The Kelownan Parliamentary Democracy
In the wake of Anubis' attempted invasion of Langara and the revelation of the existence of the Stargate, it was decided that a planet-wide policy was needed to deal with the issue of the Stargate's use and to create a unified extraterrestrial policy. Jonas Quinn was one of the first councillors and was instrumental in establishing the form of the Council, but he quickly grew frustrated with the bickering and infighting and resigned his seat, first to undertake naquadria research and later to take charge of the fledgling SEG.
One Councillor, one Ambassador and three Ministers Plenipotentiary represent each of the 'Big Three' governments. The smaller nations of Langara are each permitted an Ambassador and a Minister Plenipotentiary. In addition, a vast array of civil servants, clerks, chargés d'affairs and other diplomats are kept busy wrangling the details of Council legislation and producing redraft after redraft of any motion to be put to the vote.
The Inner Council consists of the three Councillors and is responsible for setting the overall policy for the JRC. The minimal legislative capacity of the body is fulfilled by the Councillors and Ministers Plenipotentiary, who form the Main Council. The Main Council receives depositions from the national Ambassadors and votes on all measures proposed by the Inner Council. The three Councillors do not usually cast a vote, but they have the responsibility of breaking any deadlock.
Notionally, all member states fall under the overall jurisdiction of the JRC, although it is something of a toothless dog as yet and this rule is therefore observed more in the breaking than in the keeping. Despite efforts by Jonas Quinn, the JRC also lacks centralised funding, which means that all members of the Council are not only unelected, but remain in the sole employ of their patron governments.
In the aftermath of Anubis' attack and the overzealous pursuit of naquadria, much of the planet is in a state of uproar. Cities lie in ruins, communications have yet to be restored to many outlying regions and in places the dead are still being counted. As a result, the governments of Langara have turned the bulk of their efforts - and committed the bulk of their funding - to the reconstruction of their world.
The first step of reconstruction is the stabilisation of the current situation. Military forces and emergency services across Langara have been mobilised to search strike zones for survivors, make damaged buildings safe - or demolish them - and conduct a massive census or the remaining population. Basic medical care and transport services, usually by air, are organised to locations cut off by war damage and portable radio towers are set up as a stop-gap communications network.
Once these basics are in place, work can commence on repairing the roads and railways and restoring the industrial and agricultural infrastructure which is currently, in the words of Minister Plenipotentiary Élite Daras Nied, 'shot all to goddamn buggery'. Although there is no serious shortage of staple foods - Anubis' attacks primarily targeted population centres, not farms - distribution is difficult and luxury goods are in short supply.
Rationing is now in place for all non-essential supplies and on staple goods in areas where distribution is especially difficult. This has been, as always, an unpopular measure, but propaganda campaigns across the planet have begun, playing up the values of civic duty and encouraging frugality and an attitude of make-do-and-mend. After years of cold war, these programmes were all in place and ready to roll out and the operation has been swift and efficient, but this has not made them any more welcome.
The Stargate programme is seen as a possible way out of some of the problems of reconstruction. Alien technology which could aid in transportation, communication or surveying is at a premium, but it is also seen as an important matter of morale. With the arrival of actual aliens, the existence of the Gate was revealed so as to present the public with the impression that the powers that be possess some means of fighting the Goa'uld menace. The control of the Gate and its use has since become a key issue in regard to national and international morale and prestige, fuelling the desire of each nation to gain the upper hand.
The SEG is just a part of a wider programme to protect the planet from further invasion. The militaries of the world are hard at work on basic space craft, defence satellites, rocket batteries, superguns and even more outlandish projects to see off a future Goa'uld assault. Some of these efforts are controlled and coordinated by the JRC, but the bulk of the research is being conducted by representatives of the 'big three' governments, each striving for a bargaining chip to put them on top of the heap.
In light of the drive to develop powerful defence technologies, naquadria has become the most valuable commodity on the planet - closely followed by naquadah - especially in light of its limited availability. Although the process by which naquadria is created from naquadah is now understood in its basic principles, the deliberate instigation of a Nq:Qr reaction is forbidden by the Naquadria Research and Proliferation Treaty of 10382AH, one of the JRC's first Ordnances. Breach of the Treaty is punishable by the removal of all naquadria stocks by troops under JRC jurisdiction. In effect, this would by likely to lead to a resurgence of planetary hostilities.
One of the goals of the SEG is to locate a suitable barren world on which to establish an international centre for naquadria research. A lesser priority has been given to finding an second world suitable for the establishment of a Nq:Qr reactor. This second world would have to be free from any naquadah reserves to avoid the danger of an uncontrolled chain reaction.