Frieden

The Frieden movement (German for "Peace") was an influential human political movement in the early- to mid-22nd century, characterized most notably by their opposition to the Koslovics and the United Nations. The movement was and continues to be widely regarded as fascist, though most of its adherents disowned the label and proclaimed their ideology as something entirely novel. Originating from the Jovian Moons, where they also founded the short-lived polity known as the Jovian Autarky, the Frieden clashed with various Earth nations as well as the UN for the control of numerous colonies and outposts across the Sol system throughout the mid-22nd century. The movement's effective defeat came at the close of the Interplanetary War in 2170, which also saw the Frieden ideology banned in all its forms by the nascent United Earth Government, though it survived in a fringe capacity up until the 23rd century.

Overview
An alliance of the Jovian corporate elite and local militant firebrands, the Frieden were a militaristic, authoritarian and corporatist movement which campaigned for self-rule and self-sufficiency for the Jovian colonies. They were founded on expansionism within and eventually without the Jovian system, as well as the unification of said colonies into a single "pan-Jovian" state. This was largely motivated by the uncertain economic situation created by the ZGene crisis, coupled with the startling speed at which the Koslovics gained traction throughout the system. Many colonists felt they could no longer rely on the disparate and largely interdependent economic model the interplanetary had operated up until that point, which on the Jovian Moons manifested as a widespread call for self-sufficiency. Though the idea of the Jovian Moons as a single cultural and economic unit did not strictly originate with the Frieden, they did popularize it, to the point it is considered a part of the movement's cultural legacy to this day.

The Frieden ideology was notoriously opportunistic, and came to emphasize different values over time as the movement grew. Ideologically, the movement was the culmination of early Jovian nationalism, which elevated the colonies' tough and regimented way of life into the centerpiece of the movement's cultural narrative. From early on, they placed a heavy emphasis on their branding and image, adopting a rhetoric that emphasized emancipation from oppression as well as their ultimate goal of peace. A consistent set of uniforms and symbols was adopted as soon as the movement was able to gain control of necessary facilities, as uniformity and the appearance of professionalism were a large part of their image.

While Ganymede and Europa served as the origin point of the ideology and main power base, the Frieden movement spawned numerous independent cells across the Solar system. Even though the Friedenist ideology was not originally meant for adoption outside the Jovian system due to its overt, jingoistic Jovian supremacism, the polarized cultural climate of the era, along with the movement's charismatic image, made many other anti-UN, anti-Koslovic groups follow their example across the Asteroid Belt, Luna, Mars and even Earth itself. These splinter movements were largely welcomed by the Jovian Frieden, even as many of them held them to be inferior to the core group; one example of the movement constantly moving the goalposts as they developed and spread. The disparate cells largely operated in a similar fashion as their Jovian counterparts but most never became as prominent or well-organized; in addition, some of them were undermined by infighting, ideological differences and power struggles. For example, the Frieden cell on Luna was fairly prominent until their fall to an internal dispute between hardliner and reformist factions in 2164. It were such disputes that also led to the movement's eventual demise.

Friedenist society was characterized by ever-present militarism and was heavily regimented amongst a rigid division of roles, and promoted idolization of the state over the individual. Notably, this mindset had a robust basis on the Jovian colonies, many of which had long traditions of everyone doing their part for the good of the colony and being raised to perform certain roles in society from early on. Throughout its existence, the Frieden movement was inextricably linked with the local corporations. While some of the companies (particularly those under majority colonist ownership) supported them until the end, most of their Earth-based supporters eventually backed off with increased pressure from the United Nations, which also sounded the death knell of the movement as a formidable force. Despite their comparatively small numbers, the Frieden's powerful backers, generally high levels of motivation, and the mobilization of disproportionately large elements of society to fuel their expansionist ambitions made them a major threat to the Earth nations. This push was largely accomplished through fearmongering about a Koslovic takeover.

Most Earther interpretations of the Frieden prior to the Jovian Moons Campaign painted them as either extremists or freedom fighters. For a time, they managed to present themselves as a more tolerable alternative to the Koslovics in the eyes of Earth corporations, and even the (largely EU-based) national governments that sponsored colonies on the Galilean moons and the entire Jovian system. It was only after the outbreak of open hostilities with the United Nations in the Jovian Moons Campaign that they openly severed ties with Earth and called for an end to UN power; even then, they retained sympathizers on Earth among those who opposed both the Koslovics and the UN's United Earth project. The Frieden's rhetoric of liberation from the "oppressors of Terra Firma" (as they called the UN and its preeminent states) and fight for independence resonated with some parts of Earth's general population, most of whom had little idea of what actually went on out in the colonies. The rallying cry "We Stand With Peace" became popular among supporters among the general citizenry, often in university circles, though as the movement's violence became increasingly well-publicized, the discourse became polarized among proponents of either the Frieden or the Koslovics; it was fashionable to support one. This was common on Earth at the time; as old national identities had been in a steady decline for over a century, dissident causes were romanticized as they "at least believed in something", and provided a refreshing spectacle for the population. After the fighting came to Earth in the Rainforest Wars, however, much of the public support for the offworld dissidents vanished, and by the time the nascent UNSC began its military and propaganda buildup in 2164, little external support for the Frieden remained.

History
The Frieden movement was one of the first large upwellings of extraterrestrial colonist identity, rising equally from the rootlessness of colonial populations and the weakening of old national cultures in many places of Earth. However, what radicalized the movement and elevated them to widespread popularity was the ZGene crisis and the resulting economic downturn. Various insurgents, opportunists and eventually the Koslovics took advantage of the rapidly-unraveling situation, and the response by both Earth nations and the UN was seen as laughable, particularly out at the Outer Planets. The Frieden saw themselves as agents of order against an encroaching chaos, presenting an alternative in the form of paramilitary death squads to combat the Koslovics or suspected sympathizers.

Numerous paramilitary groups rose to oppose insurgents, rioters and criminals throughout the Solar System in the 2130s and 2140s. Since the mid-2140s, the main target of these groups were the Koslovics, who had risen to a considerable position of preeminence on Mars, sparking fears of further spread. On the Jovian colonies, this trend considerably bolstered the local civic home defense and "night-watch" militias which dated back to the early days of the colonies around Jupiter and were embraced by the Frieden movement as one of their main instruments and fixtures of their martial culture; eventually, even those civic guards which had been unaligned with the Frieden were forcibly folded into the movement. This in turn led to an overall call for increased regimentation and militarization of society.

Initially, these paramilitary groups were internally contentious and often had conflicting goals, with some even being openly hostile to one another. Early on, there was some national or ethnic animus between the colonies on the Jovian Moons, particularly by the original colonists of the region against more recent colonies by other actors, but this rapidly shifted to encompass all who were willing to pledge their loyalty to the movement as their ambitions grew. With that being said, some of the movement's constituent groups only begrudgingly accepted the "watering down" of their original ideas for the sake of the greater threat of the Koslovics.

The Frieden's opposition of the Koslovics gained them the favor of not only large segments of the Jovian population, but also various Earth corporations who saw their interests as being threatened by the "Koslovic menace". The limited response by the UN and the colonies' parent nations to the Koslovic threat saw the corporations turning to other allies for protection - not only PMCs, but the Frieden's increasingly organized and well-motivated paramilitary forces, which, under the leadership of Europan native Nadja Mielke, promised to restore order across the Jovian system. While the Frieden's grand ambitions and anti-Earth tendencies were always known, the Frieden were regarded as the lesser of two evils due to their seeming willingness to cooperate. In exchange, the corporations backed the Frieden both financially and armed them with state-of-the-art equipment over the course of several years.

From there, the situation escalated more rapidly than Earth could respond, particularly with the communication and travel delays to Jupiter. A military coup instated by Mielke saw the Frieden effectively in control of the colony on Europa, from where it expanded its influence across the Jovian system militarily, politically and economically throughout the late 2150s. The various Jovian colonies not aligned with the Frieden were ill-equipped to handle the movement's spread, which soon also took other forms outside Jupiter in the younger colonies around Saturn and across the Asteroid Belt, Luna, and even Earth itself through terrorism, political subversion, information warfare, and paramilitary action. The colonies' Earther parent states were too weak to resist, or they too benefited from the Frieden indirectly; some of the corporations operating near Jupiter had considerable influence in the highest levels of the EU, which may have partly explained the mellow response to the Frieden's rise to power.

After the tide of the Interplanetary War turned in the nascent UNSC's favor, most of the corporations and governments who once backed the Frieden were quick to withdraw their support for the movement in order to preserve their own status. This led to its eventual splintering and demise soon after, leaving only the most hardline ideologues to fight until the end in a final stand around Saturn. Reformist elements within the Jovian Autarky ended up signing the Callisto Treaty with the nascent UEG, and by then the roughest edges of the Frieden ideology had been all but eradicated. Still, vestiges of the movement lingered on for the better part of a century.

The Frieden movement's most notable historical legacy within the UEG has been as a cautionary textbook example against allowing colonies unchecked political and ideological autonomy. The UEG's response to the Insurrection centuries later was due in large part to economic factors coupled with a classical imperialist myopia, but it was also because Earth had very traumatic experiences with colonies being allowed to experiment with their own forms of government.