| Re-elect Sandaoguo for Minister of Foreign Affairs! |
Introduction
I’m sure everybody knows me by now. I am the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, running for a third term. (Technically, my first term was only a partial term, since I ran in a special election, but who’s counting?) If there’s anything you want to know about me personally, go ahead and ask! I won’t bore you with things you might not care about.  Since my opponents seem to taking off with the manifesto idea, I won’t spare anything for brevity. After two-ish terms in office, I have a lot of experience with the inner machinations of TSP politics and foreign affairs. So I have a lot to say, and I don’t think being brief will do it any justice. GCR Security Network One of the major focuses of my last term as Minister of Foreign Affairs was to expand our traditional set of alliances, with a focus on forging security agreements with other Game-Created Regions. I successfully negotiated a treaty with The Rejected Realms, which was just ratified with near unanimity by the Assembly. I believe that GCRs should primarily provide for their own defense, as we are a shared community with the same types of security issues. We may have differing politics, but I sincerely believe that can be overcome in order to protect GCR sovereignty. That being said, previous attempts at multilateral organizations have failed. The Modern Pacific Alliance bit off more than it could chew, and restricted signatories too much. The Sovereign Confederation faced much of the same fate. There was a feeble attempt to resurrect the Modern Pacific Alliance as the Modern Pacific-Sinker Alliance, but that idea was dropped in light of the failures of previous multilateral organizations. However, bilateral treaties have been successful historically. I believe we can construct a security network through bilateral agreements. To an extent, we have already been signing security treaties with other GCRs, specifically Balder and The North Pacific. The Rejected Realms was recently added to that list, and TSP and Lazarus have negotiated a treaty upgrading their status from a non-aggression pact to a full ally. That leaves opportunities open for The East Pacific, The Pacific, The West Pacific, and Osiris. Not all of those regions will be amenable to a treaty. TSP and TEP were at the late stages of negotiating a treaty, when domestic political troubles caused them to pull out at the last minute. I believe that treaty can be salvaged. Contrary to my opponent’s accusations, there was indeed follow up about this treaty. TEP’s delegate at the time did not believe it was the best time to reintroduce it. Given that TEP has undergone elections and its domestic political landscape is different, I do believe talks can be restarted. TSP-Osiris relations have been strained ever since the downfall of the Kemetic Republic, but mutual security could be a plank upon which we can rebuild those relations. While I still believe that the Osiris Fraternal Order did commit a coup, there is no scenario in which the Kemetic Republic returns, so there is very little point to keep relations cut off because of that. This was highlighted when the Cabinet released a statement officially recognizing the OFO, a statement I voted for and helped write. The Pacific and The West Pacific are two regions where a bilateral treaty would take a considerable amount of work, if it is possible at all. The West Pacific’s refusal to recognize the legitimacy of off-site governments is a roadblock in good relations. The Pacific has traditionally been an isolated region and there has been no contact between our two regions for a while. Inclusive Independence While I do not identify as Independent, which has been made clear numerous times on these forums and the NationStates forums, TSP is officially Independent and likely will stay that way for some time to come. However, I do believe there are competing visions of what that really means. I do not believe an Independent TSP means we cannot defend, or that we cannot sign a treaty with The Rejected Realms. I do not believe an Independent TSP means we must view defenders as hostile whenever they defend against an SPSF raid mission, whether successful or not. I do believe that an Independent TSP can and should work with defenders, rather than pointing at the TSP-TNI alliance and wringing our hands. (At the end of the day, we're here to have fun!) I do believe that an Independent TSP can and should welcome all people into our ranks, including those who do not identify as Independent, instead of viewing those people with inherent suspicion. If the ideal of Independence is to be attractive to all types, then I think the reality of Independence should match that. I will strive to uphold that in office, for as long as TSP believes that's the best route to take. Is the Foreign Office Neglected? Some have charged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sometimes called the Foreign Office, has been neglected under my leadership. Some have called me lazy, too. I do not believe this to be the case. I ended the practice of posting updates in dozens of forums, which is a decision I have explained in detail, and a decision that was ratified in my re-election last term. Why release a foreign update, when there’s nothing to talk about?
While the goal was to continue writing monthly updates, it did not happen. This last term, we released a single monthly update. If I’m being totally honest, the reason for that is because TSP hasn’t done much that I think is interesting enough or important enough to tell the rest of the game about. The activity of the Assembly this past term was dominated by feuds over administration and moderation policy, our ideological gameplay alignment, and citizenship requirements and removals.In the last two months – that is, since the time of the last foreign update – the Assembly has passed a few Charter and Code of Laws amendments. But they all deal with the banalities of citizenship and elections. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, I do not believe people care about the technicalities of our citizenship and elections laws. And let’s not pussy-foot around this. The Assembly has spent the past four months fighting. I don’t believe it’s a good idea to write an update about that. Monthly updates are an endangered species for a reason.
Furthermore, the practice of monthly updates is being replaced by broader media outlets. The Rejected Realms has The Rejected Times. The North Pacific as The Northern Lights. Other regions either post foreign updates sporadically, not at all, or post ones that garner very little attention anyways. Our own embassies forum is, in my opinion, a damning piece of evidence that foreign updates simply aren’t worth it.NS newspapers are read by more people and they can cover more details without the baggage of being written by a ministry of government. My original idea was that SPINN would cover what is truly worthwhile to send out. Unfortunately, SPINN was slow to take off, and there has been little collaboration between SPINN and the government. That can change, but it is not something I can run on, because SPINN is an independent project. Self-assessment on subject-area deputies.
One of the failings that really disappointed me this term was that I couldn’t bring my idea of subject-area deputies to fruition. When I had need of a deputy, I advertised for one. Unfortunately, few people responded, and even less were really qualified. I ended up hiring Gustave Berr, who headed negotiations with Lazarus. Fortunately for him, he was elected as Minister of Regional Affairs in the last special election. Unfortunately for me, that meant I lost a deputyIn retrospect, I’m not sure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the place to look for having a robust government department. In a time when TSP generally lacks people to be in these positions, it was a mistake to base my campaign around that. In reality, this last term has seen high levels of inactivity, and my ideas were based on the assumption that there would be enough activity to warrant them. Unfortunately, that was not the case. All ministries had trouble building their staffs. However, I do not believe the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been of lesser quality because of it. I stand by the work I have done, much of which is behind the scenes in advising the rest of the Cabinet, or engaging in private negotiations and discussions. Open Questions The great thing about campaigning is that it’s a perfect time for the voters to ask the questions they actually want answers to! The above are the things I consider important. But what do you consider important? Quote:I believe we can construct a security network through bilateral agreements. To an extent, we have already been signing security treaties with other GCRs, specifically Balder and The North Pacific.Do these treaties not pre-date your presence in this region? Do you not think that claiming credit for treaties you had no part in creating is fundamentally dishonest? Quote:TSP and Lazarus have negotiated a treaty upgrading their status from a non-aggression pact to a full ally.To the contrary, was an existing TSP-Lazarus treaty downgraded to an NAP following their decision to hand control of the region over to Milograd? Shouldn't the Minister of Foreign Affairs know the status of the regions foreign policy? Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator ![[Image: B9ytUsy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/B9ytUsy.png)
Glen is referring to the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been negotiating an upgrade to the non-aggression pact with Lazarus.
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
Has it been approved by the Assembly? Or even seen by the Assembly?
Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator
(07-17-2014, 05:05 PM)Belschaft Wrote: Has it been approved by the Assembly? Or even seen by the Assembly? When it is ready. :dodgy: 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 (07-17-2014, 05:12 PM)Kris Kringle Wrote:And yet it's being announced as "negotiated" (ie; finalized).... in an election thread. This is hardly the appropriate place for such to be announced. Am I the only one who is disappointed in a self-serving use of foreign policy, leaked from a classified area, in an attempt to shore up Glen's chances of re-election?(07-17-2014, 05:05 PM)Belschaft Wrote: Has it been approved by the Assembly? Or even seen by the Assembly? Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator
1. I was not taking credit for the TSP-Balder and TSP-TNP treaties. Almost everybody here knows those treaties have existed for a long time, so it'd be pretty dumb for me to say a bold-faced lie and take credit for them. I'm not sure how you're construing mentioning that we've signed treaties with them, as me taking credit for those treaties.
2. TSP and Lazarus have indeed negotiated a treaty. The language has been finalized and it is ready to be presented to the Assembly. The treaty with The Rejected Realms took longer than originally planned to get through the Assembly, which is why the negotiated treaty with Lazarus was not posted. The Cabinet is currently considering sending it to the Assembly. I have not done so unilaterally, even though the Cabinet has already approved the language, because of concerns about how appropriate it is for me to do so during an election.
1. The structure of the language - 'we have already been signing security treaties with other GCRs, specifically Balder and The North Pacific' - is clearly designed to suggest responsibility. You also 'specifically' identify those two regions. It's blatantly misleading.
2. So you admit that you leaked classified information regarding foreign affairs for your own political benefit? Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator
I'm not going to get roped into another manufactured crisis about whether or not I've "leaked" information.
The negotiated treaty between Lazarus and TSP has already been released to the appropriate body in Lazarus. We finished negotiations at the end of last month. It was going to be posted on the 14th here, following the vote of the TSP-TRR treaty (which, like I said, took longer than expected to make its way through the Assembly). Extenuating circumstances meant I was unable to post the treaty on the 14th, and I have been busy since today. I've since consulted the Cabinet about posting the treaty, because I wasn't going to do it unilaterally once the election started. What are your thoughts on me posting the treaty during an election? The TSP-Lazarus treaty is an example of diplomatic negotiations I've done (along with Gustave) this term. Of course I'm going to mention it. |
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