a state and each colonial leader as a senator.
They want freedom from the tal shiar and peace. Dtan is organizing like minded colonies.
Once again a republic. And all these like minded colonies will end up on new romulus.
We're a democratic republic, but we didn't have a strong central government until after our Civil War. And even now, individual states have quite a bit of autonomy. The Federal government, though, gets final say for things like treaties, the military and handling interstate commerce.
D'tan's government is basically the same.
Keep calm, and continue firing photon torpedoes.
Yes, but as your own quote states he will return when he's needed.
So he's just on vacation...not gone forever.:)
"...a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch"
Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology and composition. In classical and medieval times the archetype of all republics was the Roman Republic
"In modern republics...the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage."
"Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies, where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government"
(source)
So... Republic and Democracy are not synonyms, and Republic with Dictator is not necessarily an oxymoron
In every place,
The deeds of men remain the same..."
It's called a game... it's assumed that these people were elected prior to the start of the game. Even if you didn't vote for him yourself, most of the NPC's did.
As for the Republic itself, technically speaking the "Romulan Star Empire" was a republic, at least during the TNG era. I imagine the Romulan Republic will have a very similar structure once everything is formalized.
The United Republic of New Romulus and Vulcan!
And @ the OP, that's an interesting insight, but you're overthinking it. D'Tan is meant to be a guy honestly dedicated to the liberty of Romulan citizens and the creation of a (relatively) peaceful Romulan Republic.
If they need to, Cryptic will just write in something about elections and a New Romulus Senate. D'Tan's not written to be a dictator and there's been no hints about him being power-hungry, so that's not the intended impression nor where the character is going.
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--Red Annorax
Rather than surface fluff that do not necessarily mean anything like elections (even China holds elections) its better to look for things that indicate a stable and just government is in works. so a quick list of important factors off the top of my head.
Civilian control over the Military
Creating an independent Judiciary with judicial review
the RULE OF LAW
Liberal freedoms, such as the US first amendment rights
Institutions that allow and protect minority participation
there are many others,this is just a few. but generally political rights before human rights never works out well, and we can point out to many many examples here on earth highlighting this. Zimbabwe, Iraq, Tunisia.....
Haha I think this is the answer.
What possible benefits does it have for Romlans and Vulcans to be "unified"? While a "reconciliation" would be good and would promise peace and friendly relations in the future, actually unifying the two governments would be fraught with problems.
How many "reunificationists" are there in the US who want to unify with Britain? How many are there in the UK?
When you think about it like that the whole situation seems absurd.
I can kind of see this sort of thing popping up after the Hobus Supernova in Romulan space as a measure to get the Romulan economy recovering and back into things, kind of like an Eastern-Bloc country trying to get into the EU after the wall went down. Maybe some Romulans figure this would be an end-run that would get them into the Federation and away from the Tal Shiar who are basically going berzerk. But even that would be seen by most Romulans as a desperate measure which would cost them a lot of pride.
Before the supernova, the movement makes no sense on either side. The last thing the Federation wants is to open their doors up to the Romulans, since that is basically inviting Romulan intelligence into your country. The Vulcans themselves see the Romulans as inferior, as they have rejected the way of logic preached by Surak, and the Vulcans who do want reunification likely hope to "convert" the Romulans, something the Romulans are likely to take offense to. And the Romulan government has no interest in allowing Vulcans a say in their affairs since this weakens the hold the empire has on its people.
In the TV show (TNG) I recall that the whole thing was basically a trap by Romulan intelligence to catch Federation agents by exploiting a few romantics. The "movement" never really had a chance. Of course, Federation Intelligence may have viewed the Romulans who had such views as a resource to be exploited as well.
I have to wonder about the whole concept. It seems rather ridiculous for the Reunification movement to have gotten anywhere.
The US is Republic in name (and I guess, appearance) only. All democracies are. The ones that hold the real power and authority are those with the wealth. It is perfectly fitting.
Or, in the case of the US, the RULE OF WEALTH