Editing Terran Alliance

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{{InfoBoxState
| image = 
| Founded = [[2086]]
| Dissolved = [[2315]]
| capital = Geneva ([[Terra]])<ref name=SLp10>''The Star League'', p. 10. "Politics of Colonization"</ref>
| systems = 600+ ([[2235]])
21 ([[2271]])
| population = 
| currency = Credit<ref>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', PDF version, p. 10</ref>
| language = 
| demonym = 
| Head-of-State = 
| cintel = 
| army = [[Alliance Global Militia]]
| navy = [[Alliance Global Navy]]
| mintel = 
}}
The '''Terran Alliance''' was the first central government to control all of [[Terra]]. Beginning as the [[Western Alliance]] in [[2014]], by the end of the twenty-first century the Terran Alliance included the entire Solar System and had brought about an age of peace and prosperity for humanity. By funding the [[Deimos Project]] and the subsequent [[First Exodus|interstellar exodus]] from Terra throughout the twenty-second century, the Terran Alliance laid the foundations of the modern Inner Sphere.

Within just over a century the Terran Alliance counted over six hundred colonies under its banner. But its rule over both Terra and the colony worlds grew increasingly oppressive, and in [[2235]] the [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]] erupted. The Alliance's defeat in that conflict led to the abandonment in [[2242]] of all colonies situated more than one [[Kearny-Fuchida Drive|jump]] (30 light years) from Terra.  

For the next eight decades the Terran Alliance staggered on as a brutal but inefficient tyranny, with increasing levels of chaos blighting Terra. Finally, in [[2315]], Admiral [[James McKenna]] overthrew the corrupt Alliance government and established the more powerful [[Terran Hegemony]] in its place.

==History==
===Foundation===
The Terran Alliance was based upon the [[Western Alliance]], a multinational political entity which in its first decade came to include Europe, North America, the former Soviet Union, India, and East Asia.  By 2086, its membership and influence encompassed enough of Terra that the organization was renamed the Terran Alliance. Being devoted to scientific development, the Alliance spent heavily on both pure research and real-life applications; Alliance-funded scientists pioneered orbital heavy industry and faster-than-light space travel after advances in fusion and microwave technologies, but at a tremendous price in terms of civil unrest and economic hardship.<ref name="SLR">''The Star League'', pp. 7-8, "Roots"</ref> The Terran Alliance was riven almost from the start by the division between the handful of wealthy and/or populous nations that dominated the alliance and the smaller, poorer nations who suffered economic hardship as a result of the Alliance's policies and disproportionate taxes.<ref name="SL8">''The Star League'', p. 8. "Terran Alliance"</ref>

===Interstellar Expansion===
The Deimos Project and the resulting boom in space exploration and colonization added fuel to the fire. Several nations seceded from the Alliance, and the poorer members that remained bore a disproportionate burden of the cost.<ref name="TRO3075TA">''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 166, "The Terran Alliance"</ref> Yet it was the [[United States of America|United States]], possessing the most wealth and influence, and populous nations such as India and Brazil who colonized the bulk of the most hospitable worlds closest to Terra. Indeed, as the leading Alliance member overall, the United States was often able to settle entire planets without needing to share them with other Terran nations.<ref name="TRO3075NvS">''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 166, "Nation-States vs. Culture"</ref> <ref name=TTSOKp4>''Touring the Stars: Old Kentucky'', p. 4</ref> <ref name=JHSTp150>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 150</ref>

Colonists from poorer and weaker countries, on the other hand, or even comparatively wealthy members like China, Japan and the European nations, were forced to travel farther out from Terra, or settle marginally habitable worlds. Ironically, this burdensome distance from the Alliance's core would often prove to be their descendants' salvation, as the worlds they had settled suffered far less devastation during the [[Succession Wars]] than the planets closest to Terra.<ref name="TRO3075NvS"/> <ref name=JHSTp150/>

===Decline and Fall===
At the completion of the [[Alliance Grand Survey|Alliance Grand Survey of Inhabited Planets]] in [[2235]], the Terran Alliance stood at the very zenith of its power, controlling more than 600 inhabited colonies within 120 light years of [[Terra]].<ref name=SLp8/><ref name="ISSB10">''Inner Sphere (sourcebook)'', p. 10, "A Brief History of the Inner Sphere"</ref> However, this statistic is misleading; less than 360 worlds were actually controlled by the Alliance, while illegal colonies and blockade running were common practice.  Shortly after the completion of the survey in January, [[2236]], the aptly-named world of [[Freedom]] declared its independence - frustrations with Alliance taxation policies and overbearing colonial authorities prompted rebellion on this world and many others.<ref name="P13">''The Periphery'', p. 13, "First Exodus"</ref>

The [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]] lasted 18 months between early 2236 and autumn [[2237]]. Eager to crush the rebels and demonstrate the capabilities of the Alliance military, the ruling [[Terran Expansionist Party]] increased funding to the armed forces and ordered it to quash the rebellion. Under Major General [[Gunther Stein]], the [[Second Interstellar Combined Assault Force]] set out from Terra, only to be attacked at every [[Jump Point|jump point]], and embroiled in guerrilla and/or scorched earth warfare on more than fifty systems. The Alliance military proved too small to successfully hold any ground they had taken. Worse, many planets either refused to send troops and supplies, or aided the rebels with arms and personnel. Ultimately, the rebellion never officially ended - no ceasefire was ever signed.<ref name="P13"/><ref name="P13-14">''The Periphery'', pp. 13-14, "Outer Reaches Rebellion"</ref> The isolationist [[Terran Liberal Party]] simply replaced the Expansionists in power, and combined with public antipathy at the costly war, were able to order their soldiers home.  By 2237, the Liberal Party was in control of Parliament.<ref name="SL11PoC">''The Star League'', p. 11, "Politics of Colonization"</ref>

[[2242]] also saw the end of the Alliance as a powerful influence in Inner Sphere affairs. The Liberal Party passed the [[Demarcation Declaration]] - almost all garrisons and officials stationed more than 30 light years from [[Terra]] (one single faster-than-light translation) were recalled. The majority of the worlds settled by humanity were granted independence whether they wanted it or not, and subsequently left to fend for themselves.<ref name="ISSB10"/><ref name="P14BtFS">''The Periphery'', p. 14, "Beyond the Farthest Star"</ref> While much of the Alliance Global Militia had already been called home at that point, some remained outside the new border. Some, like the Alliance troops that would form the core of the [[New Avalon]] militia, had already transferred their loyalties to the colony world they served on.<ref name="HD(TFS)p11">''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 11, "The Grain Rebellion"</ref> Others, like the [[Eleventh Terran Rangers]], would turn to the nascent [[mercenary]] trade, at least for their immediate future.<ref name=FMLA63>''Field Manual: Lyran Alliance'', p. 63, "2nd Donegal Guards Unit Profile"</ref>

The Rebellion and Terra's reaction to its defeat also proved to be the catalyst for the formation of the [[Periphery]], particularly two of its historically most influential states. The devastation caused by the Alliance military or the sudden granting of independence to unprepared colonies led to the settlement of more distant worlds, and a prevailing mindset that emphasized self-sufficient independence in all things. Two survivors traumatized by Alliance actions were among those pioneers: [[Hector Rowe]], who established the [[Rim Worlds Republic]], and [[Samantha Calderon]], who led a group of fellow refugees in colonizing [[Taurus]] and laying the foundations of the future [[Taurian Concordat]].<ref>''Handbook: Major Periphery States'', p. 12-15</ref>

For the rest of its life, the Alliance focused its attentions on Terra. Political instability and increasingly brutal government repression drove millions to emigrate from Terra, including its 'best and brightest' citizens.<ref name="SL11C">''The Star League'', p. 11, "Chaos"</ref> By [[2315]], the instability and corruption that had plagued the Alliance for decades finally brought about its collapse into civil war. [[James McKenna]], leader of the [[Alliance Global Militia]], deposed the remnants of the Alliance government and replaced it with the [[Terran Hegemony]] in 2315.<ref name="SLTFAC">''The Star League'', pp. 13-14, "Time for a Change"</ref><ref name="ISSB10RotH">''Inner Sphere (sourcebook)'', p. 10, "Rise of the Hegemony"</ref>

==Government==
While the Alliance Parliament was always the dominant government on Terra and its colonies from the late twenty-first century onwards, the Terran Alliance was born as precisely that: an alliance of member states rather than a single cohesive entity. One result of this was that power was skewed towards the most populous and/or wealthiest Terran nations who were able to further their own interests at the expense of smaller and poorer members.<ref name=JHS142-143>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 142-143, "The Terran Alliance: A Troubled Golden Age"</ref> As a result, America in particular wielded disproportionate power within the Alliance during the first decades of interstellar colonization, while other wealthy members including various European countries, China and Japan also benefited from the Alliance's lopsided power structure.<ref name="TRO3075NvS"/> <ref name=TTSOKp4/>

From the late twenty-second century, as the remaining independent Terran nations were forced under the Alliance's banner, the Terran Alliance's power vis-à-vis its member states grew. By [[2200]] the Alliance Parliament had transformed into a genuine world government with Terran nations now subordinate, although for some member state politicians it was more of a mutually beneficial arrangement between them and Alliance Parliamentarians. Even before then Terra's colonies were controlled directly by Alliance governors, not by their 'mother country' on Terra, although those nations connived at and benefited from the Alliance's ever-more repressive rule.<ref name=JHS144-145>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 144-145, "The Terran Alliance: Perversion and Downfall"</ref>

Following the Outer Reaches Rebellion and its subsequent withdrawal from the interstellar stage, the Terran Alliance completely dominated Terra as an increasingly repressive police state. While the Alliance Parliament had two opposing political parties, the [[Expansionist Party|Expansionists]] and the [[Liberal Party|Liberals]], each maintained and extended the government's dictatorial powers in their own way. Regardless of which party was in power, throughout the twenty-third century the Alliance government was marked by incompetence, corruption and oppressive laws. The latter led to the detention, off-world deportation, or execution of tens of thousands of Terran citizens. Terran national governments during this period were notoriously complicit in abetting Alliance abuses.<ref name=JHS144-145/>

In contrast to the Alliance's heavy-handedness on Terra itself, the remaining colony worlds such as [[Rigel Kentarus]] experienced a more hands-off approach that allowed them to function as autonomous refuges for those fleeing repression on Terra.<ref>''Touring the Stars: Rigil Kentarus'', p. 6</ref>

==Military Organization==
The Terran Alliance divided its entire military into 10 military commands.  Each of these commands were then organized in a similar manner, though compositions and strengths may have varied.  The Terran Alliance used the normal military organized adopted throughout (nearly) the entire Inner Sphere.  Terran forces were organized in a triangular hierarchy.

* 1 Corps consists of 3 Divisions
* 1 Division consists of 3 Brigades
* 1 Brigade consists of 3 Regiments
* 1 Regiment consists of 3 Battalions/Wings
* 1 Battalion/Wings consists of 3 Companies/Squadrons
* 1 Company/Squadrons consists of 3 Lances/Flights

==Society and Relations==
The Terran Alliance emerged from Terran nations, and was dominated by lucrative western nations.  This meant that early policies generally favored richer superpowers, like the United States of America, at the expense of developing and poor nations.  Global fiscal policy dictated taxes low enough to be payable by richer citizens, but large enough to cause developing economies to stagnate.

No one, however, can dispute the universal utility of opening the stars to human colonization.  However, here again, richer governments, like the United States, were able to make the first discoveries.  The consequence is that worlds in close proximity to [[Terra]], especially those worlds most hospitable to human civilization, generally tended to be controlled by descendants of highly industrialized and richer nations.  These colonies are also more likely to be better supplied and able to spend more on terraformation, for instance by importation of large quantities of water bound in asteroids, as was pioneered by [[Rudolph Ryan]] of the [[Ryan Iceship Cartel]].  Core worlds within the Alliance tended to be more comfortable than recently colonized worlds.

Ultimately, the origins and circumstance of Terra and the core worlds of the Terra Alliance led to a "not my problem" attitude.  Further, as displacement from Terra increased, space becomes increasingly unexplored.  Having built a rich, developed core of to the Alliance, the "haves" of the Alliance definitely had more to lose.  Alliance policy remained extremely authoritarian, initially towards underdeveloped Terran nation-states, later towards underdeveloped colony worlds.  The policy doctrine of the Alliance can be summed up in the statement, "Those who are not for us are against us."  Conducting foreign policy with such absolutes of thinking ultimately led to the [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]], and the decline of the Alliance.

==Maps==
<gallery>
Image:Terran Alliance 2271.png | Terran Alliance in 2271
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]''
* ''[[Inner Sphere (sourcebook)|Inner Sphere]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''
* ''[[The Star League]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3075]]''
* ''[[Touring the Stars: Old Kentucky]]''
* ''[[Touring the Stars: Rigil Kentarus]]''

[[Category:Nation States]]