@Palmyrene
Define "unit".
The smallest unit is a clan. However each layer has its own. So basically whatever the construction unit of that layer is.
And who does the council consist of?
Representatives.
Elected ones.
It's in the term layers of representation.
And collective power is still power.
What now you're against power existing in general?
You do realize that could never happen right?
What are the duties that a dynasty must fulfill.
Primarily:
1- Organizing relations inside the tribe (basically diplomats so there isn't any conflicts between the various clans, branches, bloodlines, etc)
2- Foreign relations (with other states, nations, tribes).
3- Leading the army when at full war.
Though the key functions are the first two. (EDIT: Not as simple of a task as it may look from outside)
Who removes them?
The council that put them there.
Are you speaking for your own tribe or tribes as a whole?
My tribe.
You started by asking about my own tribe didn't you?
And what do you mean by manage it?
It means he\she manages the money and his\her reward is part of the generated returns.
Do you mean that tribes operate like corporations?
Not all of it. Groups more accurately.
Companies and businesses are established to generate profit for the treasuries and to fund all sorts of things.
This can be done on any level. A clan leader can expend some of the tax money to be invested in order to increase revenues. A branch leader (elected by a council of clan leaders), bloodline leader, etc.
Investments generally can and are done on any level.
That ofcourse doesn't mean private property doesn't exist, I have a private business. But if someone wants to skip the troubles at the early stages, he\she can just ask for investment or work in an already existing one.
The levels of this practice vary between tribes, but in my tribe, it's the norm, which is why if you looked at the Iranian, Central Asian, and eastern European and Russian economy, our investments are all over the place.
Not absolute political power, just a good enough position to influence politics. That's all.
Yea, but I don't need to. All the safety net programs I want are already in place.
Our semi-non-interventionists and inactivity are a good thing since it allows us to grow economically without having to constantly be in the way or having others in our way, so that's good.
And the inactivity of my tribe allows much greater autonomy and freedom for everyone (inside of it atleast) which is great.
And most tribes in the middle east are already in this non-interventionist out of the way trend this century and are focusing on growing economically. Though, the degrees of success varies.
Only on a local level do the votes matter.
Sure, but you're governed on a local level.
The queen doesn't intervene in our affairs.
This type of decentralization has existed with us for the past 3000 years or so, and there is a reason why it lasted so long.
When autonomy and freedom is guarenteed, no one will try to overthrow the system.
Now, sure, there is competition to who gets the higher ranks, simply because many want the prestige and rewards, but it's political competition, so not bad.
So you agree with whatever policies your clan has?
At the moment, yea, our way of life is good.
The safety nets are good.
The law is loose where it's essentially you're free to do whatever you want as long as you don't harm others.
(laws are made and applied locally (based on who's in the area), so this isn't done by one clan, it's by all the clans in the area)
And the lack of pressure from above and the distance from the center makes it even better.
That's not the reason why I said that. My implication is that, at a certain level, kinship matters more than merit.
On what level?
Dynasties you mean?
If a dynasty is elected to reign, then that dynasty has duties to fulfill (all its members have those duties) and it organizes among itself how to manage those duties.
They get extra perks (financially speaking) if they manage to please everyone and stay in power, and that's ok because that's what the job is.
1. The state defense forces?
The tribe's defense force. i.e. our army.
2. The actual Lebanese legal system?
The tribe's courts.
That big building in the inner city of Baalbek, that's the court where the council is.
You work your way up in there.
You definitely didn't say this in our prior interaction.
I did. I gave you the general structure of a tribe.
This time I just elaborated on my tribe specifically.
But all tribes are constructed in a similar structure and layers. With minor variations caused by the size of each tribe.
In my tribe, since it has had several mergers (with other tribes, it's a very old tribe), it has a couple of extra layers of councils and representatives.