Constituencies of Çeridgul

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Çengulid (lit. "voice-gatherings", sing. çengul), are the primary unit of Çeridgul's political life above the individual or family level. The term is generally translated constituencies, perhaps one of the least problematic of a number of possible linguistic mappings.

In this context, a constituency is essentially a form of advocacy group that falls somewhere between the roles of political party, electoral district, and trade union; their purpose is to gather together those who have some common interest or concern and improve their bargaining power through coordination. Constituencies have scopes as varying as the groups they represent, ranging from protection of the interests of a geographic area, to opposition to a particular attitude toward foreign affairs, to advocacy and attention for a particular breed of goat.

Most Çerid affiliate with only one constituency at a time, but there is a substantial minority with multiple affiliations. Most constituencies take no interest in their members' other affiliations unless they directly conflict with the constituency's own goals, in which case one of the opposing constituencies will exile the offender from its meetings. Since most of them keep no formal roll of their memberships, even these infractions must be inferred from one's presence and activity at meetings or gatherings of any given constituency (mutually opposed constituencies will sometimes spy on each other for this purpose).

The only other situation in which simultaneous memberships present a potential conflict of interest is at a Vocal Assembly, where in any given discussion a individual is expected to declare oneself caucused with a particular constituency and to represent only that one for the duration. Changing one's chosen caucus mid-discussion is possible, but since this is seen as a public repudiation of one's allies and tends to result in exclusion from that constituency, this tactic is usually reserved for situations where an individual has either genuinely and urgently adopted the priorities of another constituency or (more often) has been bribed to change sides.

While constituencies can be classified by their aims, the most important and basic distinction is between those, by far in the majority, who feel bound by the Vocal Assembly, and those few that do not. Many of the latter are essentially outlaw organizations, who engage in criminal or other activity that most Çerid find abhorrent. Others, however, are simply 'refuser' groups who, though not operating in a fashion particularly detrimental to anyone else, desire no greater affiliation than with their own constituency, whether because of simple isolationism, a major philosophical disagreement with Çer society at large, or a desire to live in a fashion not adhering to societal norms.

While criminal groups are dealt with harshly, no one is particularly interested in forcing refusers to participate in the wider consensus, and for the most part they are allowed to govern themselves. The refuser constituencies are, in this sense, sovereign entities, though from the point of view of foreign relations they are in free association with Çeridgul, especially since they rely on it for goods and transit. The refusers and Çeridgul alike are generally happy for the latter to handle foreign affairs; for the refusers because they have no interest in the matter themselves, and for Çeridgul out of a desire to keep their brethren from being unduly influenced by the ovareshid.

Any comprehensive list of constituencies would be lengthy and nigh-impossible to keep updated; the fluid, some might say distractible, nature of Çer politics being what it is, many constituencies do not last long, at least not in a form that can be nailed down. New constituencies appear, old ones die, existing ones split or merge, and the speed of communication means that their members might not all be aware of the latest changes until the year's Vocal Assembly. Nonetheless, some constituencies remain stable over a period that allows them to be usefully documented.

Foreign Policy Constituencies

Being one of the newer aspects of public life, opinions on foreign policy remain in a state of flux and show relatively little nuance, still largely being at the stage of whether the presence of humans is a good thing or a bad thing, much less approaches tailored to particular nations or global alliances. The range of opinion on the topic is therefore split between only three major constituencies.

Mutual Profit League

Probably the largest foreign policy constituency, the Mutual Profit League has a strong following among traders and in the region between Gultaj and Gejlak Beach. Its primary aim is the expansion of economic contacts between Çeridgul and human nations, on the grounds that this can only make everyone involved richer, and will in addition gain the Çerid access to interesting and useful foreign devices.

Among the more immediate steps advocated by the League are an investigation into locations for future port facilities, support for native shipbuilding, and the introduction of human-style coinage.

Examiners

The Examiners represent a smaller, more intellectual, and more cautious strand of thought than does the Mutual Profit League. While broadly in favor or relations with the outside world and therefore frequent allies of the League, the Examiners tend to feel that the League, in its open greed enthusiasm for enrichment, is ignoring the larger issues at stake. They understand that the Çerid, though mighty, are few in number and technologically backward compared to the ovareshid, and that so long as this is the case, their people remain under threat. Rather than simply buying and selling from humans, they believe that the Çerid need to learn from them, and learn about them.

The near-term goals of the Examiners are the acquisition and understanding of human devices, books, and maps, as well as a more detailed picture of geopolitical situation on Micras. Their most devoted following is among the scribal class and the Speakers, the Çer equivalent of the diplomatic corps.

Spearers

While the smallest of the foreign policy constituencies, it makes a significant amount of noise. The Spearers represent those in favor of isolationism, and derive their name from the call to "spear the plans of the ovareshid like fish". The imagery is considered provocative by Çerid, since it links human activity both to the depths of the sea - the realm of the Abyssal - over which they came to the island, and to a major target of Çer predation.

The Spearers are united by a deep mistrust of humans and feel that even the most apparently harmless trade is intended to use the Çerid for their own interests, and that in being willing to forsake their former self-sufficiency for the sake of wealth, the Çerid are acting against the reasons for their arrival on Micras in the first place. Their support base is shallow but wide, being scattered throughout Çeridgul, though its presence is notable among those who practice traditional metallurgy.

The group was deeply opposed to the opening of Gejlak Beach, and seeks its closure and the eviction of all humans from the shores of Blue-Green Isle. In the past few years, however, they have been experiencing increasing internal disagreements on the matter of the new mainland colonies; since the presence of Çerid beyond the island makes avoiding contact with humans all the more difficult, the conundrum of whether to simply abandon the colonists or to try to convert them to the cause has moved increasingly to the forefront (it not being considered feasible to prevent further colonists from leaving or to force any to return).