LittleBigPlanet Union

Introduction

The LittleBigPlanet Union is an alliance of clans dedicated to making the LBP community a better place. The only alliance of its kind, it was founded in late 2008 by groups of Anti-Heart for Heart groups and neutral organizations, mainly to promote peace, order and integrity to the clanning community. It later collapsed in 2011 due to a political schism which split the alliance in two. On December 14th of 2013, the Union was refounded and stands to this day representing the same ideals it did originally. 

An older flag made by President Godman shortly before the schism.

Early Days

The LBPU was 

Original Union flag made by President Godman2k7

formed by Godman2k7 (Sub-Leader of the H4H Bounty Hunters) in June 2009. Back then, the goal of the Union was to create an alliance of Anti-H4H groups (Namely the three H4H Bounty Hunter groups) with the joint capability to reduce H4H to a level where where they believed it could not harm the LBP servers. In that respect, it was a huge success, with H4H never being a serious problem from Fall of 2009 onwards. Gradually the ideologies of the LBPU has evolved to what it is today but it remains a zero tolerance approach to H4H and other anti-LBP practices. As construction of the Union HQ began, some of the first groups began to join the H4H Bounty Hunters' project, including the Agents, Cheating Resistance Organization, the Hawks, the AHG and other familiar faces. War was not a major issue in formation of the Union, members were loyal to their groups and united in the conflict with H4H, and the member states were all part of the original friend circle. Aside from a pocket rebellion and civil conflicts between member states, the Union remained very united until the First Union Civil War in November 2009, dictated by Scorpitom355 and creating the common rift between the (by this point) two primary groups of the LBPU, the Agents and the BHers.

Union Government

The LBPU Government originally was not run from a constitution. After refoundation, a constitution was drafted and ratified by the refounding member states. After about a year of legislative failure under this constitution, the Union adopted a document known as the Novus Carta. This new constitution established a far more capable governmental system. The LBPU's government is primarily anti-federalist, with the aim of allowing member clans to have their own governments and manage themselves as they wish. However, the core Union government is able to rise member states' militaries for the common defense and helps manage programs such as the Union Task Force, the Census Bureau and others. 

Executive

The Union Executive branch is composed of the Union Protectors and their subordinating ministries. The Protectors are led by the President, which has no power over member states unless granted to him by a resolution or amendment. The President however is able to organize ISAF in the common defense or in accordance with a Security Council police action. 

Alongside the President are the Ministers, which run their respective ministries. These ministries have positions for assisting their ministers in their affairs. These ministries are, 

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Domestic Affairs
• Ministry of Security
• Ministry of Defense
• Ministry of Intelligence

Currently, there are no Presidential elections or clear method of passing the presidency down the line. This has led to some debate lit by anti-Union activists. 

Legislative

The Legislative Branch is composed of the Union Parliament, which is divided into the General Assembly and the Security Council. Union Representatives make up these. Union representatives are officials appointed by member state governments. They have the power to propose new legislation, endorse other legislation and vote on proposals at vote. Passed proposals become resolutions, passed Union laws. 

Judicial

As of April 9th, General Assembly [R.001] established protocol for the Union legal system. Unfortunately, it is plagued by a lack of manpower, and there are no attorneys or judges in the Union, meaning that criminals cannot be tried. To work around this, Union Protectors are forced to make deals with member state clan leaders to kick out troublemakers. If clan leaders fail to comply, the entire clan may need to be removed from the Union, depending on the circumstance. Generally, it has been seen that many criminals are trolls, that if given trial, would take advantage of the situation and use it to gain leverage and attention. This has led to some debate as to the merits of the system. 

Member States

Here is a list off all groups and clans that were in the LBPU before it initially fell in 2011 (Note: List is still missing a few groups):

• The H4H Bounty Hunters
• The Agents
• CRO
• The Hawks
• Knights of Valour
• Anti H4H Group (Joshyking90)
• Death Grip
• Solar Ice
• CoCo Creators Clan
• Fury Fang
• Union Protection Squad
• The Balance
• TechnoRevolution
• Ninja03036's Clan (Not yet published)
• ISR

A current, up to date list of Union member states can be found on the census.

Membership and Observers Status

Though rather unofficial, the Union differentiates membership status based on political representation. If a clan has a representative to give them a say in the parliament, they are considered a full member state and are given full benefits such as full event participation and keycard access, among other benefits. Clans that do not have representatives, but can have them if they wish, are known as Union observer states. These clans do not have any say in Union legislature and cannot vote on proposals.

There is no official document which establishes the existence of observer states. The term was coined by the Protectors for use in the census, and as such observer states are essentially member states without representatives. This may be the topic of proposals in the future for the General Assembly.

Union War Policy

 

During the Godman Administration from 2008 to 2011, the Union was in general pro peace. However it would fight wars should it be necessary to ensure a better future. The Union would only fight a war if it was justified and and would help LBP. Anti H4H in all its forms was entirely permitted in the Union but the LBPU encouraged peaceful methods to be tried before all else. It was strongly against "Peace for Peace" as it believed that it had become not only an illogical and counter productive practice but also a weapon of choice for H4Hers and trolls that seek to damage LBP and/or the LBPU. They would take advantage of this by utilizing the aruging between P4Pers and Anti-H4Hers. 

As of the Youngling Administration, the Union is completely against war and is incapable of declaring it. No office has the power to declare war in the LBPU. It can however pass Police Actions to use ISAF to take action against entities that have not provoked the Union.

The Great Schism

Sometime in the late fall of 2011, President Godman2k7 decided to resign from his office and left only a temporary successor. The current superpowers of the Union argued over who should be President. Agents and CRO leader, M88youngling argued that there should be a President to keep the order. H4H Bounty Hunter leader and Union Vice President Shadow-Man100 argued that there should not be a President, as the Union did not need one. This led to a rather heated argument, and triggers were pulled. The Union quickly broke into two halves, the Loyalist Union, led by returning self appointed President Godman2k7, and the New Union, led by elected President M88youngling. Both alliances contested for about a month before collapsing. This was known as the Great Schism, and results of it can still be seen on the original Union wiki front page, which was owned by Godman2k7 and used the homepage as propoganda for the Loyalist Union. 

This marked the end of the Union, and the dawn of the dark age of clanning, which was ruled by powers such as the Shadow Paradigm, Axis, Chaos Clan, Armageddon Empire, Red Skull Republic and Red Eagle Army. These powers and more fought well into 2012 and early 2013 before the community quieted down. 

Reformation

New flag of the LBP Union as of refoundation.

On December 14th, 2013, the Union was refounded by several organizations to pursue the goals of the now so called 'old Union,' which is regarded as the same alliance. Clans agreed to allow M88youngling be their President by ratifying the constitution. December 14th is now recognized as Union Refoundation Day across the LBPU to celebrate the new anniversary.

In the modern day and with new technology and efforts to keep constant record of members and statistics, the Union is much more precise in its census count, and this has resulted in its population fluctuating dramatically across various spans of time. At the start, before activity quotas were enforced, the Union's population was regarded to be well over 260 members total, a good 31% of these members belonging to the Brotherhood of Steel. However, skepticism over the activity or even the existence of these members led to the the now rather strict activity quotas which remain today. Clans are usually given the benefit of the doubt about their member counts, but if they fail to remain active by attending monthly summit meetings, then they are removed from the Union. An excuse for these summits is accepted typically.