Libertarian Socialist ConfederationBoard

✪ FREEDOM refers to the positive capacity of all individuals and communities for self-determination. We believe that freedom and equality are inseparable, forming the basis for individual development and social wellbeing in the absence of coercive authority or class division. Freedom is an inherent good that can only be strengthened through solidarity and democracy.

✪ SOLIDARITY refers to the belief that all oppressed and exploited people share a common struggle towards freedom. As a principle of social life, we understand that people are interdependent and therefore cooperation is of mutual benefit; we aim to support one another in our efforts to effect the changes we each desire. We stand against marginalisation, prejudice, and all other injustices, for an injury to one is an injury to all.

✪ DEMOCRACY refers to direct, participatory decision-making free from hierarchy, domination, and coercion. Democracy is a social relation between free individuals that should not be reduced solely to institutions or elections. We believe that democracy is always a “work in progress” to be altered or improved by communities according to their needs.

✪ SUSTAINABILITY refers to the recognition that humanity shares a common future with all other living beings and the natural environment we inhabit. The domination and exploitation of nature by humankind must be superseded by an unconstrained harmony that values the beauty and diversity of the natural world, through the decentralisation and integration of communities into their local ecology.

✪ INCLUSIVITY refers to the recognition of the systemic oppression that has historically faced, and currently faces, many groups, including but not limited to women, racial and ethnic minorities, gender, sexual and romantic minorities, those with disabilities, and the working class, all of whom are equally capable of making valuable contributions to our society. We must actively work against the discrimination and exclusion that these groups face by creating a space where all individuals have a voice and feel welcome, safe, and valued.

The administration of the Libertarian Socialist Confederation will consist of:

1. A Governor, who will appoint a Confederal Council in strict accordance with the outcome of regional votes, by empowering member nations as Regional Officers.

   1. The Governor's mandate is renewed or withdrawn each year as described in Part III of this document.

   2. Successors are elected as described in Part III of this document.

   3. The Governor or Successor can be recalled at any time as described in Part IV of this document.

2. A Confederal Council comprised of 4-12 Councillors.

   1. The council is subdivided into 4 committees each with 3 places. Members of the council may only be on one committee at a time:

      1. Internal Affairs - manages the appearance of the region; promotes regional culture and organises activities. [Appearance, Communications, Polls]

      2. Foreign Affairs - manages diplomacy on the world stage; opening and closing embassies; ambassador to embassy regions. [Embassies, Communications, Polls]

      3. Outreach - manages recruitment; welcomes and supports new members and encourages participation. [Communications, Polls]

      4. Safeguard - manages regional defence; moderates regional communications according to the rules established in Part IV of this document. [Border Control, Communications, Polls]

   2. Upon election, committees are granted a mandate to act on their own initiative and in the best interests of the region.

      1. While not requiring a vote on every matter, committees are encouraged to seek input and approval from the region where appropriate, utilising the RMB, discord, and polls.

      2. The Safeguard Committee is expected to strictly adhere to the procedures for moderation established in Part IV of this document, and must seek the democratic approval of the region for any military organisation and policy.

      3. Each committee must publish a public report, detailing their activities, half way through their term, and at the end of their term.

      4. If any member of the region disagrees with an action or decision taken by a committee, they can call for a repeal vote at any time. A repeal vote will run for 48 hours and passes with a simple majority. If the repeal passes, the committee must reverse the act in question. Any other councillor, or the Governor, may apply the repeal if there is any delay or defiance from the committee in question.

      5. A councillor or committee can be recalled at any time as described in Part III of this document.
         

   3. Each committee can take an unlimited number of volunteers to assist with their efforts, for example the Foreign Affairs Committee may set up a team of ambassadors to embassy regions. There should be no barrier to entry for such teams.

   4. The Governor and the WA Delegate may not also be members of this council.
      

3. A non-executive World Assembly Delegate, chosen by a plurality of endorsements.

   1. Any WA member nation may put themselves forward for the role and encourage others to endorse them, but all WA members remain free to endorse whoever they wish.

   2. The WA Delegate must consult the region on each WA resolution-at-vote, and vote in line with the majority position.

      1. In the case of equal votes for and against the resolution-at-vote, the WA Delegate may cast the tie-breaking vote at their own discretion.

      2. Any combination of the regional message board, polls, and discord may be used to confer with the region.

   3. The WA Delegate may approve WA proposals at their own discretion.

   4. The WA Delegate may act as facilitator for the Confederal Council, if requested.
      

4. A team of Discord Moderators will be elected through the following process to uphold the rules established in Part IV of this document:

   1. Any member nation in the regional discord may volunteer themselves for the role of moderator.

   2. Upon volunteering, a vote will be started in the appropriate discord channel by any standing moderator.

      1. The vote will remain open for 7 days, during which member nations may vote to approve or disapprove of the candidate.

      2. The candidate will be accepted as a moderator if they gain more approvals than disapprovals.
         

   3. Any member nation can propose that a moderator be recalled at any time.

      1. A recall vote will be started in the appropriate discord channel by any standing moderator not subject to recall proceedings.

      2. The vote will remain open for 5 days, during which members nations may vote for or against the recall.

      3. A recall vote passes by a simple majority (50% +1).

      4. A moderator subject to recall proceedings will have their moderator masking removed for the duration of the vote, to be reinstated if the recall is rejected.
         

   4. A moderator will continue in their role until either they resign or are recalled.
      

The Confederal Council will be elected every 3 months through the following process.

1. The Governor will open a nomination and campaigning period, for all committees of the Confederal Council, that will last for 7 days.

   1. Nations can nominate themselves, or nominate others, for any one of the committees.

   2. If nominated by another nation, nominees must confirm their candidacy within 3 days.

   3. During this period, candidates can make the case for why they should be trusted with the role, release a platform, and answer questions from other members of the region.

   4. If there is competition for places on a committee then the candidates may participate in a formal debate, respectfully and in good faith.
      

2. After the nomination period has closed, the Governor will organise a vote for each committee, running for 5 days, to determine which candidates will be approved to the council.

   1. If there is no competition for places on a committee then a simple approval vote will be held.

      1. Nations may vote to approve, approve under reserve, or disapprove of each candidate.

      2. To be elected, a candidate must receive more approvals (unreserved) than disapprovals.
         

   2. If there is competition for places on a committee then a ranked choice vote will be held.

      1. Nations will rank the candidates in order of choice, with ‘1’ being their favourite candidate, and so on.

      2. Seats on each committee will then be filled using the Droop Quota, with votes transferred to the next preference each time a candidate is elected or eliminated in the process. A ranked choice vote application may be used instead of manual calculation.
         

3. All member nations are guaranteed the right to vote and stand for election.
   

1. Once per year the Governor will be subject to an approval rating vote to renew their mandate.

   1. A member of the Confederal Council will set up a poll in the region, asking members to approve, disapprove, or abstain, in regards to the current Governor continuing in the role. The vote will be open for 5 days, and the results announced by the council.

   2. If the Governor gains a positive approval rating (more approvals than disapprovals) then their mandate is renewed for another year.

   3. If the Governor gets a neutral or negative approval rating (more disapprovals than approvals, or an equal number) then their mandate is withdrawn and the Governor recalled.

2. When a Governor abdicates, ceases to exist, or is recalled, the Successor will automatically replace the position.

3. When a Successor resigns, ceases to exist, is recalled, or becomes Governor, a Governor Succession Election will be triggered.

4. A new Successor will be elected through the following process.

   1. The Governor will organise the election, count the votes, and announce the results.

   2. A nomination period will run for 7 days.

      1. Nations can nominate themselves, or nominate others, for the position.

      2. Nominees must confirm their candidacy within this period.

   3. Following nominations, a simple approval vote will held for 5 days. Nations may vote to approve, approve under reserve, or disapprove of the candidate.

      1. If there is only one candidate, they will be elected be a simple majority (50% +1) of approvals (unreserved).

      2. If there is more than one candidate, the nation with the highest approval rating (approvals minus disapprovals) will be elected. If multiple nations are tied for highest approval rating, then a second round of voting will be held for the tied candidates only. If no candidates gain a positive approval rating (more approvals than dissapprovals) then the election will be restarted including a new nomination period.

   4. Once the new Successor is elected, the Governor will appoint them to the position.

1. If at any point a member nation believes that a Councillor should be removed from the Confederal Council, or a whole committee replaced, they can:

   1. Publicly or privately request a referendum to recall that councillor or committee.

      1. The referendum will be set up by any member of the regional administration, except those subject to the recall.

      2. The referendum will last for 5 days, during which every member nation can vote for or against the recall.

      3. A recall referendum passes by a simple majority (50% +1). The executive will dismiss the councillor(s) recalled.

      4. If a committee is recalled, or if a recalled councillor is the only one on a committee, a new election for that committee will be held.
         

   2. Wait until the next election.
      

2. If at any point a member nation believes that the Governor or Successor should be removed from their position, they can publicly or privately request a referendum to recall them.

   1. The referendum will be set up by any member of the Confederal Council.

   2. The referendum will last for 5 days, during which every member nation can vote for or against the recall.

   3. A recall referendum passes by a simple majority (50% +1).

   4. If the Governor is recalled, they must abdicate their position.

   5. If the Successor is recalled, they must resign their position or can be removed by the Governor.

1. A free and equal confederation must be built on mutual respect, honesty, trust, and solidarity. Members of the confederation are therefore encouraged to:

   1. Take responsibility for maintaining such an environment, for example by tempering a discussion that is becoming malignant;

   2. Remain mindful of their own language and behaviour.
      

2. The following rules have been collectively agreed and apply to all regional communications, including but not limited to the RMB and discord:

   1. No bigotry.

   2. No platform for fascism.

   3. No personal abuse, defined here as intentionally hurting or harming another person, such as harassment or doxxing.

   4. No spamming or trolling.

   5. No pornographic content.

   6. Don’t promote, trivialize, or defend sexual abuse and violations of consent.

   7. No genocide denial.

   8. No content that apologizes for police or military brutality, imperialism, or eugenics.
      

3. From commitment to democratic agreements, and self-discipline, members of the confederation are expected to abide by these rules. When these rules are broken however, the Safeguard Committee and discord moderators will act as follows:

   1. If it is a matter of honest misunderstanding or error (as determined by the councillor or moderator), the person in question is to be informed of the rules and the issue with their behaviour sensitively explained.

   2. Otherwise, a first warning will be given, and, at the discretion of the councillor or moderator, posts may be suppressed.

   3. If the person in question has already been given a first warning, they will be banned from the region and/or discord, and posts may be suppressed.
      

4. In the case of a dispute between two or more members, the Safeguard Committee or discord moderators will invite the relevant parties to an arbitration process.

   1. The councillor or moderator will either put themselves forward to act as neutral arbiter, or request any other member of the confederation to volunteer for the role.

   2. The arbitration process is voluntary, but the disputing members must agree to participate in the process in good faith if they do so.

   3. The nominated arbiter must be accepted as a neutral third party by all those participating in the process; otherwise a different arbiter must be found.

   4. There is no set procedure for the arbitration process, which will be prepared by the accepted arbiter on a case by case basis. However, documentary guidance and example procedures will be available for the arbiter to draw upon.
      

1. This charter may be changed through a democratic referendum at any time.

   1. When a change to the charter is proposed, 5 days must be given for discussion of the proposal.

   2. This will be followed by 5 days voting, during which member nations may vote for or against the proposal.

   3. The referendum will pass by a two-thirds majority.