Changes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

[Sandaoguo]

Given the recent exit by my second-in-command, Horse, I am forced to confront the long-term problems of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is probably the most dysfunctional ministry in TSP and has been for a very long time. This isn't a dig at any former Ministers, because this is obviously also a failure of my own.

 

The main issue is that keeping the diplomatic corps active and engaged is impossible. We have tried everything from carrots to sticks. It's a thankless job that people take as a foothold, or because they don't know how thankless and menial it is. We get people to sign up, and they may be active for a week or two, but eventually they all disappear. This is a serious problem for two reasons. The first is that the diplomatic corps plays a large role in helping produce the monthly foreign updates. The second is that they are the people who disseminate them. When the diplomats disappear, those responsibilities are placed on the Minister and his or her deputies. When those deputies leave, the Minister is left to do it all alone, and that is too much to ask of one person with other demanding responsibilities.

 

I have given up on fixing the diplomatic corps. I am ready to abandon it entirely. In turn, I am proposing that we end the monthly update practice as it currently exists. In reality, FA updates are regurgitations of the previous month's news. While that used to be valuable, with the proliferation of media outlets, this practice is now outmoded. Those outlets do it better and faster. Indeed, we have our own affiliated outlet, SPINN, and I am planning on getting in touch with Hileville to see if SPINN would want to do a monthly recap feature instead.

 

These decisions will have consequences. Most regions, including our own, have an activity requirement in order to maintain embassies. We may lose some of those embassies, if special accommodations cannot be made. I do think that, because we will be doing this to everybody and not selectively, regions will feel less insulted and more willing to accommodate us. However, it would not be end the of the world if we lose forum embassies we don't even use. Our relationships do not rest upon sub-forums.

 

I believe these decisions will have a net positive impact on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Minister will be freed up to focus on the political aspects of his or her job, which is, of course, the main purpose of the position. Additionally, should Hileville agree to do monthly recaps, SPINN will be publishing more often. This is a much-needed modernization of how our region handles foreign affairs. Instead of acting like things haven't changed in the past few years, and fighting to keep things the same, we should accept the changes and adapt.

 

I eagerly await input from my fellow Cabinet members.

[Arbiter08]

Indeed, we have our own affiliated outlet, SPINN, and I am planning on getting in touch with Hileville to see if SPINN would want to do a monthly recap feature instead.

 

These decisions will have consequences. Most regions, including our own, have an activity requirement in order to maintain embassies. We may lose some of those embassies, if special accommodations cannot be made.

If you get SPINN to post in our embassies then why do you feel that we would lose them?

[Sandaoguo]

I don't imagine SPINN taking over the responsibilities of the diplomatic corps. So the editors and authors wouldn't be going forum to forum. Rather, what I imagine is that SPINN does a monthly recap and publish it in the same manner as its other stories. Of course, it's up to SPINN to do this. I believe it's a good option because they're a news outlet that already does what FA updates seek to do. But if they don't, then the Ministry would continue writing updates, but would instead opt to use our centralized NS Gameplay embassy thread.

[Horse]

I love the idea  

[Sandaoguo]

So, judging by conversations and "likes," it looks like Kris and Escade approve of this idea. I'd like to get at least a majority of the Cabinet behind this before I make the announcement. 

 

What do you guys think, Arbiter, SB, and Rebel?

[Arbiter08]

I support it.

[Escade]

I've already stated this elsewhere but I agree GR.  I don't like the need to update on a million forums, and honestly I skip over a lot of what other ambassadors post unless it is really funny and concise.  

 

Perhaps we can use dispatches that are updated at regular intervals to share major updates for all ministries in TSP, kind of like the agenda tracker. 

[HEM]

I have some frank feedback to offer this plan, but if the Cabinet would prefer I not comment (as a non-member) I will keep quiet.

 

So basically I'm asking permission to put my two cents in.

[Kris Kringle]

Given your past involvement in the Ministry, personally I welcome your input.

[Southern Bellz]

As long as you have a detailed plan to ensure a smooth transition, you make a good case and I agree that the embassy process is stale.


I would love to see our diplomatic corps focus on in game visits to other regions and more regular events.


End of the day, I want to see more creative risks in TSP. We're here to have fun and I imagine GRs passion for change will come through on his work.


I'll even go to bat for this politically on this.


Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[Escade]

HEM, let us know your thoughts and ideas how to make it work\improve.

[Sandaoguo]

Thank you for your comments, SB!

 

I've sent Hileville a PM asking him about the SPINN offer and also asking for his input, as well. If any other admins are reading the thread, I don't mind if they comment. This will be a huge change in how we, as a GCR, conduct foreign affairs. I don't want to make a decision that will impact many future MoFAs without a lot of input.

[HEM]

I don't think this is the right direction to go. The whole world uses some sort of "update" system. It is a system that allows us to simultaneously promote our "brand" and engage in world discussion. Does the entire world read our updates? No, but quite a few people do. What I think G-R fails to realize when he says that scrapping the update frees him for the "political" side of the job is that the update is an extremely vital political part of the Ministry.

 

I don't think exporting the work to SPINN is going to work. Firstly, we still need a way to deliver the things. Secondly, SPINN is notoriously inconsistent with on/off behavior (not pointing fingers, I've been involved there before and flaked out).

 

Ultimately, I don't think this is "modernization" I think this is laziness. Most of the regions in the world have managed to find a way to make a diplomatic corp work, why can't we? Maybe it will take some outside the box thinking, but I remember having a mostly engaged and active corp at my disposal everytime I worked in Foreign Affairs.

[Hileville]

I messaged GR about this already.  SPINN really isn't setup for this right now.

 

Also on reading the Charter this is actually required to be done by the MoFA in Article 5.3.4.

[Sandaoguo]

I don't think this is the right direction to go. The whole world uses some sort of "update" system. It is a system that allows us to simultaneously promote our "brand" and engage in world discussion. Does the entire world read our updates? No, but quite a few people do. What I think G-R fails to realize when he says that scrapping the update frees him for the "political" side of the job is that the update is an extremely vital political part of the Ministry.

I really do disagree about this. I know quite a bit about how politics works in NationStates, and I'm confident that FA updates play approximately no role whatsoever. Perhaps that was true years ago, but it is no longer true now. FA updates are not used as political tools. I cannot recall the last time one our foreign updates caused a stir or sent a political message that had not already been sent by a Cabinet statement or an independent news story. I do not see how FA updates play a vital political role, especially since they are rarely read.


I think people with your position are really stuck in theory. You have an abstract view the system that does not translate into reality. FA updates regurgitate news that's already been thoroughly discussed elsewhere, so we are not promoting a brand or engaging in a "world discussion." Brand promotion is done through recruitment. Discussion is done through better vehicles. Can FA updates do those? Yes, but at a cost. The cost is too high for the extremely small benefit we rarely see. The cost continues to rise, as well, because it is impossible to maintain the necessary staff.

 

I don't think exporting the work to SPINN is going to work. Firstly, we still need a way to deliver the things. Secondly, SPINN is notoriously inconsistent with on/off behavior (not pointing fingers, I've been involved there before and flaked out).

 

If SPINN does a monthly recap, or if that still stays within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the method of dissemination will change regardless. I ran on ending the forum-to-forum system and I intend on ending it. No matter who ends up writing the updates, they will only be posted to a central location. That will likely be the NS Gameplay forum.

 

Ultimately, I don't think this is "modernization" I think this is laziness. Most of the regions in the world have managed to find a way to make a diplomatic corp work, why can't we? Maybe it will take some outside the box thinking, but I remember having a mostly engaged and active corp at my disposal everytime I worked in Foreign Affairs.

 

With all due respect, the diplomatic corps you thought was active when you left was not active at all. A simple activity check resulted in 3 people checking in and 1 person actually quitting. I had 1 person complain he was never even told, which means they didn't regularly check the forums. So, I don't think it's fair to say you had an active and engaged diplomatic corps. Even after allowing Horse to maintain the team, something with which he has experience, we were not able to round up a viable team. Horse had to write the entire update mostly himself, which is how it goes with almost all foreign ministries I'm familiar with in this game.


You could pin it on laziness, but the reality is that the way you guys have done foreign affairs is simply broken today. There's a lot of useless busy-work. A lot of unrewarding and unrecognized work. Foreign updates exist in their own bubble, where the people who produce them are largely the only people who read them. The advent of newspapers shows us that the purpose of the FA update has been usurped by a better model that attracts more people and more discussion. Our brand and our participating in world discussion would be better served by recognizing times have changed and adapting.


Many regions have created their own newspapers for that purpose. I don't think it's any coincidence that some of the more successful ones -- Osiris and TRR -- don't really do FA updates anymore. In fact, a cursory look at our embassies forums is pretty telling in how FA updates just aren't a big deal now. We would be better served by following suit and handing the reigns over the SPINN. That SPINN has a spotty record of activity doesn't much matter to me -- MOFA has a spotty record too. I think it would easier to get people into SPINN, where they can be recognized through bylines and more engaging discussions -- then to get them into the diplomatic corps, where they're dumped away in a little-known regions posting a thread once a month that few, if anybody, read. I will do the update if SPINN can't, but I do believe it's pointless to duplicate activities. If we have an active SPINN, then there's no point in having MOFA write monthly news summaries.

[Escade]

Again, on a personal level I don't find FA updates (from other regions on our forums) to be particularly useful. They are often too long, and actual relationships would work better.

 

It wasn't until meeting and engaging with Kantrias\Europeia\Other Regions that I became more of aware of their citizens, leadership and such. 

 

Having a central place on our forums where each ministry submits its monthly report of the agenda tracking would be more useful to us as a region and give other regions an incentive to come and check out our forums. We could also post this as a dispatch and that would be easy for non-forum goers to check out.

[Sandaoguo]

A monthly recap dispatch is a great idea! I basically want to transition to us posting FA updates where they will actually be read.

[Rebel-topia]

Just my $.02 here... I was MoFA for 3 consecutive terms, and, outside of Hile (who was Delegate at the time) and Ant, I was left to write and maintain most of the embassies and do all the writing myself.

[Sandaoguo]

Later these evening I'll be releasing the following press release, and sending a notification to all current diplomatic corps members.

 

----

 

Changes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

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 adaption 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. 

[Kris Kringle]

Do you already have a specific idea of how this "small, more streamlined, purose- and goal -driven institution" will be? Overall I support this statement, but want to make sure that we won't let this discussion die without following through with it.

[Sandaoguo]

Do you already have a specific idea of how this "small, more streamlined, purose- and goal -driven institution" will be? Overall I support this statement, but want to make sure that we won't let this discussion die without following through with it.

 

I'm basically envisioning a team composed based on expertise. I would like politically savvy people who know the ins and outs of the most important regions we have. Those would be the core ambassadors, though I'm not certain I want to continue using that term. Goal-driven means we're not just having people waiting around to post things. If we have no goal for a region, then there's no need to have a dedicated person on it.

 

I would also like to utilize deputies more. Deputy ministers have tended to be administrative -- diplomatic corps managers and update writers. Instead, I'm imagining some like a a Deputy for UCR Relations, a Deputy for Military Affairs, etc. Not all positions would be filled at all times. I would need some time to flesh out this idea, though.

[Kris Kringle]

I have to admit so far I like what you're saying. Having non-administrative deputies does sound like an interesting idea, and I would suppor that.