The Northern Lights - Issue XXXI

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Editor's Note

Issue XXXI of The Northern Lights is the first issue to be published in over half a year. This issue's focus is outside TNP, with events, people and relationships in the wider NationStates, and particularly Gameplay, community, being explored from a TNP perspective. It is our continued goal for The Northern Lights to be a recognized forum to discuss the things that affect NationStates communities and TNP's place in it. As always, no views espoused in this or future Issues represent the official TNP government stance unless otherwise stated.

Gorundu
TNP Minister of Communications

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A TEP Story: Interview with Libertanny, Delegate of TEP
Today I'm joined by Libertanny, who was just recently elected Delegate of The East Pacific in an unusually a election. Welcome, Libertanny! How are you going?

Hello Gorundu! I would say that I am doing rather well. I wasn't sure what to expect after being elected, but it seems similar to being Vice-Delegate, you just have to sign papers more often and answer to more pings. I am, for sure, positively surprised how few little changes in Cabinet and election of new Delegate boosted Cabinet's and Executive's activity by few times.

Well, those pings are the price you have to pay
If you don't mind, let's wind back a bit. How did you make your start on NationStates?

Well, my start in NationStates is highly linked to another game I played - AtWar. I was one of founders of Bushido Order and one day, one of members pinged us on Discord saying that he found a cool game (NS). We joined it and became Got Issues Players. We did not care about the fact that half of us were in TWP and another half in TNP. All we cared about was bragging with stats. Almost a year after that, Bushido Order was disbanded and I joined NS (again). I started my journey from Roleplay - committing genocide on my streets. It worked, it brought a lot of attention (lol). I then RPed for a while, until I sent a long brief on RMB and RMB RP situation to the Delegate. They hired me to EPNS. 2 weeks after that I proposed repeal of EPNS Act, formation of the Ministry of Information and as it has succeeded, I was appointed Minister of Information. Soon after that, Fedele took over and I was appointed Minister of Propaganda (sick times), which then evolved into being one of two Second-in-Commands of The East Pacific. In the meantime I served in almost every executive body. I left TEP due to incident that happened on 16th of December 2018. I came back around June of 2019 and I have been here since then.

Wow, that's a colorful career in a short time! What made you decide to come back in 2019, and how different was it from when you left?

In The East Pacific we have a saying, which I would say is highly linked to Todd - "You are here forever". There is some kind of truth, that even if you leave, you are missing something in your life. It's an addiction that is hard to get rid of. Speaking of Todd McCloud, he played an important role. After incident in 2018, he was the one who contacted me and told me story about one of former Delegates. They got a second chance in TEP and became a Delegate one day. Maybe it was his story? Maybe not. (Editor's Note: We believe the story is referring to Der Fuhrer Dyzsel, a former member of Empire who participated in its coup of TEP, but later was legitimately elected Delegate) But I've always had that story somewhere in my mind. So why I came back was probably the motto and story Todd told me. I then stayed in TEP as Fedele and Co welcomed me warmly. Ironically, I then became one of biggest people in opposition to his administration. I took what he offered and used it against him.

I think the main difference was in me. That break changed me - I stopped being an annoying teenager and became a more stable person. Which had a huge impact on my career, people started trusting me more. Speaking of differences in TEP - everything seemed different. Executive was dead, Fedele had his people in Magisterium, they were already preparing for what's to come. Thankfully, there was more people than me who noticed it. I would say that I started building resistance against Fedele from first days since I came back, whilst at the same time actively VCing and 'making friends' with Fedele and his people.

Well, we all know what happened after that...when you made it back to the Executive under Marrabuk's Delegacy as MoFA, what were the first things you did?

I would say that the first steps was trying to find out what I am even supposed to do. I was appointed MoFA, as I had some experience with dealing with FA and I had contacts all around NS. But I had frankly no idea, what to do as MoFA. First contacts with other MoFAs were terrible - everything seemed so serious and so professional. But I managed to break the ice and start making 'friends' with other officials, to the point that sometimes talking FA stuff was the minor part of conversations. I think the first real steps were total reorganization of MoFA server and structure of Ministry - abolishment of Deputy Minister of FA, introduction of four-level hierarchy (Junior Diplomat, Diplomat, Senior Diplomat, Minister) alongside introduction of spheres (overseen by Seniors). In a longer run, I'd say it pretty much paid off. The idea has also evolved to the point where MoFA is not lead by just the Minister, but by "Inner Circle" - a Council of Seniors, Minister and Delegate.

Speaking of contacts around NS, did you build any relationships outside TEP before Fedele's coup and then becoming MoFA?

My main FA experiences during before coup were experiences before December 2018. Serving as Minister of Information, then Minister of Propaganda and then Chief Minister of Comms (second-in-command) I have been reaching out to people mostly regarding events, newspaper and other stuffs of that kind. There was a moment when we were even working on inter-Pacifican newspaper - the idea, however, died. I made a few contacts in the NPO, TNP and TRR mostly. During my journey after December 2018, I also met new people in TNP, Gay and TRR, as I have been in these regions for a moment. Most of contacts I made were mostly due to me actively talking on foreign Discords. I have then used these contacts before coup, whilst working on resistance. I was getting notifications from other regions on how they perceive TEP and Fedele's actions. After becoming the MoFA, it was a total boom. I rapidly got in touch with most of friends of TEP, but I have also started reaching our to new regions, meeting even more people. The list of "cool people I met" would probably make a long list. Just to list a few? Most of Senators in NPO; Kuramia, Dax, Pichto, Peeps from Europeia; Syr, Holdac from TNP or Andy, Appleberry, Helvetics from Thaecia. The list is really long, as there are many awesome people in NS.

I'm sure these people will all appreciate your shoutouts
If you have to pick however, who would be the one or two people that you would say have influenced you the most?

Frankly, I would say that people that influenced me the most are all former or current TEPers. I use to call Mecovy (former EPNS Editor) my "first and main Mentor", but there was also Queen Yuno and Aelitia Astor, that all played important roles. I cannot forget about Atlae and Tretrid, who helped be build my first Ministry. All these 5 people helped me a lot during my first steps in Gameplay, which I consider to be abolishment of EPNS and creation of Ministry of Information. There's also a loud shoutout to Xoriet, who serve with awesome advice and Grey, who tried to teach me R/D. Most recently, it was Bachtendekuppen, who influenced me a lot. So probably as I said, all of these people were or are TEPers.

What would you say were your proudest achievements in your roles as Minister of Information and MoFA?

My proudest achievement in all of my GP career is the Ministry of Information itself. I wasn't really sure what and why I am doing, but with advice from people mentioned above, I have managed to do a huge change. We had EPNS, which served as newspaper body. Taking advice and talking ideas with Yuno and Aelitia, I proposed the repeal of the EPNS Act (as I stated, it was too restricting); I built a new Ministry from scratch (with help from Atlae and Tretrid). During the best stage of this Ministry (when it was called Ministry of Propaganda), it had around 23 workers and several tasks: doing newspaper, doing informational dispatches, being a hut for coders and designers, doing text editing, preparing regional TGs and probably few more I'm forgetting. So that is my proudest achievement. Building "My Little Empire" from scratch. The fact that it was then successfully abolished and ruined by Fedele very rapidly is whole another story.

Speaking of MoFA, that is probably the creation of "My Second Little Empire". I reorganized the Discord server, introduced new liberalized FA Policies and most importantly, introduced a four-level hierarchy, which is still in place today. The hierarchy is split into 4 levels: Junior Diplomats (who serve as right hands of Diplomats), Diplomats (who oversee regions), Seniors (who oversee whole spheres) and Minister. This idea has also naturally evolved enough, to change the whole leadership of Ministry. It's no more the Minister's playground. Our FA is now lead by "Inner Circle" - a Council made of Seniors, Minister and Delegate. All leadership job is done by team as a whole and so are taken all decision. Ministry of FA is an example of perfect teamwork and how it pays off in a longer run.

Is there an article you're most proud of that was published during your time as Minister of Information? Or do you love all of them equally?

Haha. I would say that I love them all equally, as it was another example of teamwork. What is, however, worth noting is that there was a moment when we had an additional RMB Newspaper! That was for sure what we were all proud of, especially since it made RMB interact with Government (i.e. answering in polls for newspaper needs). Such interaction paid off, as RMBers started applying for Citizenship and joining Ministry of Information!

Alright then. Let's move on to the future now. What are you most excited about doing, now that you're Delegate?

That'd probably be introducing the "more original" ideas from my campaign. Firstly, that is Bureau of Public Affairs, which is supposed to be a channel between Region (Residents and Citizens) and Government. As a part of that idea, RMB RP and Forum RP are allowed to elect / select their representatives to the Cabinet. There is also few other tasks, but all of them are aimed towards Government interacting with the Region more. Second thing would be the idea, that started during Marrabuk's administration - formation of Consortium. As of now, we have already began planning stage of it. But from less practical and more theoretical things, I'm excited about having a possibility to work on betterment of our region as Delegate.

I was quite amazed to notice a while ago that TEP is a treatied ally with every feeder and sinker, except for Lazarus (which I believe TEP intends to negotiate a treaty with soon). As MoFA during the negotiation of a quite a few of those treaties, obviously you had a lot to do with them. Why did TEP decide on this FA approach, and do you believe it's better to have as many allies as possible?

Firstly, I would like to make it clear, that I for sure do not support the approach of "let's make a treaty with everyone around us". Treaties are to be well-thought and they need to be beneficial for both sides. Many treaties were made before I probably even knew about Gameplay. As for the recent ones, I would not say that this is anything of an approach or FA target / policy. It's simply the fact that both sides were interested in a treaty and we decided to pursue for them. From TEP's position, it's also rather easy to become "friends" or "treated allies" with many regions. We are known for being neutral diplomatically and unaligned militarily. So conflicts of interest are rather non-existent. The only restriction, I would say, is the fact that a treated ally, or any region we are establishing relations with, has to accept our general approach to GP - "You are independent and sovereign, we won't interfere in your internal or foreign affairs, unless asked to. But we require the same from you."

Speaking of general approach to GP, how much attention would you say TEP pays to the NSGP community, and when does TEP choose when to listen to or ignore what NSGP has to say?

I would say that we pay attention to NSGP. I can't say if it's little or much attention. I would say, that we are rather up to date with things, but we don't see a need to participate or have a stance in the 243rd conversation about a coup of region X.

When do we listen to NSGP? Probably never. NSGP is full of manipulation and we also don't go with the mainstream. If we find some topic important, we always try to get more background and information, to see the whole picture and have a neutral stance (as in - not manipulated by any side). We, however, rather rarely share our opinions, as we have more important tasks than dealing with NSGP dramas.

Of course, TNP ourselves have been an ally of TEP for quite a while now. How would you say we have been as an ally during your time?

The North Pacific has been an awesome ally, from what I heard (mostly). I myself haven't had too much of an interaction with TNP, except for hosting Paradoxical'20 together. But hearing a lot from Marrabuk, I was painted a picture of TNP as an awesome ally. The best example would probably be TNP reaching out to us and proposing is to use their tools, without expecting anything in exchange or trying to show, that "North is the better Pacific". It is common that people tend to become arrogant as the power comes. I haven't noticed or heard anything of that kind regarding TNP - it tells a lot about the region. What I am hoping for is for sure more events, we enjoyed first edition of Paradoxical a lot.

Thanks for the flattering comments! Last question - who do you think was the best Delegate of TEP and the one you will look up to the most?

I would say that every Delegate did something I can support. Yuno's administration was very liberal towards how Ministers organize their Ministries. Marrabuk boosted regional unity. Fedele actively interacted with Residents. That's the recent examples. I would say that most of TEP Delegates were awesome, and I will look up not to people, but to their ideas.

Hehe...I was kind of expecting that you wouldn't just name one person. Anyway, that's all we have time for! Do you have any parting words?

I guess I do. I'd like to order a release of your newspaper with your signature on it! And thank you for the interview.

Thanks for coming too! Hope you have a great day, and a great Delegacy!

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The Power20: How not to rank players
To readers who have not yet heard of "NationStates Today", the newspaper reports on common events such as elections on top of recording podcasts with popular figures. The gameplay-centric organization frequently affiliates itself with other regions in cross-promotional agreements. It has hosted election debates in Thalassia, The Leftist Assembly, and Lazarus.

NationStates Today hosts a biannual publication entitled the "Power20", the product of a panel of experienced players' interpretation of the most influential. The publication has been heavily vilified, which begs the question: "Why don't players like the Power20?"

The paper is known for skewing towards members of regions such as Osiris and the West Pacific, and the latest Power20 is no better than the rest. The graph in the next page shows Power20 members by affiliated region (some are members of multiple):


Region affiliation is determined by the descriptions provided, as the article states that "the panellists were also asked to provide reasoning for each choice, which was used to determine descriptions". The only exception is Kuriko, where her influence can be presumed as heavily part of her role as 10,000 Islands delegate.

As can easily be seen in the above graph, Osiris, The West Pacific, Karma, The Black Hawks, and Balder have a substantial skew in members (though readers of the Power20 would not find this surprising whatsoever). While bias can not be concluded from this information alone, members of regions such as The East Pacific, 10000 Islands, The North Pacific, The Rejected Realms and Lazarus should be immediately confused, given that all of those regions have immensely influential, active players. Even further, the delegate of 10,000 Islands wasn't even credited for that as a source of influence; r3naissanc3r, an incredibly important member of The North Pacific was credited first for creating automated tools for Balder and Europeia; and Frattastan's influence in the Rejected Realms was briefly noted as "a major voice in policy". Why does a single sinker somehow have more hyper-influential members than three other GCRs, combined? Why is over half of the Power20 members credited for work in Osiris, The West Pacific, Balder, or The Black Hawks?

Bias can only be determined if the results do not match reality, or if the methodology is provably designed to favor a certain result. A strong case can be made for both. First, the North Pacific's member on the panel, Madjack, was never sent the link to vote. A note from Wymondham states that this was due to "an unforeseen family emergency", though that did not affect any other panellist, and Wymondham originally didn't even know that there was a TNPer on board. McMasterdonia immediately confirmed that no member of the North Pacific's cabinet said they were asked to participate, which is questionable considering the panellists were mostly made up of high-level government members. While real-life is a valid excuse, it does not make the list any better at expressing the opinion of the North Pacific. Second, many of the regions "neglected" by the most recent Power20 have large militaries, significant diplomatic sway, a large playerbase, and high-influence players who control them. It seems unlikely that many of the North Pacific's extremely prominent members (and yes, this author and publication potentially harbors unintentional bias), who could influence a large military, the most World Assembly votes in the world, and all the prestige and sway of a GCR, would not appear on the Power20, aside from McMasterdonia. This is more surprising upon considering that the delegacies of Osiris and the West Pacific were considered prime reasons to place Rigel and Bran Astor, respectively, on the list (neither had been on the previous list). Upon first glance-- and first deep dive -- it seems clear that the list is biased.

However, NationStates Today's definition of "an influential individual" is... murky. "An individual who has been actively influential in the GP community in the last 6 months or who could have been actively influential in an impactful way, if they chose, in the last 6 months". The definition seems innocent, but "community" is extremely ambiguous and not defined. It could mean the broader gameplay world, regarding the less noticeable powers who are not active within the gameplay forums or discord, such as a region-builder in any GCR or a leader of an isolationist military, in which case there would be no reasonable claims of bias. "Community" more likely means the influences within the gameplay forums and discord, indirectly -- but most likely directly -- present. These are the players who influence the perceptions and gameplay of other players in their community. GCRs which are less involved in this NSGP community are free from their networking grasp, and free (mostly) from the Power20. That's why such an odd focus has been made on the position of NSGP admin (referring to the discord server). That's also why there's a skew towards regions whose members involve themselves in NSGP, such as Osiris and The West Pacific. Disregarding the Madjack snafu, the list is not biased, simply useless for determining true gameplay prominence.

Therein lies the problem with the Power20. The Power20 focuses almost entirely on a subgroup within gameplay of players who network, appeal to, and manipulate other members of that subgroup within gameplay. Gameplayers within that subgroup are known to like the Power20 because it appeals to their community, and gameplayers distant from it criticize it relentlessly.

Why don't players like the Power20? It's just not written for them.

So if it probably won't be reasonable to me as a North Pacifican, is there any good reason to read it? Nope!

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Europe: Elections, Fraud and Secrets
On 26 May 2020, the Government of Europe issued an executive order, Cabinet Order 2020, that saw the Home Secretary, Feria-Alkaline, stood down from office. The basis: Feria-Alkaline's importation of foreign votes into the European Parliament.

Three days earlier, on May 23, Feria-Alkaline admitted to contacting private real-world friends and convincing them to create World Assembly nations, in the hope of securing the passage of the Defence Office Act 2020. Authored by Regnum Italiae, the act would have seen the creation of an additional Cabinet position that served to bolster Europe's defences against, ironically, foreign intervention.

Imperium Anglorum, Europe's World Assembly Delegate and de facto leader since late 2016, stood opposed to the passage of the Defence Office Act for a series of reasons. From Feria-Alkaline's perspective, the act was neither necessary nor redundant, and so the Home Secretary resolved to support the executive's position.

"It's never a bad idea to have 'the Man' on your side," Feria-Alkaline told the Northern Light.

The man in question, however, did not return Feria-Alkaline's blasé approach.

Otherwise, Feria-Alkaline has described her actions as a demonstration of Europe's electoral weaknesses. She strongly argues that vote rigging needs to be criminalised entirely, and that it has not been due to administrative complacency. When the Northern Light declared her a martyr, she did not reject the title.

Cabinet Order 2020 included screenshots highlighting Feria-Alkaline's crimes. Feria-Alkaline argues that these screenshots were manipulated. Imperium Anglorum denies any such manipulation.

On the surface, the case is rather transparent. But through its seeming simplicity, it invites speculation, and if readers are wondering how such came to pass, they can find some explanation within the confines of this article. Europe, like any region in NationStates, is not without its secrets.

Europe is one of NationStates' oldest user-created regions, founded in 2002. Renowned for its contribution to the World Assembly, its professional legislature and its refusal to institute an endorsement cap, it has played part in the game-wide conflict against the notorious Confederation of Corrupt Dictators (CCD).

The Northern Light is repulsed to print anything remotely associated with CCD, but for once the region's antics actually do shed light on an important feature of Europe's governing laws. In 2018, CCD attacked Europe and installed Foucaults garden as World Assembly Delegate. The following update saw Imperium Anglorum take back the delegacy.

This transference of power was, in fact, legal. Proudly, though obviously at the risk of foreign interference, Europe conducts elections for its World Assembly Delegate every twelve hours. This approach is unique to amongst all regions of note within NationStates.

When pressed, Imperium Anglorum recounted his rise to power as Europe's World Assembly Delegate. He fought a hard campaign against his principle opponent, Jenesia, in 2015, advocating for regional reform. Such reforms included the creation of a clear law code, the creation of a constitution, a more active role for government, and a restart of recruiting efforts.

Imperium Anglorum has described his initial attempts to see these reforms carried as "overly ambitious". A week after his election, he lost his delegacy to Jenesia. After a period of months, he returned to the post and began his reforms at a more measured pace. From this point onwards - late 2016 - Feria-Alkaline has existed within Europe since the nation's founding. She served for three terms as First Deputy Commissioner during 2018 before rising to Secretary of the Home Office in September of that year at Imperium Anglorum's invitation.

Interestingly, September was not the first time Imperium Anglorum had offered Feria-Alkaline the Home Office. On 13 February 2018, Imperium Anglorum wrote to Feria-Alkaline over Discord concerning the retirement of then-Home Secretary Jenesia (the same Jenesia that had given Imperium Anglorum a run for his money back in 2015):
"I don't know who to replace [Jenesia] with that I can pretty reasonably trust [for the position of Home Secretary] other than you."

Perhaps Imperium Anglorum faced similar concerns when considering the addition of a Defence Secretary.

In any regional government, loyalty is arguably the most important quality of a regional officer. Sometimes this can come at the expense of the democratic process.
"The cabinet is comprised of Imperium Anglorum and, well, Imperium Anglorum's cronies," said Feria-Alkaline.
"The only thing elected by the people is the commissioners."

When a movement surfaced to increase the authority of these commissioners by way of the Commission Reform Act 2018, Imperium Anglorum opposed it. The reform act failed to carry.

Feria-Alkaline has also drawn the Northern Light towards some of Europe's more authoritarian legal provisions. The Government Act 2017 includes a clause on statuary interpretation, which reads:
"Interpretation of statutory law will be vested in a 'European Council' composed of three persons: the Founder, the author of The Basic Law, and the current Delegate."
"Which is EuroFounder (inactive), Imperium Anglorum (author of The Basic Law), and Imperium Anglorum again," said Feria-Alkaline.

This clause came as a surprise to the Northern Light, but Feria-Alkaline was unfazed. She contends that no one really knows how Imperium Anglorum's power is codified, since Europe's laws and constitution are so difficult for the ordinary person to interpret.
"This **** doesn't make sense to me and I've been here for three years and Home Secretary for nearly two," said Feria-Alkaline.

That said, Imperium Anglorum alerted the Northern Light to his many publications explaining Europe's laws.
"If others in Europe have ideas to simplify our laws or make them clearer, I would be happy to cooperate with them in doing so, as I have in the past," said Imperium Anglorum.

While Feria-Alkaline paints a bleak, almost dictatorial, image of Imperium Anglorum's Europe, the World Assembly Delegate has hit back strongly, attacking Feria-Alkaline's credibility.

"I did not intend to dismiss Feria before the Defence Office act's irregularities became known," said Imperium Anglorum.

Nonetheless, he and Feria-Alkaline suffered past disagreements.
"Since the creation of the Moderation Committee, we have disagreed repeatedly on the enforcement of RMB moderation regulations. In one case, I asked for and received her recusal from a moderation case, as she was involved in an exchange."
"But in most cases, consensuses emerged on the committee."

Imperium Anglorum also alerted the Northern Light to an incident from September 2018 involving Feria-Alkaline and Aweland from the region, supplemented with legitimate evidence.
"Two days after Feria was appointed as Home Secretary, she claimed to have 'accidentally' banned Aweland from [Europe]. She apologised to him both publicly and privately, which I had recommended."
"I am not entirely sure that she in fact gave the apology, but she admitted on 13 May 2020 that her claim of 'accidentally' banning Aweland was a lie."
"However, this did not induce me to dismiss her almost two weeks later, as I then believed that such unlawfulness would not be repeated."

Some might argue that for Imperium Anglorum to hold such a belief indicates a certain level of nativity. Feria-Alkaline had performed unlawful acts in the past, including importing votes to secure the passage of Statutory Revisions Act 2018. The same tactics that were used this May were used in 2018.

Feria-Alkaline has claimed that Imperium Anglorum had a vested interest to see the passage of the revisions act. Imperium Anglorum has denied being aware of the importation, and has in any case argued that the May importations were to his benefit too.
Furthermore, Feria-Alkaline has expressed concern with Imperium Anglorum's leadership presence.
"[He] is conspicuously not around much," she told the Northern Light.
"The man's so ******* distant it's like being ruled by a wall."

Feria-Alkaline also contended that Imperium Anglorum was now more involved in the General Assembly of the World Assembly than he was in Europe's government. To date, Imperium Anglorum has authored a total thirty World Assembly resolutions, making him one of the most prolific legislators in NationStates' history.

The Northern Light had no difficulty in reaching Imperium Anglorum for an interview.

Several other nations also offered their interpretation of Imperium Anglorum's delegacy, confirming Feria-Alkaline's beliefs. These nations requested anonymity for their own safety. Feria-Alkaline also expressed concern:
"I prefer not to endanger my friends."
"I know a few who, after this debacle, have begun to more vocally disapprove of Imperium Anglorum, but always in side servers."

It is even Feria-Alkaline's opinion that the European government is scared of its leader, whose addiction to power knows no bounds.

Both Feria-Alkaline and Imperium Anglorum were asked to describe Imperium Anglorum's five-year delegacy in one word.
"Long," was Feria-Alkaline's immediate response.

Imperium Anglorum declined to comment, declaring the question "unhelpful".

Regardless, Europe is an undeniably successful region, and whatever its politics it remains a close friend and ally of The North Pacific. The Northern Light was pleased to conduct this inquiry, and looks forward to working with both Imperium Anglorum and Feria-Alkaline in the future.

For now, Feria-Alkaline intends to remain in Europe and work productively to "close the loopholes" she has uncovered.

Imperium Anglorum has given his assurances to the Northern Light that legislative actions are being taken to unequivocally criminalise the importation of votes into both Europe's elections and Parliament.

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The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth
Publisher: Prydania :: Executive Editor: Gorundu

The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content does not represent the views of the Government of The North Pacific.

Index of issues

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'>Europe saw an unprecedented population boom, the effects of which are still felt today.

Alternatively, Feria-Alkaline has existed within Europe since the nation's founding. She served for three terms as First Deputy Commissioner during 2018 before rising to Secretary of the Home Office in September of that year at Imperium Anglorum's invitation.

Interestingly, September was not the first time Imperium Anglorum had offered Feria-Alkaline the Home Office. On 13 February 2018, Imperium Anglorum wrote to Feria-Alkaline over Discord concerning the retirement of then-Home Secretary Jenesia (the same Jenesia that had given Imperium Anglorum a run for his money back in 2015):
"I don't know who to replace [Jenesia] with that I can pretty reasonably trust [for the position of Home Secretary] other than you."

Perhaps Imperium Anglorum faced similar concerns when considering the addition of a Defence Secretary.

In any regional government, loyalty is arguably the most important quality of a regional officer. Sometimes this can come at the expense of the democratic process.
"The cabinet is comprised of Imperium Anglorum and, well, Imperium Anglorum's cronies," said Feria-Alkaline.
"The only thing elected by the people is the commissioners."

When a movement surfaced to increase the authority of these commissioners by way of the Commission Reform Act 2018, Imperium Anglorum opposed it. The reform act failed to carry.

Feria-Alkaline has also drawn the Northern Light towards some of Europe's more authoritarian legal provisions. The Government Act 2017 includes a clause on statuary interpretation, which reads:
"Interpretation of statutory law will be vested in a 'European Council' composed of three persons: the Founder, the author of The Basic Law, and the current Delegate."
"Which is EuroFounder (inactive), Imperium Anglorum (author of The Basic Law), and Imperium Anglorum again," said Feria-Alkaline.

This clause came as a surprise to the Northern Light, but Feria-Alkaline was unfazed. She contends that no one really knows how Imperium Anglorum's power is codified, since Europe's laws and constitution are so difficult for the ordinary person to interpret.
"This **** doesn't make sense to me and I've been here for three years and Home Secretary for nearly two," said Feria-Alkaline.

That said, Imperium Anglorum alerted the Northern Light to his many publications explaining Europe's laws.
"If others in Europe have ideas to simplify our laws or make them clearer, I would be happy to cooperate with them in doing so, as I have in the past," said Imperium Anglorum.

While Feria-Alkaline paints a bleak, almost dictatorial, image of Imperium Anglorum's Europe, the World Assembly Delegate has hit back strongly, attacking Feria-Alkaline's credibility.

"I did not intend to dismiss Feria before the Defence Office act's irregularities became known," said Imperium Anglorum.

Nonetheless, he and Feria-Alkaline suffered past disagreements.
"Since the creation of the Moderation Committee, we have disagreed repeatedly on the enforcement of RMB moderation regulations. In one case, I asked for and received her recusal from a moderation case, as she was involved in an exchange."
"But in most cases, consensuses emerged on the committee."

Imperium Anglorum also alerted the Northern Light to an incident from September 2018 involving Feria-Alkaline and Aweland from the region, supplemented with legitimate evidence.
"Two days after Feria was appointed as Home Secretary, she claimed to have 'accidentally' banned Aweland from [Europe]. She apologised to him both publicly and privately, which I had recommended."
"I am not entirely sure that she in fact gave the apology, but she admitted on 13 May 2020 that her claim of 'accidentally' banning Aweland was a lie."
"However, this did not induce me to dismiss her almost two weeks later, as I then believed that such unlawfulness would not be repeated."

Some might argue that for Imperium Anglorum to hold such a belief indicates a certain level of nativity. Feria-Alkaline had performed unlawful acts in the past, including importing votes to secure the passage of Statutory Revisions Act 2018. The same tactics that were used this May were used in 2018.

Feria-Alkaline has claimed that Imperium Anglorum had a vested interest to see the passage of the revisions act. Imperium Anglorum has denied being aware of the importation, and has in any case argued that the May importations were to his benefit too.
Furthermore, Feria-Alkaline has expressed concern with Imperium Anglorum's leadership presence.
"[He] is conspicuously not around much," she told the Northern Light.
"The man's so ******* distant it's like being ruled by a wall."

Feria-Alkaline also contended that Imperium Anglorum was now more involved in the General Assembly of the World Assembly than he was in Europe's government. To date, Imperium Anglorum has authored a total thirty World Assembly resolutions, making him one of the most prolific legislators in NationStates' history.

The Northern Light had no difficulty in reaching Imperium Anglorum for an interview.

Several other nations also offered their interpretation of Imperium Anglorum's delegacy, confirming Feria-Alkaline's beliefs. These nations requested anonymity for their own safety. Feria-Alkaline also expressed concern:
"I prefer not to endanger my friends."
"I know a few who, after this debacle, have begun to more vocally disapprove of Imperium Anglorum, but always in side servers."

It is even Feria-Alkaline's opinion that the European government is scared of its leader, whose addiction to power knows no bounds.

Both Feria-Alkaline and Imperium Anglorum were asked to describe Imperium Anglorum's five-year delegacy in one word.
"Long," was Feria-Alkaline's immediate response.

Imperium Anglorum declined to comment, declaring the question "unhelpful".

Regardless, Europe is an undeniably successful region, and whatever its politics it remains a close friend and ally of The North Pacific. The Northern Light was pleased to conduct this inquiry, and looks forward to working with both Imperium Anglorum and Feria-Alkaline in the future.

For now, Feria-Alkaline intends to remain in Europe and work productively to "close the loopholes" she has uncovered.

Imperium Anglorum has given his assurances to the Northern Light that legislative actions are being taken to unequivocally criminalise the importation of votes into both Europe's elections and Parliament.

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The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth
Publisher: Prydania :: Executive Editor: Gorundu

The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content does not represent the views of the Government of The North Pacific.

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