Executive Summary-
Donethal possesses a centralized authoritarian regime structure because our leader, The Anointed One, ultimately has the final say and the sole vote of declaration when it comes to matters of the state since desired changes can only be achieved from the direct authority of The Anointed One who speaks on behalf of our God Plutus as a messenger to Donethalians of Plutus’ wishes.
Description of the Problem-
It is necessary for Donethal to have a centralized authoritarian regime structure because only the Anointed One can decipher Plutus’ wishes and only the Anointed One with the divine guidance of Plutus can eventually recapture the Disputed Territories and gain access to the Holy City where our God Plutus was born and the birth of our religion was formed. Since the Anointed One is a messenger to our God Plutus, it is essential that the Anointed One possesses absolute authority and power over the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the Donethalian government since only the Anointed One can speak to Plutus and ensure the prosperity of Donethal and the longevity of the Zemani faith.
Proposed Policy-
In descending fashion, the country leader or Secretariate of State of Donethal is regarded as The Anointed One, the Chief Diplomat (CD) and UN Ambassador is regarded as the First Cardinal of the Zemani Covenant, the Chief Economist is regarded as the Chosen Collector, the Security Chief is regarded as the Chosen Commander, and the Press Secretary is regarded as the Chosen Secretary. The Anointed One’s Cabinet is there to assist our leader with matters of state and provide assistance on the implementation of religious laws and orders, but ultimately, The Anointed One is in control of not only the church, but also the state since the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are appointed and head by the Anointed One who has divine moral reason and command to make judgments on behalf of all the citizens of Donethal. (Scarlett, pg. 6) The Donethalian regime structure consists of the Anointed One as head of state that is in control of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, Penal and Civil Canon law of the Covenant to ensure the legal system and the citizens of our legal system abide to the Zemani faith, the Judiciary of the Covenant on behalf of the Anointed One that consists of a Sole judge with limited jurisdiction, a Tribunal of four members that hears civil and penal matters, a Court of Appeals consisting of four members that hears appeals from the lower courts, and Supreme Court that consists of three members who hear appeals on the grounds of original jurisdiction. (Rooney & Rooney, pg. 146-147). The Anointed one elects members of the clergy to assist with delegation and judicial matters by granting Chosen clergyman the honor of serving in the high cabinet as a direct advisor to the Secretariate of State. (Young and Shea, Researching the Law of the Vatican City State) In other words, the Donethalian government works in a top-down structure because there is no debate on contending ideas since The Anointed One speaks on behalf of Plutus so the only issues to discuss with high members of the clergy pertain to how to implement legislative policies. (Rooney & Rooney, pg. 146) Additionally, there are fewer levels of hierarchy in the Donethalian government because The Anointed One has all consuming power that enables our leader to implement change quickly and efficiently since a formal debate on legal and political matters is not required. Rather, the religious clergy enforce and enact the rules and laws of The Anointed One who interprets the rule of our God Plutus because there is no separation between church and state in Donethal. (Young and Shea, Researching the Law of the Vatican City State) However, there are regional Popes of the Zemani Covenant who dispense The Anointed One’s power throughout the state and report back regional concerns and problems to higher members of the clergy who directly advise our leader. Members high up in The Covenant are selected senior members of the clergy who were originally appointed by The Anointed One and serve their God Plutus by carrying out the wishes of The Anointed One in various commissioned tasks. The legitimacy of our regime structure is found through our God Plutus and the Anointed One ultimately is a messenger of Plutus who guides the state, advisors, and high priests to carry out the wishes of Plutus in the form of laws, defense, rules, temples, the media, and the economy. Our legitimacy also comes from the geospatial positioning of the country and close proximity to the Holy City where our God Plutus was born because only the Anointed One can speak directly to Plutus in our world and inform us of His wishes in His name and grant us safe passage back one day to the Holy City in the Disputed Territories. (Padovano & Wintrobe, pg. 373) Furthermore, The Anointed One has sole authority to eternally damn citizens with a death sentence who are non-compliant to legislative laws and societal rules and subject citizens to capital punishment for their crimes if citizens do not conform and dissent to the civil rules and penal laws of our church, the Zemani Covenant. (Zafirovski, pg. 322) Lastly, Donethalians are subjected to The Anointed Tithing and are expected to share 10% of their wealth yearly to The Zemani Covenant who ensure not only their safety by funding our troops, The Anointed Zemani Protectorates of the Covenant, but the Anointed Tithing also ensures safe passage to the next life. (Padovano & Wintrobe, pg. 367) Ultimately, tithings serve as a resource to the State that further suppresses dissent, but it also expresses the capacity of citizens to show their loyalty to the Anointed One as head of the church and state. (Padovano & Wintrobe, pg. 367)
Conclusion and Connection to Ideology-
It is proposed that Donethal follow a centralized authoritarian theocratic regime structure because our religious values and texts grant sole authority to the Anointed One to carry out the divine revelations of our God Plutus. Only the Anointed one can head the State because the Anointed One is the sole messenger of Plutus who guides the mission of our church and state. Only the Anointed One has the divine power to translate and codify laws that reflect the sanctity of Plutus in the Zemani religion and our extreme religiosity that grants the Anointed One with tyrannical and totalitarian control of each branch of government in our theocracy that ultimately honor the values of repression and loyalty.
Reference Section-
Zafirovski. (2021). The residue of theocracy in contemporary democracies: A comparative study. International Social Science Journal, 71(241-242), 319–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/issj.12293
Padovano, & Wintrobe, R. (2013). The Dictatorship of the Popes. Kyklos (Basel), 66(3), 365–377. https://doi.org/10.1111/kykl.12026
Scarlett. (2004). On the logic of theocracy. Sophia, 43(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02782434
Rooney, & Rooney, F. (2013). The global vatican: an inside look at the Catholic church, world politics, and the extraordinary relationship between the United States and the Holy See. The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.
Young, S. & Shea A. (2007). Researching the Law of the Vatican City State - GlobaLex. Globalex 2015. https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Vatican.html
Created by: [Casandra Pederson, Chief Commander/Security Chief]