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A Guide to Getting Involved in Politics in the South Pacific - Seraph - 01-28-2017 So, you’re interested in getting involved in politics in the South Pacific, or perhaps you just want to know some more about it. Perhaps the very idea of regional politics leaves you completely baffled and more than a bit overwhelmed. If any of those things are even slightly true, then this guide is for you.
Ok, so what exactly is Regional Politics, then? Is it some sort of Roleplay thing? Well, it’s not surprising you should ask that. That is, after all, what a lot of people think Regional Politics in NationStates is, but the community actually uses a very different term for it than Roleplay. Instead, they use the term ‘Gameplay’. Gameplay in NationStates covers a whole range of things, and whilst you might assume it generally means the core mechanics of the game - dealing with issues, and so on - it is more commonly used to refer to the more emergent elements of the game which the developers have capitalised on in a big way since the game opened in 2003. These, generally, have nothing to do with answering issues, or even, necessarily, the idea of you playing a nation at all. Instead, they focus on World Assembly proposals and votes, endorsements and a whole range of inter- and intra-regional politics, often taking place in off-site forums. Whilst many Gameplayers past and present have adopted a persona or character for these actions, many come entirely as they are. Unlike roleplay, gameplay doesn’t require pretense, because there are actual game mechanics which allow its moves to be played out and, in the case of regional politics, actual votes which get actual candidates elected to actual roles with actual powers they can actually carry out to the benefit (or detriment) of the region. So, how does this work in the South Pacific, then? The Coalition of the South Pacific (the formal/political name of the government of the region) is one of the oldest democracies in NationStates, as we can date the founding of the Coalition and its government back to June 2003. It hasn’t always taken the same form and reforms and amendments and shake-ups have occurred numerous times throughout the past decade and a half. Currently, the Coalition is defined by its Charter, in which all our elected positions are defined and from which all our laws ultimate emanate. The government consists of a Prime Minister (PM), who is our Head of Government and who oversees the executive decision-making body of the Coalition, the Cabinet. The Cabinet consists of the PM plus the Minister of Regional Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Military Affairs. As well as the Cabinet, the government of the South Pacific also has the Assembly, which is the primary legislative body of the Coalition, led by the Chair of the Assembly and consisting of those nations who have registered as legislators and meet all the requirements to remain as one. Both the Cabinet and the Assembly have their offices primarily on the region’s offsite forums, although much discussion now takes place in dedicated channels on the South Pacific Discord server. On-site the government has the position of the Delegate, who serves as our head of state and as an advisor to the Cabinet, as well as the Local Council, who serve to moderate the on-site community and represent their opinions in the Assembly. But, what do all these officials actually do? To some extent the easiest way to find out is just to spend some time observing them all, but basically the government functions, as a whole, as a series of debates around our Charter and laws (which may or may not result in amendments to be voted on) and actions that follow from those laws. Individually, the roles vary tremendously, however, and can be moulded by the personalities of those who are voted into them, just as the Charter and Laws are amended over time by the interplay between elected officials and legislators. I’ll break those roles down in a bit more detail for you:
So, what is the best way to get into Regional Politics? There are probably as many routes into NS politics as there are people who get involved, but there are a few obvious paths that you could take:
Anything else? Not really, just get out there and start trying things out. Dip your toe into TSP’s political community and you may soon find yourself as addicted to it as the rest of us! |