In the Limelight
The Importance of Being Visible
An Op-ed by Maowi
Visibility. Transparency. Accountability.
Terms like these are tossed about with almost casual regularity in discussions, in debates, and sometimes even in everyday conversation - often interchangeably, and perhaps to such an extent that their significance has been blunted by overuse. But each of them comes with a very precise meaning and set of implications which are crucial to the way the executive side of our government functions. What they all have in common is an element of communication and of accessibility, both of which are by necessity at the very core of Europeia - our forum-based corner of NationStates.
Visibility comes, I think, in two layers, speaking in terms of the executive government here in Europeia. The first is what I would call transparency - it concerns the region-wide audience, and has a very functional purpose: keeping the region informed on your executive efforts, and reassuring them that your administration is in fact being effective and productive. This is key to general public contentment and satisfaction, which should be the minimum an administration should strive to achieve: a term in which the citizenry becomes anxious about and disapproving of the regional government is certainly not a successful one, whether these sentiments arise due to failure to communicate or an actual downturn in activity or quality of governance. Indeed, this is where visibility becomes essential to accountability, acting as a gateway of sorts. Thorough visibility and transparency allow the public and the Senate to exercise oversight precisely where necessary, opening constructive discussions on topics of interest instead of constantly having to press for information and clarification; where there is a lack of visibility, more active accountability measures have to kick in, lowering the administration's reputation by forcing a certain defensiveness where cooperation is not forthcoming (although the public attention often serves to benefit activity in the concerned department, as evinced by the boom in recruitment following the intense scrutiny on Brí Shakespeare in his role as minister of recruitment).
The second type of visibility goes above and beyond that somewhat passive sense of the word, beyond mere transparency. You're not just providing updates on your activity within your executive role; you're taking the initiative to voice your opinion, to start debates, to stimulate substantive discussion. Because that is essentially at the heart of NationStates' and particularly Europeia's existence, and it's what refreshes and breathes life into the community. This level of visibility is also absolutely vital for propelling your career through the government, particularly in terms of the legislature and higher executive offices (first minister and chief of state). It shows you have the ideas and the investment in the region necessary to fulfill a role of responsibility with proper deliberation and passion - that is, that you really do care.
It's easy to talk in abstractions, but the far more relevant discussion to be had is how visibility manifests itself in practice. The second, dynamic kind of visibility only realistically matters when directed at others who are also to some extent invested in the community, and these are the people who tend to be active in various ministries and councils. So for most areas of executive government, little conscious effort needs to be made towards visibility in order to achieve political success; being a diligent and positive presence in the department reveals your zeal to others involved there, and the results of your work speak for themselves to the rest. The Ministries of Communications and Radio are all about producing content for digestion by citizens at large; the Ministry of Culture's main task is exactly that of engaging the region; manual recruitment reports are publically available to anyone wishing to view them, and are customarily announced on a roughly weekly basis by the first minister or relevant minister (although the regularity of these reports is admittedly patchy); the Council of World Assembly Affairs regularly produces information for voters on resolutions at vote; and the grand admiral often publishes reports on the Europeian Republican Navy's latest operations. As long as the leaders themselves of these departments are pushing for visibility, as those with the responsibility and the motivation to do so, junior ministers and councillors just need to demonstrate commitment and a readiness to work hard.
Less noticeable to the average forum-going Europeian is the work of the Council of Foreign Affairs and the Europeian External Content Team, the products of which tend by nature to be distributed everywhere across NationStates but Europeia. Equally if not more hidden are integration efforts: they are targeted at the newest faces available, rather than the experienced, already involved members, and the work is often quite isolated, with fellow integrators rarely needing to collaborate. There is thus no way of obtaining visibility in those areas without the respective councillor or minister having the enterprise to actively increase their department's prominence. This very concern was raised by Whitmark during Astrellan's first term as minister of integration, albeit in a needlessly aggressive and accusatory manner; the subject was subsequently broached in a more constructive way by HEM and responded to positively by Astrellan. The Ministry of Integration was a perfect example of an area of government in which an active effort towards visibility was absolutely necessary, given the very small number of people involved in the ministry and its inherent distance from the nerve centre of the region.
Junior ministers or councillors in these under-the-radar spheres of Europeia need not despair, however. The region is equipped with a wonderful tool at our disposal to ensure those deserving recognition for their hard work do not miss out on it: awards. Aside from the feeling of fulfillment they provide and the decorative value they add to our forum signatures, awards such as Sapphire Stars and those handed out by the first minister and the chief of state can have hugely significant political effects. They bring tangible proof of a junior minister, deputy minister, or minister's dedication to their job and commitment to putting in the effort for the benefit of the whole region, even when this was hidden to the vast majority of citizens. Upon receiving an award, a nobody could become a somebody - particularly from the more reclusive ministries such as Interior - and that promise of being able to reap an earned reward is very important for attracting, retaining, and motivating citizens to put in real work.
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