The Kazmrian Manifesto

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The Kazmrian Manifesto; Principles for a Balanced Sinker Democracy
Tweet Topic Started: Apr 22 2015, 08:59 PM (396 Views)
Kazmr	Apr 22 2015, 08:59 PM Post #1
Lazarene Posts: 987 Group: Members Member #85 Joined: Apr 22, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral	Let me just state that this is a set of ideas, principles, and proposals. I do not want anyone to think that this essay is in any way something I am going to force on people now that I'm delegate This is basically just something that I wrote up to keep me sane in the early days while I was undercover, masquerading as an agent of the NLO. I am posting this now on one hand because I am free to, and on the other because we are preparing to draft our constitution. I fully expect people to disagree with many parts of it, and that's okay! That's democracy! I will, though, be preparing my own draft of the current constitutional proposal modified to incorporate my ideas so that you all can see what they would look like in practice. Please give and comments and criticisms you may have! Edit: Apologies for the repost Accidentally used the admin account. The Kazmrian Manifesto Principles for a Balanced Sinker Democracy Preface Lazarus finds itself in unique place. While the short lived coup which rent our region apart has fallen, there are few who now find themselves enthusiastic supporters of the regime which it ended. That government, the People’s Republic of Lazarus, was certainly better on the face of it than The Pacific’s puppet Lazarene government. The power structure of the PRL, however, provided the foundation and the mechanism for The Pacific to enter. It was its own worst enemy. Having witnessed both the rise and the fall of socialism in Lazarus, and having played a major role in the shadowy halls of power that pulled the strings of the region, I am in a unique position to say that the PRL must not return. I once believed that near-absolute authority for the executive provided stability and safety. I now see I was wrong. What Lazarus needs is a democracy. Because the region now finds itself with no entrenched powers, there exists a special opportunity to build something new, something not yet seen in NationStates. A democracy which balances forum and game. Which promotes transparency and communication with all parts of the region. Which promotes activity and involvement in its very structure. With this new democracy, Lazarus will rise from the ashes like the phoenix it is. Unity of the Two Lazarus’ Anyone who has made a career in a feeder or sinker knows that historically there have been two ‘regions’: forum and game. Although some philosophies have set gameside over the other in principle, never has the game been given a legitimate stake in government beyond a vague claim that its endorsements are the true ‘legitimacy’. With modern features in the game, however, including dispatches, mass telegrams, and polls, it is possible to truly integrate the two. Of course, why should this be done at all? Regional governments have survived the entirety of the site’s history largely on offsite forums, while numerous attempts at outreach have failed or made only modest gains. That may be true, but the spoils to be won from full harmony between the ‘regions’, a vibrant community never seen in a game created region, make it worth attempting for several reasons. Unlike feeders, a sinker does not receive ‘new blood’. Those nations reviving in Lazarus often have a previous home to return to. Thus, it is vital that in order to promote a true native community those who have chosen to make the region their home, even simply the regional message board, should have their views matter. Furthermore, the support and engagement of the region as a whole would make Lazarus far less susceptible to manipulation from a handful of executives, perhaps preventing a future New Lazarene Order or making it far easier to combat. Proposals The political structure of Lazarus needs direct representation from the forum. The clearest expression of this would come in the legislature. A substantial chunk of the legislative body should be elected from the game itself, utilizing polls. In order to ensure true representation, the gameside vote should exclude those who have voted for legislatures on the forum. Participation should be limited those who have a World Assembly nation in the region for some length of time, perhaps two weeks, prior to the election. Discussions could be had on whether or not an elected legislator should be required to join the forum for the duration of their term. Direct representation of the gameside community should manifest in the executive as well. A cabinet level position, available to those who do not even have a forum account, should be responsible for promoting activity on the regional message board and being an appointed voice of the gameside region. The forum region must also maintain constant contact with the game. Rather than a shoutbox on the forum, forum members should be encouraged to participate on the RMB. All news articles and announcement should also be made as a dispatch pinned to the world factbook entry. The delegate should also be responsible for disseminating regular telegrams on affairs both in and out of Lazarus to the entirety of the region. Power of the Legislature A strong legislative body is essential for a functioning democracy within NationStates. Power should be derived from the people in a strong sinker, not just in name but in fact, in order for the greatest number to become engaged. The People’s Congress in the PRL was, for much of its life, a sort of rubber stamp. Though various periods saw activist legislators work to make the Congress an important body, this was undermined by various decisions such as granting the Chairman unilateral authority to alter the constitution. If most power rests with the executive, it is inevitable that autocracy will arise that is, ultimately, to the detriment of the masses. Proposals The Legislature should have the sole power to amend the Constitution. This is not a revolutionary statement in and of itself but represents a vast turnaround from the PRL era. Legislators should have approval over offices vital to the security of the region. This includes endorsees and the heads of the Lazarene military and judiciary. Doing so prevents those tasked with maintaining order neither owe their office to or are sole agents of the executive. Congress cannot simultaneously serve as the head of an executive department. This proposal is actually derived from the PRL because it is legitimately a valuable one. The Legislature should have sole approval over declarations of war, as well as over major diplomatic decisions. A Balanced Executive While a legislature composed of both forum and game should be the stronger body, an executive branch is still necessary due to the nature of the in-game delegacy mechanic. One of the main principles of the PRL was that the Chairman was the vanguard of activity, security, and progress for the region. This has clearly failed, not only because a Chairman initiated the coup but because former leaders joined in. Instead, the executive should be seen as a balance to the legislature rather than the primary figure of the state. Proposals The delegate should be styled simply ‘delegate’. This is a common practice in many regions, but would serve well in Lazarus. Image is a powerful force, and titles such as ‘Chairman’ or ‘King’ project an absolutism that Lazarus would do well to avoid. Executive veto can be overridden and must provide a clear explanation in order to be valid. This ensures that the legislature is able to reason why the executive has blocked a bill and, if necessary, make reasonable changes. The delegate should be limited to two consecutive terms totaling up to six months, after which they may not be elected for at least one term. This helps avoid an extended concentration of high influence. Dynamic Security The main goal of security for a democratic sinker should be to maintain power largely in the hands of the people. Responsibility for ensuring this needs to be distributed rather than concentrated. When an individual or those directly appointed by them are responsible for ensuring a safe region it is not a stretch to imagine them turning their powers inward. Proposals Endorsees cannot be the sole purview of the delegate. The region should maintain multiple endorsees, all approved by the legislature, only one of whom at most should come from the delegate’s cabinet. It is preferable that at least one endorsee come from the game side of the region. Endorsees should be re-elected regularly at staggered intervals. The military should be a department independent from the executive. By having the chief of the military approved by the legislature and placing powers of war with that body, the military cannot be used to back up a coup. Grounded Foreign Affairs Treaties are paper, action is real. The most illuminating failure of the PRL’s foreign policy came during the Lazarus-Osiris War. Although the PRL held up The Pacific as a strong ally, the NPO failed to deliver. When asked about providing forces for either offensive or defensive deployment, Pacifica kicked the can down the road, citing various vague roadblocks. However, the moment the NLO came to power, those same endorsements arrived quickly. Allies are only useful when their words translate to action. Even past support means little if a present regime is far more hesitant. A region needs to anchor its foreign affairs in regions which consistently show it support, and who it is willing to support when the time comes. Proposals A new Lazarus should not enter treaties it is not prepared and able to leave should its principles fail. Though a formal treaty is often necessary to codify a relationship, it should not be thought of as the actual alliance. Instead, allies should be spoken of in terms of what they have done, rather than what a document says they should do. Lazarus should not hesitate from supporting the regions who have its back. Friendship is a two way street, and when an ally who has supported Lazarus is threatened, the Phoenix should be the first to enter the fray.

Replies:
Gulliver	Apr 22 2015, 09:28 PM Post #11
Lazarene Posts: 241 Group: Members Member #2 Joined: Apr 8, 2015	Wintermoot Apr 22 2015, 09:24 PM I have a question. I have nearly 100 puppets in the region at the moment, and I'm the only person that know what nations they are. Does this mean I'd get 100 votes in an in-game election? Not saying I would do that, but it's a reason to be weary of using in-game polls for official business, unless there's a solution I'm not aware of. That's one of the technical hurdles that would have to be conquered and why a simple unicameral legislature of citizens may be preferable. When Eluvatar did this in the North Pacific he had to check a lot of IP's to prevent this and could not use the in-game poll mechanism.



Wintermoot	Apr 22 2015, 09:34 PM Post #12
Like Love At First Sight <3 Posts: 632 Group: Accused Member #11 Joined: Apr 8, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral Political Views Independent Nation in Lazarus Wintermoot III	You can check IPs very nicely on a forum. I'm personally not a fan of open assemblies. I would be concerned that it would result in people coming to the region just to have a say in government decisions, perhaps with an outside agenda in mind. You run the risk of that in a representative system as well, but at least the people making the votes are regularly vetted by the people and potential conflicts of interests have a potential to come out and be weighed by voters. This would be doubly concerning if Citizenship requirements were minimal, as they probably should be in a sinker.



Gulliver	Apr 22 2015, 09:41 PM Post #13
Lazarene Posts: 241 Group: Members Member #2 Joined: Apr 8, 2015	Wintermoot Apr 22 2015, 09:34 PM You can check IPs very nicely on a forum. I'm personally not a fan of open assemblies. I would be concerned that it would result in people coming to the region just to have a say in government decisions, perhaps with an outside agenda in mind. You run the risk of that in a representative system as well, but at least the people making the votes are regularly vetted by the people and potential conflicts of interests have a potential to come out and be weighed by voters. This would be doubly concerning if Citizenship requirements were minimal, as they probably should be in a sinker. I think the preferable way to deal with that potential danger is for the Delegate to have some moderate checks on the power of the legislature, such as a veto, rather than to close out the legislature.



Kazmr	Apr 22 2015, 09:48 PM Post #14
Lazarene Posts: 987 Group: Members Member #85 Joined: Apr 22, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral	Funkadelia Apr 22 2015, 09:12 PM Electing endorsees is a bad idea, in my opinion. It would create a strange flux of influence with a lot of people holding middle amounts of infkuence, and not many with high amounts of it. Sort of like we saw with the last coup. As Harm said, I don't think that endorsees should have term limits, necessarily. Just that they should regularly be checked to ensure that they still have the best interests of the region, and are regularly maintaining their responsibilities (tarting and whatnot). Regarding the election from the RMB, my idea behind it was something like this. Take a legislature of seven elected members. Two or three could be elected via poll from the gameside of the region. Eligible voters would have: World Assembly (possibly endorsing the delegate) Have maintained that WA within Lazarus for some time period prior to the election, preferably something like two weeks (exceptions could possibly be made for military, or those could simply be required to vote on the forum) Have not voted on the regional forum So no, there would not be one-vote one-nation, by using WA we can ensure that it is one-vote, one player, by requiring residency with WA we can minimize outside forces coming in lest they want to sink endos in the region (and possibly give us endorsements to boot), and by requiring that someone picks either the forum or the gameside poll we would ensure that both are represented. This point may be moot if we have an open legislature, but I think that my proposals still go a long way without it, and we could search for further methods to unify both sides of the region. Edited by Kazmr, Apr 22 2015, 09:49 PM.



Syrixia	Apr 22 2015, 10:30 PM Post #15
tunak tunak tun Posts: 111 Group: Foreign Dignitaries Member #35 Joined: Apr 9, 2015 Alignment Lawful Evil	This is pretty cool!



Powthran	Apr 23 2015, 06:48 AM Post #16
Lazarene Posts: 523 Group: Members Member #103 Joined: Apr 22, 2015 Alignment Lawful Neutral Military Stance Uninterested Political Views Conservative Nation in Lazarus Powthran	These are all great suggestions from Kazmr and I favor his suggestions about the elections of the legislature. Having more interaction with the game side should strengthen the region as a whole, as it is more likely to get more people involved in the government, which could then serve in other functions, including the military. It does weaken the government here a bit, but I think that is sort of the point. Coming from no experience with off-site forums, this sounds great.



Matkesune	Apr 23 2015, 01:53 PM Post #17
Wordsmith Posts: 14 Group: Members Member #94 Joined: Apr 22, 2015	Well! This is a fantastic piece of work covering a lot of the aspects of governance whilst fitting them to the circumstances and contexts of NationStates - very impressive work, Kaz! As was already mentioned, I foresee problems with allowing all those in the NS region to decide policy when (as Wintermoot highlighted pretty well) there may well be tens or hundreds of our membership at any one time representing the interests of a decidedly foreign entity or entities. I wholeheartedly support attempts to integrate the NS region with the forums, but I think it'll need to be a more gradual transition than what you're suggesting here. In regards to the delegacy, I really like the idea of multiple endorsee's with their selection being out of the purview of the delegate themselves as this does put a check on the powers the delegate may hold or could potentially seize; I mentioned in the constitutional discussion thread the idea of a half-elected half-selected executive body and I feel this may well apply here too - if the delegate selects two approved endorsee's and the people elect the others, there should be a balance. All in all, I look forward to seeing your revised constitutional plans and feel I'll be lending a lot of support to your ideas in the future E: Apparently, never mind the last part. Edited by Matkesune, Apr 23 2015, 02:06 PM.



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