Directory of Cooperative Ascendancy

Directory of Cooperative Ascendancy
General Information
Nation	Ascendant Republic of Cooperative Societies
Headquarters	Vornak Core
Political Position	Left
Ideology	Republican Cooperatism New Ascendant Layer Theory
Persons of Importance
Founders	Council of Ten
Legislation
Legislature Seats	548
Percentage of Seats	100
Historical Information
Founded	86BCE (UTR) 10CE (Independent)
Preceded By	Social Action Party

The Directory of Cooperative Ascendancy, shorthanded by officials to DCA, is the founding and dominant political party of the Ascendant Republic of Cooperative Societies. Initially a far-left organisation, the party in its current form sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum, led by a moderate-reformist alliance. It has been the governing party of ARCS, formerly the Combined Cooperatives, since its establishment. It is led by an Executive Director, who is nominated internally and serves until their death, resignation or removal through a vote of no confidence. The Party meets regularly at Ascendancy Conventions, during which party members and trade unionists vote on party policy and are addressed by the party's Cabinet.

The DCA was founded around 105BCE by the 'Council of Ten' as a far-left, radical offshoot of the Social Action Party in the United Tir Republic. Initially weak electorally, the party began to grow in popularity during the final years of the UTR, eventually forming a coalition government with the declining Social Action Party during the establishment of the Triple Cooperative. It was during this time that the party would begin to visibly split, with the far-left 'centralists' and the centre-left 'moderates' competing for control. In 10CE, as the SAP began to collapse, the DCA overthrew their coalition partners in a coup that led to the proclamation of the Combined Cooperatives of Tir'qa, under a centralist-led communal dictatorship. Many former members of the Social Action Party defected to the DCA, growing the moderate groups creating a third 'reformist' wing. These three factions would come to define the governance and political development of the CCT and later ARCS.

History

Origins

Records of the DCA's founding are heavily classified, and most known facts come from witness testimony that historians consider to be of 'mixed credibility'. It is known that the Party was initially founded by a group of ten members of the Social Action Party, referred to officially as the 'Council of Ten'. The Party was founded under the shared belief that the UTR should function under a collective (known in ARCS as 'cooperative') system, similar to the principles of human Communism. As a result, the 'First Generation Directory', as it would later be referred to by scholars, fell on the far-left of the political spectrum.

The specific date of the party's founding is also unknown, but it was officially recognised as a political party within the UTR in 105BCE. It was initially an unpopular movement, gaining only 2 seats out of a possible 200 in the 102BCE elections, though its size and support increased quickly among the middle and working classes of the UTR. The 97BCE election saw the party rise to 40 seats - an astonishing 2,000% growth in five years. The growth of the DCA can also be attributed to the rapidly declining popularity and power of the Social Action Party, which lost its majority in the UTR Parliament and failed to form a minority government by 96BCE.