How does the Advisory Board work?

[Ninja_Squirrel]

This is a spoiler to anyone who hasn't seen season 5 or the last few episodes of season 4...



How does the Advisory Board to the Alliance work?

I would assume it to be a very important part of the alliance, and it makes sense to have representives from Minbar, Centauri Prime, and Narn on the Board. However, it does seem strange that one member of the Board is the high ranking government official of his own race and destined to become the emperor and that another also happens to be First Lady to the president and head of the rangers at the same time. That would seem to be a lot of overlapping responsibilities, and for Londo possibly even a conflict of interests.

Second, if it is so important, it also seems strange that Londo was able to be gone for so long, taking care of the sovereign interests of his own people. And, by having G'Kar, once again a high-ranking official, take on the role of bodyguard, that leaves only one third of the Board on B5. With Delenn also being the President's wife, you'd think that would form a strong bias of power toward one married couple, almost making Sheridan and Delenn like a king and queen, rather than politicians.

Lastly, after the Centauri break away from the Alliance and Londo becomes emperor and after G'Kar leaves because of his unwanted religious icon status, that only leaves Delenn again. They never really discuss getting replacements for Londo and G'Kar, but I would think the Advisory Board would need to continue. Would representatives from other races be elected or appointed to the Board? If so, who would qualify? The Narn and Drazi ought to be in trouble with Sheridan for trashing Centauri Prime\. If not, I guess Ta'Lon could always take G'Kar's place on the Board. I would guess the Brakiri might work out okay, but I find it hard to imagine a Pak'ma'ra, Llort, or Gaim being on the Board. A Hyach, maybe, but with their race dying out, they have problems of their own too.

Don't get me wrong. I know that for story-telling purposes, the main characters needed to be in the limelight, and therefore, in the important positions. Plus, the Alliance is young enough that it's understandable if they have to work out these problems as they go along. However, from a logic standpoint, it just seems like Delenn, Londo, and to a certain extent, G'Kar all have way too many overlapping responsibilities. Then, when they're gone, it's as if they weren't really needed in the first place.

I would just like to think that if there had been a sixth season, it would have explained how the structure of the Alliance leadership was balanced out. With Sheridan as President and former war hero and with Delenn as Advisory Board member, Ranger One, and First Lady all at the same time, it seems like Sheridan and Delenn have too much power between just the two of them. In the future, sometime before 2281, they basically just switch places, which shows they were still powerful, although apparently, also very well trusted.

 

[GKarsEye]

I think it was implied that Talon would act on the advisory board, effectively assuming G'Kar's duties.

Sheridan and Delenn were a little like a king and queen, and were treated as such as the Shadow war reached its climax. I think despite the infighting of the other worlds, they did come to trust them very much.

So basically for a couple of years the League/Alliance wasn't playing by the rules. But then neither was the Grey Council, EarthGov, etc.

 

[KoshFan]

Yes, Delenn and Sheridan are essentially running the IA. Considering the kinks in the system and the crises the fledgeling alliance is facing, I don't think any IA backers really objected. Sheridan and Delenn are, at this point, highly respected -- and, as we see in "Deconstruction," on their way to near-divine status.

Once past the initial Centauri crisis, and once the IA was moved off to Tuzanor, things probably started to balance out. But even still, there may simply have been the problem that the myriad races simply didn't trust anyone else. Sheridan and Delenn had come through for them, time and time again. Sheridan may have wanted to retire long before he actually did, for example, but it's entirely possible that he didn't have a choice... and when he finally got away, the other races immediately tapped Delenn, because they didn't trust anyone else.

Delenn's major task after Sheridan's departure, I would suspect, would be making sure the IA could now grow on its own, without the Big Two leading. Of course, Ivanova -- another Shadow War veteran, and probably thus also highly respected -- is at that point Ranger One, so continuity is still maintained... but weaning the IA off its founders is a major and important task. I wouldn't mind seeing a story set about one generation down, with Delenn in seclusion and everyone else dead and gone.

 

[Ninja_Squirrel]

I agree; they obviously didn't trust anyone else, or at least not enough to give anyone else a try. I think you're also right that the Alliance would eventually have to be weaned off of the founding individuals.

Even Ivanova is "old" when she takes the position of Ranger One. She's still young enough to have 2 or 3 good decades, but in the galactic scheme of things, that's not a long time, especially since two decades wasn't enough to wean them off of Sheridan & Delenn.

I guess David Sheridan could have taken over as President and/or Ranger One at some point, since he's the next generation. Ta'Lon (if he's young enough) and Mary Garibaldi are other possibilities too. However, you can't count on children or protege's to following in their elders' footsteps all the time, and eventually, the old crew would die off and you'd have to elect somebody fresh.

Would it be another Human or Minbari, or after a few years, would the other races mature enough that it could be a Narn, Drazi, Brakiri, Hyach, Gaim, Llort, Pak'Ma'Ra, Abbai, Grome, or Yolu? After Vir gets the Centauri back on track, would the other races trust a Centauri for a high position?

Who knows? Granted, I know these questions don't have answers, but I find it interesting to ponder the possibilities.