Whamabama
TNPer
Lesson 1: Introduction
Welcome to the Diplomatic Training Course! In this course, you’ll be learning what makes a good diplomat and Ambassador as well as the basics for Foreign Affairs related stuff.
There are 7 lessons in the Foreign Affairs course and you may read the course material as slow or as fast as you like.
Course outline
Lesson 1: Introduction
Lesson 2: Types of regions and organizations
Lesson 3: Interregional politics
Lesson 4: Embassies and Consulates
Lesson 5: Looking at proposed regions/organizations and establishing (diplomatic) contact
Lesson 6: Serving as an Ambassador or Diplomat. How to be an effective diplomat.
Lesson 7: Managing an Embassy
If you encounter any questions that need elaborating or if you encounter any spelling mistakes, please send a PM to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Good luck!
Lesson 2: Types of regions and organizations
There are several types of regions, with regard to game mechanics and with regard to game play and interregional relations.
Regions established by the game mechanics
Feeder regions
Feeder regions are regions where new nations are born. These regions have no founder. The five feeder regions are: The Pacific, The North Pacific, The South Pacific, The East Pacific and The West Pacific. These are abbreviated as TP, TNP, TSP, TEP and TWP respectively.
Lazarus
The region where dead nations (nations cease to exist after 28 days of inactivity or after 60 days in vacation-mode) are revived.
The Rejected Realms
The region where all ejected nations is transported to. So if you’re ejected from any region, you will be placed in the RR. In the RR, the Delegate cannot eject nations. It’s the only region where nations cannot be ejected.
Player-founded regions
Most regions are founded by someone and are therefore not really vulnerable to invasion, since the founder can always access the Regional Controls, and not subject to rules of influence.
Founderless regions
After a regions founder has ceased to exist, it is considered a founderless region. The feeder regions, Rejected realms, and Lazarus also are founderless. Only the WA Delegate (WAD) can access regional control, but the delegacy can be taken over. The Wad is also subject to the rules of influence. Meaning that any action he takes in regional control will cost him a certain amount of influence.
Regions/organizations in the sense of game play/interregional classification
Invader Groups
Aggressive militaristic groups that attack other regions in order to gain control of the government. Some do this for fun; others do it to increase their interregional influence. They may only want control of the government, or they may ban, and eject the natives from the region as well.
Defenders
Regions/organizations that fight against invaders. Defenders mostly fight against invaders by defending innocent regions being attacked, and through liberation of innocent regions held by invaders.
Imperialist Regions
Imperialists are invaders that do not invade for the sake of invading but to create an empire. It is their goal to have as many regions as they can under their control. They do this either by keeping the delegacy by maintaining a continuing presence in the region or locking the region down and eventually refounding it with one of their own as founder.
The regions they try to take over are either those that fit with the imperialists main theme (unite all regions named after US states or taking over all pirate themed regions etc.), regions that have similar ideas/goals to them or just whatever region they can get.
Neutral Regions
Regions/organizations that do not take official stances on defensive/invasion actions and other important matters. They usually have other goals such as Role-playing, or political simulations.
Isolationist Regions
These groups are almost only focused on their internal workings, they do not pay any attention to outside regions/organizations and do not care much about them either.
There are different types of isolationist regions:
- RP regions
- OOC-talk regions
- Debate regions
- Communities
- Schools also have their own regions where the nations are Real Life students.
These innocent-type regions are most often subject to invasion.
Other
Regions/organizations that don’t fall in any of these categories or could fall in two or more of the above categories. An example could be groups that have no alliances at all, but still invade and defend occasionally but not really falling into any of the aforementioned groups. Most groups don’t like them because it’s hard to say if they can be trusted or what their next action will be.
Each type should be dealt with in a specific way. It is important not to have a cocky attitude when dealing with adversaries. Also, it is important to differentiate non defensive-aligned regions from defensive-aligned regions.
Note
please note that a region can fit into more than one category.
Lesson 3: Interregional politics
It is very difficult to give a summary of global NS politics. Two reasons for this are that NS politics tend to change quickly, and because there are simply too many regions and organizations involved in interregional politics. We’ll try to explain how regions and organizations work together and what happens when changes occur in the interregional community.
Often regions with the same ideals are attracted to each other. Often, these regions are either defenders or invaders. Regions that are considered neutrals and isolationist groups will not necessarily be attracted to each other. Allies, or groups that are on friendly terms with each other, often establish Embassies on each other's forums, communicate actively with each other, share (intelligence) information and work together on different matters (such as military cooperation). Some regions also support each other politically and work closely together on all matters. Often these regions are combined in big alliances.
Some groups that actively participate on the interregional stage have a large influence on interregional politics. Changes in relations between groups almost always have an effect on the whole interregional community. There are many examples that we can give, but here are a few:
- Two invader regions decide to ally with each other and to work together on invasions. Other invader regions may decide to ally with them too, and so a big invader alliance could be created. Defenders will decide to work together even more closely. The result will be that there will be more unity between defenders and between invaders, and thus more tension between the two opposition groups.
- A neutral region that is on good terms with both defenders and to lesser part invaders decides to recognize a regional government in an invaded region (that is still held by invaders). Defender regions may break with this neutral region, and this will probably push this neutral region towards invaders, leading towards more tensions at the international community.
- A defender region pulls out of a big defender alliance. This will give invader groups a boost and good reason to spread propaganda-maligning defenders. Also tensions between different defender regions may increase.
- A big defender group declares war on another (invader) group. This will affect (almost) all defender regions. Founderless defender regions will be afraid of being invaded, even though they might not be part of the big defender group that declared war on the invader group. Alert status in different groups will raise and people will be more paranoid (regions will be password-locked and forums may become more secure). A real example from our own past: The ADN declared war on Ireland, because Ireland invaded an ADN region. Equilism declared war on Ireland individually and together with the ADN. Equilism’s ally Belgium (a founderless region) decided to remain neutral during this conflict, because they were afraid of being invaded by Ireland.
All mentioned effects are obviously not guaranteed effects of the mentioned actions. It is not always easy to predict the outcome of diplomatic crises and/or changes on the international stage. Also, not all changes in interregional relations have such a large influence on the macro view of interregional politics as mentioned in the examples above. Human nature is unpredictable, and that is exactly what this game is about, about people communicating within the setting of a political game. Each decides his or her own stances in this game and like in RL, there are different parties and different interests. In the end -like in RL- it is action that speaks louder than words. So when preparing for service in any department that has anything to do with foreign affairs, be prepared to work with people. This is not a game that you are playing against a computer.
Lesson 4: Embassies and Consulates
Most regions and organizations will create a difference between an Embassy and a Consulate:
- A Consulate is a ‘step lower’ than an Embassy and is used as a step between no relations and full-fledged relations. A Consulate can also be used when a region is small, your region doesn’t trust the other party or if the other party doesn’t have a clear and continuous foreign policy yet.
- An Embassy is used when the relations between two parties is full-fledged.
In this course, the word “Embassy” will always be used for simplicity’s sake. However, the theory in this course also applies to Consulates.
Lesson 5: Looking at proposed regions/organizations and establishing (diplomatic) contact
You might be asked to establish diplomatic relations with a region or an alliance.
There are several points you might want to look at when looking at a region:
- Is the region in question a committed defender? If they are mainly a RP’ing region, what do we stand to gain from the alliance?
- Is the region in question friendly or allied with any questionable or invader groups?
- Is there any sort of internal dispute in the region? If so, can we trust the side that has contacted us? Do we trust either side?
- Has the region in question or a leading member of it ever slandered or made volatile personal attacks against a member of the region?
- Are there any possible negative effects for granting them an Embassy? What can they contribute to our region?
- Is the region in question democratic? While democracy isn’t the only form of government, it tends to be the only form of government where the leaders of the government can be trusted, as the population of the region holds them accountable for their actions.
- Political inclination: is its ideology and foreign policy at least compatible, if not identical, to ours?
There are also several points you might want to look at when researching joining an organization/alliance or signing a treaty/pact with a region or an alliance.
- What side of the defender/invader conflict does the region in question fall into?
- Do they have a military? What is its size, and what battles have they been part of?
- Who are their greatest allies and enemies?
- Are there any internal conflicts in the region/alliance? Who are their high-profile members, if any? Members we don't trust?
- Regional/alliance size: nations, and WA nations, and forum activity - number of members, active members, and posts.
- Is this region/alliance growing, or faltering?
- What are the positive sides and negative sides of joining this alliance? Can anything be gained by joining?
Answer the points mentioned above without signing-up for the region’s/alliance’s forum. Do note that this step should be taken before establishing contact with the region/alliance.
Establishing relations
If your region is positive about the other region or organization, the next step is opening diplomatic relations.
Relations can be opened in the following way:
- Sending a telegram or private message to the person in the region responsible for Foreign Affairs.
- Requesting an Embassy in the designated forum or thread where you can sign-up for an Embassy.
Always remember to be polite and introduce yourself. When signing-up, also provide a link to your regional forum.
Make sure to let your chancellor know of any updates in the opening of the diplomatic relations and make sure that the region you are posted in also has an Embassy in your region.
Lesson 6: Serving as an Ambassador or Diplomat. How to be an effective Diplomat.
Effectiveness
The diplomat has to walk a fine line between politeness and a "down-to-business" attitude. It is important to begin assignments by complementing the regional leadership and conveying your region’s goodwill, but be sure to make your objectives rigid and clear. A businesslike attitude will serve you best. Don't kiss ass, or you'll be taken advantage of.
Therefore, the first post should convey your region’s goodwill to the region, agenda for cooperation, goals for the meeting, and a timetable.
Also, it is important to maintain a regular active schedule within that region, logging on to their forums every day or every other day. Even if there are no developments in official threads, post elsewhere, or ask a pointed question within the official thread just to keep your colleagues on their toes.
Ambassadorship
Ambassadors are different than regular diplomats, because often an Ambassador will not have a specific mission or goal. The job of an ambassador is to act as a communication link between your home region and another region. That requires activity.
Ambassadors, like diplomats, should be on a regular active schedule, frequent regional forums, and make friends with member nations.
An Ambassador has the potential to be an intelligence-gatherer agent and a real diplomat.
Impression
The Diplomat or Ambassador should never reveal too much about the inner workings of his/her own region. Be sure you provide a good image of your region and don’t mention anything about conflicts or other internal problems you’re having within your region. It’s not of importance for the region you’re serving, and it is in your region’s interest to represent themselves in a good manner to the outside world. Exceptions can, of course, be made when conflicts are posted in updates and announcements or when a direct question is asked. In the last case, try to answer the question to the best of your ability without revealing sensitive information. If you feel you're not qualified enough to answer, ask your Minister to help.
Hosting Diplomats
Diplomats should also make every effort to discuss international situations with diplomats from abroad. The more you do this, the more cooperation and awareness your region will get of situations around the world.
Relations
A region interested in "relations" with other regions will do so by two methods: dialogue and exchange, or takeover. In the case of the latter there is little need for diplomacy except to deceive, delay or spy, as the process is largely a military one and the dialogue if any is one of serving "terms" upon the conquered.
In the case of establishing relations with other regions without trying to absorb or destroy them, diplomacy is required and people who are observant, measured in their statements, and respectful of others are best suited to fulfill that role.
We have noted three types of diplomats:
1.) Diplomats who maintain communication. The first and most common of the three is an envoy whose purpose is to serve as the mouthpiece of the originating region as well as well as the messenger between leaders. This is the least demanding of such roles and is an excellent way for a fledgling diplomat to gain experience. This person will be dependent upon others for direction and leadership though they will gain great insight on the culture and workings of the region they are visiting. This envoy does not necessarily have to agree or even understand all of the cultural differences they might encounter, just be very disciplined in how they react to them. These diplomats can recover fairly quickly from mistakes simply by being honest and humble as well as responsible.
2.) Diplomats who deceive. This is less prevalent than the envoy just described but is still quite common in NationStates. This is not a job for the inexperienced, or for those of firm ethical convictions. Some people gravitate to this role for a love of things stealthy and to prep the region they are visiting for a takeover or other hostile act, such as intelligence data mining. These diplomats are frequently the leaders or cabinet members themselves in the guise of another. The inevitable fallout and anger of those deceived requires these diplomats to change their identity frequently, or develop nearly supernatural skills at deflecting responsibility and of shifting blame onto others. Sometimes in the interest of fulfilling a perceived need for "security" some reasonably ethical people will adopt such a role for a "higher good." It is also common that an envoy with good intentions may be being misinformed, or under informed, and unwittingly performing this role. This is a type of diplomacy with a relatively low "yield" over the long run, as the reputation of the originating region becomes damaged and envoys from such are no longer trusted. This diplomat can be very effective in the short term, but more often than not, the deception is discovered and their mission is lost.
3.) The third type of diplomat is the interregional arbiter. Probably the most challenging role to fulfill, in that this diplomat must absolutely garner and protect the faith and goodwill of the region he or she is working with, while not losing that faith and goodwill at home. They must see the overall "big picture" on why forming a relationship is good and necessary, and explain it to the satisfaction of those residing on both sides. This role is never easy, and setbacks are frequent. No matter what good intentions both sides have, there are no guarantees that unforeseen events won't derail and destroy even the most well conducted diplomatic projects. For such a diplomat to function, both regions must impart a certain basic trust in the diplomat that he or she is indeed not working for the exclusive interests of the other. Mutual trust is an absolute imperative. Sometimes a change in government policy and leadership will neutralize the work of such a diplomat. Competing and changing interests within one or both regions can complicate such efforts, and it is quite possible that trust can be lost on both sides and this diplomat become isolated. The pitfalls are deep, but if successful the reward is great as the two regions establish a firm foundation of trust and mutual respect that endures for a long time.
In between
If you are an Ambassador or diplomat, it is important to know how far you can go. Some messages you can respond to by yourself if you think it is safe to give the answer. However, questions on more important matters, such as treaties, alliances and requests for other co-operation, should be passed on to your Minister of Foreign Affairs or be posted in the correct forum back at home. This is important as taking action by yourself can create difficult situations or even lasting damage between regions. If you are not sure if you should be answering a question, ask your Minister. The Ambassador often asks like a messenger, bringing and giving requests and questions back and forth.
’Not done’
A ‘not done’ action is an action that can cause great offence to other diplomats or an action that you, as a Diploma or Ambassador, must simply not undertake. Some of these ‘not done’ actions are quite logical.
- Insulting people from the region where you are posted.
- Commentating on the internal workings of your posting. On the other hand, you can provide polite-phrased suggestions for improvements that do not have to do with the internal workings of your posting, such as the forum.
- Voting in your posting’s elections.
- Signing any agreement without your region’s approval.
Lesson 7: Managing an Embassy
There are two types of Embassies in NationStates:
- a separate sub-forum for every Embassy
- one thread for an Embassy
It makes a difference as to what type of Embassy you have.
Sub-forum Embassy
A sub-forum Embassy is the preferred type of Embassy. You can post more threads and create separate topics. Depending on your posting, you might even get limited moderator access (though don’t ask for this, just wait and see what happens.)
Your general sub-forum Embassy can be arranged like this:
- News-thread: this contains the regular updates your region publishes. (preferably pinned)
- Forum link: this is a thread containing a link to your home forum. (preferably pinned)
- Introduction: when you’ve been assigned to the region, introduce yourself here.
- Other threads: these can contain postings about regional announcements and events your region is hosting. You can create a new thread for every announcement. You can also put these in the News thread.
Single-thread Embassy
A single-thread Embassy is more limited than the sub-forum Embassy. You will have to put all the news, announcements and introductions in the same thread.
The first post should include a link to the forum and an introduction of the Ambassador and the region you are representing.
News and updates
A special mention should be made for any news and updates being posted. Like we mentioned before, in single-thread Embassies, all news and announcements should go into the same thread and in a sub-forum Embassy, the regular updates should go into the “News”-thread and announcements should be posted in a separate, new thread. Announcements can be posted to reflect your region’s opinion on a variety of matters or to announce an event your region is organizing.
These news and announcements are a vital way to keep contact between two regions and it gives the residents in your posting an idea of what is going on in your home-region. They also give adequate warning-time to sign-up for any future events that your region will organize.
It is important to make sure that they are posted on time:
- Regular updates which appear once a week should be posted in your Embassy within two days of its publication.
- Regular updates, which appear once every two or more weeks, should be posted within five days of its publication.
- Announcements should be posted within three days after its publication.
Welcome to the Diplomatic Training Course! In this course, you’ll be learning what makes a good diplomat and Ambassador as well as the basics for Foreign Affairs related stuff.
There are 7 lessons in the Foreign Affairs course and you may read the course material as slow or as fast as you like.
Course outline
Lesson 1: Introduction
Lesson 2: Types of regions and organizations
Lesson 3: Interregional politics
Lesson 4: Embassies and Consulates
Lesson 5: Looking at proposed regions/organizations and establishing (diplomatic) contact
Lesson 6: Serving as an Ambassador or Diplomat. How to be an effective diplomat.
Lesson 7: Managing an Embassy
If you encounter any questions that need elaborating or if you encounter any spelling mistakes, please send a PM to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Good luck!
Lesson 2: Types of regions and organizations
There are several types of regions, with regard to game mechanics and with regard to game play and interregional relations.
Regions established by the game mechanics
Feeder regions
Feeder regions are regions where new nations are born. These regions have no founder. The five feeder regions are: The Pacific, The North Pacific, The South Pacific, The East Pacific and The West Pacific. These are abbreviated as TP, TNP, TSP, TEP and TWP respectively.
Lazarus
The region where dead nations (nations cease to exist after 28 days of inactivity or after 60 days in vacation-mode) are revived.
The Rejected Realms
The region where all ejected nations is transported to. So if you’re ejected from any region, you will be placed in the RR. In the RR, the Delegate cannot eject nations. It’s the only region where nations cannot be ejected.
Player-founded regions
Most regions are founded by someone and are therefore not really vulnerable to invasion, since the founder can always access the Regional Controls, and not subject to rules of influence.
Founderless regions
After a regions founder has ceased to exist, it is considered a founderless region. The feeder regions, Rejected realms, and Lazarus also are founderless. Only the WA Delegate (WAD) can access regional control, but the delegacy can be taken over. The Wad is also subject to the rules of influence. Meaning that any action he takes in regional control will cost him a certain amount of influence.
Regions/organizations in the sense of game play/interregional classification
Invader Groups
Aggressive militaristic groups that attack other regions in order to gain control of the government. Some do this for fun; others do it to increase their interregional influence. They may only want control of the government, or they may ban, and eject the natives from the region as well.
Defenders
Regions/organizations that fight against invaders. Defenders mostly fight against invaders by defending innocent regions being attacked, and through liberation of innocent regions held by invaders.
Imperialist Regions
Imperialists are invaders that do not invade for the sake of invading but to create an empire. It is their goal to have as many regions as they can under their control. They do this either by keeping the delegacy by maintaining a continuing presence in the region or locking the region down and eventually refounding it with one of their own as founder.
The regions they try to take over are either those that fit with the imperialists main theme (unite all regions named after US states or taking over all pirate themed regions etc.), regions that have similar ideas/goals to them or just whatever region they can get.
Neutral Regions
Regions/organizations that do not take official stances on defensive/invasion actions and other important matters. They usually have other goals such as Role-playing, or political simulations.
Isolationist Regions
These groups are almost only focused on their internal workings, they do not pay any attention to outside regions/organizations and do not care much about them either.
There are different types of isolationist regions:
- RP regions
- OOC-talk regions
- Debate regions
- Communities
- Schools also have their own regions where the nations are Real Life students.
These innocent-type regions are most often subject to invasion.
Other
Regions/organizations that don’t fall in any of these categories or could fall in two or more of the above categories. An example could be groups that have no alliances at all, but still invade and defend occasionally but not really falling into any of the aforementioned groups. Most groups don’t like them because it’s hard to say if they can be trusted or what their next action will be.
Each type should be dealt with in a specific way. It is important not to have a cocky attitude when dealing with adversaries. Also, it is important to differentiate non defensive-aligned regions from defensive-aligned regions.
Note
please note that a region can fit into more than one category.
Lesson 3: Interregional politics
It is very difficult to give a summary of global NS politics. Two reasons for this are that NS politics tend to change quickly, and because there are simply too many regions and organizations involved in interregional politics. We’ll try to explain how regions and organizations work together and what happens when changes occur in the interregional community.
Often regions with the same ideals are attracted to each other. Often, these regions are either defenders or invaders. Regions that are considered neutrals and isolationist groups will not necessarily be attracted to each other. Allies, or groups that are on friendly terms with each other, often establish Embassies on each other's forums, communicate actively with each other, share (intelligence) information and work together on different matters (such as military cooperation). Some regions also support each other politically and work closely together on all matters. Often these regions are combined in big alliances.
Some groups that actively participate on the interregional stage have a large influence on interregional politics. Changes in relations between groups almost always have an effect on the whole interregional community. There are many examples that we can give, but here are a few:
- Two invader regions decide to ally with each other and to work together on invasions. Other invader regions may decide to ally with them too, and so a big invader alliance could be created. Defenders will decide to work together even more closely. The result will be that there will be more unity between defenders and between invaders, and thus more tension between the two opposition groups.
- A neutral region that is on good terms with both defenders and to lesser part invaders decides to recognize a regional government in an invaded region (that is still held by invaders). Defender regions may break with this neutral region, and this will probably push this neutral region towards invaders, leading towards more tensions at the international community.
- A defender region pulls out of a big defender alliance. This will give invader groups a boost and good reason to spread propaganda-maligning defenders. Also tensions between different defender regions may increase.
- A big defender group declares war on another (invader) group. This will affect (almost) all defender regions. Founderless defender regions will be afraid of being invaded, even though they might not be part of the big defender group that declared war on the invader group. Alert status in different groups will raise and people will be more paranoid (regions will be password-locked and forums may become more secure). A real example from our own past: The ADN declared war on Ireland, because Ireland invaded an ADN region. Equilism declared war on Ireland individually and together with the ADN. Equilism’s ally Belgium (a founderless region) decided to remain neutral during this conflict, because they were afraid of being invaded by Ireland.
All mentioned effects are obviously not guaranteed effects of the mentioned actions. It is not always easy to predict the outcome of diplomatic crises and/or changes on the international stage. Also, not all changes in interregional relations have such a large influence on the macro view of interregional politics as mentioned in the examples above. Human nature is unpredictable, and that is exactly what this game is about, about people communicating within the setting of a political game. Each decides his or her own stances in this game and like in RL, there are different parties and different interests. In the end -like in RL- it is action that speaks louder than words. So when preparing for service in any department that has anything to do with foreign affairs, be prepared to work with people. This is not a game that you are playing against a computer.
Lesson 4: Embassies and Consulates
Most regions and organizations will create a difference between an Embassy and a Consulate:
- A Consulate is a ‘step lower’ than an Embassy and is used as a step between no relations and full-fledged relations. A Consulate can also be used when a region is small, your region doesn’t trust the other party or if the other party doesn’t have a clear and continuous foreign policy yet.
- An Embassy is used when the relations between two parties is full-fledged.
In this course, the word “Embassy” will always be used for simplicity’s sake. However, the theory in this course also applies to Consulates.
Lesson 5: Looking at proposed regions/organizations and establishing (diplomatic) contact
You might be asked to establish diplomatic relations with a region or an alliance.
There are several points you might want to look at when looking at a region:
- Is the region in question a committed defender? If they are mainly a RP’ing region, what do we stand to gain from the alliance?
- Is the region in question friendly or allied with any questionable or invader groups?
- Is there any sort of internal dispute in the region? If so, can we trust the side that has contacted us? Do we trust either side?
- Has the region in question or a leading member of it ever slandered or made volatile personal attacks against a member of the region?
- Are there any possible negative effects for granting them an Embassy? What can they contribute to our region?
- Is the region in question democratic? While democracy isn’t the only form of government, it tends to be the only form of government where the leaders of the government can be trusted, as the population of the region holds them accountable for their actions.
- Political inclination: is its ideology and foreign policy at least compatible, if not identical, to ours?
There are also several points you might want to look at when researching joining an organization/alliance or signing a treaty/pact with a region or an alliance.
- What side of the defender/invader conflict does the region in question fall into?
- Do they have a military? What is its size, and what battles have they been part of?
- Who are their greatest allies and enemies?
- Are there any internal conflicts in the region/alliance? Who are their high-profile members, if any? Members we don't trust?
- Regional/alliance size: nations, and WA nations, and forum activity - number of members, active members, and posts.
- Is this region/alliance growing, or faltering?
- What are the positive sides and negative sides of joining this alliance? Can anything be gained by joining?
Answer the points mentioned above without signing-up for the region’s/alliance’s forum. Do note that this step should be taken before establishing contact with the region/alliance.
Establishing relations
If your region is positive about the other region or organization, the next step is opening diplomatic relations.
Relations can be opened in the following way:
- Sending a telegram or private message to the person in the region responsible for Foreign Affairs.
- Requesting an Embassy in the designated forum or thread where you can sign-up for an Embassy.
Always remember to be polite and introduce yourself. When signing-up, also provide a link to your regional forum.
Make sure to let your chancellor know of any updates in the opening of the diplomatic relations and make sure that the region you are posted in also has an Embassy in your region.
Lesson 6: Serving as an Ambassador or Diplomat. How to be an effective Diplomat.
Effectiveness
The diplomat has to walk a fine line between politeness and a "down-to-business" attitude. It is important to begin assignments by complementing the regional leadership and conveying your region’s goodwill, but be sure to make your objectives rigid and clear. A businesslike attitude will serve you best. Don't kiss ass, or you'll be taken advantage of.
Therefore, the first post should convey your region’s goodwill to the region, agenda for cooperation, goals for the meeting, and a timetable.
Also, it is important to maintain a regular active schedule within that region, logging on to their forums every day or every other day. Even if there are no developments in official threads, post elsewhere, or ask a pointed question within the official thread just to keep your colleagues on their toes.
Ambassadorship
Ambassadors are different than regular diplomats, because often an Ambassador will not have a specific mission or goal. The job of an ambassador is to act as a communication link between your home region and another region. That requires activity.
Ambassadors, like diplomats, should be on a regular active schedule, frequent regional forums, and make friends with member nations.
An Ambassador has the potential to be an intelligence-gatherer agent and a real diplomat.
Impression
The Diplomat or Ambassador should never reveal too much about the inner workings of his/her own region. Be sure you provide a good image of your region and don’t mention anything about conflicts or other internal problems you’re having within your region. It’s not of importance for the region you’re serving, and it is in your region’s interest to represent themselves in a good manner to the outside world. Exceptions can, of course, be made when conflicts are posted in updates and announcements or when a direct question is asked. In the last case, try to answer the question to the best of your ability without revealing sensitive information. If you feel you're not qualified enough to answer, ask your Minister to help.
Hosting Diplomats
Diplomats should also make every effort to discuss international situations with diplomats from abroad. The more you do this, the more cooperation and awareness your region will get of situations around the world.
Relations
A region interested in "relations" with other regions will do so by two methods: dialogue and exchange, or takeover. In the case of the latter there is little need for diplomacy except to deceive, delay or spy, as the process is largely a military one and the dialogue if any is one of serving "terms" upon the conquered.
In the case of establishing relations with other regions without trying to absorb or destroy them, diplomacy is required and people who are observant, measured in their statements, and respectful of others are best suited to fulfill that role.
We have noted three types of diplomats:
1.) Diplomats who maintain communication. The first and most common of the three is an envoy whose purpose is to serve as the mouthpiece of the originating region as well as well as the messenger between leaders. This is the least demanding of such roles and is an excellent way for a fledgling diplomat to gain experience. This person will be dependent upon others for direction and leadership though they will gain great insight on the culture and workings of the region they are visiting. This envoy does not necessarily have to agree or even understand all of the cultural differences they might encounter, just be very disciplined in how they react to them. These diplomats can recover fairly quickly from mistakes simply by being honest and humble as well as responsible.
2.) Diplomats who deceive. This is less prevalent than the envoy just described but is still quite common in NationStates. This is not a job for the inexperienced, or for those of firm ethical convictions. Some people gravitate to this role for a love of things stealthy and to prep the region they are visiting for a takeover or other hostile act, such as intelligence data mining. These diplomats are frequently the leaders or cabinet members themselves in the guise of another. The inevitable fallout and anger of those deceived requires these diplomats to change their identity frequently, or develop nearly supernatural skills at deflecting responsibility and of shifting blame onto others. Sometimes in the interest of fulfilling a perceived need for "security" some reasonably ethical people will adopt such a role for a "higher good." It is also common that an envoy with good intentions may be being misinformed, or under informed, and unwittingly performing this role. This is a type of diplomacy with a relatively low "yield" over the long run, as the reputation of the originating region becomes damaged and envoys from such are no longer trusted. This diplomat can be very effective in the short term, but more often than not, the deception is discovered and their mission is lost.
3.) The third type of diplomat is the interregional arbiter. Probably the most challenging role to fulfill, in that this diplomat must absolutely garner and protect the faith and goodwill of the region he or she is working with, while not losing that faith and goodwill at home. They must see the overall "big picture" on why forming a relationship is good and necessary, and explain it to the satisfaction of those residing on both sides. This role is never easy, and setbacks are frequent. No matter what good intentions both sides have, there are no guarantees that unforeseen events won't derail and destroy even the most well conducted diplomatic projects. For such a diplomat to function, both regions must impart a certain basic trust in the diplomat that he or she is indeed not working for the exclusive interests of the other. Mutual trust is an absolute imperative. Sometimes a change in government policy and leadership will neutralize the work of such a diplomat. Competing and changing interests within one or both regions can complicate such efforts, and it is quite possible that trust can be lost on both sides and this diplomat become isolated. The pitfalls are deep, but if successful the reward is great as the two regions establish a firm foundation of trust and mutual respect that endures for a long time.
In between
If you are an Ambassador or diplomat, it is important to know how far you can go. Some messages you can respond to by yourself if you think it is safe to give the answer. However, questions on more important matters, such as treaties, alliances and requests for other co-operation, should be passed on to your Minister of Foreign Affairs or be posted in the correct forum back at home. This is important as taking action by yourself can create difficult situations or even lasting damage between regions. If you are not sure if you should be answering a question, ask your Minister. The Ambassador often asks like a messenger, bringing and giving requests and questions back and forth.
’Not done’
A ‘not done’ action is an action that can cause great offence to other diplomats or an action that you, as a Diploma or Ambassador, must simply not undertake. Some of these ‘not done’ actions are quite logical.
- Insulting people from the region where you are posted.
- Commentating on the internal workings of your posting. On the other hand, you can provide polite-phrased suggestions for improvements that do not have to do with the internal workings of your posting, such as the forum.
- Voting in your posting’s elections.
- Signing any agreement without your region’s approval.
Lesson 7: Managing an Embassy
There are two types of Embassies in NationStates:
- a separate sub-forum for every Embassy
- one thread for an Embassy
It makes a difference as to what type of Embassy you have.
Sub-forum Embassy
A sub-forum Embassy is the preferred type of Embassy. You can post more threads and create separate topics. Depending on your posting, you might even get limited moderator access (though don’t ask for this, just wait and see what happens.)
Your general sub-forum Embassy can be arranged like this:
- News-thread: this contains the regular updates your region publishes. (preferably pinned)
- Forum link: this is a thread containing a link to your home forum. (preferably pinned)
- Introduction: when you’ve been assigned to the region, introduce yourself here.
- Other threads: these can contain postings about regional announcements and events your region is hosting. You can create a new thread for every announcement. You can also put these in the News thread.
Single-thread Embassy
A single-thread Embassy is more limited than the sub-forum Embassy. You will have to put all the news, announcements and introductions in the same thread.
The first post should include a link to the forum and an introduction of the Ambassador and the region you are representing.
News and updates
A special mention should be made for any news and updates being posted. Like we mentioned before, in single-thread Embassies, all news and announcements should go into the same thread and in a sub-forum Embassy, the regular updates should go into the “News”-thread and announcements should be posted in a separate, new thread. Announcements can be posted to reflect your region’s opinion on a variety of matters or to announce an event your region is organizing.
These news and announcements are a vital way to keep contact between two regions and it gives the residents in your posting an idea of what is going on in your home-region. They also give adequate warning-time to sign-up for any future events that your region will organize.
It is important to make sure that they are posted on time:
- Regular updates which appear once a week should be posted in your Embassy within two days of its publication.
- Regular updates, which appear once every two or more weeks, should be posted within five days of its publication.
- Announcements should be posted within three days after its publication.
