Pemberton Inactivity Crisis

The Pemberton Inactivity Crisis (formerly the Wernher Activity Crisis) was a two month period from July to September 2016 in which governmental, military, and private micronational activity in the Grand Republic of Delvera ground to a near complete halt. The crisis began soon after the 2016 consular election, which saw Casey Pemberton ascend to Delvera’s highest office. The Pemberton administration initially reacted very lethargically and ineffectively to the emerging crisis, leading the consul’s name to be attached to the event.

Contributing factors
Several factors contributed to the crisis, and later commentators have noted that it may have been unfair to assign all of the blame to Consul Pemberton.

General inactivity
Most of the Delveran citizenry had been trending toward inactivity for several months, with the election being one of the few things that kept individuals engaged on any large scale. Once it had ended, a dip in activity was to be expected with no concrete plans in place to fill the void of interest.

Lazy Coup
Pemberton had narrowly won the 2016 election after a week-long deadlock, at which point incumbent Jordan Brizendine conceded the race to break the tie. Pemberton had won the support of Neoshan and Nordenian voters, largely through the efforts of his campaign manager, Dylan Callahan. Callahan had also overturned a 2-1 vote in favor of Brizendine in the Council of Governors because a governor who supported Brizendine had failed to pay his taxes.

Immediately after Pemberton’s victory, Callahan resigned from his post as Supreme Justice and scaled back his involvement in other aspects of Delveran life. This led Brizendine to semi-seriously accuse Callahan of supporting Pemberton in order to make less work for himself, an idea which became known as the “Lazy Coup”.

Collapse of Norden
The Province of Norden, which had formerly been seen as a rising star in Delvera, had been in a steep activity decline for months. It had multiple internal problems, some of which came to light with the resignation of the province’s deputy in May. After an abysmal voter turnout of only 6% in the election, the province finally collapsed in August. It was briefly reconstituted as a military district, but this also collapsed in September.

Devolution of Colo
The Province of Colo had also fallen into decline over the summer months, finally devolving into a territory under Lavrasia’s guardianship in September.

Collapse of Avannia
The Territory of Avannia, originally one of the founding provinces of Delvera and at this point under Lavrasia’s guardianship, was dissolved in September after its governor had been inactive for many months.

Resolution
In early September, the Pemberton administration became more proactive in resolving the crisis. The Delveran Armed Services launched Operation Vicuna and Operation Genesis, the Chamber of Deputies met and passed legislation for the first time since the election, and Delvera opened relations with Austenasia and Karnia-Ruthenia. By 11 September, the crisis was considered to be over, and Delvera entered a period known as the Pemberton (formerly Wernher) Spring. [https://lavradabannerman.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/alls-well-wernher-administration-declares-activity-crisis-resolved/ "All's Well: Wernher Administration Declares Activity Crisis Resolved", the Lavrada Bannerman. 14 September 2016.]

Aftermath
Lingering effects of the crisis lasted for over a month after it officially ended. Between the devolution of Colo on 21 September and the entry of the Province of Neosho on 21 October, Lavrasia was Delvera’s only province.

The reforms of the Pemberton Spring were so successful that they helped to trigger the Hyperactivity Crisis in February 2017.