I think if we wanna go with Polynesian @Cappedore , we should go with Rapa Nui, otherwise it wouldn’t be eastern Pacifican but central (the Samoa/Tonga you proposed), northern (Hawaii) or southern (Maori). I’m going with a RL-IC TEP parallel rather than thematic for the sake of it
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I dont mind giving our exec head a new name but for simplicity sake the world asswmbly delegatw should still hold the title of just “Delegate” imo
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Agree with Zuk’s point above. I would also express the importance of having titles people can understand clearly. While I like the theming of Polynesian/Pacific Islander culture, realistically, no-one outside those IRL cultural groups is going to know what any of those terms mean. It’s important that people who aren’t already involved in govt understand what each position is.
I think it’s more important we get the core structure of this system down-pat before we think too deeply on theming.
I support the general idea. It would make TEP a lot a safer for the long term.
Since I rejoined TEP last year, how many security crises have we endured? From Lone Wolves to Ernest Drake, the threats have been persistent and unrelenting. If we look back at TEP’s history–particularly the case of Fedele–it is not hard to conclude that, had his group been even slightly more competent, they could have successfully taken the region.
This highlights a structural vulnerability: it is alarmingly easy for foreign actors–whose loyalties lie with another region or organization–to position themselves to become Delegate. TEP has been fortunate thus far, but fortune is not a security strategy. How long can that luck reasonably be expected to hold?
It is only a matter of time before a more capable individual or group, attempts the same. For these reasons, I must support this proposal.
I support this idea in general, I think in the long run, a non-executive Delegacy will be a safer option for TEP
Just one correction: not even slightly competent, more like if they actually cared to take it seriously at ALL.
rip
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I concur. Much of what I’ve written below touches upon a similar premise, and was written like a week and a half ago.
This discussion - and discussions of this sort in recent years - makes it very clear to me that it is a necessity, not a choice, that we make this change at the most immediate of junctures.
Here is a fact: The East Pacific, now more than ever before, faces a number of wide-ranging security threats that jeopardize the long-term existence of the current Government of the East Pacific. One man got very close, and there’s reason to believe another had similar intentions.
Do I want to do it - out of a sake of practicality and personal opinion - no. However, as made evident by the back-to-back delegacies of a woman who called herself “Loligarch” (euuggghh) and the current Khan of LWU at last decade’s close, the continued existence of a widely-elected and completely supreme position such as this is absolutely not viable for the region. There are evildoers in this world, and as long as I’ve been on NationStates, they’ve been licking our lips at us.
The supreme power of the in-game Delegacy must be restricted to the Viziers, preferably one we know is a do-or-die TEP loyalist. As it stands, that power is at risk of being compromised at any given election cycle, and the bold shall continue to try for it until either that supreme power is no longer easily accessible or our Concordat is ripped apart at the hands of the malevolent.
I impress upon my fellow Magisters what is already universally understood: the urgency with which this particular avenue must be pursued. The days of the “Dictator Delegate,” no matter how benevolent its position-holders have been to this point, must end.
TEP has the single most powerful executive delegacy of any comparable NS democracy I can think of. Even TNP doesn’t let their del appoint the court and the security body (subject to confirmation by a small legislative group that can easily be stacked during a period of low activity or if a few people let their guard down). The HoG position would presumably inherit that stuff; it doesn’t need to have an inherently very powerful ingame feeder seat attached to it to still be very strong and capable of conducting sweeping, dynamic policy change to reflect the will of the citizenry.
Regarding security benefits, splitting the ingame del from HoG won’t stop an organized coup. That’s just the nature of the beast. Nothing short of making TEP’s internal culture so unbearably terrible that members of the coup team straight-up quit will do that. The main security advantage will be against lone rogues and arsonists (which the region’s had recent experience with). That’s still a valuable additional layer of security to have. Imagine how much damage a TEP executive del could do on their way out the door.
Much has been made of whether a split would discourage newer players from seeking office in a region that already has an uncompetitive election problem (which we’re not alone in, mind you). I’ll instead offer the perspective of a veteran player who isn’t getting any younger.
Unless something drastically changes IRL, I’m unlikely to seek an executive delegate spot in the near future. I simply do not have the time or energy for it, my folder of WA vote screenshots notwithstanding. As the playerbase continues to age and the game continues to slowly die, I’m sure I won’t be the only one. I’m sure I’m not the only one right now. A separate HoG position with a trusted other person handling gameside responsibilities, however? That I might be interested in. As long as the HoG position has a cool name and is visible to the world, newer players will be interested too.
My closing thought is that while the Conk limits a del to appointing a Vizier to assume the full delegacy instead of just gameside responsibilities, it allows a del to appoint a minister to take on any of their roles, including pseudo HoG responsibilities. Previous dels have used this to appoint chief ministers, prime ministers, and vice delegates, so it provides a way for a del to trial a split HoG/ingame del system prior to actually changing the law. We kind of already have that going with amom continuing to perform ingame del roles while Drem waits to assume the ingame seat.