Are Raiders and Defenders Similar?

 

Written by Rach, Originally Published in The Globe

One of my favourite "tricks" this year has been applying various ideas in new and hopefully profound ways. For example, I used the concepts introduced by Edward Said in Orientalism to use gender relations and gender roles as a way of examining what defined a certain European country versus other European countries during the 17th century. I can't help but read things and try to extrapolate key ideas elsewhere. Recently, I had a similar thought as I am reading "The Road to Serfdom" by Hayek. In particular Hayek believes that Fascists had more in common with Communists and that they attracted the same sort of person. As well, he believed that people would often switch sides between the two and that they disliked classical liberalism the most. Now of course, I am not comparing RL Nazis and Communists with defenders or raiders. Rather I am applying the same sort of thinking to the idea that raiders and defenders might have more in common with each other than other NS theories and might attract the same sort of person.

Many of the switches that raiders and defenders make are between each other rather than with political regions. For example, during the year 2010, the founder of The Black Hawks and The Black Riders, Halcones briefly switched sides to the Founderless Regions Alliance. Then there is of course there are multiple examples in the United Defender League, in which we saw numerous switches between them and raider organizations. In particular The Black Hawks claimed defections such as Spartz and Mallorea and Riva. In more recent times, Chester Pearson switched to become a raider and Cormac has made numerous switches along defender and raider lines that seemingly seemed impossible.

But it was Cormac who got me thinking that perhaps it isn't so strange to see all the swapping of allegiances along R/D lines. After all, I had found it a bit odd that Europeia hadn't really if ever been for D players to defect to. Wouldn't switching from the UDL to Europeia be less of a swap than UDL to TBH after all?

Instead I think there is something to be said that NS militancy attracts the same sort of people, determined about the military cause while more political regions attract different sorts of people. Even when players such as Oliver Dion Grey became defenders, he was essentially still a political defender. More similar to the Oliver Dion Grey the political raider for Europeia and proponent of independence. More different that the militants of R/D.

Foreign Policy wise, this has been known for some time. Despite the fierce competition between Europeia and the Founderless Region Alliance for example, the two political regions are more similar due to the sharing of common political values and interests. We have seen far more switching of allegiances between FRA and Europeia, than between the more militant UDL and Europeia for example. Falconias, Karp, Silver Steps... even myself and PASD if you include us as part of the FRA umbrella when we came from TUK. Although I will make an exception for Unibot, who I think we can agree is more politician than militant despite having founded a more militant organization.

There is also a case to be made for those who are most similar to clash most viciously. Sunnis and Shi-ites and Catholics and Protestants for example fought and fight far more viciously against each other than Muslims and Christians. In this sense, it makes sense for militant raiders and defenders to fight viciously despite greater mobility between the two than with the political regions. It also makes sense as to why Europeia's greatest battles tend to be with other political regions rather more different militant organizations. Even when Europeia had political fights with Lone Wolves United and the United Defenders League it was due to the presence of politicians such as Evil Wolf and Unibot. Now that the UDL is run by the more militant Ravania it has ceased to have an impact on Europeia on the foreign affairs side.

As a whole, this isn't too profound and I think most would realize the only thing Europeia shares with raiders is a hobby and that the attraction isn't that strong from either party. Europeia is obviously closer and more similar to other political regions. But this counter-intuitively means that Europeia is fated to come into greater conflict with political regions that it disagrees with than any militant region. This is despite the fact that the militant regions would appear to be far more different. It simply comes down to different interests that only touch each other marginally. For Europeia, raiding is marginal. For military regions, politics is marginal.

Of course, as with most broad distinctions, there are many people who straddle the line and it isn't a clear divide. But it is a line to think about.