Vallosi federalism
Vallosi federalism, alternatively termed Vallosi unionism, is a political concept that advocates for a united Vallosi government. Such a government is hypothesised as being organised in a federal structure which would ensure the establishment of local governments to handle local issues. Since the end of the colonial era in 1852, numerous groups, politicans, and prominent intellectuals have contemplated over the possibility and implications for a federal Vallosi state. As of 2036, there have been no serious proposals for the eventual establishment of a Vallosi federation, and there have been no plans for the Vallosi Economic Association, the main regional economic union in Vallos, to transition to a federal government.
History
End of the colonial era
From the 16th Century up until the final abolition of the Pelaxian monarchy in 1852, Vallos was predominately ruled by foreign powers whether directly or through colonial possessions. This wound up changing when the Pelaxian monarchy was abolished in 1852 and the former colonial possessions on mainland Vallos became independent nations. The preceding six decades of embarrassments and turmoil for Pelaxia had led to the rise of new national identities that were seen as distinct from the Pelaxian identity that most colonists had seen themselves as for the past few centuries, and these new identities have largely embraced the idea that they were Vallosi national identities even if they were mostly descended from the Pelaxians. Regardless, the sudden independence of the former Pelaxian colonies had put an end to any hopes of the new colonial identities for becoming citizens of Pelaxia, complete with representation.
Thus, several post-colonial intellectuals have began to advocate for the unity of all former Pelaxian colonies in Vallos under one government. Such a government, which became the basis for the foralist Delepasian Confederation, was to be a highly decentralised state with the Catholic Church as the state religion and would have spanned across not just the former Viceroyalty of Los Rumas, but also Vallejar (which had become independent in the 1820s) and even Lucrecia (although it was never a colony, Lucrecia often enjoyed good relations with the Viceroyalty since the 18th Century). This idea even gave a name to this hypothetical Vallosi state, the "Confederated Kingdoms and Lands of the Vallosi Subcontinent". However, this idea was largely ignored due to the fact that Lucrecia was full of adherents of the Caphiric Church, which in 1852 was still not in full communion with the Pope, and Vallejar was a part of the Loa Empire which was a country that most Delepasians hated.
Utopian and Marxist organisations
In opposition to the reluctance to form a Vallosi federation were the socialists who saw social class as a more important distinction than racial identities or religious beliefs, particularly the so-called utopiam socialists. They saw the end of colonialism and the subsequent fall of the Delepasian Kingdom as the perfect opportunity to dismantle the old monarchist system and establish a new Vallosi society that would unite the entire subcontinent under an independent and sovereign socialist republic. Similarly, the nascent group of socialists who have embraced the political philosophy of Carlos Marx have also come to support the idea of Vallosi federalism, albeit with the caveat that dismantling the old monarchist system and the subsequent establishment of socialism would not happen on its own without an active role from the working class; pre-MArxist forms of socialism were seen as wishful thinking under the capitalist system and thus would steadily fall into obscurity throughout the rest of the 19th Century.
Throughout the rest of the 19th and early 20th Centuries, numerous socialist organisations would emerge calling for the unification of Vallos under a socialist federation though the exact tactics used by each of these groups have differed depending on if they were a utopian socialist, a social democrat, or a revolutionary socialist. Utopian federalist organisations were mostly passive in their tactics, mostly distributing pamphlets which described Vallosi federalism and how socialism was a part of the inevitable evolution of human society much like how capitalism was when feudalism and mercantilism fell out of favour; they were also the most likely to have formed communes where people, regardless of their race or religion, would live in harmony with like-minded individuals. Social democrats and revolutionary socialists, on the other hand, took a more active approach in spreading their message instead of forming communes. It was through these Marxist organisations that the first socialist and communist parties in Vallos were formed, such as the Workers' Party of Delepasia.
Nationalist opposition
Because of its support for egalitarianiam as well as its biggest supporters being prominent socialists, Vallosi federalism was opposed by nationalists such as Delepasian exceptionalists and falangists. To nationalists, Vallosi federalism was seen as a threat to the Occidental cultures of Vallos; there were still huge amounts of non-Occidental and non-Christian demographics that most nationalists did not want to give equal status to until they are deemed to be sufficiently civilised and assimilated to live in Occidental society. These beliefs were especially important to nationalists, particularly Delepasians, because of the stories told about what happened to the Romany when the Loa Empire conquered their homeland back in 1751 and thus Vallosi federalism was seen as simply a way for the Loa to assimilate the rest of Vallos into their culture much like what they had tried to do to the Romany before they wound up fleeing to safer lands.
When the authoritarian conservative Estado Social regime was formally established in 1924, active suppression of Vallosi federalist movements began in earnest with the banning of the Workers' Party of Delepasia and the crackdown of other socialist organisations throughout the country. The few remaining utopian communes, if any, were forcibly abandoned with all adult members being thrown in prison for political subversion while children were given up for adoption by non-socialist married couples. To combat what was seen as a major threat to Occidental civilisation, numerous laws were passed to enforce pelaxianisation policies as well as the gradual racial segregation of the Loa under the Loa Laws. The Estado Social regime still saw merit in a united Vallos, but not as a federal egalitarian state. Instead, the regime promoted Delepasian exceptionalist talking points such as the belief that Delepasians were the rightful rulers of Vallos as ordained by God; Delepasians were to serve as the main providers for Occidental civility and Christian piety in Vallos and thus it was their goal to ensure its survival.
The active suppression of Vallosi federalists in Delepasia would largely end in the late 1940s when the regime began to pass some token political reforms which allowed for opposition groups to participate in politics, but they were legally barred from ever winning political representation. The remaining restrictions against Vallosi federalism would finally be removed after the Estado Social regime was overthrown in a popular revolt in 1984 which would start the Velvet Revolution.
Renewed interest in the 21st Century
The democratisation of Castadilla in the 1990s and the subsequent election of the new constitutional government had allowed for Vallosi federalism to return into Vallosi politics. Although it has not reached the relevance it has enjoyed in the early 20th Century, there still remains a sizeable amount of supporters from politicians, organisations, and other notable individuals. Another change from the previous incarnation of Vallosi federalism was that its commitment to socialism was mostly dropped to make it more palatable to non-socialists who have also supported Vallosi unification.
Present-day proponents of Vallosi federalism
Organisations
The Castadillaan Citizens' Party (PCC) is one of the biggest organisations that openly supports Vallosi federalism. As a liberal party, the PCC has been one of the biggest advocates for expanding the overall political scope of the Vallosi Economic Association which they see as simply the first step towards the eventual integration of all VEA members under a subcontinental federation. Similarly, the liberal parties of Lucrecia have also expressed an openness towards Vallosi unity in the near future. On the more left-wing end of the political spectrum, the populist socialist party Yes We Can! has advocated for a Vallosi confederation governed by a socialist variant of foralism. Outside of partisan politics, there are also a few interest groups that have done a few studies on the benefits of Vallosi federalism to create grassroots support for the political concept.
Politicians
One of the most well-known supporters of Vallosi federalism in modern times is the founder of the Castadillaan Tainean interests party the Democratic Farmers' Union, Loui Daumerkou. An avid supporter of Castoustecism, which has held a similar goal but for all Taineans in Vallos to unite under the Castadillaan flag , Daumerkou sees the establishment of a Vallosi federation as the next step after the goals of Castoustecism have been accomplished; as Castadilla is already a federation, Daumerkou has argued that all other Vallosi nations should unite with Castadilla in order to fulfil the wishes of Vallosi federalism once and for all.
Lucrecian Edile Eduardo de San Francisco has called in multiple speeches for an amendment to the Treaty of Emérida d'u Mar that would allow for the VEA to become an organisation more like UNESARP or the Levantine Union so that the Primary Committee may be able to push for the eventual formation of the "Federated States of Vallos".
Francisco Carvalho, the current Prime Minister of Castadilla, has been relatively neutral on the matter of Vallosi federalism, but has proposed that the VEA be turned into a loose subcontinental confederation that would allow for all member states to retain their sovereignty while fostering a more unified sense of Vallosi identity.
Notable federalists
Lucrecio-Isurian billionaire Iago Castro, owner of Lu Eremita which is one of the three Arcos of Lucrecia, published a book in 2033 titled Kelekonese Federalism and Why Vallos Should Implement It which is an overview of the form of ethnic federalism used by the Cronan nation of Kelekona and why Vallos should be united as a confederation of states that would be created based on ethnolinguistic boundaries. Castro has argued that such a confederation would compensate for the years of ethnoreligious sectarianism that has plagued the subcontinent up until the 1990s in most places.
Current situation
Presently, the only organisation that comes close to even partially achieving the dream of Vallosi federalism is the Vallosi Economic Association which has been used for diplomatic talks between Vallosi nations since the late 1990s. Indeed, the VEA has been able to foster regional unity for its three members. Also, support for Vallosi federalism has been minor for the most part, with only approximately nine percent of the total population within the VEA in a 2035 poll; there still exist many concerns over how such a hypothetical federation would govern and how centralised it should be. There have been no proposals submitted that would strengthen the VEA or establish the foundations for a united Vallosi state, nor is there any organisation that wishes to make such a proposal in the near future.
Fiction
In Victrix Interactive's Conduits of Lead V, any nation with its capital state located in Vallos could be able to form a united Vallosi state, and was a possible formable for Delepasia if it went to either the democratic or communist branch of its focus tree.
In Mychal Geronato's post-apocalyptic science fiction series Final Great War, one of the nations that have been stated to be in neither Caphiria's or the Levantine Social Republic's alliances was the Vallosi Union, described in passing as being an isolationist social-nationalist regime that has little to no contact with the outside world since the "Remenau Incident".
See also
- Castoustecism, a similar concept that calls for Tainean unity within Castadilla.
- Delepasian exceptionalism
