The Julian Protectorate: Governmental Structure of the Protectorate
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The Julian Protectorate is a confederation whose primary purpose in
being is mutual protection of its members.  Individual members
conduct their own foreign policy and trade policies; mediation
between member states and Protectorate-wide communications services
are provided by the Protectorate, as is a consistent and fair
system of interstellar law.  The Protectorate also defines
standards for equipment and protocols to ensure interoperability
and coordination.  The Star Legion is a standing armed force which
is maintained by the Protectorate, and supplemented in times of
crisis by additional forces maintained by the member states.

Members of the Protectorate are not constrained as to size or
political structure; they range from individual nations on
balkanized worlds to multi-world confederations containing
dozens or hundreds of worlds.

The head of the Protectorate government (and, coincidentally, of
most of the member confederations) is titled "Regent", a practice
dating back to the period of the Rule of Man, when new regional
governors took that title while performing the duties of Governor
and waiting for their appointments to be made official by the
Empire.

The main deliberative body of the Protectorate is the Protectorate
Council, which is divided into two chambers: The Chamber of Worlds,
in which each world receives one representative, and the Chamber
of the Protectorate, where each member state receives one
representative.  The Council is empowered to offer membership in
the Protectorate to non-member states; it is also empowered to
accept or reject an application for membership from a non-member
state.  A non-member that makes application to the Protectorate,
but whose membership is declined, may choose to coordinate its
interstellar laws and standards with the Protectorate, and may
also agree to Protectorate mediation in disputes with a member
state.  Non-members that do this, and formally notify the
Protectorate of these decisions are automatically granted the
status of Associated States.

In addition to membership in the Protectorate, each member state
or associated state maintains its own government, foreign policy,
and trade agreements.

