The North Pacific Union

[r3naissanc3r]

Elu and I have been brainstorming about the possibility of organizing some sort of RP equivalent of the Regional Assembly. This would serve both as an RP activity and as an opportunity to engage nations game-side and bring them over to the forum. Here is what we have so far:

We create The North Pacific Union. The Union votes on the same subjects as national issues: every time, one of the 350+ issues is selected, and the Union votes to select one of the issue options. Think of it like voting for a large "TNP nation".

Things to consider about the Union:
1) Who can join? Elu and I were thinking that WA members in the region can be part of it.
2) Where are votes held? Elu and I were thinking that we can use regional polls for this, with the polls scheduled in the meantime while nominations for Regional Identity Crisis are held.
3) What does the Union itself do? Elu and I were thinking that the Union could be hosted on the forum, and its primary duty would be to select which issue would be voted next.
4) Would the Union have any special powers? Elu and I were considering that issues voted upon by the Union would be obligatory for all its members, and if a member nation makes an issue choice that does not agree with what the Union voted, the nation gets expelled from the Union.

As it stands now, the project is very similar to Regional Identity Crisis, but instead of voting for regional X we vote on issues. While something like that would still be worth it in my opinion, it would be good to have more substantial things for the Union to do (i.e., we need more meat for points 3 and 4).

What do you think? Let me know of your thoughts and suggestions.

 

[r3naissanc3r]

I added DD to the culture group, so that he can contribute to this discussion.

 

[St George]

I really like this idea. That's about all I can say.

 

[Lord Nwahs]

"4) Would the Union have any special powers? Elu and I were considering that issues voted upon by the Union would be obligatory for all its members, and if a member nation makes an issue choice that does not agree with what the Union voted, the nation gets expelled from the Union."

Oh my. I'm pretty sure a lot of TNPers hold very different perspectives in the way they play their game, so I'm not too sure about this...

 

[r3naissanc3r]

True, and given that they are not gaining too much by complying with the Union, it will likely put most nations off.

As I said, I am looking for ideas to beef up Union membership, so any alternative suggestions you have are all welcome.

 

[Lord Nwahs]

I think the North Pacific Union could potentially be some sort of roleplay platform for conferences or trade agreements and the like, like a Model UN or something. I THINK.

 

[Malvad]

The Union would be good for role play. We could even have a conference to establish it. We could introduce the idea in the role play area.

 

[r3naissanc3r]

I agree that it would be a good roleplay avenue, and we should definitely do that regardless of what else we decide.

But I think it is too good an idea to use as just a roleplay story. To up the ante, I am looking for a way to make it also have some actionable items.

---

Since we are talking about TNP Union, I am thinking that we could model this roughly after the European Union. Here is my proposal:

There are two legislative bodies, the NP Commission and the NP Parliament.

The Commission comprises one Commissioner per portfolio (we can use this for the list of portfolios). Commissioners are elected every X weeks, everyone with a (WA?) nation in TNP can submit a candidacy for Commissioner on the forum, and every (WA?) nation in TNP can vote in elections for Commissioners.

The Parliament comprises of everyone with a (WA?) nation in TNP that sign up for it on the forum.

Each Commissioner has legislative initiative on issues within their portfolio. This means that they can start motions of the type "For issue X, The North Pacific Union adopts choice Y as a directive". Then, the Parliament will vote to uphold or reject each of these motions. The upheld motions will be recorded as TNP Union law.

The Union will have a charter regulating the above. The original charter will be drafted by us, and be put to a referendum among all (WA?) nations for adoption (that will be mostly rubber-stamping, to jump start the theme). Once adopted, the Parliament can be given legislative initiative for amendments to the Charter, which again will be approved or rejected by all (WA?) nations.

The requirements for residency and WA membership will only be enforced at the time of elections for the Commission, to avoid having to run very frequent by-elections. Likewise, at every election round, we will also be doing a clean-up of Parliament membership.

Logistically, the requirements are relatively low and should be manageable. We can utilize our already existing mass-TG system for informing (WA?) nations of elections and votes. We will need to come up with a good system for voting (I am thinking of having a google form that will be maintained as a forum page, such as this one, which we can change for every vote). And the composition and laws of the Union will be maintained in an in-game dispatch, which we will be advertising in-game.

What do you think?

 

[Lord Nwahs]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[Malvad]

Would each nation be a member of the parliament? And would NPA members still be allowed to join even though their WA may be somewhere else?

 

[Eluvatar]

The question of how to encourage Union membership remains. It's particularly thorny if non-membership doesn't disenfranchise (But I think that probably makes sense).

Perhaps RP benefits of some kind? Free Trade Area? Free Travel Zone?

 

[mcmasterdonia]

I'd think free trade/travel would be up for the union to decide. Some nations will naturally oppose such measures, which will add to the dynamic.

 

[r3naissanc3r]

Would each nation be a member of the parliament? And would NPA members still be allowed to join even though their WA may be somewhere else?

(WA?) Nations will need to sign up for membership on the forum, but other than that no requirements. We can probably incorporate some activity standards for maintaining membership (miss X consecutive votes and you're out).

And yes, we can make an exception for NPA nations as usual.

The question of how to encourage Union membership remains. It's particularly thorny if non-membership doesn't disenfranchise (But I think that probably makes sense).

Perhaps RP benefits of some kind? Free Trade Area? Free Travel Zone?

In my proposal, every (WA?) nation is member of the Union by default. But to be able to vote on legislation, they need to join the forum Parliament.

Of course, the legislation itself has no effect, besides being featured in an in-game dispatch. It would be good to come up with ideas for hard and enforceable legislative effects.