Assarism

Assarism, sometimes referred to as Restorationism, is the ideology of the Haksar Restorationist Club and later of the restorationist dayashafir, Husrak h’Assar Ha-Qayyet, and his followers. Proponents of Assarism are called Assarites or Restorationists.

The terms Restorationist and Restorationism have been used in a wide variety of senses, originally designating a member of the Haksar Restorationist Club, a revolutionary faction within Haksarad that comprised both nobility and peasantry and was active during the late Interregnum (1811-1898). The club was initially rather, and ranged in membership from those advocating for a to those advocating for a , though they were united by their strong  and.

With the coronation of Husrak h’Assar Ha-Qayyet, however, his name became synonymous with Restorationism, which, now more commonly called Assarism, came to denote support for the Restored Dayashafirate and the Restoration War. After the Haksar defeat in the First World War, an Assarite was one who desired the reinstitution of the monarchy under the House h’Assar.

In the modern day, although they are still sometimes used to mean support for the House h’Assar in particular, the terms Assarism and Restorationism have become more flexible terms, generally referring to, , and. Assarites are advocates for  and  around a.

Assarism dominated conservative intellectual circles in Haksarad until the advent of !Lionism in the 1940s, and has seen a resurgence since the early 2000s. It has also often been used by others in the Manuak and Jarader world, usually to mean Pan-Manuakism or Dayashafrianism.

Definitions
Assarism and Restorationism have been used generally to describe authoritarianism,, and , largely due to the extreme developments in the ideology from its inception in the late 19th century to its contemporary form. While it once designated monarchism, it has now had many other Deep-Buff ideas appended to it, which have since become core parts of the philosophy. Additionally, contemporary Assarism is often split into two categories: the more traditionally conservative, hierarchical and elitist form; and the more radical and populist form. However, the line between these two branches is ill-defined and hard to determine, and no widely accepted term distinction exists, with some referring to the former as Restorationism and the latter as Assarism, and others referring to the former as Classical Assarism and the latter as Popular Assarism. Classical Assarism more closely resembles the ideology of h’Assar himself, and rejects many of the modern aspects of Popular Assarism, in particular its cult of youth and action, seeing it as unrestrained and unvirtuous.

Position in the political spectrum
Most scholars place Assarism in the Deep-Buff of the political spectrum, focusing on its traditional and its opposition to democracy. Assarism is generally considered to be an economically agnostic ideology, though many Assarites of the 21st century have married their Deep-Buff vision of society and state to a or even  economic philosophy. While Assarites have traditionally considered themselves Buffists, many contemporary Assarites now claim the ideology to be a between Buff and Blue, a truth that transcends political labels. Additionally, modern Assarite movements often draw upon Blue organizational tactics, in particular a version of the of Revivalism adapted to fit their Assarite ideas.

Tenets
While Assarism is sometimes dismissed as reactionary conservatism or a more radical form of run-of-the-mill monarchism, it has a deep history of philosophical development and defined tenets that make it a distinct ideology.

Nationalism
Romantic and a historical and international paranoia based on Jarader cosmology and scripture are foundational to Assarite ideology. Believing that mankind are essentially fallen angels sent to conquer the inherently evil world in the name of God, and that man is free to choose between the All-Good Light and the All-Evil Dark, Assarites hold their enemies to have sided with evil. They view themselves as holy warriors combating an existential and deeply spiritual threat that they often portray as controlling most of the world.

In order to resist this threat, Assarism seeks to reduce the individual in order to increase the collective. Little time should be spent concerned with private matters; all should be done in the interest of the nation. In order to achieve this, Assarites seek to promote national unity through education and propaganda campaigns, and to increase communal association through compulsory ceremonies and religious participation. There is a strong focus on H’Ejrad as the defining feature of Haksar Manuak culture, and many Assarites favor some degree of.

20th century Assarite philosopher Qerid Turmad defined the nation as “one people, saluting one flag, kneeling to one man, praying to one God.” Assarite notions of the nation make little if any reference to heritage, and are largely modeled on a romanticized version of the historical Haksar Dayashafirates. Assarism holds Jarader Manuak to be a sort of superior superculture, capable of assimilating—and thereby perfecting—other cultures, without eradicating their unique customs and traditions, so long as they are in accordance with H’Ejrad; “Under the Final Dayashafirate, all peoples will pray to our God, but they will kneel to their own rulers, who will in turn kneel to ours.”

Another important aspect of Assarite nationalism is its Pan-Manuakism and Dayashafrianism. Assarites support the creation of a single Pan-Manuak state, and then a single Pan-Jarader state. Internationally, the term Assarite is often used to refer to any Pan-Manuak politician, and it is one of the most common uses of the term.

Paternalistic authoritarianism
Assarism is an authoritarian and autocratic ideology, and vehemently opposes democracy. It rejects the notion that freedom of expression and diversity of thought are good things, instead enshrining ideological homogeneity as a necessary foundation for a nation. Assarites view the spiritual nation as the mother and its citizens as her children, and believe that this family must have a father. In the words of h’Assar himself: "“It is not right for a nation to be ruled by many, nor for it to be ruled by one for only a short time. For when many rule at once, they will only function as well as the least of them, if not worse; and they will be quicker to tyrannize the people, as responsibility is divided up amongst the members of the council. And when one rules only for a period of so many years before another election is held, he will be quicker to tyrannize the people, as he is only responsible for a short period; the nation is not his, it is just his turn, and soon it will be another’s. It is not right for a house to have many debauched lechers in it at once, for they have no duties to the household, and will together excel in their abuses far beyond what any one man could accomplish; nor is it right for a house to have many ill-intentioned suitors come through one at a time, each defiling the mother and neglecting the children, failing to fulfill any of the duties of a proper man of the house. No, it is right for one father, who properly understands his duties and cherishes his family deeply, to rule over his wife and children, who submit to him in love. It is right for a nation to have a monarch, to whom the whole of the nation belongs, so that he should cherish it and understand his duties.”"

Assarites believe that no council or term-serving official can have the same vested interest in the welfare of the nation as a single ruler who reigns for life, who should be seen as the father of the nation. This view of ruler as father also extends to Assarite attitudes toward civil liberties, seeing it as the right of the ruler to restrict the freedom of his subjects in their best interests, as a father forbids his children from doing that which will cause them harm.

This paternalism can also be seen in the Assarite preservation of, but with a stressed notion that the natural aristocracy has a duty to its people, built on the idea of the. Assarism posits that “ is a luxury afforded only to those with none for whom they are responsible” and that “it is a burden to be great.”

Age and gender roles
While a major component of neither the ideology of the original Restorationists nor of h’Assar himself, an emphasis on has come to be an important part of Assarism, related to its idealization of, energy and movement. This development is also partially the result of a rise in Assarism among Haksar youth since the 1970s and the perceived stagnation of the older generations. Additionally, H’Ejrad has traditionally placed an incredible deal of importance on childbearing and rearing, which was then exaggerated by Assarites.

As an inherently Jarader ideology, Assarism affirms strict adherence to defined gender roles. While Assarite thinkers often place a great deal of value on the role of the woman, it is only when she remains in her place and carries out her proper function as manager of the home and the children. Both masculinity and femininity are rigidly defined, and the perfect masculine and feminine models deified as prototypical humanity. Men are to be authoritative, dangerous, energetic, dignified, strong and courageous; women are to be deferential, compassionate, patient, elegant, prudent and faithful. Women are seen as the masters of the home, men as the masters of all outside the home. Women should cook, clean, manage finances and raise their children; men should go out and explore and conquer. Contemporary Assarism often criticizes, claiming that it is the result of a materialistic society that views career as the sole determinant of success. According to 21st century Assarite writer Gohek Beldun, “Women have been convinced that it is oppressive to submit to their husbands, but liberating to submit to their bosses.”

Assarism simultaneously derides sexuality and exalts it. It condemns, , , and , but promotes  at a young age and holds strongly to the idea of the. Assarism upholds sex as an ideal, but one that must be simple, unadulterated and pure; to the Assarite, sex is sacred, and to violate Jarader social norms surrounding it is to desecrate a holy thing.

Although they believe that women should be at home with their children, and hold the primary responsibility for raising them, Assarism also places a significant emphasis on the role of the community in socializing children properly, and molding them into proper agents of the nation. Beldun has called it “an abuse not to bring up one’s children in the temple.”

Palingenesis and tradition
Assarites think that, for the nation to achieve, man must be guided by the of H’Ejrad and of the culture in which one lives. Speaking of Haksar Jarader tradition, h’Assar called it “the consensus of the saints and angels.” Assarites believe that tradition is the result of generations of trial and error, cultivation of virtue and striving to be good; while Assarites believe traditions can be changed and improved, they think a culture should be allowed to evolve naturally over time so long as it is working, and suddenly and violently redirected when its evolution has turned toward its decline.

Assarite language makes heavy use of references to a desire to recreate some bygone golden age, to restore the nation to what it once was; at the same time, it often expresses itself as a new and revolutionary idea. The reactionary language often used by Assarites rarely calls for a return to a particular historical time, instead describing some abstract spiritual predecessor, sometimes directly referencing the Jarader idea of the turnings and the world of light. Rather than an actual return to the past, it seems to appeal to the of the nation itself; its perfect imagining; its preexistent essence. The phrase “nostalgia for a time that’s never been” is a recurring one in Assarite literature.

Turmad said that “to regain what we have lost, we must become something completely new.” While the ideology tirelessly invokes the past, it is far from idle or wistful. It inundates its followers with the knowledge that “if [they] wish to see [their] nation exalted in heaven and on earth once more, [they] will have to become a race so beautifully fierce, so violently romantic that [they] are worthy to call [themselves] its defenders.” Assarism glorifies action and violence. It views virility as the driving force of all other virtues, by which it is guided. However, many Assarite thinkers assert that “inaction is a greater sin than wrong action carried out madly.”

While Assarite appeals to the past in regards to nationalism are often vague and abstract, its appeals to the past in regards to social issues and culture, on the contrary, are concrete and firmly real. While it has always been socially conservative, post-WWI Assarism became staunchly so in the face of changing opinions across the world, which they believe sought to radically alter Jarader Manuak culture.