The Asterichós Agora
Few lessons have truly been learned in the long term, even on the galactic scale, but one that has been to some degree is that war is costly. In people, in materials, in power. Whatever is held dear, war will take.
To this end, and with the ruins of many garden worlds on their hands, early members of the galactic community made the sagacious decision to try and talk out their problems instead of reaching for the knives the moment hands were freed from shaking others. Thus, the Asterichós, or Cosmic, Agora was born.
A transnational attempt at light handed governance that seeks to try and coax the many different parties across the galaxy off the path to mass violence. A task that is herculean, even in the most stable of times.
Ostensibly, the Agora does not control it's member governments, simply acting as a facilitator for politics on the galactic square. On paper, that's all it is. In reality, the Agora is an accretion of power within the galaxy. Anyone may join, but not everyone throws enough weight around to be... heeded, at least not immediately. It seems politics, even alien politics, is a game of favors. If you cannot accrue said favors to grease the wheels of action, then you must wait. Or you must find something someone wants.
While all species are invited to join the Agora if they so choose, there are a few governments (often not the 'official' governments of a species) that deny the Agora any authority at all and refuse to join. This is often done as a sort of statement towards a governments independence, and is accompanied by many words asserting the Agora's corruption and and lack of support, of course.
In reality, it's often taken as a good sign that a particular government or organization is not on the level.
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