Constituent States
The Constituent States are integral entities of the Federation, and most of them are the previous institutions that represented the various species of the Milky Way that originated inside the Citadel Space. The concept in itself was born at the beginning of the history of the Federation on Earth, but as the planet itself and the core colonies of humanity became increasingly integrated, they became more commonly known as regions. This name has seen a revival after the Reaper War when the other galactic governments decided to unite under the banner of the Federation.
In order to become a Constituent State, an interstellar nation must satisfy a number of prerequisites. They must have a diversified and relatively sane economy, as every Constituent is expected to provide some kind of resource that is worth the investment. Such state must also have laws that protect the universal rights of sentient beings. The Federation actually doesn't need a state to have a democratic dynamic of power, so long as the universal rights are upheld.
Over the years, the Empress had made sure to build a system of checks and balances between the Constituent States, to make sure that every one of them, even her own people, would be relying on the others for at least one or more strategic areas, ensuring that all States have an interest to support the Federation as a whole.
Obligations
A Constituent State must contribute to a common 'chest', a financial fund administrated by the monarch and the Parliament, usually to kick-start the development of new colonies or to provide emergency relief in case of territories hit by natural disasters or an armed aggression that proved particularly destructive. Of course, it also funds the Systems Alliance. The contribution is negotiated every December, though it usually revolves around 3 or 5% of the GDP.
The Constituent States are also not allowed to have a large standing army, and every warship capable of interstellar travel is destined to the Systems Alliance.
List of States
Aside from the core Human territories, the Imperial Federation is made up as follows:
Turian Hierarchy
By many, the Turians are considered almost on par with the Humans in terms of influence inside the Federation. During the Reaper War, the Federation was able to provide the immense Turian fleet with the weapons necessary to defeat the Reapers, thus managing to save many of Palaven's infrastructures.
As such, the Turians held up their martial tradition and they have pledged their military-industrial complex to the Federation. They made up 60% of all active Systems Alliance personnel and currently the Chief of Staff of the Alliance, Marshall Liminix Tentecari, is a Turian.
The relationship between the Turian and the Federation goes back to the days of the First Covenant War. The Humans had always been grateful to the Turian for bringing the Covenant invasion of Earth to the attention of the Council and making the bulk of the Council's fleet that came to rescue Earth. For their part, the Turians admire the incredible resilience of the Humans, and with the Federation having a strong military tradition, the two states already had a close cooperation in many strategic fields. After the War, the Federation has also extended the Legionnaire Program to the other species, with the Turians being among the first to volunteer.
Asari Republics
After the Reaper War, the Asari lost a lot of influence, as their illegal detention of Prothean technology was uncovered and they lost their technological primacy. However, after then-Princess Benedetta committed the Imperial Navy to the evacuation of Thessia during the Reaper War, saving hundreds of thousands of Asari civilians and Matriarchs, they have sworn to make up for their egoism, and they still had many talents to offer, such as in diplomacy.
The Asari, with their unique ability to easily charm any known sentient species in the universe form the bulk of the diplomatic corp of the Federation and many serve the Empress as Emissaries. Asari diplomats are often called in to resolve regional disputes and their economy had quickly recovered after the war, providing a considerable portion of the annual budget of the Federation.
While they rely on the Federation for defense of their space, which is at the frontier with the unstable Terminus Systems, the Asari still provide the Systems Alliance with their dreaded Commandos, Huntresses and even Justicars as special forces and Black Ops.
Salarian Union
For many years after the Reaper War, the Salarians suffered distrust from the other species because of their selfish behavior at the start of the war. The only elements of redemption were the Special Task Group, who still sided with grand coalition despite the Dalatrass of Sur'Kesh refused to cooperate after the cure of the Genophage. In the last weeks of the war, the Dalatrass was ousted from power and the Union did pledge its entire arsenal for the final victory, but their initial refusal to help the galaxy in the most desperate hour severely damaged their reputation.
Even though there were some who advocated for the Salarians to be left out of the new united galaxy, Benedetta welcomed them with open arms, and the Salarians have from then on become loyal allies of the Empress.
The Salarian provide an important percentage of the R&D of the Federation and the STG has been integrated into the MI6, the federal information agency that focuses on external threats.
Volus Council Board
While being previously a protectorate of the Turian Hierarchy, the Volus have now become full members of the Federation and of the galactic government. Their natural ability with economics have made them the pumping heart of federal economy, as their major intellectuals helped unify the Component States around a single currency, the Federal Crown, and the central bank is mostly handled by Volus.
The Volus provide most of the tertiary of the federal and imperial economy. They pay one of the highest contributions to the Systems Alliance (12%) even though their space is relatively safe, at the moment, as they want to make sure that the Alliance will be able to keep any danger well out of the borders and away from their homeworld of Irune.
Batarian Protectorate
Once fierce enemies of the Humans, the Batarians are now a shadow of their former selves, being the first victims of the Reaper invasion in 2186. In just a year, the machines had killed and processed billions of Batarians, and even when the war was over, their space was never liberated by the coalition and only the use of the Crucible put an end to their genocide.
Still, the Federation did provide the Batarian resistance with supplies and evacuated civilians any time it could afford it. What was left of their fleet fought loyally for the Coalition at the Battle of Earth and working alongside the rest of the galaxy after decades of isolation gave the Batarians a new perception on their possible role in the galaxy.
Differently from its precedent government, the Protectorate has completely abolished slavery and instituted one of the major social safety nets of the Milky Way. The Batarians have become one of the major supporters of the Federation but they are cautious when the chance of integrating a new species come around.
Elcor Assembly
The Elcor came out of the Reaper War as another species with catastrophic losses. Most of their population lived on the homeworld Dekuuna, which the coalition had been unable to defend and only managed to evacuate a few hundred thousands of specimen and most of the small military.
As such, the Elcor have been focused on repopulating their ranks, with a generous financial help from the Federation. In exchange, they sell the rare resources of their homeworld to the federal government at very convenient prices and some Elcor still volunteer for the Systems Alliance. The Assembly provides a strong and reliable workforce for some of the great projects of the Federation.
Hanar Primacy
Before the Reaper War, the Hanars were pretty much insignificant on the galactic stage. They had loads of Prothean technology that they didn't want to use or share because of their religious reverence for them.
However, since Commander Shepard saved their homeworld from becoming defenseless during the war, the Hanar had from that point on understood how fragile their position in the galaxy is and, especially under the influence of Javik, the last known Prothean alive, they have started to share the many Prothean beacons and artifacts with the Federation, boosting the overall technological ascendancy of the Milky Way.
The Drell population of Kahje is often employed for undercover operation outside of the Federation's borders, but it has also benefited of the new technological discoveries as one Salarian scientific team, supported by the Empress herself, found a cure for the Kepral Syndrome in 2193, improving the life expectancy and the reproduction rate of the Drell.
Krogan Clans
Before the Reaper War, the Krogans were slowly dying because of the Genophage, and few would have ever thought of seeing them integrated in the galactic community, but that actually happened.
Under the leadership of Urdnot Wrex the Krogans had started a slow process of unification that was accelerated with the arrival of the Reapers. When Princess Benedetta personally took part in the cure for the Genophage, and with her already being a friend of Wrex, after the War the Krogans pledged their allegiance to the Federation.
They didn't become a Constituent until 2199, though, as some extremists still wanted to wage war against the galaxy and opposed Wrex's rule. Refusing the help of the Federation, Wrex still managed to subdue the last oppositions, thanks in no small part to the influence of the female clans, who completely isolated the rebels until they finally accepted the new path set for the Krogan people.
Today, the females are the one sending diplomatic representation to the Citadel, while many males eagerly join the Systems Alliance and become the fearsome shock-troops of the Federation.
