Modernization and Renewal

[Sandaoguo]

THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From the Office of the Minister

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

After consultation with the Cabinet, deputies, and former Ministers of Foreign Affairs, I have reached the conclusion that the existing organization and practices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are outdated and are in need of adaptation and modernization. Effective immediately, the following changes will take place:

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will end its practice of disseminating monthly updates on important events and happenings in The South Pacific, commonly referred to as “Foreign Affairs Updates” or “FA updates,” to each region with which we maintain a forum-based embassy or consulate.
  
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will still write a monthly update, but it will be published in a few selected central venues, namely the NationStates Gameplay forum and the Ministry’s own forum.
  
• All members of the Diplomatic Corps of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are honorably discharged from their duties, and the Diplomatic Corps is suspended pending reorganization and reimagining of its duties and purposes.
  

These changes were not made lightly or without much consideration. The central issue that catalyzed these changes was the difficulty multiple previous Ministers have had in maintaining an active and engaged diplomatic corps. When the Ministry’s diplomats are not active, their responsibilities are shifted upwards to deputy ministers and the ultimately the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

 

The serious difficulties in recruiting and maintaining the diplomatic corps, and the lack of deputy minister applicants, means the Minister of Foreign Affairs is tasked with writing the updates themselves, disseminating them to all of our embassies abroad, along with the other duties of staying up-to-date with the developments in all of our partner regions. In combination with the Minister’s political responsibilities as the lead foreign policy chief and counsel, the tasks shifted towards one person can be too great and too taxing.

 

Additionally, the purpose of the monthly update is to deliver important news at least once a month to our partner regions. Recent advancements and innovations in NationStates news media have rendered this job somewhat redundant. While the Ministry will still write monthly updates because independent news media does not cover all events in The South Pacific, the innovations of the news media will be adopted. Namely, newspapers and editorial magazines have large readerships in the NationStates Gameplay forum. If the purpose of the monthly update is to deliver important news about our region, then one of the goals should be reaching as many readers as possible. Adopting the publishing methods of successful news media will garner more readers than the current practice of posting monthly updates in largely unread and under-utilized embassy sub-forums.

 

Because the primary practical duty of the diplomatic corps was to disseminate the monthly update to their assigned regions, the end of that dissemination system means the diplomatic corps will become less and less necessary. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will still be in need of people knowledgeable about our regional partners. The diplomatic corps will be reimagined into a smaller, more streamlined, purpose- and goal-driven institution. Details of these changes will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. Current members of the diplomatic corps will be given appropriate opportunities to continue their work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

I realize that this may affect our embassies and consulates abroad. Many regions conduct activity checks and remove embassies and consulates that are inactive. We will likely lose several embassies to those requirements. To be clear, the loss of forum embassies will not harm our regional interests or our foreign affairs. Very little diplomacy occurs through forum embassies. Those activities are mostly conducted through better real-time means, such as IRC and Skype. It’s the opinion of the Ministry that the optical politics are less important than some people believe, and that our regional partners ultimately will understand our reasons, if they do not outright agree with them. There has been, over the past year, a general decline in the use of forum embassies, and this is the natural conclusion of that decline.

 

It is my hope, and the hope of the Cabinet, that these changes will result a slimmer, more functional Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Thank you for your support,

[Unibot]

A bold move from the MoFA! Probably a change that you will see carried out everywhere, TSP just took leadership on the issue. Embassy updates have become more or less irrelevant with new technology that allows for the wider dissemination of media and communication.

[mcmasterdonia]

As an old crotchety elite I do not approve!!

I will shave my head in protest.

[Rebel-topia]

I assume you will be proposing a change to Article 5.3 of the Charter with what changes have been and will be announced?

[Sandaoguo]

All of the current changes do not necessitate a Charter amendment, fortunately. The Minister is given broad authority in how the ministry is organized. The only Charter amendment that would be necessary is removing the legal requirement that the ministry write a disseminate the update. However, since SPINN is in no place to take over that responsibility, the ministry will still be writing the update itself.

[Rebel-topia]

That was the part in which I was referring, but, for some reason, I thought the writing/sending out of the update was a bit more wordy than it actually is in the Charter.

[Geomania]

What should attaches say to their regions?

[Sandaoguo]

I plan on notifying all of our embassy exchanges of this change, but I won't have time until Friday night. If you guys would like to notify your regions, then post here stating which regions you notified, I would be grateful. But I won't require you guys to so anything, since I relieved everybody of their duties.

[Vibrant Coconuts]

I like a lot of these changes. Good moves.

[Lord Ravenclaw]

I'm torn. On one hand TRADITION!


 

On the other, you've just done what I've wanted to do in Osiris for so long but was worried of the backlash for it. Not that this means much but you've just gained +50 respect points in my eyes.