[Passed] No, and Also Go Away

[Luca]

No, and Also Go Away

PREAMBLE. Observing that the world is an incorrigibly unrepentant hive of villainy from which the Region is a refuge,

Understanding that Refugia has long-held an informal designation of neutrality and counts people from all backgrounds among its friends,

Wishing to remain outside the throes of conflicts' tangled and caustic morass,

Establishes the following statute:

RRS 15. The Region defines its military alignment as "Neutral", shunning the agendas and obligations of the world's self-interested regimes, and only acting in the direct defence of the Region's allies when determined to be necessary by the Councillor of Operations.


Authored by: Refuge Isle
Seconded by:

[Catherine]

Looks good, and it's a good idea to have it in writing. If it goes to vote, is it worth having in there for newer folks an explanation that this doesn't actually make any changes to our position, or would that be in an RMB post surrounding the proposal?

The one minor edit I'd say is that I think "throws" in this case is spelled "throes".

[Luca]

Looks good, and it's a good idea to have it in writing. If it goes to vote, is it worth having in there for newer folks an explanation that this doesn't actually make any changes to our position, or would that be in an RMB post surrounding the proposal?

The one minor edit I'd say is that I think "throws" in this case is spelled "throes".

You are right, thank you. English is my first language, but like pancakes, you usually have to throe the first one out.

I'm not against having an explanation, but I'm not sure what that would look like.

[Natalie]

What does "except in the direct defence of the Region's allies" mean?

[Luca]

What does "except in the direct defence of the Region's allies" mean?

It's fun, right? It's somewhat open-ended, because it appears to reference content that doesn't exist yet.

RRS 7(b):

The Councillor of Foreign Affairs, whose responsibilities are defined as management and maintenance of the travel portals within the Region. The Councillor of Foreign Affairs seeks out ideologically-similar regions to Refugia and builds relationships with them. To that end, the Councillor oversees the construction, maintenance, and withdrawal of embassies.

This Councillor shall:

  (i) Maintain the relationships between Refugia and its allies.

This is the only thing that references "allies". Presumably, this implies that we either have them or view our embassies as them. Meaning if a region like Canada, which is our oldest embassy in fact, comes under attack, we retain the capacity to assist. Or not. Whichever it is.

[Catherine]

I'm not against having an explanation, but I'm not sure what that would look like.

Hm yes. I haven't done any political writing, but maybe a short extra bit under 'believing',

Understanding that Refugia has maintained an unofficial independent status for a number of years, counting people from all backgrounds among its friends,

(n.b. not sure about the word unofficial, as it is in the rules and has been mentioned on the RMB before?)

[Natalie]

Maybe something like Desperate to codify our long-held status of independent neutrality,

[Luca]

Slightly improved verbiage added.

For background, we'll want to avoid "independent", as that relates to a military alignment that both raids and defends.

[Zukchiva]

I'd probably reword it as "RRS 15. The Region defines its military alignment as "Neutral", shunning the expectations and responsibilities of the world's self-interested regimes and only acting in the direct defence of the Region's allies."

I wonder if it may be a good idea to directly specify what "allies" means in 7(b), rather than leaving it kinda vague.

[Luca]

Another update and another substantive change -- that intervention would be commanded by the Ops Councillor, which is also something that has long been assumed.

I wonder if it may be a good idea to directly specify what "allies" means in 7(b), rather than leaving it kinda vague.

Perhaps, although I am passively interested in leaving that for a future author. Ideally it should not be defined here if it is codified or elaborated.

[Natalie]

This looks good. I remain optimistic about the NAGA.