Unitary Nationalist Party: Difference between revisions

Although they would not receive their title until after the creation of the Second Fortunan Empire, many of the existing Isolationists were actually part of the second wave of party members that joined between the 1990s and the 2000s. This included prominent party members such as Tristano Lyone and Bernard Leon. As with the Old Guard, they also believed in a centralized government in order to protect and promote Fortunan culture and tradition. What separated them from the Old Guard was their fanatical belief in the superiority of the Fortunan people and, strong distrust of the international community, and prejudice towards other species. They also believed that full autarky was the only way to protect the nation from outside influence and heavily promoted it. Many Isolationists were also strong believers in Marchellic Clarityism, and as Tristano Lyone grew in popularity, they heavily pushed the idea that he was the lesser deity prophesied to reunite the islands. After gaining control of the party following the birth of the Second Fortunan Empire and "Lyone's Purge," the main focus of Isolationists was to stay away from foreign affairs as much as possible and focus on strengthening the party's control over the nation. They also attempted to achieve autarky by trying to implement a self-sufficient economic system which included heavily limiting trade with the outside world. This inevitably was a failure and only further destroyed the barely functioning economy. between the 2000s and 2010s, the Isolationists would slowly start losing support from the populace as many felt the faction's policies were more harmful if anything. Also between this time period saw another wave of rising party members who persistently criticized, to an extent, the Isolationist faction and pushed for change. Finally by 2005, convinced by these party members and other economic advisors, Lyone made the decision to overhaul the government and economy, replacing many Isolationist party members and moving away from self-sufficiency for the time being. In present days, Isolationists still make up a large fraction of the party and their policies of Fortunan superiority, promotion of Clarityism, and hatred of the outside world continues to persist. However, as the Empire began making a switch from being a closed, isolated country to a more open and expanding one entering into the 2010s, much of their influence over the High Commander has dropped as this third wave of members gain control of the party.

Due to the shortcomings of the Isolationists, it allowed for a new group of party members to rise to power between 2005 and 2015. This faction of like minded party members would receive the title of Expansionists due to their heavy push towards expanding the nation's borders and the annexation of nearby islands. They too support the idea of a centralized government, but since the Fortunan Confederation no longer existed by the time many Expansionists came to power, their main focus was on strengthening control the party had over the states. They too supported promoting Fortunan culture and tradition, and saw the benefit of using Clarityism to further unite the populace. The main difference between Expansionists and Isolationists mainly revolved around how the country should interact with the international community. Although Expansionists believed in a threat from the outside world to destroy Fortunan culture economically, they also believed there was a benefit to foreign trade and investment to boost the economy. Working with business elites and remaining aristocrats that survived Lyone's Purge, the Expansionists were able to convince Lyone in 2005 to overhaul the government and implement policies to reboot the economy. Between 2005 and 2012 as the nation saw immense economic growth, the Expansionists would continue gaining traction within the party with many gaining seats within the Elite Chamber, further expanding their control of the UNP. Entering into the 2010s, prominent party members convinced the High Commander that it was time to begin their goal of expansion, starting with the annexation of the Medium Islands in 2012. Due to the success of the Empire's expansion campaigns and the benefits of interaction with the outside world, it allowed for the Expansionists to solidify their control of the party even when Lyone himself was considered an Isolationist. Another main difference between Isolationists and Expansionists is based around national identity. To Isolationists, they again believe in the superiority of the Fortunan people, specifically native humans to the Fortunan Archipelago, and are the only ones who can be truly called Fortunan. Expansionists on the other hand are more lenient in their definition, mainly due to their goal of expanding the nation. In short, Expansionists are willing to consider an individual as a Fortunan as long as they support and practice Fortunan culture, beliefs, ideals, traditions, and openly display their loyalty to the state and the High Commander. This has led to a slowly but noticeable improvement of species rights since the Purification Period, starting with allowing the native vulpine population to become full citizens of the Empire. In 2018, Samuel Merlo became the first vulpine to be chosen to serve as a representative within the Common Chamber. Although they would be considered less radical than the previous generation of party members, prejudice and a sense of superiority still exist among Expansionist party members. The most notable Expansionist within the party is Sarah Locke who is considered the de facto leader of the faction from her position as Second Commander and Secretary of the UNP.