National Self Determinism and Regional Politics

[Warzone Codger]

National Self Determinism and Regional Politics Introduction

It is a peculiar observation in Nationstates, foremost a political nation simulator, that there is a near universal consensus that players are allowed to manage their nations as desire. Players have introduced conflict in every other part of the game based on invented ideas, yet when it comes to one nation's type, the game's own basic way of identifying who you are, we have been willing to turn a blind eye and ignore it. The right to national self-determinism, an area which could have been predicted as a source for regional conflict instead turned out to be irrelevant in regional politics. What follows are observations on how nation type regional politics have developed, why we should bring it nation-type identity back to regional politics and proposed systems to bring about this change.

Observations on national self-determinism in current regional politics

Most regions have adopted the view to welcome players whatever their nation type and how they answer their issues. The GCRs and most major UCRs do not interfere with national self-determinism at all and where it has been factor, it has led to the construction of separate themed regions. To those who do care about influencing national self-determinism, segregation is the trend, and there are specialised regions for capitalists (Capitalist Paradise), socialists (The Internationale) and dictatorships (Alliance of Dictators, Psychotic Dictatorships).

Regional politics and government have instead revolved around player invented designs that are far removed from the physical game. It is remarked that regional governments are simply a delegate-enforced form of Government Roleplay that a group of players choose of believe in and abide by its decisions, one where the rest of region then accepts passively. Participation is driven by someone deciding to be interested in this type of Government Roleplay, based a shared set of personality affinities and differences, in contrast to being motivated by factors the player is already experiencing. This form of regional government is counterintuitive if national self-determinism and the nation-type identity that arise from that are what the player associates with and is relevant to them right now, compared to adapting to the personality values of others.

Reasons to incorporate national self-determinism into regional politics

As inferred above, national determinism and nation type is what a new player would first identify with, at least if/until they decide to learn the other player-invented constructions in the game. Therefore it would be more beneficial to create a regional government that makes national determinism a factor and appeals to something the player is already involved in, before introducing them the rest of the regional politics we know and love.

Secondly, there is an aberration among long-term game players, who far too deep in Government Roleplay, have forgotten what it actually means to be a resident native of the in-game region. However one defines it, it should mean more than keeping a nation alive by logging in once every sixty days as procedural necessity. By incorporating nation-type identity into the regional government system, which is explored below, and obliging players to answer issues on puppets (and while they are there, interact on the RMB as well) it is hoped there would be a greater connection between the in game region and the regional government.

Proposed systems to involve national determinism in regional government

The simplest way to make nation playing relevant to regional government is to have it influence in how votes are counted in the regional assembly. A basic model is shown below.

Equal nation type representation model: The regional assembly will comprise of 27 votes, the votes representing each of the nation types possible in the game. Each nation type vote will be decided by the majority of constituents, the players whose nations fall under that nation type. Consequently, players would be encouraged to pay greater attention to their nations, as rarer nation types would have more control over their nation type vote and thus gain more influence in the gameplay decisions of the regional assembly. It would also be a self-balancing system however, as the strength of each nation type ebbs and flows as players move. To the individual player, this system introduces an additional layer of strategy, similar to the Prisoner’s Dilemma, at whether they would achieve greater power if they stayed or changed. For this system to function there will be a greater restriction on when players could switch nations – players would be prevented from simply switching puppets to a desired nation type as it suits them.

Another consideration under this model is that issues have a smaller impact on larger nations, so it is harder for long-term players with established nations to change their nation-type voting constituency. This has the effect of empowering the newer members of a region, as low population nations could switch constituencies freely.

Variations

Proportional nation type representation model: The previous system has a problem where it could discourage recruitment from established players as more nations means a dilution of their power and it is more difficult for them to change nation type. An alternative system would be a Proportional nation type representation model, where each nation type has a minimum of one vote, but the nation type could gain additional votes depending on the size of their constituency. There would now be a trade-off between control and influence for a player deciding whether to switch nation type. For players with established nations, accepting the difficultly of changing type, where is still incentive to recruit to increase the influence and voting power of their nation-type bloc. Additionally, private forums could be made for each nation type for strategizing, further affirming nation-type identity.

Elected legislature variation: The previous models assumed an open legislature where everyone has a right to vote, with the changes made in the counting. Alternatively, nation-type representation could be achieved in an elected legislature system, where constituents of that nation type elect a person as their representative. By having clear constituents to represent and be accountable for, nation-type representation avoids a flaw present in most attempts to make an elected legislature