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Citizens waiting to vote

In an unexpected turn of events, Delegate Tsunamy withdrew on May 20 his draft of laws, thereby leaving as the sole contender the draft by Sandaoguo's Working Group. In his statement, Tsunamy said that this was "for the ease of the [Great Council]", but left open the possibility of revisiting his drafts should the remaining option fail its impending vote.

As further stated, Sandaoguo and Tsunamy had discussed several changes to the Working Group drafts, including some proposed by the latter. Indeed, several notable changes had been made in the days leading up to the voting phase, presumably the result of such discussions. For example, the Working Group drafts now include language requiring the consent of the gameside community for laws passed by the Assembly, should they affect them; a key aspect of Tsunamy's own drafts. Other changes stemming from public discussion were made as well, such as a provision for the granting of leave for legislators.

Voting began on May 21, and will conclude five days later. Tsunamy's statement was issued a mere 20 hours before voting began - on such short notice that the ballot prepared by Co-Chair Awesomiasa still contained the Tsunamy drafts as an option. This clerical error was mended shortly after. At the time of publication, the polls show the Working Group drafts winning by a 16-1 margin, against the mandatory option of No Change.

ANALYSIS: The Evolution of Regional Roleplay
by Kringalia

While many have at least a basic notion of the complexities of our regional politics, not many know the complexities of our regional roleplay, or how in recent years it has done from a small an inexperienced community to a diverse and intricate community, whose conflicts and interactions have moved towards increasingly realistic and dynamic events, and with that the promise of a more engaging and immersive roleplay experience.

There is no clear date for the start of the current canon, but for the sake of simplicity, let us assume that it started on October 2014, when Sporaltryus declared war on Qvait, due to the attempts of the former to export communist policies to the latter. Soon this turned into a conflict between capitalist and socialist nations, the latter grouped into an organisation that came to be known as the Southern Socialist Union.

As interesting as this was in its time, the downside is that the theme was very common and what was evidently lacking was any kind of background or underlying motivations behind the actions of each nation. To some extent that is understandable: it was the first major event of the canon, participants were mostly inexperienced, and nations had had no previous contact or backstories to justify their actions prior to and during the war, beyond the familiar ideological confrontation.

Much happened in the following months: systems of alliances were formed, nations experienced serious international crises, and bilateral relations were either strengthened or destroyed, all while new nations constantly started getting involved in the international stage. Events like the Consortium War, Ryccian Civil War, the Government Island Summit and so on were key opportunities for each nation to develop its own interests and positions on the different issues that plagued our region, and with that set the stage for their responses to future events.

Today the world faces the Farengeto Civil War, a conflict between President Maximilien Rey, who took power after a military coup, and several rebels groups, many led by the likes of Percy Larue, Murphy Lévêque and Christopher Tatham, former officials who collaborated with Rey only to be subsequently ousted. Apparently a purely internal conflict, the truth is this war is a perfect example of how far our regional roleplay has gone since the days where capitalists fought socialists, for no other reason than their ideological stances.

Instead, discussions at the heart of the Southern Cooperation Organisation, the largest alliance in the region, show serious divisions between members. While some support Rey and accuse the rebels of sabotaging the legitimate government, others are at the very least expressing serious concerns over the continued legitimacy of the Rey regime. In the months since he took power, Rey has made few friends in the international community, something undesirable given the recentness of the intervention in Ryccia for the exact same instability that now plagues Farengeto.

On a deeper level, we can see that interest, not ideology, is what actually dominates the decisions of the various governments in determining their stance towards Rey. Bruuma is rumoured to be materially supporting communist rebels. Karnetvor and Sedunn are prominent voices in asking for negotiations and a government of national unity, naturally out of principle, but also because they lack any close ties with the Rey government, and would likely enjoy similar or closer ties with Farengeto in the event of a rebel victory. In turn, Kringalia has been a strong supporter of Rey, despite generally being a major voice for democratic governance, because they have enjoyed close ties in areas ranging from international diplomacy to space exploration, a relationship that is not guaranteed to continue being as close under a rebel government.

This is by no means an exhaustive study, nor is it meant to be a revolutionary finding. It is simply meant to be a reminder that these changes are taking place, even when we might consider them obvious or overlook them altogether. If these trends continue, it should be safe to assume that we will see an increasingly more dynamic and immersive roleplay experience, where our responses to different situations will be more realistic and, as a result, the roleplay community will continue to thrive.

Note from the Author: hours after this was originally written, Ryccia landed a small military force on the coast of the Federal Union, prompting strong responses from the Southern Cooperation Organisation. In yet another example of the referenced growing dynamism, the previous crisis took a backseat to a more urgent, though completely unexpected, development.

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Despite this region having 17 countries, the Icelandic Police easily took over

Ransei, Icelandic Empire - Despite having no army, Iceland has taken over a region called Ransei. Even when this region has 17 kingdoms, Icelandic Police were able to take over all of them in a single day. Reports say that these kingdoms only had 6 people with Pokémon as a standing army. Icelandic Police just shot them and were able to take control of entire nations.

Soon after, Iceland declared an empire, entire minds blown at such impossible scenario. It is reported that the entire Danish nation exploded upon hearing this.

In other reports, Greeland's happiness levels rose by 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000% and the suicide rate has dropped to -964 654 756 656 305 218%. Greenland's HDI is now 775 475 385 364 376,85, higher than that of any other country on Earth.

OPINION: Regional Affairs - What has been done?
by Punchwood

On the 23rd of February, almost three months ago, I was officially elected Minister of Regional Affairs. After running for the office three times, I had been finally elected on one issue: to bring back life to the Fellowship Programme. And I believe that, to a point, I have accomplished that.

Kris [Kringle] is back in the Ministry as a Deputy, helping things get done in a timely manner. Roavin, who has just been in the Ministry for a month, is already a Deputy and has very much taken control of the Southern Journal, and makes sure it gets published every two weeks, and that there is much more in it than ever before. Ryccia has helped out whenever he can, and has started planning a regional festival. Omega has begun planning the South Pacific Awards. Siberian, who wants to finally get the Radio Project up and running. Plus everyone else in the Ministry who does their bit to help out and get things done. These are the people who have brought, and are bringing, life back to the Fellowship and to the Ministry.

The Southern Journal is now back in motion, releasing new issues on a regular basis, and it has much more content than it has ever had. Resident Spotlights are starting to make their way back and soon we'll have our very first Cabinet's Questions. There is planning going ahead for the South Pacific's very own Award Ceremony, and though I wasn't keen on a regional festival, or even planning for one, that has been going on too. There are experienced players in the Advisory Council, and there is an updated list of jobs for Fellows to work at.

Sure, I haven't done nearly as much as I would have wanted or expected to do. Hell, I thought this job would be easy, and it really isn't. Now I have the utmost respect for all my predecessors. However, I do still believe that my main concern has been dealth with. I can't take all the credit for myself; I don't really think I can take much of it for myself. The real people who have helped get the Ministry working again are the people who work in the Ministry, and I want to give my thanks to all who have worked here before, and especially to those who are working in it now. While the Ministry may not be the great big machine it once was, its engine has started up again, and that can and will lead to many possibilities in the next term, and to all those after it.

Disclaimer: this publication is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Southern Journal or the Ministry of Regional Affairs.