Opinion: Disclosing Foreign Affiliations can be Problematic







Opinion: Disclosing Foreign Affiliations can be Problematic
Written by Dax




(June 6, 2019) - On May 20, Senator Rand made a post in the Senate regarding officials to share their foreign affiliations for both Senate confirmed positions and elected positions. The idea was initially met with discussion about how relevant this would be both to most positions, and how useful overall.

Disclosing a citizen’s foreign affiliations is nothing new in Europeia since its one of the very first questions fresh members address when applying for citizenship, but after some experience in NationStates, that answer is bound to change. However, should this small piece of information be the deciding factor for whether or not the candidate gets the job? For higher foreign affairs positions such as the Chief of State it makes more sense to take this into consideration, but it seems absurd to consider foreign affiliations for offices such as senate positions due to the senate being a legislative position rather than being geared toward foreign affairs in much of any way other than electing a Chief of State.

Senator Prim brought up the potential danger of this proposal stating that “We have seen a few individuals in here being stalked or harassed by other individuals in NS. If they were forced to disclose all of their active memberships, they could easily be followed and stalked in these other regions as well.” This is a point commonly argued over throughout the discussion of the proposal both inside and outside of the senate. However, in NationStates, when a player is being harassed in multiple regions it can prove to be a more difficult task to deal with for the administration involved to deal with this problem.

Overall, this amendment doesn’t seem necessary when it comes down to it. Not only does it open doors to harassment, but imagine how easily anyone could lie about this information. We truly have no way to check their answers other than if they accidentally reveal the truth themselves.

 
I'm not sure the Senate being included has much to do with a security issue, DH. I think the argument is that it's not needed because the Senate rarely deals with FA concerns so knowing their affiliations has little to do with their aptitude in their job. I concur with that line of reasoning.

As for HEM's words, yes I'm one of those who wants to be sympathetic. This stands out to me though:

Ultimately, this game is opt-in. And if as a member, you are in a place where you would fear for your safety by continuing to play, then I would say you should opt-out.
If you feel so strongly about a game's ic gameplay that you fear your ooc wellbeing, don't sacrifice it for a game! I have been in that situation, and it took me far too long to leave that toxic environment. You can find other things to enjoy. Things that do not present a real threat to you. Please keep your safety above the concerns you might have for a game. The game means nothing compared to you.
 
I think the counterargument to the frequency argument is pretty simple: when the Senate does engage in FA, it is in such a substantial way by ratifying treaties that shape, guide, and form the bedrock of our overall regional foreign policy that such an easy and simple disclosure is much more reasonable to include than not include. Think of all the most important treaties our region has signed that form the basis of our foreign policy to this day. Choosing the CoS is also a very, very substantial part of FA. There's simply no minimizing the Senate role in that. And really, when you think about how often the Senate will choose the CoS, or ratify any kind of treaty or international agreement, I think the Senate's activity in FA probably isn't as infrequent as is made out to be.

And that's what it comes down to: it is much more reasonable to include the Senate than to exclude them. Some of the other positions, yeah, probably not necessary. But the Senate plays a fundamental role in FA, and even though the frequency may be lesser than compared to the CoS, its importance shouldn't be diminished. Given the lack of harm in disclosing, we really should include the Senate.
 
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Everyone is free to have their own opinions, but I'm confident that the compromise agreement that a majority of Senators seem to be onboard for is a good starting point. If people in the future feel that more positions should be mandated, they can do so; but I'm hesitant to start off with a huge collection of mandated offices when we don't know what impact the legislation will have on our politics. While I'm sure it's not going to be a huge one, I think the right approach is what we're doing now: mandating the most important offices on a day-to-day level with opt-in to observe what impact it has on our politics. After the next rotation of elections for various offices we'll be able to better observe what the policy actually does, and if the determination is made at that time by the Citizens through the Citizens' Assembly, or the Senate, that more offices should be mandated, that will be up to them.
 
Regardless of our differences of opinion, I appreciate your willingness to engage in meaningful debate and not resort to profanity. This is how political debate should take place, and I hope that the region will continue to do so in such a way.
 
Regardless of our differences of opinion, I appreciate your willingness to engage in meaningful debate and not resort to profanity. This is how political debate should take place, and I hope that the region will continue to do so in such a way.
^^ This. There have been too many examples of discussion breaking down into jabs and personal slights rather than discussing what's on the table. Even if you both still don't share the same opinion, it's been great to see how the debate evolved and I have definitely watched it to help myself make an informed decision.
 
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