Aragan Reichstag

The Aragan Reichstag, commonly referred to as simply the Reichstag, or the Aragan Parliament, was the unicameral supreme legislature and primary body of government of the Aragan Empire. Asides from the Fuhrer (the quasi-authoritarian head of state) individually, it superseded all other forms of governance in the nation. The Reichstag not only voted on and passed laws, it also held partial judicial power — alongside the National Court — due to its parliamentary supremacy and executive power to act as checks and balances to the Fuhrer. The Reichstag was made legitimate and given its function per the Aragan National Constitution. All Aragan citizens had the right to participate in the Reichstag (although it was not mandatory by law), meaning they could be MPs, propose bills, vote on laws, veto the Fuhrer, and/or form political parties and coalitions.

Procedure
The Reichstag was presided by the Fuhrer of the Aragan Empire. They had two main functions, which were being the speaker of the house, specifically moderating debate and calling votes, and being the head of the General Secretary.

Members of the Reichstag, typically called MPs, have the ability to vote on non-emergency acts of importance, laws, and even amendments to the Aragan National Constitution. The Fuhrer can veto all decisions except for a vote of their abdication; this essentially meant in practice that the Reichstag has the final decision on most issues. Votes were either held in formal meetings called by the Fuhrer inside the Reichstag building in Berlin or spontaneously in the Aragan Discord server's #reichstag channel.

An important governing body that existed inside of the Reichstag was the General Secretary, or the cabinet. It served as mostly an advisory board to the Fuhrer and to other MPs writing laws, aiding them both govern the nation. There existed four specialized positions inside the General Secretary by the end of Earth World Mark VII: the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of S.T.E.M., the Secretary of Internal Matters, and the Secretary of Jew Matters. Although in theory this body had foremost legislative power over the rest of the Reichstag, it was rarely, if not ever, used.

Political parties were able to be created within the Reichstag, which would represent certain blocs or interests; however, pro-Starymglian parties were banned and formerly left-wing parties as well. These parties were able to form coalitions with each other in order to form governments. The leader of said coalitions was the Chancellor, which essentially served the role of Prime Minister; they would be appointed by the Fuhrer.

Earth World Mark IV
The nation that would now be referred to as Araga would be founded as Armyima on May 7th, 2016, during Earth World Mark IV. It renamed and reformed itself into the Aragan Union exactly one month later on June 7th. Sometime after this, the foundations for what would be the legislative branch for the nation were laid; it did not have an official name, with it being referred to interchangeably as the Reichstag or the Parliament during this time. Political parties also started to take form in Araga, with the first one to exist being the Aragan National Front, which was founded and led by Tomad. Other parties also began to sprung up, including the Aragan Communist Party, founded and led by Canuck; the Aragan Mongol Party, founded and led by Cambrian_; and the Aragan Monarchist Party, founded and led by TMG. In spite of this surge of the number of political parties, only two parties were actually relevant in the nation: the ANF and the ACP; the former was the more powerful of the two, with them leading the nation under Tomad's chancellorship and rule as Fuhrer. The role of the Reichstag and the political parties that participated in it at this point was minimal — especially compared to the presence the body had in later worlds — and had very little power, especially compared to the Fuhrer solely. In addition, the roles of Fuhrer and Chancellor were not yet flushed out, so Tomad de facto acted as both throughout this world.

Earth World Mark V
Earth World Mark V saw the reformation of Araga into a greater fascist state under a new leadership in the Reichstag, which had become more relevant at this time. The Aragan Fascist Party was founded by ImperialSaxon and participated — along with other parties such as the Aragan National Front — in the first (and only) election for head of state of the nation. It had won by three votes over the ANF, though not without controversy because while ImperialSaxon led the party, leadership of Araga was not given to him and instead was given to Extra. The reason why this was the case was because Tomad had already planned to step down as Fuhrer and give leadership to Extra before the election was held; thus, people had begun to think the election was rigged and that its results had been delegitimized. Eventually though people accepted Extra's leadership as Fuhrer and he appointed Tomad to be the Chancellor of the Reichstag, leading a Fascist coalition. Later, the Arditi Pact was formed between the Fascists and the Aragan National Front, leading to diarchical rule of Araga under two Fuhrers: Thundermaster99, the leader of the pact itself, and Extra, who was already in the position. A couple small political parties existed during Earth World Mark V, although they lacked the power they previously had; they included the Styrian-Aragan Party, founded and led by RevanMapper in order to represent Styrian interests while keeping ties with the rest of Araga, and the Aragan Republican Party, founded and led by Cambrian_ as a successor to the previous Mongol Party.

Earth World Mark VI
See also: Aragan Federal Crisis

In contrast to Earth World Marks IV & V, in Earth World Mark VI the Reichstag had a very important role in Araga, with votes and debates being commonly held on issues regarding both domestic affairs and foreign policy. The Reichstag building in Berlin was also built sometime this world by Skali, constructed primarily out of quartz blocks.

During the span of Earth World Mark VI, three major parties began to emerge: the Aragan Freedom Party, a national-capitalist, conservative political party founded and led by Cambrian_; the Aragan Revival Party, a social-nationalist (later turned fascist) political party founded and led by Skali; and the Union of National Populists, a national-populist/fascist political party founded and led by Extra. While the Aragan National Front still technically existed, it became irrelevant after the UNP split off from them due to becoming more moderate. All three parties had a powerful role in Araga, although by the end of the world the Aragan Revival Party became the dominant leading party with Skali in charge. [WIP]

Power struggles were persistent within the Reichstag and general Aragan government in early Earth World Mark VI among the three major parties and, particularly, the people who led them. Despite on the surface being similar in ideology and goals, the AFP, the ARP, and the UNP had very different interests regarding how the nation should be ran and function; this all culminated in what would be retroactively called the Aragan Federal Crisis. Due to existing instability and hostility between Extra and Skali (plus other parties) Araga briefly split into two on July 5th, 2017: the Extra-led Second Raj Reich, which included former states that were led by or loyal to him, and the rest of Araga that was left to Skali. Two states also temporarily seceded during the crisis: Poland and the Kingdom of Denmark. The Pan American Union (with the notable exception of Lapania) supported Skali's government, while the Empire of Starymglia chose to be neutral. Later that same day though, an agreement was reached between all sides involved and all-out civil war was avoided.

Post-EW M. VI and Earth World Mark VII
[WIP]