Stratocracy

Stratocracy is an authoritarian ideology based around the idea that the military is the only government that can ensure stability within a given country or nation. He doesn't fall anywhere on the cultural or economic axis, as many regimes under him have differed in these respects. However, many stratocratic governments have been heavily influenced by other authoritarian ideologies such as Authoritarian Capitalism,  Marxism–Leninism, and even less authoritarian ideologies such as  Neoliberalism, and  Neoconservatism. Stratocracies do not have to have a de jure military official at its head to be a stratocracy, but rather a de facto military leader have strong influence over or leadership over a nation's government.

Europe
The first known major example of a Stratocracy in Europe would be the Diarchy of Sparta. In Sparta, life was rigid and focused on a military hierarchy. The de jure heads of the Spartan state were kings of the Agiad and Europontid dynasties. They were de facto military dictators who led Spartan armies in battle during war times.

Another notable example of stratocratic rule was the late Roman Republic and  Roman Empire. The Marian Reforms of the 1st Century B.C.E laid the groundwork for stratocratic rule as soldiers became more loyal to their generals rather than to the Republic. This then culminated in Caesar's Roman Civil War in which 2 generals, Gaius Julius Caesar, and Pompey the Great, had de facto military control over each side of the war. By the rule of Augustus, Roman Emperors were cemented as military generals. This is especially seen in 69 AD, or the year of four emperors, where numerous military generals successfully seized control of the Empire from one another before a winner came out on top. This is also seen in the Crisis of the 3rd Century and the Tetrarchy Civil Wars, where military rulers gained control over large swaths of the Empire.

Stratocratic control would also be cemented under the successor of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire). By the middle of the Empire's lifespan, a system of governance called a Theme was established where military generals were given local plots of land from which they could raise armies to defend the Empire. Beyond this, Byzantine Emperors were also military leaders. The most notable example of this was the 1071 Battle of Manzikert, where Romanos IV was captured by the Seljuk Turks. Another notable example of this would be the 1453 Siege of Constantinople, where Konstantinos XI supposedly charged with his soldiers at the Ottoman forces, never to be seen again.

In the remnants of the Western Roman Empire, Feudalism would overtake Stratocratic Imperialism as the dominant ideology. Despite this, there are a few examples of Stratocratic governance in Western-influenced regions: the Teutonic Order in Prussia was a militaristic, stratocized society aimed at driving heathens out of Prussia; The Knights of Rhodes and Malta were a similar order aimed at driving heathens out of the Jerusalem area; the Kingdom of Prussia was famously regarded as, "an army with a state," by Voltaire; and the Nationalist Regime of Francisco Franco saw a somewhat ideological Stratocratic state come into power.

East Asia
Asia has had a long and varied history with Stratocratic governments. Arguably, some of the earliest examples of Stratocracies existed in the numerous warlord states of inter-dynasty China. During these times, local military authorities rose up to attempt to take over the entirety of China, before moving on to bureaucratic Confucian monarchies after their victory. These types of warlord eras would continue in China up until the Republic of China under the  Kuomintang unified the country in 1928.

Within China's cultural sphere of influence, Japan has also experienced numerous Stratocracies over its history. The first example of this was the Ashikaga Shogunate. However, the Sengoku Period would end this single Stratocratic government in favor of numerous, competing governments (similar to the warring states periods in China).The Sengoku Period would end with the Tokugawa Shogunate taking control. The type of Stratocracy in Japan was different than other parts of the world in that it had a decentralized, Feudal hierarchy. After the fall of the Shogunate following the Meiji Restoration, Stratocratic control would return with the introduction of the Toseiha faction of the army into politics. The Toseiha would rule Japan until its capitulation in 1945, ending Stratocratic governance.

Latin America
In Post-Columbian America, Stratocratic governments would appear as the institutions the Spanish set up crumbled.

Viceroyalty of New Spain
In Mexico, military juntas led by Santa Anna would rule Mexico until the 1860s, when the  French would invade and set up the Second Mexican Empire. After the French were ousted, general Daniel Cosío Villegas would stage a coup in 1876 and take power, ruling until the Mexican Revolution in 1911.

Guatemala had a troubled history after gain independence from Spain, Mexico, and the Central American Federation, yet no military dictatorship would arise until Rafael Carrera declared himself "President for life" in 1854. His successor would continue such a trend until 1871, although military leaders would continue to have an active role in politics until 1920. In 1954, the United Fruit Company, with the aid of the US government, overthrew the Guatemalan government and established a military dictatorship. This led to a period of massive instability, followed by an eventual return to democracy in 1986.

In Honduras, the first notable military government to came to power was in 1963, and lasted until 1979. During this time, the infamous "Football War occurred between Honduras and El Salvador. After the transition to democracy in 1979, Honduras would have no military dictatorships.

El Salvador would be under military dictatorship or a military-"guided" democracy from 1898 until 1992. During this time, numerous coups, juntas, and even a civil war occurred.

Nicaragua had quite a few military dictatorships throughout it's existence, which even includes a full fledged military occupation by the US Marines. After this, military dictators, the largest of whom being the Somoza Family, would rule over Nicaragua. A civil war between a group known as the Contras and the Nicaraguan government terrorized the country from the 1960s to 1990.

Costa Rica has been Central America's most stable country. It only had one military junta from 1919 to 1917 led by General Federico Tinoco Granados, and one 44 day civil war, with democracy in the country dating back to 1948.

Viceroyalty of New Granada
In the region formerly known of New Granada, military dictatorships led by Simón Bolívar would be established in the new states of Gran Colombia,  Peru, and  Bolivia. While this control was short-lived, it would set a precedent of military control over these countries.

Within what would eventually become the modern nation of Colombia, no national military dictatorship would emerge. While no strongman was able to successfully take over the country, it had gone through numerous civil wars to avoid this fate.

In the modern nation of Venezuela, immediately after the fall of Gran Colombia, an oligarchic military state led by General Jose Antonio Páez ruled the nation. An oligarchic republic would rule the nation until Julián Castro couped the government. This led to a civil war in which Páez took back the country. It then became a federal, democratic state. There would be numerous military dictatorships after the transition to federalism, eventually culminating in the ascendency of Hugo Chávez in 1999.

Ecuador suffered the worst period of instability out of the 4 Gran Colombian nations after independence. Following Ecuadoran independence, Ecuador had numerous military dictators starting with General Juan José Flores. This ended following the Liberal Revolution of 1895. After this, various unstable governments rules Ecuador until a coup in 1972 under General Guillermo Rodríguez. Ecuador would reinstate democracy in 1979.

Viceroyalty of Peru
Peru was also mainly stable after their war for independence, with the first military coup occurring in 1948, by Manuel A. Odría. His successor was overthrown in 1968, in which General Juan Velasco Alvarado took control of the country. He was deposed in 1975, after which the new government underwent a transition to democracy.

Bolivia, after securing independence, a revolving door of pseudo-stratocratic presidencies would culminate in the War of the Pacific, in which Bolivia lost its coastline. No Stratocratic governments would cement themselves until 1964, where another revolving door of military dictators would rule the country until 1993.

Chile faced relative stability after achieving independence. However, a coup in 1924 introduced a period of military dictatorships until 1931, when Chile became democratic again. In 1973, Augusto Pinochet deposed sitting president Salvador Allende in a military coup, bringing in one of the most famous Latin American dictatorships, under which Pinochet implemented free market reforms and brutally cracked down on the opposition. Pinochet would willingly give up power in 1990.

Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata
Another confederation of Latin American nations, the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata would take control over the former Viceroyalty and promptly collapse, splitting the region into numerous nations.

Argentina, while not politically stable, did remain without Stratocratic governance until 1930. In that year, José Félix Uriburu seized control of the country. Argentina would then be ruled by pseudo-democracy and military dictatorship led by Arturo Rawson until the rise of Perón

While Paraguay was a  dictatorship immediately after independence, it was not ruled by the military. In 1840, a military junta would come to power and numerous juntas would rule the nation until 1841, when the Lopez family took control. Paraguay would remain democratic after the Paraguayan War. In 1954, General Alfredo Stroessner couped the government and ruled until 1989. Paraguay would remain democratic to this day.

Uruguay remained largely stable after independence with Brazilian support. In 1973, a "Civillian-Military Regime" led by Juan María Bordaberry would come into power. The regime would transition to democracy in 1984, as it has remained to the present.

Personality and Behaviour
Stratocracy is a dog. Stratocracy operates in 3 phases in order to gain power because of this limitation.

During phase one, Stratocracy will attempt to gain the trust of a victim playmate. If sufficient trust is gained, Stratocracy will attempt to influence its victim playmate's decisions until the victim playmate becomes nothing more than a puppet of Stratocracy, beginning phase 2. If the victim playmate refuses to be coerced by Stratocracy, it will attempt to attain the support of another playmate (mostly Neoliberalism and  Neoconservatism) in an attempt to "liberate" their victim playmate.

During phase 2, Stratocracy has full control of their victim playmate, and/or support of a preexisting playmate. During this phase, Stratocracy will ensure its victim playmate takes actions that directly benefit it. This includes buying dog food, killing other victim playmates, and buying AR-15s. The sudden change in personality may alert other playmates, however.

If enough suspicion is drawn upon Stratocracy, it will sever its tie to the former victim playmate, and begin at phase 1 with another victim playmate. The only playmate invulnerable to the phases is Kakistocracy, but they generally do what Stratocracy wants of its own accord, anyway.

Do not feed.

How to Draw
Stratocracy_flag.svg
 * 1) Draw a ball,
 * 2) Draw the treads, hull, and cannon of a tank in grey (#373737),
 * 3) Fill in the rest of the ball with dark green (#4c8300),
 * 4) (Optional) Add ears and a tail,
 * 5) Add the eyes and you're done!

Friends

 * [[File:Imp.png]] Imperialism - Woof woof *pant* *wags tail*
 * [[File:Neoliberal-icon.png]] Neoliberalism - Woof woof! *pant* *wags tail*
 * [[File:Necon.png]] Neoconservatism - Woof woof! *pant* *wags tail*
 * [[File:Corp.png]] Corporatocracy - purrrrrrrr...
 * [[File:Kak.png]] Kakistocracy - *gets petted* *wags tail*
 * [[File:Libfem.png]] Liberal Feminism - *pant* *pant* Arf! *pant* *pant* yummy peanut butter

Frenemies

 * [[File:ML.png]] Marxism–Leninism - BARK! grrrrrrrrr...
 * [[File:Authcap.png]] Authoritarian-Capitalism - [[File:Pinochet.png]] BARK! grrrrrrrrr...

Enemies

 * [[File:Dem.png]] Democracy - *snarl* ARF! ARF!
 * [[File:Nazi.png]] National Socialism - GRRRRRRRR! BARK!

Wikipedia

 * Stratocracy
 * Military Junta
 * Militarism
 * Military Dictatorship