This week, you've all heard a lot of speeches - from each ministry, from LadyRebels herself, from me, and soon from our incumbent delegate Seraph. So, on Independence Day itself, time for the joint speech between Delegate and Prime Minister, we have decided to go with something a bit different - in the spirit of independence!

What follows is a transcript of our conversation about TSP, independence and democracy. We hope you enjoy it.


Nakari: So, what's kept you in TSP so long?

Seraph: It has always just felt the natural place to be. The community, the atmosphere, it's inviting in a way so many other regions aren't.
I was founded here and basically just stayed, though I've tried out a few other regions in various ways. You spent a lot of time elsewhere before settling here, though. What brought you here and what's stopped you moving on?

Nakari: I first joined TSP with absolutely no interest in it, to be honest. At the time, I was in the Invaders, and wanted to try out defending with nobody knowing but Roavin - he was MoMA at the time, so I could get into the SPSF and defend without security checks. So... not the most patriotic. Then I actually got talking to the community, and it felt a lot more expansive than the others I'd been involved in. There was a lot deeper history than in those, which I found interesting, and deep debates, and interesting politics...
The politics and government have been what's kept me invested - what are your thoughts on them, especially in comparison to the other regions you've passed through?

Seraph: In many ways, politics has never been my strong suit. I'm not a great legislator, I don't have a very 'legal' mind and I'm not good at politicking or any of that, but I enjoy being part of it all and muddling through and I like that the South Pacific gives opportunities to players who want to take part and are sincere in their efforts to engage with the region. It's part of the spirit of liberal democracy that seems to be and to have anyways been the beating heart of the region.
In other regions they can be overly serious in their politics or their themes can get in the way, but here it seems more honest and accessible than most.
You talked about a deeper history and it's that depth of history that we're kinda celebrating this week. The events that inspired this holiday were in NS' prehistory, really, before the game even recorded things like RMB posts, so for players like myself who've only been around a few years, it's hard to imagine this proto-TSP. What do you make of it all?

Nakari: I'm glad we have the ability to look back on that history, and I find it fascinating how the game has developed over the years. Back when I joined, RMB posts were lost forever if they got pushed off the region page, and once you sent a telegram you couldn't see it. I've tried to research on old forums and web archives, but so much has been lost from the early days. We're really lucky as a region to have so much preserved, but I think with how much has been lost, there is a kind of mythological status that hangs around the days of antiquity. Which is part of what makes our age and history so interesting!
And also what makes the grand ideological stuff so interesting. It makes my inner historian very happy to find some obscure forum post from 2003 about the wars that spanned the world back then.
The ideological stuff should be particularly interesting for us to contribute to with our new official defender status, which I think also ties into the themes of independence quite nicely. I know you've already given your thoughts on our new status, but I'd be interested to hear what you think about our journey on the last few years, since I hear there have been quite a few ideological debates before my time.

Seraph: When I first joined the region back in 2016, the rhetoric surrounding gameplay ideology was very anti-Defender. I remember being rather confused by it all, because it seemed to me self-evident that the defenders were the good guys and we were a region that seemed to naturally fit that role. I understand now that a lot of the anti-Defender sentiment was borne out of TSP's historic concern for its own independence and I think it's fantastic that that same concern is now part of the driving force behind our official alignment shift.
So, you've been Prime Minister of this great region for a month and a half. How have you found that? Is it what you expected and have you found our culture of independence, freedom and democracy a help or a hindrance?

Nakari: I haven't found our democracy too much of a hindrance, though it's definitely a lot to live up to. I'm happy with how our ministries are coming along, especially the high activity in MoRA. It's not the easiest job because there isn't much direction - I need to respond to the needs of the region. So I need to keep my eyes on everything and judge what needs work, and if there's nothing that needs work immediately, that's also a rather strange feeling of feeling like I should be doing more. But I'm happy to be serving the region.
Similarly, you've had multiple terms in the delegate seat, which you have been greatly celebrated for. But there's less attention on your other roles, CRS and LegComm, which are both important... but not elected. How have you found these positions? How much of a role do you think democracy should have in these?

Seraph: The CRS role is an odd one as, for the most part, it's not an active role. My job is to hoard influence and ban people if necessary, which it very often isn't. The security nature of that role, much like the Delegacy itself, means that we have to put restrictions on absolute democracy in those instances. There have to be restrictions, or our CRS would be composed of Black Hawks and there'd be a wolf on our flag. Similarly, LegComm is security focused, so it needs vetting and appointment, not election.
What's good, I think, however, is that the South Pacific still involves the Assembly in the confirmation of CRS and LegComm members and opens the second round of the Delegate election to that most democratic (and unsecured) part of the region: the whole region! Other regions might not choose to do that with such security-focused roles, but it's not in TSP's nature to eschew democracy altogether at any point in our processes and, in return for taking what might be seen by many to be a major risk, we have a democratic system of checks that actually help to prevent TSP losing its independence to an outside force or a strong[person] personality.

Nakari: Possibly the main problem with leaving security positions entirely up to election like other roles is that they are fairly thankless and routine jobs - you don't get to do flashy things like Cabinet does. So there are going to be three kinds of people who will end up doing them: people who genuinely enjoy the routine stuff, people who don't but are willing to do it for the good of the region, and those who don't but are willing to do it for nefarious purposes. Considering how convincing nefarious people can be in democracies (hello, Russian ads!) such important roles need to have a tiny bit less democracy (and still quite a bit of democracy) in order to protect the democracy as a whole.

Seraph: So, as we draw our ramblings to a close, what would you say has been your best moment in TSP?

Nakari: As tempting as it is to answer with the SPIT meeting, probably my best moments in TSP were in my first Chair of the Assembly term. It was my first step into politics on NationStates, and despite being a newcomer to the region, TSP supported me and I managed to win. The Chair had been neglected a little bit, and being told I was bringing it back to its former glory was a very proud and happy moment for me.

Seraph: You did an amazing job!

Nakari: Thank you!
What would you say was your best moment?

Seraph: For me, it would be my first term as Delegate. Sure, it ended in a pretty rough place, with rl anxiety and regional relationship breakdown, but even then everyone was so supportive. For once in my NS career (rare enough in life, even) I felt like I was doing something that I was good at, that I was actually achieving something and that people were appreciating it too. It was very affirming and I'll be the first to admit that I need a lot of affirmation. That a community like this can provide moments like that - it's back to where we started really: that's why I stay.

Nakari: TSP has a really caring and supportive community, that's for sure. It's one of those places where it feels easy to fit in, and where I personally have found a lot of friends. I still find it amazing how such deep emotions and friendships can come from a silly little book advertisement.
Thank you for rambling with me!

Seraph: Ditto.
Also, for all the American TSPers, how fitting is it for this Independence Day speech to be brought to you by your British Overlords?

Nakari: It's perfect!