LOOKING BACK
A LOOK AT THE POLICIES THAT DEFINED MY DELEGACY AND THE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM IT

A month from now will mark the fourth anniversary of my election as Delegate of the South Pacific. I find it incredible that so much time has passed since I had the honour to serve in such a leading role, and even more incredible that more time has passed between then and now, than between then and the time I first joined NationStates. In the years since my delegacy much has happened, both to me personally and to the region, so I find this to be an excellent opportunity to look back on the policies that I advocated, the projects I started, and assess how they have withstood the test of time, and to consider if I have any regrets or should acknowledge any mistakes or failings from my time as Delegate.

There is much to be said about any delegacy, and since have a natural interest in being thorough about mine, this reflection will consist of five chapters to be posted over the course of the following four weeks, culminating with a general reflection of my time as Delegate, what I learned from it and my views of the region today, given what happened during my delegacy. I consider this to be an exciting project, an opportunity to highlight what I believe I got right, acknowledge where I was wrong, and give due credit to those who served in the Cabinet during my delegacy, and who played an instrumental role in pushing forward the vision we all shared of an open, more dynamic, active, and friendlier region. I hope this will be as illustrating to the reader as it may be for me.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

Reply

CHAPTER I
LIFTING THOR’S HAMMER – WAS I WORTHY?

Originally, I had little ambitions for higher office, or at least I was unsure that I had the necessary qualifications and political support to obtain it. As I confided Escade in August 2013, I had a vague hope of running for Chair of the Assembly that December, mainly because it seemed like an easy office to hold, requiring little in the way of prior experience. Instead, she nominated me for Minister of Foreign Affairs, and after a short reflection, I decided to accept.

I should be upfront about my lack of experience, a point that I’ve already made a few times in the past, but still bears repeating. I was completely lacking in foreign affairs experience, to the point that I had absolutely no idea of what a GCR was. I felt lost when more experienced members talked of “UDL relations” and felt that I had little to contribute in terms of prior experience or foreign affairs knowledge. What I did bring to the table was a fresh new outlook, a perspective devoid of prejudices or preconceived views about the state of our foreign policy, and therefore able to make honest assessments about how we should engage our partners and other regions.

Balancing Fresh Outlooks

To this day, I still don’t know how much of a good thing a fresh new outlook is. It certainly has its benefits, which I outlined above, but there are some important drawbacks that make it a risk; that is something that I have experienced in later years, as I see newer members implement policies that, while not inherently wrong, are different from the ones I would want to push forward.

I would say that fresh new outlooks are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they do provide a clean perspective on issues, lacking in prejudices that can tank an honest discussion on changes that may be needed to keep the region from stagnation. There are times when long-held views need to give way to new perspectives, and that doesn’t happen if all views adhere to the prevailing orthodoxy, and remain closed to new possibilities. In that sense, a fresh new outlook can be positive, and even instrumental in helping move the region forward.

On the other hand, a fresh new outlook can often ignore the reasons why an orthodoxy is such, and risk bringing back policies and practices that had a good reason for being rejected. Some regions are simply bad partners, who cannot be trusted to engage in good faith. Some activities are just too complex to develop or will not gain widespread acceptance. In those situations, more experienced members know that bringing those back would simply be a waste of time that could be better invested in other activities that have more potential to succeed.

I believe that both are needed, and both need to have a healthy respect for each out. A newcomer brings much energy and innovation to government, but they also need to listen to the considerable experience of older members, who have been there and done that. They know what it’s like to run things, and can provide valuable perspective to the table. At the same time, older members need to realise when things aren’t working, or are in need of a change, or even when a change, even if not sorely needed, would not be at all harmful. In those cases, they would benefit from listening to a newer generation, which will eventually inherit the reins of government anyway, so they can work together to implement the good ideas that they both have.

Deciding to Run

I served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for a full term under Belschaft. Overall, I would say this was a valuable experience, and I consider myself lucky to have served under him. I go into more detail later in this chapter about why I consider my experience there valuable, but let me say for now that I gained valuable skills in terms of administering a government agency, understanding the realities of citizen involvement, and learning how to deal with foreign governments. Obviously, that comes along with the inherent value of being part of the Cabinet, and learning how executive business is conducted in that context.

This serves to make the point that I was elected Vice Delegate in December 2013 with considerably more experience than I had four months earlier. I had fully staffed the Foreign Service, trimmed down our number of embassies abroad, negotiated a Non-Aggression Pact with the People’s Republic of Lazarus and helped Escade organise our successful bid to host the 2013 NationStates World Fair. I knew more about what it took to lead the region, and was eager to help Escade implement our vision of a region whose motto was “friendship and cooperation”.

It was difficult then when I logged into IRC on Christmas Eve 2013 to see that Escade had been accused of secretly being Neenee, which meant her impending assumption of the gameside delegacy had been delayed while the Committee for State Security investigated the claim. This was a trying time, and I tried my best to let Escade know that this would pass, and that there was no reason for her to resign so early in her term. In my mind I kept wondering if I wasn’t a fool for insisting that she stay, thinking that this was a unique opportunity for me to become Delegate. That is a rather devious and selfish thought, but there it was nonetheless.

I convinced myself that this was not the right thing to do, and the rest is history: Escade went on to have a successful term as Delegate, which laid the groundwork for many of the policies that permeated my two terms in the delegacy, and even beyond. Among her various achievements are the origins of the re-examination of our role within the Independence sphere, the organisation of South Pacific Inter-Regional Games, the enlargement of the CSS and the strengthening of alliances. In particular, she was a strong proponent of the principle that allies should talk to each other, rather than take their ties for granted, and insisted on having regular contact with those regions with which we had treaties.

As the April 2014 election approached, and Escade confided that she was not particularly interested in seeking a second term, I considered my own prospects. I knew I wanted to become Delegate: I had had a front row seat in my capacity as Vice Delegate, and I wanted my own chance at making decisions and taking the region in the direction I felt was best, continuing the good work that Escade and I had been doing since we first joined the Cabinet. I did insist that Escade be my Vice Delegate, since I already knew how she worked and wanted her continued advice. She accepted, and we formally announced our candidacies shortly after.

We ran a close campaign against Rebeltopia and Arbiter, two fine citizens who had a solid platform, and the ability to implement it. They relied on their experience and ideas, emphasising unity and a return to cooperation, after the dramatic days of the forum move. In turn, Escade and I ran a campaign with the motto of “Community and Strength”, focusing on citizen involvement, the strengthening of our culture scene and a continuation of the ongoing policy of forging alliances and making sure our incumbent ones were properly maintained. This platform obtained the confidence of the majority, and we were fortunate enough to receive the opportunity to lead the region for another four months.

Was I Ready?

I don’t know if anything can truly prepare someone to serve as Delegate of the South Pacific, or as Prime Minister in the present day. Obviously the region has changed in the four years since my election, but the fundamental fact remains that ours is a large and complex region, with various challenges and aspects to navigate, and anyone who thinks that they are ready to lead it will be surprised when they face the many unexpected situations that will undoubtedly surface. That doesn’t mean one can’t have enough experience as to be able to navigate these situations, and in that sense there is no such thing as too much experience, since the job requires as much of it as one can have.

By the time I was elected Delegate, I had served as Vice Delegate, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Regional Affairs, and I had already a few months of experience in the Assembly. That is less experience than some of my predecessors, such as Belschaft, who led us, and quite successfully, with less time and experience in the region. That begs the question: what does it take for one to be sufficiently ready to lead the region?

As I said earlier, I tend to believe that every bit of experience is a plus, with the notable exception of having couped a region, so prior experience in government is, if not sufficient, at least necessary for a minimum of qualification. A leader who has no notion of the mechanics of military gameplay or about the organisation of festivals has no hope of understanding their importance, having intelligent discussions about them or making informed decisions. At the same time, experience in all possible areas is unrealistic and unnecessary, since ministers are there precisely because they will have a more focused expertise on their respective areas, and will implement the minutiae of public policy. As leader of the Cabinet, the Delegate or Prime Minister help set broad guidelines and ensure that the government is moving in the right direction, as agreed by them and their colleagues.

Similarly important is having political savviness, and an ability to lead. A Delegate or Prime Minister is not any minister: they have to direct policy and ensure the region moves in a certain direction. If they have no ability to lead, to inspire others and to “get stuff done”, any amount of personal inspiration or grand plans will be useless. This is a lesson I learned during my ordeal in trying to pass what became the 2013 Bill of Rights, but also in watching as Belschaft led the region during his second term. He set clear guidelines, met with each minister to discuss and align our goals, sought to keep the Cabinet working as a team, and made good on many of his legislative promises, all good things that meant he truly led the region, as opposed to letting ministers implement their individual policies in a disjointed manner.

After all this, was I deserving or even ready to be Delegate? Truthfully I would never dare to even suggest that I was worthy or deserving of the delegacy. To serve as Delegate is a privilege that is granted by the region, and therefore the office must be held only by those who wish to use it for the good of the region. I did have those intentions, but I also had ambition. Was that good? Was that bad? Probably nobody actually “deserves” to serve as Delegate, since the position doesn’t belong to them. I do think I was reasonably ready for it, being experienced enough that I knew what I was doing, but also still being fairly new and open to different views. I think that allowed me to pursue policies that helped the region go in the direction that was best for it, regardless of what the conventional wisdom said.

To answer the question of this chapter’s title, which I chose not out of a sense of self-importance, but merely because I like making this sort of movie references, I don’t think I was, or could ever be, worthy of the delegacy. I simply had good skills and experience, was there at the right time, and took the opportunity to get the office. It was an informed gamble, and it allowed me to get the main prize. That’s where the analogy ends, because unlike any prize, the delegacy is a complex job that requires focus, discipline and a sincere dedication to the region and its people.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 03-19-2018, 10:17 PM by Kris Kringle.)

Reply

CHAPTER II
REFORMING STARK INDUSTRIES - PARTIALLY

I remember the time I applied for citizenship in Europeia, back when Southern Bellz was still Delegate and I was yet to join the Cabinet. Part of the entry process included an opportunity to join the Civil Service, their equivalent of our Fellowship Programme. As with Fellowship, the Civil Service allowed members to work for various ministries, helping with culture, communications, foreign affairs, immigration and military gameplay. By then I had zero executive experience and a very limited notion of what I wanted to do in NationStates, so my main motivation was related to my real life interests at the time. I was still studying international relations, and I had little idea of what communications and culture involved, so I discarded those and instead placed foreign affairs as my top option.

I did lack any foreign affairs experience within the game, so I was placed in my second option, which happened to be communications. There I was assigned to help writing articles, and my budding career in Europeia came to an end, since I had no guidance or point of reference, and quickly grew bored to the point that I abandoned the region. I would love to say that this served as inspiration to ensure that the same didn’t happen in my home region, but that would be a tremendous lie. I only remembered the event as I wrote it for this memoir, so it really had no impact on my later behaviour as Delegate or Minister, even if I often tried to provide some guidance to newer members, with mixed results.

This episode serves to make the point that I didn’t always think that culture was the more important portfolio, and even had a different career path initially. I thought my focus would be on foreign affairs, and when subsequently asked by Escade, already somehow experienced in culture and communications, I imagined running for Chair of the Assembly. Things started changing when I became Vice Delegate, which was a curious office in its own right: it was influential and well placed, but at the same time, it had no specific portfolio within the Cabinet. Much like a major in international relations, its scope was so broad that it lacked a useful focus on any particular area, meaning the office holder had to make the position their own, and see how they could make it work.

During my time as Vice Delegate, I grew increasingly worried about the Ministry of Regional Affairs. I had found it quite engaging during my time as Deputy Minister, and thought it should be doing more. When I ran for Delegate, culture and the strengthening of the community comprised one half of my platform, because I had come to believe that it was a key area of government, without which we would sink back to the chronic inactivity that permeated the oft-forgotten Topid Ministry. While never fully articulated, I believe that the cultural policy of my delegacy can be grouped into four main areas, which I will describe in the following paragraphs.

A Festival a Day…

While a festival a day doesn’t really keep the doctor away, they can be a great vessel to develop our culture and engage constructively with partners in a way that is visible to the region. While festivals became more popular and frequent since 2015, I did try to help Regional Affairs organise some festivals during my delegacy, starting with Coalition Day 2014.

Coalition Day offered a fine opportunity to celebrate the eleventh anniversary of the Coalition and also celebrate the renewed closeness of an alliance. I was on good terms with Europeian President Kraketopia, and had extended him an invitation to conduct a state visit during our Coalition Day celebration. This double event featured some special editions of our usual spam threads, a Q&A thread for Kraketopia and a speech from me in my capacity as Delegate. It was a rather fun event, and showed the potential of festivals as cultural events.

This begs the question: was it a mistake to hold only two forumside festivals during my eight months as Delegate? Initially I would say that it was, but the matter is more complex if one pays close attention. While we did hold only two festivals, we did not limit the number of festival-like events, many of which were equally engaging and took place gameside. Mainly among these are events like the Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament with Lazarus and the Rejected Realms, as well as an event themed after the 2014 FIFA World Cup with those same regions. These were great opportunities to involve the region and our partners, and while they were not festivals in the traditional sense of the word, they did keep the same spirit behind festivals.

I would argue that we could probably have held more festivals during my delegacy, if we had properly planned and organised. We could even have integrated into our existing gameside events a forumside portion, to better involve our forum into the whole scheme. However, I don’t think the lack of festivals by itself was wrong, or indication of anything other than the prioritisation of other activities. I think the eventual rise in prominence of festivals during 2015 shows that sometimes things take a backseat, until it makes sense to bring them back, and that’s alright as long as other activities and projects are being properly maintained, rather than there being a general lack of activity in Regional Affairs.

Becoming a Journalist

There are two newspapers from which I drew inspiration, to different extents and in different ways, when I first considered the possibility of pushing for an increased focus on journalism in the region. One was the South Pacific Independent News Network, commonly known as SPINN. Its management had long been erratic, depending on whoever happened to claim it and how dedicated they were to maintain it for more than a single issue. While it has had more active moments, SPINN has not truly been a stable sources of news during my time in the region. I thought that was a shame and wanted to do something about it. At the same time, I felt it would be inappropriate for me to take ownership of SPINN, given that I was Delegate, since that would be akin to the government taking what was supposed to be, first and foremost, an independent news source.

A second source of inspiration was The Rejected Realms, the controversial newspaper ran by Unibot for the Rejected Realms. I looked to its regular activity in publication, and to the thoroughness of its articles, and thought that the South Pacific should have a newspaper with that kind of dedication. That said, I did worry about its editorial line, believing that a rather openly biased newspaper might not be the best fit for our region, both in practice and as a matter of principle: I wanted to report on the news as they happened and provide an outlet for all sides to contribute to a story, rather than follow a specific line. While it seemed to work for the Times, I felt it would’ve been dishonest for the newspaper I had in mind.

Part of my motivation was also the early demise, despite its promising nature, of the Southern Weekly, a short publication that Escade and I had planned back when I was her Deputy Minister. This was supposed to be similar to a Foreign Update: a short report that summarised regional happenings. It was not supposed to be journalistic in nature, and had little in the way of analysis. In the end I only wrote the first issue; afterwards I was elected Minister of Foreign Affairs, and focused instead on the affairs and administration of my own portfolio. Southern Weekly, and its potential as a newspaper, however, were very much in my mind when I considered establishing a newspaper.

I had some baselines for this publication. It had to be owned by the Ministry of Regional Affairs, so that we could regularly recruit for it, and ensure that it could count on the full resources of the government. At the same time, it could not be biased or follow an editorial line that was directed by the government: it would be independent and unbiased, focusing only on providing quality analysis and news reporting for the benefit of all South Pacificans. This was a difficult balance to strike, but I felt it was necessary, to keep any officials from falling for the temptation of using the newspaper to twist events as they wanted them portrayed, to highlight stories that benefited the government or recruit for their own projects.

Following a weeklong drafting and editing period, Issue I of the Southern Journal was published on 04 September 2014. This inaugural issue consisted of five articles, including guest contributions by Unibot and Distortilla, and reported on various events of regional importance. I was fairly proud of this issue and successive ones, and felt that the revival of journalism was a definite plus to the region, both in terms of its interregional presences, the involvement opportunities afforded to citizens and the mere fact that there would be a regular news sources for citizens and residents. It was a far cry from the comprehensive and widely read issues of The Rejected Times, but it was a good start.

In hindsight, particularly upon my review of old issues while writing this memoir, I have noticed that I sometimes engaged in some of the very acts that I had sought to avoid. My article Return of the Regional Games was a promotional piece that advertised the South Pacific Regional Games, contrary to the rule that the Journal could not be used to promote government causes. Special Forces Thrive Under QuietDad and ProfessorHenn was an openly biased article that praised the role of QuietDad and ProfessorHenn in revamping the military. That is not to say that these issues did not deserve promotion or recognition, but there were ways to bring that about without compromising the neutrality of the Journal, and I had failed to ensure that this was properly handled.

Along with the more serious publications of the Journal, I also thought to publish some less serious articles, what I eventually called the Southern Onion. Originally these articles, among which one can consider Kringle Overthrows the Coalition! and Delegate Doesn’t Know Electoral Cycle, were written in the exact style as the Southern Journal, with the sole exception that the logo included, without much fanfare, an onion. It wasn’t until September 2015, long after these satirical publications became a staple of our regional journalism, that the logo was changed to the more obvious Southern Onion. Overall, I still think the Onion, particularly with its later articles, added a certain flavour and much needed humour to regional journalism, and I’m happy that we had a chance to get it started.

Since the Journal was founded late in my delegacy, many of its most consequential articles were released after my two terms, but still when I led it as Minister of Regional Affairs. I feel the need to draw attention to the comprehensive elections coverage during 2015, which included debates or interviews for all Cabinet positions as proof that the Journal occupied a key place in regional journalism. In addition, the Journal has had the opportunity to interview such personalities as Bong Load, first ever Delegate of the South Pacific, and Max Barry, creator of NationStates. These distinctions, particularly the latter, are extremely rare, and afford the Journal and the South Pacific a privileged place in NationStates history.

Taking It Gameside

Contrary to what happened with forum festivals, we did have a significant focus on gameside events and activities during my delegacy. This degree of focus wasn’t planned, at least on my part. I wanted to hold some gameside events, but my focus was on the events themselves, without any regard to the fact that they were being held gameside, rather than forumside. That is not to say that I was some sort of expert on gameside events, or that my delegacy thrived on those. To say that would be a mischaracterisation, but I like to believe that we did lead rather successfully with these events.

One such event is the South Pacific Regional Games. This was originally inspired by the Southern Games, an event suggested by Topid that involved a series of contests held in a specially created region, to which both citizens and foreign guests would be invited. Escade and I thought the idea had potential, and made it a reality early during my first term, when we held the Inter-Regional Games. This contest was a comprehensive series of competitions, held in a specially created region, to which both residents and foreigners, particularly from allied regions, were invited. It was a resounding success, which is why I was eager to repeat the experience during my second term.

For purely aesthetic reasons, ProfessorHenn and I decided to rebrand the event as the South Pacific Regional Games, while keeping the basic format proposed by Topid. This event was again a success, with participants from a variety of regions, all mixed so that no single competing team consisted of members from a single region. While the region itself has since ceased to exist, I have clear memories of how fun it was, how excited everyone appeared, and how great it was for the South Pacific, our home region, to be hosting such a successful event, where both South Pacificans and foreigners meet and exchanged experiences.

A second event that we held during this time were a series of gameside events, made possible through the use of regional polls, at the behest of Unibot, who was then serving as Delegate of the Rejected Realms. A very creative leader, and a relentless enthusiast for activities among like-minded regions, Unibot was instrumental in bringing together our two regions, along with Lazarus, then known as the People’s Republic of Lazarus.

We first held an event where each region chose, through a regional poll, which team it would support for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Since we chose the Netherlands, we altered the World Factbook Entry to fit a Dutch theme, plus I edited the regional flag and my own. We also tracked each match where the Netherlands played and made sure to support them on the Regional Message Board. Our fellow regions did the same with their respective teams. Which there wasn’t much in the way of direct contact, and each region supported its own team, it was still a great opportunity to share our excitement for the same event and motivate our regional communities through that.

After we had signed a treaty with the Rejected Realms, and shortly before we passed a similar treaty with Lazarus, we also held a Rock, Paper, Scissors event. Here each region would set a poll where the three possible options would be rock, paper and scissors, and we would have to constantly monitor the other regions’ polls to ensure that, by the end of the three days, we had picked the winning option. It sounds simple, but it was an amazing festival, one where we fostered a sense of engagement and community within our regions, and also engaged in a friendly competition with our new partners.

I need to be clear that these two events were not my idea. Credit to that goes to Unibot, and to whoever else in the Rejected Realms and Lazarus worked for their implementation. Credit also goes to ProfessorHenn, who worked hard with his counterparts to ensure that the events were properly implemented on our side. I merely mention them because, given their organisation during my delegacy, they undoubtedly form part of the cultural policy that I supported and tried to push forward. That also shows that support from the Delegate, or, these days, from the Prime Minister, is key for events to be successful, and must always be given when there is a good cause that needs political and material assistance.

Another event that I want to mention is that of Coup Tuesdays. For those who have never seen one, a Coup Tuesday is a day when the WFE was changed to fit a specific theme. I can’t be sure why exactly I started them, but I know that one of the first, if not the first, that I made was on September 2014, to commemorate the anniversary of Doctor Who. In time, these became a weekly and, at least to me, much anticipated occurrence, with each week bringing a new theme and flavour to the region. I did Coup Tuesdays on The Walking Dead, Romance Languages, Fallout, House of Cards, Psycho and many other shows, games and movies. As I got lazy, these also tended to extend for much of the week, rather than being restricted to a single Tuesday. In the end I had so many ideas for Coup Tuesday that the final day of my delegacy featured four different themes, ending with a Christmas one, which, if I remember correctly, is what greeted Tsunamy on his accession to the delegacy.

A final event that I remember fondly is the Lampshade Cabinet. In short, this was a series of meaningless positions with silly names, for which elections were held through the use of regional polls. We elected a Head Wizard, a Chief Marshal of the Lampshade Brigade, a Resident Philosoraptor and several other positions. Again, these were completely silly and meaningless, and some were event appointed by me without an intervening election. Then again, purpose was hardly the point. I wanted to do something that people found fun, and that made them feel involved in the region. By encouraging people to run for these offices, and people did run, I felt that we were making their regional experience a little bit better, and giving them some kind of place and recognition, on behalf of their government.

Fellows Everywhere

When I joined the region, there was no easy way to get experience in the regional government. We could run for office, or respond to a hiring call for Deputy Ministers, but there weren’t frequent, and even then, the idea was that the candidate or applicant would already be somehow qualified. Given the importance that Escade and I had long given to involving newcomers, we felt that it was important to ensure that ministries provided involvement opportunities at the staff level, so that citizens could gain valuable skills from the early stages of their careers.

Eventually each ministry had their own employment mechanisms, and we benefitted from that. Some enlisted in the Special Forces, others joined the Ministry of Regional Affairs, while others focused on the Assembly. Still, I felt that we could do much better in letting people know about all the employment opportunities that we offered, while also forcing ministers to be proactive about reaching out to people who did show an interest in doing their part for the region. Late in my first term, I added to the Citizenship Application Form a section where applicants could indicate if they were interested in working for any ministries. After my reelection, and inspired by the Europeian Civil Service, I created an equivalent called the Fellowship Programme, and posted a separate thread for it.

In simple terms, the Fellowship Programme was our civil service. By filling out a form in a single thread, a citizen could apply for any and all employment programmers offered by each ministry. After that, the particular minister would approach them and get things going. At least that was the theory: how I hoped the programme would work. I made sure to check the thread regularly, and welcome those who applied for the Ministry of Regional Affairs. Thanks to ProfessorHenn, who was very enthusiastic in supporting and leading the various projects that we implemented during that term, we started growing the Ministry’s membership, which in turn meant we had more available help for our projects, and also more people would be gaining key skills in the region.

While I believe that the Fellowship Programme was a resounding success for Regional Affairs, at least during its initial months, I think the story was much different for other ministries. Fellowship came to be associated with Regional Affairs, and other ministries kept recruiting, or not recruiting, on their own, without necessarily checking the dedicated thread. That is entirely valid, but it also undermined the goal of streamlining the application process. Another drawback is that the Programme depended heavily on ministers checking applications and reaching out to newcomers in such a way that they felt invested in continuing to be active. If the individual ministries weren’t sufficiently alluring to newcomers, or if they never were approached after applying, then there wouldn’t be a way for them to get involved.

This does offer a powerful lesson: we can have the best employment centres in NationStates, and I believe we did, but it always goes back to the ministries and their leaders. If a minister doesn’t pull their weight to make their ministry a welcoming place, where a newcomer can learn, make a difference and feel like they have a place in the region, then this will all be for nothing. We should never let that happen, and instead work hard to ensure that all newcomers feel welcome and appreciated, with or without a programme that could make it easier to have that initial contact. It is also true that sometimes a programme may work partially well for its time, but later on lose its purpose, when confronted with different ways of recruiting and engaging members. In those cases, it's alright to ceased a project and give way to a better one.

Credit Where Credit’s Due

As I have said earlier, I believed back then, and still do, that Regional Affairs is the most important ministry in the region. Without someone helping keep our culture active and interesting, all other ministries loose their reason to be. During my delegacy I tried hard to do just that, while also gaining a vast experience in regional events and communications, and a respect for that work that it takes to get things done.

I could never have done that without the input, advice and material help of the three citizens who served as Minister of Regional Affairs during my delegacy. While serving short terms, Farengeto and Gustave Berr were good ministers, and their help was key to the cultural policy during my first term. ProfessorHenn served throughout my second term, and was a fundamental part of my of the policies and projects that were implemented during that time, from the organisation of the Regional Games to the creation of the Fellowship Programme. He was there, supporting and providing input where he could, helping implement projects and setting much of the agenda, and that kind of leadership is invaluable.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have counted on the advice of three amazing citizens for this most important and difficult department, and believe it’s only fair that I should spare these lines to give them a minimum measure of the recognition that they deserve.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 03-28-2018, 01:52 AM by Kris Kringle.)

Reply

CHAPTER III
FIGHTING OBADIAH STANE

I explained in an earlier chapter how I was passionate about foreign affairs, early in my NationStates career. As I rose progressed and rose through the ranks, first as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then as Vice Delegate, I came to realise that diplomacy is quite complex and delicate, and seemingly innocent or inconsequential actions or statements could wreck entire relationships. Such was the nature of NationStates Gameplay; one that, over time, I have come to intensely dislike.

Just as I did with regional affairs, my approach to foreign affairs involved a mixture of policy and administrative priorities. I wanted to continue developing the foreign policy that Escade had pushed forward, but I also wanted to ensure that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked well, within the parameters set by Sandaoguo. To that effect, while I focused much on forging friendships, having a foreign presence and defining our role within the Independent Sphere, I initially focused on the administration of the Ministry. In particular, I sought to define our policy towards embassies and consulates, an issue that I had long wanted to address.

Implementing our Embassy Policy

My involvement in the definition of our embassy and consulate policy was limited, but I feel it still merits a mention, since it does relate to the more mundane, but still present aspect of governing and coordinating policy with individual ministers, something that comprises a key and often overlooked, as far as the public is concerned, side of leading. At the time, our policy granted embassies –that is, a gameside embassy and a subforum– to Game Created Regions and treaty allies, but limited other regions to a consulate, which consisted of a single thread within our Embassy Row section. In addition, consulates were subject to a monthly posting requirement, with the logic that consulates were there because regions were going to keep a semblance of activity in the bilateral relationship.

Shortly after the start of my delegacy, I started a thread in the Cabinet Office to express my concern about this posting requirement. I was worried that it would be hypocritical to keep it, considering that Glen, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, had decided that we would no longer have a foreign service or release foreign updates. If we weren’t keeping our embassies abroad active, how could we possibly require the same from other regions? A brief discussion followed, where Glen made the case that there was no hypocrisy, and that this requirement only affected consulates, rather than embassies. I remained sceptical. There was still hypocrisy, but I relented. This wouldn’t negatively affect major regions or treaty allies, which was the more urgent concern, so I opted to defer to him, rather than have a prolonged argument. Thus, we kept the requirement that consulates needed monthly updates for them not to be archived.

This section, while short and mostly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, is a good opportunity to show that, as I mentioned, some of the work done within the Cabinet isn’t seen by the public, nor is it glamorous enough to be of interest to the public, but is still necessary to keep things moving. There are policies to be set and discussed, concerns to be addressed, competing interests within the Cabinet to be resolved, and the Delegate had a key role in ensuring that the environment remained collegial, peaceful and cooperative.

Out There

I am not an extroverted person. Not by a long shot. Not even if I tried. I can definitely be open and reasonably extroverted with friends, but I don’t feel at all comfortable mingling in an event, engaging in small talk or partaking in the horrendous practice of networking. It’s not how I’m wired; it’s not what I like to do. If given a choice between going to the party and having a quiet dinner with a couple of friends, I wouldn’t even hesitate to pick the latter. I say this because, all things considered, I had a mixed relationship with networking, or just being present in the various major channels, during my two terms as Delegate.

To be clear, I was present in all active GCR channels, and would occasionally be present in some major UCR channels, when necessary. I made a point to engage with other leaders, and be reasonably well acquainted with them. I had decent working relationships with some, and had closer and friendlier ties with others. I had, for instance, a strong initial relationship with Europeian President Kraketopia. I was a member of the Montresor Family, and thus formed decent ties with East Pacifican leaders like Xoriet and Severisen. I had a strong relationship with Joshua Ravenclaw, and was the initial head of government in Alexandria, a region he created during that time. I had an excellent relationship with Reject Delegate Unibot, who was key in helping us develop our alliances with Lazarus and the Rejected Realms, and always found him very approachable and engaging.

I also had less than stellar relations with other leaders, as our relations with their regions deteriorated, particularly during my second term. I had a decidedly bad relationship with OnderKelkia, whose posts I find so long, legalistic and pedantic that even to this day I prefer to skip them. I also had a less than ideal relationship with Europeian President Malashaan in my first and only contact with him, shortly after his inauguration. I made it clear that, in the aftermath of the Conferences Crisis, I was not comfortable with how we had been treated. That was the only time we ever spoke.

Just as important as being out there and representing the region is also knowing when to stand up for it, to defend its interests, and how strongly to do so. When we thought our interests were being threatened, we didn’t hesitate to defend them. We did that when OnderKelkia attacked Minister of the Army Geomania for his skilful use of diplomacy to lead a liberation into success. We did that when Europeia tried to force us to insult Lazarus, our newest ally, by declining to attend the Regional Sovereignty Conference. We did it when The New Inquisition and Kantrias denounced their treaties with us. In all those cases, I felt that we were making the right calls, and we stood up for the region. As I will explain later in this memoir, I feel that history has vindicated this stance.

Overall, even if I don’t enjoy it much, I will agree that being out there is an important part of leading. It was important then, and today it’s even more important, given how interconnected and dynamic gameplay has become. This doesn’t mean that one has to be friends with everyone, nor does it mean that one must become a major participant in gameplay. Instead, it simply involves knowing one’s counterparts in our allies and other major regions, and being strategic about when and how to form good ties with other players. Much of this is simply random luck, other times it involves becoming gameplay literate. In all cases, it involves going only as far as one feels comfortable, and knowing when a relationship isn’t just not worth the time, but even actively detrimental to oneself and the region.

Standing Up for True Independence

Independence, to those unfamiliar with the term, is an ideology wherein the dichotomy of raiding and defending is rejected, replaced by a belief that regions should be free to engage in either or both activities according to their interests. We were officially Independent for around two years, due to a provision in the Special Forces Code of Conduct that so declared. Initially I was supportive of this: it was entirely logical that our military should work in pursuance of our regional interests, rather than align itself with specific ideologies and act solely based on the expectations attached to them. Over time, however, I came to realise that Independence was detrimental to our regional interests, and supported a subsequent effort, halfway through my second term, to repeal the provision that codified it.

One of the key concepts of Independence is the claim that it isn’t an ideology, but rather the lack of one, and the constraints that come with it. Instead of an ideology that limits how a region can act, Independence allows regions to pursue their true interests, and act solely based on them. Gone were the days when a region could only defend or raid out of some misguided obligation, replaced by a freedom to pursue either, and align itself with both sides. At least that is how it was supposed to work. In reality, defining our “regional interests” was an incredibly complex endeavour. How to define them? What if they evolve and conflict with the stances of our allies? What if we decided it was in our interests to align ourselves definitively with raiders or defenders? I came to believe that Independence was plagued with several issues that were never answered by its most ardent supporters, who insisted that there was no ideology, and that interests were the only goal to be followed.

Comes August 2014, well into my second term, and we were invited to two interregional conferences. We received an invitation to co-host with Europeia an Independence Conference, which we promptly and enthusiastically accepted. We also received an invitation to attend a Regional Sovereignty Conference, organised by Lazarus, then our most recent treaty ally. We obviously accepted that invitation as well, considering that it was well within our interests to attend both conferences.

I remember I had just finished a class, and was walking past the cafeteria on my way out, when I received a Skype message from Kraketopia. He wanted to talk, and I jokingly responded that I hoped it wasn’t anything bad. He said it was. This was the start of the most stressful episode of my delegacy, and the one defining moment that convinced me of the failings of Independence as model for the region. He had been informed that we planned to attend the Regional Sovereignty Conference, and intended to let me know that Europeia considered that unacceptable.

Over our next several conversations, and over the next several conversations between him and Glen, we found out that Europeia felt there was a fundamental incompatibility between our attendance of the Regional Sovereignty Conference and our co-hosting of the Independence Conference, a sentiment that was apparently shared by other Independent regions. They argued that this was an affront to Europeia, and that others were uneasy about our increasingly close ties with defender region, which was why we were asked to forsake our attendance to the Regional Sovereignty Conference, to prove our “commitment” to the Independence Conference.

We in turn found those terms unacceptable, a gross violation of our sovereignty and a violation of the good faith that we had in our alliance with Europeia, and we made sure to let them know that these weren’t terms that we could accept. Glen and I insisted that there should be no reason why we couldn’t attend both conferences, and made clear that under no circumstances would we snub an ally by declining to attend their conference, while attending the other. These arguments fell on deaf ears, and we realised that we would have to make a decision about our attendance to both conferences.

We had an extensive discussion in the Situation Room, but we couldn’t reach an agreement. Should we defy Europeia and keep our word with Lazarus? Should we submit and abandon Lazarus, even if it meant being subservient to a foreign power? Should we refuse to attend either conference? Each option had its drawbacks, and were clueless as to their implications, both in terms of reception within the Assembly and broader reaction among our allies. In the end, we decided the best option was to inform the Assembly, and have a discussion with it about how we should proceed. This resulted in the decision to insist on attending the Regional Sovereignty Conference, despite Europeian threats that we were moving away from Independence in doing so.

There were some important lessons from this episode, but I think the most important one is that regional friends remain so right up to the moment when they stop. I considered Europeia our closest and most reliable ally, until they threatened us with ultimatums, and accused us of moving away from their own conception of Independence, even though the very concept of Independence was for each region to follow its own interests. We had been following our interests by attempting to participate in both conferences, to spread our message about the importance of GCR sovereignty, but apparently our interests were only valid if they didn’t involve being too close to defender regions.

Obviously, this left a lasting impact and, while I can’t speak for others in the Cabinet, I know I was severely disillusioned with the concept of Independence, and its main actors, by the whole ordeal. I stopped believing that Independents truly believed in their claims about regional interests, which was evident by the hypocrisy of supporting close relations with raider-leaning regions, but strongly denouncing, to the point of presenting ultimatums, any proximity with defender regions. Were defender-leaning interests any less valid than others were? This, along with the way in which we had already been treated by The New Inquisition and OnderKelkia, only reinforced my growing perception that we were seen by the Independent Sphere as a junior partner, a useful addition to their circle, but not an ally or a partner in equal footing; hence our horrendous treatment.

Less than one month later, following broad agreement within the Cabinet, we introduced a bill to remove the Independent label from the Special Forces Code of Conduct, and replacing it with language that kept the Special Forces from adopting any particular ideology. This way we would be free to implement our own version of Independence, or non-alignment, without the baggage of having to conform to a definition of Independence with which we disagreed, and that had little resemblance to the concept that we had in mind when developing our foreign and military policy. We felt this was the best course of action, and I am happy to say that not only did the Assembly agree with our assessment, but that time seems to have confirmed our stance, now that the South Pacific has developed and thrived without the pressure of having to conform to the definitions and preconditions set out in the Independent Manifesto.

Making New Friends, Forsaking Old Ones

It would be arrogant on my part to claim sole credit for the way in which our alliances developed during my delegacy. As will have become clear by now, this development depended on the actions of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Army, and most definitely on the actions of foreign actors, who either sought our partnership or broke ties with us. However, I did have a privileged position from which to observe these developments.

During my delegacy we gained two allies and lost two others. We signed treaties with the Rejected Realms and Lazarus, the two defender Game Created Regions of the time. We also lost our alliances with The New Inquisition and Kantrias, as a direct result of our signing of a treaty with TRR. This is perhaps the most significant foreign policy shift we have experienced in recent years, since one can trace a direct line from these developments to our current defender-leaning stance.

It might escape the reader, and understandably so, the extent to which The New Inquisition was considered an untouchable alliance, during 2013 and 2014. It was very difficult to criticise it, and any attempt to suggest that they alliance was not worth its cost was responded with the claim that it was in our interests to keep it. I, along with others like Glen and Unibot, found that claim dubious at best, but tried my best to give TNI the benefit of the doubt. When I became Vice Delegate, Escade and I had a series of meetings with the leadership of TNI and the United Imperial Armed Forces (UIAF), the combined militaries of TNI, the Land of Kings and Emperors (LKE) and Albion. It did not go well, in retrospect, and we continually were left with the impression that we were treated as junior partners. That was only strengthened as OnderKelkia publicly criticised Geomania, our then-Minister of the Army. Geomania had made a skilful use of diplomacy and leadership when rivalries between Imperialist and defender forces risked endangering a liberation, something that we felt deserved commendation, rather than condemnation.

When we signed the treaty with the Rejected Realms, TNI and Kantrias denounced their respective treaties with us, indicating that us having treaties with both regions was impossible, given the incumbent war between the Founderless Regions Alliance and the UIAF. That was a fair point, and I would tend to agree that relations were indeed incompatible. Obviously we made no such concession at the time, and insisted that TNI was being irresponsible. We had finally lost the alliance with The New Inquisition, the untouchable alliance, and we hadn’t even meant to. This incident was, of course, one of the arguments used by Europeia when, months later, they accused us of becoming too close to defenderism, even despite our insistence that the alliance with TRR was reasonable and well within our interests. It was hopeless to try to convince them, however.

It has been nearly four years after we lost these alliances and gain new ones, so this offers a good chance to see, with the perspective of time, if they were worth it.

I would say that they were. We did lose two alliances, one with a region that was, back then, very important in gameplay, but these were damaging alliances, with regions that treated us as foreign policy trophies rather than equal partners. We gained little from them, despite the claims otherwise, and it was more than good riddance when they decided to abandon us. In turn, we gained alliances with two regions that, at least for their time, were fairly active and important defender regions, who treated us as truly equal partners, and were genuinely interested in engaging us, not only in the military plane, but also in the cultural plane, something that led to the development of our gameside festivals, as has been explored in a prior chapter.

It is said that there are no friendships in foreign policy, only interests. That’s true, but when there is a choice between two powers, one of which treats you as a junior and rebellious partner, the choice becomes clear. We decided that our interests were different, and acted accordingly. I have no regrets, and given how these incidents enabled our future development, I feel that history has vindicated the decisions that we made, all those years ago.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 04-09-2018, 09:38 PM by Kris Kringle.)

Reply

CHAPTER IV
ASKING RHODEY FOR FORGIVENESS

I think, modesty aside, that I was a fairly good Delegate. I had an active role in foreign and regional affairs, I made myself present and helpful to people on the gameside, forum and chat, and I tried to keep the region active and engaged. One area where I feel I did fail, and rather unambiguously at that, was in building a successful military. There is no need for subtitles or detailed descriptions of my policies, because there hardly were any. I’ll indulge myself, however, and add some subtitles that will shed some light on my actual experience in military affairs, and why I consider my military policy, or lack thereof, to be an almost uncertain failure.

My Military Experience

I have never been an active participant in military gameplay. My closest experience in an operation comes from one time that I was invited by Unibot to witness an operation, probably a defence or a liberation, during a major update. I have never been WA mobile, with the notable exception of the time during the Milograd Coup when I endorsed Brutland and Norden with a different nation, so I have never been able to participate in an operation. I had served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I had led cultural projects during my time as Deputy Minister of Regional Affairs and as Vice Delegate, but I had never had, nor would I ever have, actual experience with military gameplay. It should come as no surprise then that I delegated most operational decision making to the Minister of the Army.

Policy or Lack Thereof

During most of my delegacy I was still an ardent believer in Independence, so my basic policy towards the military was to agree to any operation, be it defence, liberation or raid, that was consistent with our regional interests, however nebulous those might be. Keeping the region and military active was one such interest, and, being then so ignorant about the minutiae of military affairs, I felt comfortable leaving to the Minister to decide which operations satisfied that requirement.

Admittedly, some operations did relate more to serious foreign policy matters, and were look at more closely. We would often try to avoid operations that conflicted with the FRA-UIAF War. The Osiris-Lazarus War started around late August, and we had to decide if we would take sides in the conflict, particularly since we had recently allied ourselves with Lazarus. These were specific cases, however, and did not have an impact, largely, on the overall operation of the Special Forces, which functioned under the leadership of Geomania and QuietDad.

Delegating

I then decided to delegate to the Minister of the Army much more than I did with other ministers, with whose portfolios I had experience. Geomania was a historical titan, our second ever Minister of Foreign Affairs and someone who had been around during the earliest days of the Coalition. He had a wealth of experience, and did an amazing job at leading the Special Forces with talent, grace and diplomacy, particularly given later problems with OnderKelkia. QuietDad was similarly skilled, and trained several future leaders of our military. He still has a presence in the region, even to this day, and despite disagreements that I’ve had with his view on certain policies, I have tremendous respect for him, and for how he rose to the challenge given my ineptitude in this area.

Regrets

I do regret not having more experience with military affairs. Despite the best efforts of Geomania and QuietDad, and they did perform beautifully, we didn’t manage to build Special Forces into the powerhouse that they are today. On the one hand, I think that is simply the product of its time. Things were different in 2014, and to some extent, the circumstances simply weren’t right for the development of our military as it has. In that sense, I feel not everything is our fault, and indeed Geomania and QuietDad built a very decent and active military with the resources and opportunities that they had. On the other hand, I wonder if my limited knowledge in that field meant that I wasn’t there to provide any needed support, or if I could have done more to promote our military, seek foreign partners and opportunities, or just highlight our successes, so that more citizens would join.

As I finish writing this chapter, perhaps our military was not an unmitigated disaster. We did have some successes, and were a decent and respected force at the time. We did have some issues, and didn’t get to where we wanted to be, but there was as much about our failures, and perhaps even more, as it was about the circumstances of the time. I do believe, however, that I could have done more to help develop the military. As my advice to future leaders, particularly future Prime Minister, I would suggest gaining a knowledge, however rudimentary, of all aspects of regional governance. You need not be an expert in all, but it never hurts to have the ability to help where help is needed, and to do a little bit more to ensure that the region is at its best.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 04-09-2018, 09:40 PM by Kris Kringle.)

Reply

CHAPTER V
LEARNING FROM SOKOVIA

Unlike Sovokia, I don’t believe that my delegacy left the South Pacific as a pile of rubble. That doesn’t mean, however, that I did a perfect job, nor does it mean that there aren’t some lessons to be learned from my experience leading the region. I think these lessons are useful not only for someone who holds a leadership position, but also for anyone seeking to hold public office in the region. It has been a long time since I served as Delegate, but the core lessons that I will convey still are every bit as applicable, in their own way, to the region as it stands today.

Serving

I think one of the most importance lessons one can learn is that the delegacy, and any public office for that matter, is a service. Sure, we probably enjoy politics, and seek offices because we want to try our hands at them, perhaps even wield the power that comes with them. I can absolutely understand and sympathise with that, but I also try to remember the fact that I wasn’t working as Delegate: I was serving as Delegate, solely because I had twice obtained the consent of the region, and therefore I had a responsibility to all South Pacificans, to ensure that I did right by them.

As future leaders take the reins of the region, they would be well served to remember that offices are not theirs to hold, nor are their ideas the only ones that hold validity. I myself have fallen victim to this mindset, but it is incumbent on each of us to realise that we operate under a democracy, and therefore we all must be due credit to all ideas proposed in good faith, so that we can keep having fun in what is and must remain, first and foremost, a game.

It being a game, however, doesn’t mean we should take the delegacy, or any other position, any less seriously. NationStates is a game, but we are still elected with the idea that we will do our best to keep our promises and leave behind a better region. Let’s remember that when we serve the people who elected or entrusted us with positions, so that we may continue to do right by them, rather than benefit only ourselves. That is an easy trap to fall into, even for the most honest ones, so we must remain vigilant, and always aware of the innocence that we had at first, when our goal, even if we wanted power, was also to make the region better for our peers. They should be our inspiration.

Cabinet Relations

There isn’t much to say about this topic that I haven’t already implied elsewhere, but I think it still bears mentioning: the Delegate or Prime Minister must set clear goals, but also ensure that the relationship within remains harmonious and collegial. These are four people that will share the same responsibilities for four months, possibly even longer, so they will have to learn how to work for each other, collaborate with each other, and harmonise their goals, so that the Cabinet functions as a unified and effective institution.

I was fortunate enough not to need to intervene much during my two terms as Delegate, since the Cabinet was fairly harmonious within itself, and I made sure to keep everyone aware of our common goals through the use of the Cabinet Office and #tsp-cabinet. There was still the occasional tension, as is natural, but I feel it remained at manageable levels, focus on specific details rather than broad policies, and that contributed to unified action on key policies. We were not so fortunate with other Cabinets, and in those cases, the role of the Delegate was key in keeping the peace, setting clear guidelines, and moving forward as a unified institution, at least in the areas where we did have agreement.

Using the Forum

I’m a strong believer that there must be a responsible balance between the use of the forum and the use of the chat. Some conversations, especially those of an ephemeral nature, are well suited for the chat; other discussions, particularly those that should withstand the test of time, should remain on the regional forum, where they can be properly logged, archived and consulted by future generations. During my delegacy, the use of the forum for executive discussions was still very much the norm, and so we had little issues in that regard. I understand that this is not the case nowadays.

If I may offer some advice, the forum should still be the primary repository for government discussions, especially those with wide-ranging consequences for the region. When votes are taken and policies are decided, there should be a record that can be consulted in the future. That is not only a matter of historical importance, though I’ll admit that my concerns are mainly historical, but it’s also a matter of political accountability, since chat posts cannot be moved to public channels or archived for others to see. A forum archive, as it exists for past Cabinets, is necessary for us to keep our history, examine it years later, and also to keep our leaders accountable.

Let’s use the full capabilities of the chat when appropriate, but let’s also acknowledge that there are some cases where the forum is a better venue, be that for executive records, more comprehensive festivals or simply for ease of archival, for the benefit of future historians. As someone who has researched the early history of the Coalition, I cannot stress how useful it is to have records from the 2003. Our knowledge of these early days would be irreparably poorer, had some of these discussions taken place over AIM or MSN, rather than on the forums, whose contents remain available to this day.

Stepping Down

I’ve long been fascinated by US political history, particularly the history and evolution of the presidency, and even more particularly the fact that so many presidents followed the two-terms rule before it was codified as the 22nd Amendment. It should come as no surprise then that, when my second term came to a close, I was very clear about my intent to step down. I felt that two terms as Delegate were a decent time leading the region, and it was time to let someone else to take the mantle and have their chance at taking us in a new and better direction.

I have thought a lot about this decision, and whether it was right, given subsequent events. I have often thought that, if only I had run for a third term, helped consolidate some more cultural and foreign policies, perhaps I could have avoided some of the fault lines that led to the Cabinet Coup. Or perhaps that’s a flawed premise, and there were other ways to avoid the Coup. Or perhaps it was unavoidable, just like fighting the current of a river, and the only way to avoid crashing into the rocks was to submit.

However it may be, the fact is that I did step down after two terms, and I think that was a good decision, if anything because every leader should think, at some point, about when they will step down. It does good to high officials to remember that power is not theirs to possess, but is simply entrusted to them for a limited time. That trust may be renewed, but eventually it is best for both that official, and for the people, for a change to happen. One may be a fantastic leader, and be rewarded with multiple terms of service, but eventually, and ideally sooner rather than later, they should allow others to take the reins, and either seek another position, or take the post of elder statesman, giving valuable and timely advice, but otherwise remaining without an executive position.

In the case of the Delegate or the Prime Minister, positions that wield a significant power in the region, both hard and soft, this decision becomes even more important. A Delegate or Prime Minister has a privileged platform to influence and shape the region, and while they may use that power for good, and indeed most such leaders have, that does not mean that their intentions will not be misguided at some point, or that they may feel capable, but stifle the growth of other alternatives who would also be good leaders for the region. It is important to remember that one might be a good leader, as I think I was, but by refusing to step down, one might prevent the next Tsunamy from taking the lead.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 04-09-2018, 10:28 PM by Kris Kringle.)

Reply

EPILOGUE
FOUR YEARS AFTER

Today marks the fourth anniversary of my election as Delegate of the South Pacific. I had been in NationStates and the South Pacific for a mere fourteen months, and despite my reasonably good experience in that time, I was still a newcomer compared to others. I have now been in NationStates for more than five years, and my delegacy is more distant from now, than its start was from my join date. For all intents and purposes, my delegacy is one of the more distant events in my NationStates career, but still one of the proudest.

I mean it with complete sincerity when I say that it was a privilege and an honour not only to serve as Delegate of the South Pacific, but to be entrusted with that amazing responsibility for a second consecutive time. I took that job as seriously as I could, and tried to make it my own, leading and implementing the policies that I felt were best for the region, and defending its interests, citizens and residents to the best of my ability. I tried my best to leave behind a more active and culturally developed region, and I worked hard to leave a foreign policy wherein we were the focus, and our allies treated us with the respect that we deserved, rather than as junior partners in an unequal relationship.

I said many things in my Farewell Address, but there are two that I feel stand out. I said that “soon enough we will all agree that these policies were necessary to make the South Pacific a more open, flexible and dynamic region”, in reference to my foreign policy. I can’t say for sure that we all agree on that, but I strongly believe that, without the policies we implemented –and I say “we” because every policy was ultimately a team effort, and Glen deserves major credit for this– we wouldn’t be the region that we are today, with the incredibly foreign and military policy advantages that we have. Obviously much credit is due to leaders like Roavin, who took up the mantle and revolutionised our government, but there are always pillars that enable future growth, and I believe that our work in 2014 is the pillar that allowed our region to develop as it has.

I also said that “our government is not for the veterans or the experienced ones, it is for everyone who calls this region a home”. I still stand by that statement: our government has long worked, and still does work, not just for those who are active and participate on the forum, but also for everyone who has a stake in the region, from the most experienced official to the completely inexperienced nation that likes to reside in this region. They all deserve a government that works for them, and with developments such as devolved gameside governance, I think we continue to fulfil that promise. I cannot take credit for that –I was originally opposed to devolution–, but I do feel bold enough to credit Tsunamy for being a stubborn and forceful leader, who would not rest until the goal was achieved. I also credit so many leaders, many who have since served in the Local Council, for showing us that leadership need not be based on the forum, nor must cultural development originate on the forum. They all play a key role in making this region proud, and this memoir would not be complete without a few lines to honour them.

I am proud of the work I did as Delegate, before that, and after that. I am particularly pleased of my current role as Chief Justice, since it is a position that I very much enjoy, and that I think makes an important difference for the better in the region. In other words, I feel that I can serve the region well by being its Chief Justice. But it would be a disservice to attribute the relative success of all that work to myself. I worked with a Cabinet, skilled people who knew much more than I did about their respective fields. I worked with staff members in each ministry, diplomats, fellows and soldiers, who actually implemented the broad guidelines that we set. I interacted with citizens and foreign leaders, and friends who taught me a lot about serving as Delegate. I am so thankful for them, and for the chance to be in a position to write this memoir. I wish them all the very best, and I wish the very best to this home that is the Coalition of the South Pacific.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 04-09-2018, 10:49 PM by Kris Kringle.)

Reply