Once more, I have returned to the foreign ministry, and once more, we have quite a lot to do in the foreign affairs realm. War or something like it is a distinct possibility, and we are continuing to be challenged on all fronts in a way we simply haven't been in recent memory. The team we have here is going to be more crucial than ever in responding quickly to events as they unfold, gathering information, and doing the basics of diplomacy and communication with other regions. Everyone, from the standard diplomatic corps to the deputies in the situation room with me, will need to bring their very best this term. Kasch is an energetic, highly thoughtful and communicative leader, and I have no doubt his diplomatic skills will be top notch as well. But he needs to have all the facts and all of the intelligence that we can provide, so we have to come through for him.
I have come at this job from a few angles over the years, but what we need this time around is clear hierarchy and organization, and a quick means to get the best people for the various tasks working on those tasks they do best. I see a few key areas here, areas that will be primarily managed by one of my deputies.
For starters, we have the very basics of the ministry's internal structure, the ambassadors and the collection of reports. This term, we really need the information those reports are intended to provide, and they have to be useful when events unfold abroad. This has to be more than superficial or surface level observations, focused on easy public events like elections and appointments. We need to know what the region is like on the ground, who the key players are, what they're concerned with, struggling with, hoping to accomplish, and where we might have opportunities for partnership or assistance. We have to know who is in charge and what their politics are, of course, as well as what major events the regions are experiencing, but we also have to know who their key allies are, who they're feuding with, what their plans for the future are. The picture has to be comprehensive, and that also means that the ambassadors who keep track of these things have to be committed and invested in their postings. No one wants to pay attention to a place that isn't interesting to them after all. So the deputy managing this needs to have an eye for who fits best where, and how to coax the most information out of the people posted in the regions. For this task I have selected @Nutmeg The Squirrel as the deputy in charge. I am pleased that Nutmeg is interested in this often difficult work, and since at the end of the day these are volunteers trying to have fun in a politics simulator, I am confident he will find a way to motivate the ambassadors while reimagining what reports look like and how they work. I will rely on Nutmeg to determine postings, adjust them as needed, and design the new system for reports and how to hit all of our goals as far as what we learn from them. Fregerson already changed hos these are handled, and I believe it is a good model we can build on. My goal is to squeeze a bit more utility out of the reports, which is admittedly a difficult thing to do, so I hope Nutmeg has some outside-the-box ideas for how to really get that out of our ambassadors.
The next most visible thing from our ambassadors are the communications they send out, the use of our embassies showing the world what we're up to or keeping them apprised of situations or our responses to them. These all have to be written out and coordinated with other parts of the government, so we need people who can quickly and effectively collaborate with other parts of the government, and have an eye for design and a way with words. This is a crucial and underutilized area, often being used exclusively for pushing publications or statements to embassies. We can do more here, mostly by doing it better when we do it. Messages accompanying our publication posts, and more direct input from the team in this area on the messages that go out for all but the most significant of messages, can be more interesting and informative and a great way for ambassadors to better connect with their postings. But as has been discussed for some time, and was a key goal of Chipoli in the previous term, we can be keeping our own citizens better informed of what is happening out in the world just as well as we can keep the world informed of what is happening in TNP. I want this aspect of the ministry to really become something this term, so that the isolationist tendencies of this region don't keep our people from seeing the bigger picture, or worse, not caring about it at all. This will probably be a smaller team, but anyone who wants to be more involved in crafting statements or contributing messages to go out to our various embassy regions, and of course TNP itself, is encouraged to pursue this area. I do not know what form these communications will take - I imagine Comms will have things for us to post, but we're kind of inventing something new with the info for citizens, and there's as of yet no consensus on how we will do that, so we really need to figure that out. For this task I have selected @Attempted Socialism as the deputy in charge. He is of course one of our most senior staffers, having been in the ministry for three successive administrations, and as a teacher and a detailed analyst I believe his expertise in particular will lend itself to better communication, and a good way to teach world events and politics to our citizens.
FA involves a lot of talking, summits and meetings and high level talks with other leaders. This requires planning, and also keeping track of all of the information and messages flying back and forth. The MoFA can often be spread thin and wing it, and what tends to be lost in the process is a record and institutional memory coming from that record. There are FA archives that we can better utilize when having these talks, and while I believe all FA staff could benefit from handling this information, due to its nature it can really only be handled by a few people, including the deputy in charge, who will be @Chipoli this term. Chipoli of course just completed a brief stint as acting delegate and was in many of the kinds of talks I am referring to. This also means he still has the information from them, and can use that to help build our record of these talks so future FA staff and delegates can benefit from them. This will also mean that he can continue to be part of the staff, whenever permitted, that sits in on these talks and observes. FA talent comes and goes but we have to be able to build on past experiences and carry them forward. This term, I hope that we can solidify our diplomatic records so that we have that crucial resource for years to come, and so we can trace on our end how some relationships and events came to pass. There is obviously a clerical aspect to this job, and as such I also want Chipoli and any staff that assists in this area can also take point on embassies, evaluating the requests we get on the forum and the life expectancy of the ones we already have. Any of those embassies that seek an in-game embassy, or any we wish to target for expanding to an in-game embassy, or even ones we consider viable for treaties, will also be under their purview.
Finally, I believe that Fregerson's continued use of the FA staff channel for general discussion with our full diplomatic corps is something that should be carried on, and I will continue to do so. But that requires a shepherd, one among the number who can lead and moderate the discussion, and ensure that key information from higher levels makes its way there should I or another deputy forget to engage the full team. Not everything can be discussed at that level, but whenever possible, including deliberately narrowed versions of the stuff that cannot, I want a member of the core FA leadership team making sure our staff is engaged and participating in these discussions. I have selected @Halsoni as the deputy in charge of this area. Unlike the other areas, this is one that all members of the FA staff are in by default, as it is literally meant for every one of them. These discussions are also valuable because they help staffers learn how to think in FA terms, and it keeps them exposed to current events and how people respond to them and talk about them. It is probably the best thing to actually experiencing it in the field.
To recap, I see four key areas this ministry's work can be split into, and I invite our staff to self-select which of these areas they feel is best suited to their talents or interests. It may come to pass that new areas need to be carved out, or more help brought on for the ones that exist. I will announce future appointments if it comes to it, but I want to stress that me picking out 4 areas and naming 4 deputies does not mean interested parties cannot make their pitch or seek the same positions. If you want it, ask, and we'll see if it makes sense. We have to collaborate here, this is an all hands on deck time and every member of the team will need to pull their weight and be heard. If that's too much to expect, or you don't find a taste for these tasks, I understand. There's plenty of other executive staffs to join. I hope you will find the work here exciting and meaningful, and if you don't, speak up. We have to spin a lot of plates and I don't want anyone to feel left out or underutilized. So please, when in doubt, speak up. Good luck to those of you who brave these choppy diplomatic waters this term, but also thank you for braving the rapids and coming aboard. We'll be glad to have you, as long as you stay positive, remain thoughtful, and try to be a statesmen in a game that too often rewards the least stately behavior.
-Pallaith
