Dissolution of the Deric States

The dissolution of the Deric States was a multi-staged process that brought about the end of the Deric States organization specifically and the post-Second Great War geopolitical status quo of Dericania generally. After several stages, it resulted in the consolidation of Lapody and Rhotia and the separation of Lutana and the Vandarch Republic from the rest of the former Deric States. Modern scholars and observers have posited that the dissoltion may be the final resolution to the question of Derian identity.

Background

Main article: Third Fratricide

Questions of redundancy

Beginning in the 1970s, many scholars and public officials began to call into question the necessity of the Deric States organization given the existence of the Levantine Union, which was established with many of the goals and functions as the Deric States on a larger scale. In the 1970s and 80s, many of the internal organs of the Deric States ceased to function, having given over their role to similar bodies within the Levantine Union. Two extremely prominent examples exist within the Deric States' structure. The first, relatively obscure body is the Council for Tariff and Trade Protection which intended to regulate the entire Deric States as one trading unit. While the Council still exists officially, it did not hold any official meetings after February 4 1962 and the Deric States ceased to distinguish itself from the rest of the Union as a matter of trade policy. The second and more prominent body that was superseded was the Confederation Defense Force (CDF), which served as the official armed forces as the Deric States until its constituent parts were largely integrated into the Coordinating Office of Dericanian Forces (CODF), a part of the Levantine Union Defense Council. The Deric States CDF continued to serve in the 2020s, but its defense jurisdiction solely consisted of Alba Concordia and began to be primarily associated with that city rather than with the Deric States as a whole.

Activist efforts prior to 2020

In 2002, activist organizations from across the Deric States merged into an organization known as "Movement for Mediatization in the 21st Century", popularly shortened to "21MEDNOW". 21MEDNOW began to conduct both lobbying efforts with Dericanian governments as well as popular, grassroots agitation.

By 2015, polling indicated that, on average, 35 to 40% of residents of the Deric States supported the dissolution of the organization and further mediatization of its member states.

Secession of the Vandarch Republic

On 8 March 2023, the Vandarch Republic informed the Levantine Union that it intended to leave the Deric States and become a standalone member of the Levantine Union. The decision to leave lead to large popular demonstrations across Dericania organized by 21MEDNOW calling on its leaders to change the post-Great War geopolitical arrangements of the region. This triggered a diplomatic crisis among leaders of the Deric States, which met in a series of informal conferences and meetings in Corcra beginning in July of 2023. These meetings, commonly known as the "Congress of Corcra", failed to reach any cohesive answer, and in April of 2024 the ambassadors were asked to leave the city following the breakdown of negotiations.

With the Deric States playing a minor role in the immediate diplomatic aftermath of the Final War of the Deluge, popular mediatization efforts temporarily lost priority in some of the Deric States, cooling tensions and the pace of dissolution. However, many of its members held elections in 2025 in which the dissolution was a key issue, any many pro-dissolution elements won across the Deric States in part due to 21MEDNOW support.

Secession of Lutsana

On 14 August 2026, Lutsana informed the Levantine Union that it, like the Vandarch Republic, would be leaving the Deric States and would becoming a standalone member of the Levantine Union. Unlike the Vandarch Republic's decision, it announced its withdrawal would be immediate. The decision to remain in the Deric States was a major issue in the 2025 Lutsanan elections, and the new government - formed in part by the Orenstian People's Revival Party - made withdrawal its top priority.