He Has The Least Understood Job. We Talked To Him.
Minister of Communications HEM had a lengthy sit-down interview with DEIA Director and Foreign Affairs Advisor, Kazaman. This interview goes straight at the heart, giving readers an inside look at the thoughts and feelings of the man holding Europeia's least understood role.
Written by HEM
HEM (left) interviews Kazaman (right) [generated using AI]
HEM: Hey Kazaman, thanks for joining me here today! It's interesting, looking back, you're one of the oldest Europeians and oldest NSers in the region. While you've taken some breaks over the years, I'd love to start the interview with a pretty basic question: What has kept you around?!
Kazaman: Thanks for inviting me.
Even when I took a longer break from NS, I'd find myself idly reflecting on the game in my spare time. It fascinates me, and you could put a positive or negative spin on that: once you reach a certain level of experience in the global politics of the game, it becomes fulfilling ... or addictive ... again, take your pick of descriptors. What has especially fascinated me about the game, even from my earliest years, was the depth of the world's history and unique ideologies, and I think that's what's driven me to come back again and again, finding my place in that history and trying to shape it.
HEM: I don't want to get too lost down memory lane here, but we both participated in a lot of the same regions in our early days of NS. Most of those regions aren't around today, or have had several periods of great re-invention (the LKE for example). What do you think Europeia has done to stick around?
Kazaman: Many players core to the dead regions you mentioned decided to make Europeia home, I guess myself included! They could have chosen somewhere else, and then history would be very different for us. But our region became a natural place for the talent of that fading imperialist sphere to concentrate itself, where it later evolved into independence. That group of dedicated veterans, plus a large number of eager natives, are what made Europeia successful in my mind.
HEM: Moving a little bit closer to the present, right now you serve as Foreign Affairs Advisor and DEIA. These are two roles (especially the later) that aren't always historically understood in the region. How does it feel to operate in these roles where there is naturally a little bit of confusion or even skepticism?
Kazaman: I think every NS democracy has an awkward juggling act with these roles, because on the one hand they're associated with knowledge and influence (some of the things people are climbing the political ladder to get) and on the other hand they're highly sensitive roles and there's always a difficult balance between democratic oversight and maintaining a wall for people abroad trying to peer in. Sometimes I have a very hard time finding that balance, and end up erring in both directions (too much disclosure, not enough).
HEM: You took on the DEIA role in 2021 after the retirement of NES. It was a tough conversation with the Senate, and with the region at-large, whether NES' shoes could be filled. Maybe one of the most scrutinized hearings in recent memory! How did it feel to be compared to NES and knowing a lot of people had doubts about your ability to step into that role?
Kazaman: NES is a legend in the game and in our region, so the questions made sense in that light, I could understand why they were being asked. From a practical standpoint, though, it was definitely a bit frustrating. Ultimately anybody can do intelligence work if they have the patience to learn the methods over a span of time, and so aside from the secrecy and trust aspects of the role, it's not all that different from becoming involved in other areas of NS. But to address the public's point of view, it makes sense that it would be mystified, that the EIA was just NES' natural talent or magic touch, and that having a new person after so many years would raise questions.
HEM: This might be a tough question to answer without going too deep into your work, but in the past year-and-a-half, do you think the EIA has changed significantly under your tenure vs. NES's?
Kazaman: Depends what you mean by "significantly," and by that I mean which sorts of changes you'd think are important. So I'll say, yes and no.
HEM: Hahahahahahahaha! I guess, framed another way, with a year-and-a-half in the role, do you feel comfortable in the position?
Kazaman: I do yes. Frustrations with the public process aside (and my predecessor had those too, stretching back many years), I think I've hit a stride in the work.
HEM: I would love to dive into that piece a little bit more. Like I mentioned before, your role in many ways confounds the public. This is just my opinion but, as a region, I feel we are often very inward-looking on domestic affairs, and the importance of what goes on beyond our shores often seems diminished. How do you process pushback when you get it, and how hard is it to balance the need for oversight in a democratic system with the basic realities of collecting information being a sensitive thing?
Kazaman: I'd agree with your opinion. Euro is in a bit of a foreign policy renaissance compared to the almost isolationist recent past, but even now in the middle of a large interregional controversy the balance is toward being inward-looking.
The balance is incredibly difficult, though. Ultimately anything I say creates a record, so when questions come to me about sensitive material, I have to decide where I'm prepared to risk a leak, or whether I'd prefer an angry Senate instead. Sometimes I get a two for one deal on that I guess. But the outlook I try to have is that I'm here to be Euro's eyes and ears in the underground of the game, and occasionally it's important for people in more open roles to be read into part of the picture that they aren't seeing. The tricky part is that people don't always like what I have to share, or think I'm holding too much back, or something similar to those complaints ... and reading them far enough in to understand why I stop sharing at a certain point is impossible.
HEM: Obviously, all the conversation around oversight aside, the DEIA answers to the President. Do you ever worry about working with a President who orders you to handle the office or duties in a specific way that you feel doesn't respect that balance?
Kazaman: I guess there are two ways to interpret that question. On the one hand, legally the EIA has a statutory mandate and so doesn't operate under the same rules as, say, the EBC, the ERN or Interior, where the President can essentially order anything. Read in a very limited way, my duty to the President is to inform them of security risks. The task of gathering and interpreting intelligence is left to me, otherwise. So the safety of our intelligence isn't really a concern.
But of course the job of DEIA is largely premised on having a good working relationship with the President, so in that sense it could pose problems, if the hypothetical came true, in that I couldn't effectively inform and advise the government. I can't say this has been much of a practical concern thus far, though.
HEM: Changing tact, this whole recent foreign affairs brouhaha with The Rejected Realms brought up the question of "how much" we should trust our foreign policy and executive policymakers in the region. As someone who was involved in decision-making and negotiating by being Foreign Affairs Advisor, how did that conversation strike you?
Kazaman: "Wild" is the first word that comes to mind. I'm not even sure whether to call it a conversation, maybe some parts of it were, but it felt more like a force of nature. That's a feeling I'm sure many older players are familiar with, and it has its parallels with IRL politics too. Things have generally calmed down now, though, and I think Europeia has weathered the storm. Now we're just focused on making a course for home, which in this analogy would be finding a new sense of normality and stability.
HEM: Let's say tomorrow, the roles were reversed. You were no longer in the EAAC, the executive, or DEIA and instead were Speaker of the Senate. What kind of things would you consider as it pertained to maintaining needed oversight?
Kazaman: Great question. Earlier I spoke about the difficult balance I have to strike, but the Speaker has a similar one of their own between allowing the government to do its job unobstructed while also ensuring their decisions have democratic accountability. A private briefing of some kind was definitely warranted, but I think I would have held it toward the end of any talks, or afterward, rather than in the thick of things. There's a fine line between oversight and trying to man the wheel with too many hands. Even if you think the government is doing a poor job, things can only get worse by trying to add domestic pressure for alternate courses of action in the midst of it all. That sort of action from a legislature, in order to function smoothly in times of crisis, would require a fundamentally different constitution and set of advisory bodies than we currently have.
I view the Senate's role in the current system as an objective voice for the People. They are an institution separate from the government that, in virtue of being a small professional body empowered by our law, can provide a different perspective on the issue from the government. Whether they reassure the People or not depends on the case and on what the Senate finds, so I don't think they have an emotional support role per se, but they are able to help the public process and make sense of events like this, without worries of slant by being involved in the decisions personally. Another reason to avoid trying to steer the ship at the same time.
HEM: Thanks for laying all that out, super interesting. Phew, okay, let's get some fun questions in. First, a broad one! Is there anything about you (either in-game or OOC!) that you think most people don't know what you'd like to share?
Kazaman: Hm tough question actually. I enjoy the social aspect of the game a lot more than people probably think.
HEM: Hahahaha maybe all of us old farts do! Speaking of, any advice for new members getting started?
Kazaman: NS can be a ruthless game on many levels, but if you stay true to yourself and your principles, there's nothing to truly fear. Be careful who you trust, but when you find trustworthy people make sure to foster those relationships in good faith, and never take them for granted.
HEM: Final question: I know you and NES share a birthday. What would you peg the odds at that you are both the same person?
Kazaman: No comment
HEM: Hmmm!!!! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me, Kazaman.
