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**Seraph** · 07-10-2020, 08:04 PM

The Southern Journal
The Official News Outlet of the South Pacific

When PIGs Fly - The Union of Democratic States

By Kanglia.

A longstanding ally of the South Pacific, The Union of Democratic States has seen a resurgence of activity during the last year. As both a proud Legislator of TSP and of the UDS, I feel as though I can shed some light on the uniqueness of the region. In addition to my own insights and knowledge, this article will feature insights from Dome Artan, a rising star and current Delegate & Vice President of the region; The Noble Thatcherites, Founder of the region and one of the most prominent members of the history of the region; and Khevo, one of the few members of the region from the very beginning, who has been very active throughout NationStates in the defending sphere.

A Brief History

The Union of Democratic States was founded in late 2015 by The Noble Thatcherites. I myself moved into the UDS in 2016, and already found a bustling and thriving community. The region itself was based heavily in regional law (I spent much of my early days writing legislation) and was marred by very consistent Constitutional Conventions (think Grand Councils, but more frequent). The UDS was still very successful, however, and quickly jumped onto the NSGP scene. Key NSers such as Kuriko & Arkadia Universalis were extremely influential players in the UDS, with Kuriko founding the UDSAF, which I would take over in early 2017. Ark was the region's first Delegate, and to this day maintains an important role in the OOC administrative team in the region.

In late 2017, after long-standing good relations between the UDS & TSP, the Treaty of Democratic Unity was authored and passed through both regions. This is one of my proudest accomplishments as a member of the region.

I would leave the UDS later on in 2017 to join the South Pacific, and NS entirely in early 2018. In my absence, Thatcher also left the region and moved to Europeia. Khevo remained in the region, citing the “very open, close-knit community.” After going through another Constitution and revamping the executive and renaming it the President, the region would elect North Plegia as the first “President” in February of 2020.

That would lead us to the present day. Currently, Phoenix Coalition is in his second term as President, having just won reelection with 69% of the vote. The Legislative branch is led by Glaciosia, Speaker of the Senate, and yours truly as the Chairperson of the General Assembly. The Union of Democratic States Armed Forces, or UDSAF, has seen a revitalization under the watchful eyes of Comlogical and myself, and the region as a whole is in the best state that I can remember. Although the drop off from the Drew Rush was significant in terms of total nations, the activity levels in terms of both active citizens and members of the RMB have increased significantly. Overall, enthusiasm is very high for the region, and a large part of that can be attributed to one man, the WA Delegate of the region, Dome Artan.

The PIG: How EndoBacon Captured the Region

Not long after I returned to NationStates and the UDS, I discovered a nation by the name of Dome Artan. Dome was already serving as a Senator in the region. Shortly after encountering him did I realize that he was an incredibly quick individual, understanding of how the region operated or at least should operate. Also, shortly after my return, it was announced that Dome would become the new WA Delegate of the region, a position that Asdersland had held for 469 days. Almost immediately, Dome implemented the program Promoting Influence Growth or PIG for short. With a cute pig mascot named Hamlet, the Union’s levels of endorsements grew exponentially. At the time of this writing, the region is ranked 7th for most World Assembly Endorsements(NS goes by average per nation of course.) This rapid growth is thanks to Dome’s hard work, and Dome himself admits he was heavily influenced by TSP’s own endorsement program.. “However, I was still pretty new to NS! I wasn't sure what exactly I was supposed to be doing as Delegate”, Dome said, even though you’d never know his NS “youth” by talking to him. Dome followed by saying that he “did the logical thing and looked at the feeders, especially our good friends in TSP.” This led him to the SWAN program, which left him, as he put it, “entranced.” The PIG program followed, with Dome also admitting that establishing the program with any hint of unique elements to it was incredibly difficult. It is undeniable that this program has been effective, with the number of endorsements for both the Delegate and other members of the region skyrocketing since the program’s creation.

Visiting the Union

Thanks in part to the Drew Rush, the UDS has grown rapidly in terms of activity, with the RMB, main discord server, and RP servers bustling more than ever. The Unioncraft server, dedicated to Unionists and friends who play Minecraft, has also thrived recently. When asked why the UDS should be a destination for TSPers Dome notes the similarities between both regions in terms of NSGP, with both regions being “staunchly democratic and defender” and that visiting from both sides “can only benefit our regions.” Thatcher notes that TSPers should consider visiting the UDS for “our shared heritage.”

As for the aforementioned Unioncraft server, of which Thatcher is an admin, it came out of the interest of many citizens to start a Minecraft community based off of a spawntown. This server however is open to all friends of the region. As Thatcher says, “Unioncraft has an open community where anyone is allowed to join so long as they subscribe to the mission of the server and pledge to obey server rules.”

When asked what makes visiting and becoming a part of the UDS so reasonable, Khevo responded that it all translates to the culture. “[T]he culture of a UCR is much different to that of the GCRs, and I feel the smaller size and relative lack of history makes it easier to simply join in and get involved at a high level.” Khevo is entirely correct on that statement as well, it’s very easy to get involved in the UDS, thanks to the extremely friendly community, and the welcoming and easily accessible government structure. But even if you’re just looking to visit, the open and all-inclusive nature of the UDS ensures that you’ll have a good time!