Published in United Kingdom - Political debates and analysis - 04 Oct 2016 09:40 - 23
Hello all!
In this edition of Jeju Gungjeon's Interviews, we will explore the continent of North America and the politics that help define it! In the Interviews format, I will be contacting a variety of relevant citizens from across the globe to weigh in on the situation. With their answers, I will compile a thorough review of the subject matter, organized in a way to help make a complicated situation easier to understand. At the end of the article, I will make available a document with the full interview responses.
Let's get started!
North America by the Map
What initially drew me to North America was the relatively small numbers of nations and the unusual borders present within the continent. Currently, there are six countries involved in North America. On the map above, we have Germany in dark gray, Canada in salmon pink, the U.S.A. in blue, Portugal in green, Mexico in purple-gray and Cuba in yellow-gray. For those unaware, neither Germany nor Portugal are native to the continent, though each borders it from its other territories.
Immediately, one can see that Mexico, Portugal and Germany all have taken territory from the U.S. On top of that, Germany has carved out more than 1/3 of Canada while Mexico and Portugal hold 2/3 of Cuba between them. However, the U.S.A. still holds the vast majority of territories in the continent thanks to all 50 states being represented on the map.
North America by the Data
Next, I have taken a look at the MPP and war data between the countries of North America. Looking at the MPP Web: Day 267, one can see that the U.S.A. and Mexico are tightly linked, while Portugal is nearby within the same sphere of influence and Cuba holds a distant connection. Germany resides within the opposing sphere of influence as the other four, but it is far closer to than Canada, who is positioned at the polar opposite of the Web.
On the war front, there are a number of active wars within North America. Mexico is in open war with Portugal (since 9/30) and Cuba (since 9/21) - both wars fighting over control of Cuba's territories. Meanwhile Canada is in open war with Germany (since 10/4), but no battles have been waged yet. A few Resistance Wars have occured in the past few days, namely on behalf of Canada, but the interface offers no way to track recent resistance wars, so these details cannot be confirmed.
Summary of Politics
Most of the respondents to the interview characterized the politics of North America as somewhere between "stable" and "in between". Carlos Kohler, Minister of Defence for Cuba, replied that North America is a "stable one inside the chaotic way" - suggesting that stability comes from more of a good balancing act than a long-term structural peace.
Dormillon, Governor of Mexico, does a great job summarizing the current agreements within North America:
"Germany pays rent to Canada and USA for its territories.
Portugal pays rent to USA for its territories
Mexico pays rent to the USA for its territories
Cuba gives permission to Mexico to move to Europe through its territories.
Mexico attacked Portugal with permission because we are allies and friends."
A number of the leaders interviewed for this article agree that there are strong relationships across the continent, even between countries polarized by the MPP Web. Canadian President and Minister of Defence (also commonly referred to as the Canadian God), DUCHMAN_1, speaks to good relations between Canada and the U.S.A., while NAPs exist between Canada / Germany and U.S.A. / Mexico, though some are soon coming to an end.
Summary of Conflicts
Every single respondent agreed, when asked about a hypothetical conflict, on what the two sides of the war would look like. On the one side would be Canada and Germany, both members of the Invictus alliance, while on the other side would be Mexico, U.S.A. and Portugal, all members of the MDP alliance. Most agree that Cuba would remain neutral in the matter. However, both DUCHMAN_1 and Thomas Killah, President of the U.S.A., agree that it is unlikely the region would see such a conflict - foreign policy efforts on both sides have made direct conflict like that hard to escalate. In fact, as DrethGar, Minister of Defence for Germany, points out, the two sides are linked by a direct MPP - Portugal and Germany consider themselves friends and share a treaty.
But a word of caution does emerge from the American side, with spitfireYG, recent Minister of Defence for the U.S.A., suggesting that the end of the Canada - U.S.A. NAP and the approaching end of the Germany - U.S.A. rental / NAP agreement have left "tensions... high and the future still unclear". Thomas Killah echoes the sentiment of his former MoD, saying, "history has shown the true fragility in the region and with our peace treaty with Canada over, and our rental agreement with Germany ending soon as well, we will see how all sides develop over the next few months."
One of the more unique perspectives from the interviews, on the nature of conflict in North America, came from Vortice, President of Mexico, who suggests that conflict originates largely due to a resource imbalance within the continent, rather than political differences or ambitions to dominate the region. In his words:
"Conflicts in North America are the result of unequal (resource) bonus. For example, my country is (usually) formed by 32 states or regions. But in (this world) we only have eight. While a country like USA has all of its regions respected. So I think that the reason for the wars that have happened on this continent is the pursuit of economic growth, rather than political differences or intentions to control the continent or something we might find in other continents."
Future Outlook
Canada: According to DUCHMAN_1, Canada will be focusing economically in the near future - looking to fill up its treasury, something that has been ignore for too long. They are also committed to the foreign policy track of their alliance, Invictus, but will seek to hold their current regions and find a workable solution to expand their bonuses.
U.S.A.: After a successful first term in office, Thomas Killah, is hoping for the U.S.A. to continue building on its recent progress, namely:
"Increasing activity, continuing government transparency with the public, maintaining steady battles for our soldiers, improving and stabilizing the economy, and making the community overall even more enjoyable. On top of this, we will be looking to educate new players, encourage them to get involved and active, then train them to step up into larger roles in the government."
He also suggests that the region will have peace for some time to come, while rental deals are reviewed and possibly renewed. Naturally, the U.S. will ensure these rental deals do not violate its 100% bonuses on any of the three industries.
Mexico: Both Vortice and Lalo292, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Mexico, agree that their nation's priorities are in supporting their allies and expanding their economies. What they have been looking for, specifically, is to achieve a 100% weapons bonus, which they currently lack. Vortice hopes for an even greater unity within the continent, while Lalo292 suggests that North America will remain stable and safe, so long as MDP exists.
Cuba: While Carlos Kohler sadly admits that Cuba is a "farm" for other countries, he has high hopes and intentions for the future, even if the path to get there will be challenging.
Germany: DrethGar confirmed what the other leaders had said - Germany's interests in the regions were purely for the resource bonuses. He pointedly summarized the German position that they have "no plans for North America and we hope to stay that way."
Portugal: Ancestral, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Portugal, agreed with his counter parts on an economic focus with the expansion of bonuses for his country. However, he offers an interesting note in his his expectation of "some big action coming in the near future. There will be, for sure, some fun in North America."
Conclusions
Based on the interviews and data that I have collected, I have come to the following conclusions on North America:
- North America offers a relatively peaceful co-existence for members of the two global alliances, often considered opponents, Invictus and MDP.
Peace in North America relies on strong foreign policy efforts from its countries' leaders and, thus, remains fragile.
Resource imbalance will be the source of conflict in North America, but the U.S.A. deftly avoids escalation due to its flexible rental agreements.
The most clear sign of the future of North America will be the renewal (or lack thereof) of the U.S.A. rental agreements and NAPs.
That's all for this time, I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of politics in North America. For the full interviews, consult the reference document.
Support
_Qurcika_spitfireYGMengrelianPalmerDrethGarZE BUNDAThomas KillahVinceBogWarhaftGiovanno69AncestralpanglimakucingDormillonsuealllComments (23)
Bravo !!!
well done o/
This definitely deserves a vote and support
Quedó bien verga alv
Felicidades /u/
Nice work o7
nice work v
(°.°)7
Awesome 
Amazing job, a true good work!
how many articles are you gonna write in a day? 
awesome work
awesome work
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the support!
@DamaChen: I will update the MPP Web every Sunday or Monday, depending on my schedule.
I will aim to publish articles like this one every week or so, probably on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
awesome work voted subbed
Awsome work! Do one on South America later o7
@Alejandro Madrid: It s on my list of articles I want to explore! Now with the peace treaty with Peru, I might do it this week.
nice work o7
Very Nice article, you should come to the USA, we need writers like you xD
Voted
Serious job!!! V
EDIT: I ve just updated the article to include the perspective of DrethGar, Minister of Defence for Germany.
Voted, nice job.
Amazing job. Keep it up. Erev needs more articles like this