Regional Relationships
Being a Foreign Affairs Expert
Written by Kuramia
"One of the most complicated parts of foreign affairs is understanding and articulating what is in a region's interest, and how to achieve those ends – with military power or without it," says Cerian Quilor, a former citizen who was charged by the then President of Europeia, Mousebumples, to define Independence as it correlates to Europeia. This is not only one of the most complicated parts of foreign affairs, it also the core of why foreign affairs exists. Ignorance of another region's best interests causes a foreign affairs system to crumble, leaving a region like Europeia isolated. Without a solid foreign affairs system, Europeia is a region whose ideologies are narcissistic, whose military is neutered, and whose future is implosion.
The question of why a region should even have a foreign affairs systems is one asked constantly. One reason is more philosophical than anything else: the simple fact that nothing truly alone can exist to its fullest potential. Indeed, this is the main argument against xenophobia in real life governments. As Pascal Salin states in his book Competition, Coordination and Diversity, "Whenever two individuals are different, trade between them is possible and profitable. By 'different', one means either that their abilities[...]or their tastes and preferences[...]are different." It should be obvious that the trade of what one region is lacking with what another region excels at is only going to benefit both regions. Without a foreign affairs system, Europeia, and any region, lacks the means in which to conduct such trade. Not only can foreign affairs be profitable for our region, it can also mimic real life politics and be fun. Perusing the Gameside forums on NationStates is an entertaining way to pass the time by learning the ins and outs of some of the more infamous nations and regions in the game. It is also a great way to take regional pride in not only our military aiding our allies, but also in the World Assembly clout we have developed after much time building power as a region. Europeia could be xenophobic, but it would not profit us and just not be as fun as being a xenophile. Rach, the Queen of Balder, states that Europeia "...will strive to be open to discussion and diplomacy with any reasonable region, be they invader, defender, independent, or any other applicable descriptor."
When it comes to ideologies, Europeia has taken the solid stance of Independence. While the meaning of this word is clear, the use of it when it concerns NationStates lends a different weight. Independence in NationStates terms means taking neither a Raider or Defender stance. While a region can raid or defend as an Independent, they do not do such with a moral stance or act for the sake of acting or for fun. Being an Independent means that no region, even Europeia, can or will dictate how another region governs itself. It sets the military slightly apart to work on its own terms, separate from any ideologies and yet still connected. Cerian Quilor explains that the Independent region doesn't "[...]want to defend out of some grand moral reason, nor do they want to raid for its own sake, or for fun." Being an Independent region also means that regions are free to govern themselves as they see fit. We can ally with a Raider, Defender, or Imperialist region and conduct reasonable relations with them on the terms that they respect our own freedom to govern ourselves as we see fit. Cerian rightly points out that we "...do not support strong-arm tactics to either keep or force regions into any alliance or organization." Stating this, we also believe in being a Defender of Sovereignty. We will use our military to defend others of their sovereign right to govern themselves if required. Rach further states that we "...make stands and take risks where necessary to promote and defend the Europeian interest."
We make those stands and take those risks with our military, which is only made powerful through the use of our alliances. We have a strong military and a wise leader, but we are truly made more powerless by any loss of our allies. Without all of our militaries working together, the regions that are solely created to be Raider and Defender, whose entire member-base consists of Nations that work the gameside of NationStates, we would find ourselves sorely outnumbered in little time. We would be unable to offer anything substantial to potential allies and would be forced to live alone in our ideological bubble, making it largely ineffective. Our ideology would become merely words on the screen, and nothing we could prove was worthy of becoming a shared experience with other regions in NationStates. Those who disagreed with our ideologies, who wished to play the game by breaking forums or condoned hate speech would only grow stronger without our voice to fight against their flawed beliefs. Our military is truly necessary to the NationStates spectrum as a whole, policing it and keeping the game fun and a little more drama-free.
In the end, the future of Europeia depends on our foreign affairs system being in place, let alone being comprehensive, with knowledgeable people ready to make key decisions and maintain the ever-important aspect of communication with our allies. It is important that we understand when we must speak up because they are allied with us and our militaries are their militaries and vice versa, and when to become silent because "We simply do not know what is going on in that region." as Notolecta stated in Notty Talk 11. We cannot do nothing however. Even if we decide to take no stance, in stating that we take no stance we have done something. We are creating ripples in the surface of our foreign affairs system, and indeed in all of the NationStates gameside. As we look at our allies to see what they are saying and doing, so they look at us and might become influenced by our decisions or lack thereof. If we stated nothing, we would cause our allies and the rest of NationStates to wonder if we are even still active. We would certainly enter the drama-filled rumor mill of the gameside forums of NationStates as infamous and famous nations tried to infer what our silence could possibly mean. While such an action might benefit us if we had a reason, Europeia should not make a habit of keeping silent during every bustle of activity that happens with our allied regions. As Common Sense Politics commented on his own Mixlr chat, "We haven't done enough."
As a region, Europeia needs to not only maintain its foreign affairs system, but we need to expand it. We need to understand our allies, to know their needs and desires so that we can not only reach to them in their time or needs, but know what we can offer them in our times of need. The trade of information, tactics, policies and procedures, and even governmental structure can only lend new ideas into our own system. Even portions or pieces of an ally's own systems may spark a new resurgence of activity and passion in our own system, foreign affairs or otherwise. Without our foreign affairs experts, Europeia will fail as a region that can impact the NationStates gameside with force of ideology, military might, or even World Assembly power. Now, more than ever, it is important that we acknowledge the tantamount role foreign affairs has on our region and on all of NationStates, and indeed even on us as individuals.
