[IAAR] Realpolitik: 2017

[Patchy]

I would like to announce the formation of the first Coalition. The National Ummah (name subject to change if France has a last minute surge) will be a coalition of the CMP, PPP, and ASP. The goals of this coalition go as follow: Develop our nation's industry and trade in order to make an unrivaled economy, to strengthen the power of the central government through the National Council, and to improve our relations with City States with the goal of bringing them under our wing.

 

[Muhabir]

The Mu'tazilite Party
​

The light of civilization is dawning upon our people and just as is brings unprecedented bounty and prosperity, so does this new era bring changes and challenges the likes of which our society may never have faced. No longer are we simple tribesmen living from day to day, putting together what little sustenance we can find and still going to rest with empty bellies. We are truly a nation now, blessed with madaniyyah and empowered to put our will into choosing our own ruler not as a shepherd who would treat us like base livestock but rather as a guide who would teach us, lead us and be with us through all hardships. They are to watch over us, that much is beyond reproach or debate. Yet the real question still remains: Who is to watch over them? What is to stop this absolute ruler, other than Divine Intervention of course, from bending the very will which brought them into power or even outright denying its legitimacy?

The answer lies in Balance! Balance is not merely present in spinning tops or craftsmen's scales. Balance is a state of mind, a way of living and a way of being. And to this end, we the faithful have founded The Mu'tazilite Party in order to pursue balance in all endeavours.


Our principles are as follows:

1. We demand that all positions of power be subject to mutual superintendence with each other. The President's office can not be allowed to have supreme authority over the National Council or the Opposition, just as the latter two can not be permitted to achieve dominance over the others.
2. In order to preserve the neutrality of the National Council, we are Strongly Supportive of a mixed council where both the opposing and the governing coalitions have a single Councilmember each with the third being either an independent or coming from a neutral party. We will shift our support during midterm elections in order to achieve this composition no matter what our stance was/is in the presidential elections.
3. The ideal Opposition Strength is High. Failing that, a Moderately powerful opposition is preferable over a Severely powerful one. In order to ensure a healthy opposition, we strongly prefer close electoral victories over landslides.
4. Following the idea of balance within the government, we have also decided to create balance within our own party by mandating the establishment of a 2-fold party leadership where one co-chair is to represent the interests of culture and faith and the other co-chair is to speak for scientists and craftsmen. All inter-party dealings require either the consent of both chairs, the abstention of one chair or a 3/5 supermajority of the entire party. This structure is to be formed once the party has reached a minimum of 4 members.
5. As a party, we are Tolerant of all viewpoints, barring that of Intolerance. Any and every attempt at defending and discussing knowledge whether rational or inspirational is integral not only to the party itself but to humanity in general. However, distortion of such knowledge and the willful assertion of claims without sufficient proof as facts does fall under the category of Intolerance and is grounds for expulsion from the party for internal happenings and withdrawal of all support in cases concerning any inter-party relationships.
   
6. We are strongly supportive of both cultural, philosophical and religious developments and material and scientific developments and believe that these two domains of mankind must co-exist and interact with each other in order for us to truly make progress and reach enlightenment. Therefore, we will, as a principle, support all efforts at co-developing culture, faith and science and oppose all efforts of profoundly promoting one over the others.
7. Our stance on military matters is one of Optimization. While we do not endorse petty imperialistic ventures where the only purpose of war is ironically to be able to better wage war, we will put our support behind Righteous Conflict for self-defence or preservation of the international balance of power. We will also support brief wars with a clearly-defined purpose and tangible gains for the state.
8. We accept all criticism from within and outside the party regarding our purpose, principles and policies. All party lines and documentation is subject to change under new conditions which require us to adapt ourselves. Likewise we will not shy away from delivering criticism ourselves; whether in official capacity as part of the opposition, as independent observers or even as agents of the current administration.

Signed, The Mu'tazilite Party ​

For faith without reason is insanity,
And reason without faith is inhumanity.​

 

[NinjaCow64]

OOC: If we end up playing as Arabia, I'll change my name to The Hashashin (HA). I won't change my policy that much either, maybe put a slightly more religious bent on the whole thing. I really just like the name more than anything.

 

[Magnive]

to strengthen the power of the central government through the National Council

I am very, very curious as to what, exactly, you mean by this.

 

[Wyverncraft]

I am very, very curious as to what, exactly, you mean by this.

Practically speaking, it will just be empowering the existing government and allowing for more longevity in its rule.

 

[Magnive]

Practically speaking, it will just be empowering the existing government and allowing for more longevity in its rule.

When you say Government, do you then mean Administration?

 

[Wyverncraft]

When you say Government, do you then mean Administration?

I would think that any reforms passed by one administration would carry on to the next. But any changes enacted by our coalition would be applicable to our administration.

 

[Magnive]

I had hoped that this was a misunderstanding of some sort, but it seems more and more clear that such is not the case. Still, in the slight case that it is a misunderstanding, I will give the National Ummah a chance to explain how

to strengthen the power of the central government through the National Council

is not a blatant attempt at hijacking the institution that is supposed to keep the sitting administration in check.

 

[Lighthearter]

At this point, I feel safe calling the national vote for Arabia. Congratulations! And having made that call, I officially declare the Lighthearter Administration has begun!

President Lighthearter was the first leader of the Arabian peoples, elected on legacy more than democratic principles. As the first immortal known as a Politician, he was a natural choice to oversee the development of Arabia's first city and her ventures into the land around.

Below lies the record of his first, and only, turnset as President of the Arabian Republic.

(Right-click each image and view it in a new tab to blow it up to full size)

The Play-by-play Record:

We begin!



Arabia is a nice, well-balanced civ that is guaranteed a religion and can use it to great effect for both science and culture. In addition, Mamluks are deadly dangerous mid-game combat units. Arabia was the first civ I played in Civilization 6, and it holds a special place in my heart for it.



Our start looks more than reasonable at first, especially on King difficulty. Take note of the incense to the south, and the vast amounts of stone. That goodie hut down there is the first of half a dozen popped in my Administration.



...and this is the first of many rewards. 2 of the others provided gold, one provided Faith. There were two more, which I will get to later. Note the city-state men down below?



Meet Jerusalem. As you can see, they want us to trigger a Eureka for writing(meet a major Civ). This has NOT been accomplished as of yet. But let me go back a minute, as there's something in the upper left you may notice I haven't mentioned yet.



Here is the technological path I set. I started with Animal Husbandry for the cows nearby, and to chain toward Archery, and I added Mining for the Stone littering the ground. I then moved for Astrology in the interests of potentially opening up Stonehenge for my successor to build. As you can see, this menu is as of Turn 1. I will show you a screenshot from Turn 25.

I did not take a screenshot, but Cairo was ordered to build a Slinger, for defense, and then a Settler for expansion. The Slinger currently garrisons the city, and the Settler is 5 turns from completion.



Meet Amsterdam, further to our north than Jerusalem. They want a Eureka for Astrology(discover a Natural Wonder), which ALSO has not happened as of Turn 25, and is highly unlikely to at this point.



This was the prize from the fifth hut: a scout. Note the pearls. There are more along that peninsula, which, like all terrain features, I have declined to name. While it isn't as glamorous as deciding the path for our nation, one of the duties the first duly-elected President of the Arabian Republic will take on his shoulders is that of providing names for the peninsulas, mountain ranges, plains and other geographical features around us, and thereby changing the terminology of the national conversation for likely the rest of the game.



Code of Laws finished during this timeframe. This is my usual starting government. Note the +2 Faith up above. I don't know where that came from, but this was taken before I approved God-King being added to our government. The next President will be able to change this as soon as our next civic completes. I'll talk more about my civic path later.



This happened. I failed to get a screenshot of me forming the actual pantheon, for which I am sorry, but this was the next best thing I could do. I chose Stone Circles because I counted at least 4 Stone around Cairo, and several spots of Jade in easy colonization distance. This should supercharge our religion.



Another incident that our news coverage has apparently been sketchy of, but a barbarian scout breached Cairo's borders. Our proud garrison of slingers marched out and, and this is a technical term, for the viewers at home...wtfpwned them. As a result of throwing rocks, we have become better with long pointy penetrating shaft things. Draw from this what conclusions you will.



Here is the final development of my Administration: our Warriors scouting in the north have stumbled over one of two known Barbarian encampments. The final native tribe awarded our unit a promotion which I have not issues - the new President will decide whether or not to prosecute an assault on this camp, what promotion the warriors should receive, and many other things besides. Let's move along to the final overview.

Turn 25 Overview:

The arrival of Turn 25 sees a much stronger, much smarter Arabia than on Turn 1. Here is our current tech and civics situation:



In terms of technology, we are practically done with Astrology, which leaves Stonehenge open for us to claim after our first settlement party. The new President will guide 50 turns of learning and take us out of the Ancient Era altogether.



Civics-wise, I went for Craftsmanship in order to close on Military Tradition, which we have a Eureka for. That will be complete, as you can see, in 8 turns, at which point our next President can adjust the policies of his administration if he is displeased with my selection.



This is the known world. The red up there is the barbarian/warrior situation in the final screenshot of the play-by-play. As you can see, we have a lot of pearls and jade available, and quite a bit of stone. I can see at least 3 good city locations along that unnamed central river, but I also draw your attention to the barbarian camp on the west coast. My administration's outgoing settlement policy was to take our next settler south to the tile just SE of the incense, in order to sweep up that southernmost Jade before Jerusalem could absorb it. However, there are arguments to be made for pushing settlers in almost any direction.



Here is Cairo, the seat of power, and all of our home. The settler will be done in 5 turns at the current rate of production and there are 10 turns until it will claim a spot of stone. Both of those water tiles flanking the peninsula are good harbor locations for the future. There's also plenty of land where we could put Stonehenge, most specifically that one tile at the junction of the river, 2 south of Cairo. We certainly have the gold to purchase it, though we could also put that money toward a Builder. The city is garrisoned by a Slinger.



Our current diplomatic standing with City-states.



And our current victory ranking. For what it's worth, we are leading in religion!

And with that, the Lighthearter Administration comes to an end. Now a new President must step forward to guide Arabia for the next 50 turns of her rise.

The '25 Election is now officially begun!

 

[Patchy]

I had hoped that this was a misunderstanding of some sort, but it seems more and more clear that such is not the case. Still, in the slight case that it is a misunderstanding, I will give the National Ummah a chance to explain how

is not a blatant attempt at hijacking the institution that is supposed to keep the sitting administration in check.

Adjusting Council Term Limits, Presidential Term Limits, Secret Ballot Laws, nothing we aim to do hasn't already been provided for within the rules of the constitution and are all things that your party will have a say in given that they must be done through the National Council. Unless you mean to imply that the constitution allows for the "hijacking" of the National Council it should be quite clear that we are just playing by the rules of the game as it were. We will not do such things as shaking up the council to replace its members or otherwise weakening that institution.

If the Good Faith Party is truly committed to ensuring that our promises are kept then they should enjoy an easy term when we are in power as the CMP will, if necessary, forcefully use its position within the National Ummah to make sure that our goals are carried out.

 

[Magnive]

If the Good Faith Party is truly committed to ensuring that our promises are kept then they should enjoy an easy term when we are in power as the CMP will, if necessary, forcefully use its position within the National Ummah to make sure that our goals are carried out.

While we commend you for intending to keep your promises - though judgement on such matters shall ultimately await the end of a term - the Good Faith Party also lives to ensure that the National Council is used properly. That is, to ensure that the Administration, the National Council, and the Opposition forms a Balance of Power where no party can overwhelm the other two.

That you speak of the National Council as a tool to be wielded to make life easier for the Administration is deeply disturbing.

 

[Muhabir]

The Mu'tazilite Party

We commend President Lighthearter on his execution of a successful, if not a bit uneventful term. Our wish is for his successors to be similarly fair in their dealings and put the good of the people first and foremost as he has.


Regarding the upcoming election: For the time being, we have decided against fielding a presidential candidate. As long as this stance continues, our party will neither officially support a candidate nor be part of a coalition. However, lacking the proper infrastructure laid out in our Principles, our Chair Muhabir has the sole discretion to endorse a candidate for this election only. Such an endorsement will require the candidate to adhere to a strict balance of power and not be in any obvious conflict with our Principles on military doctrine, co-development and criticism. For clearance's sake, we would like to point out that the National Ummah currently appears NOT TO fall within these criteria and therefore will not be considered for an endorsement as is. Any effort of clarifying the coalition line and alleviating our doubts on part of its leaders will be duly appreciated.


Our analysis and preferences for the turnplan:

• We support the Former President's decision of settling to the South-East in theory, as there seems to be plenty of mountains to the East of the proposed location which could aid us significantly in scientific endeavours as well as provide our holy men with refuge to be closer to Divinity and resolve the ethical questions which occupy their minds. However, the area must be more carefully scouted before a final decision can be made.
• The area to our North-West seems to be rather unoccupied except for the city states. There is still the possibility of a land bridge to the extreme north but that seems highly unlikely. There is also a barbarian encampment nearby a river with horses, bananas, rice and marine resources nearby which could provide for a good settlement spot ((Bear in mind that jungle hills can be more than decent tiles early on, especially if coupled with bananas.)) but it similarly needs to be better scouted. Our suggestion would be to clear the encampment with our warrior and uncover the FoW between Amsterdam and Cairo before continuing north to make sure we can lock-in the western territories for the time being.
• While our unique ability as Arabia seems to make the religious game and especially a Stonehenge rush irrelevant at first, it should be noted that a guaranteed religion does not mean guaranteed beliefs. So, we are reasonably supportive of building the Stonehenge. However, we would like to add a builder to the build order if possible in order to put some quarries on top of the stone resources for extra production. The exact math could be done and debated later, but the stone tiles are only 2f/1p as is, since they apparently lack hills. Besides, adding these quarries would also give us extra faith which could be used in a variety of different ways.
• While we do have the eureka for archery, there doesn't appear to be any immediate threat to our well-being as a people. We propose that military production be kept at modest levels and archery be delayed to spawn as many slingers as we can squeeze in between before we absolutely need to research it. We will need pottery eventually, but let's also keep in mind that we will get the eureka for masonry soon enough as well. So, a case could be made for exploring further east to see if the lone patch of desert beyond the mountains is any good for a semi-rushed third city which could allow us to make a move at the Pyramids.
• We propose switching to a production-oriented economic civic after craftsmanship is complete. 1 Faith per Turn is mostly irrelevant for the time being, especially since we can get a builder out much faster if we go production and that would give us considerably more faith anyway. As for the single gold, it seems mostly insignificant.
• Seeing as how we have plenty of good settling spots, but not really a lot of military competition except for the occasional barbarian, expansion-oriented civics such as early empire seem to be preferable over the rest. We should at least put %50 culture into Foreign Trade and see if we can get that eureka in time, which we should be able to unless we are somehow locked into a bizarre continent with no other civilization in our immediate vicinity.((Yes, that can happen. Yes, it ended extremely well.))
• Our empire seems to be fledgling in terms of culture. Which makes it reasonably important to settle near the jade resources as they would also provide faith and production.

That's everything we'd like to share, we wish a mostly pleasant electoral cycle with as little slipper-throwing and glass-breaking activities as possible. We are open to all private and public political inquiries and negotiations, which are to be directed at me as the Chair of the Mu'tazilite Party.

 

[Patchy]

]That is, to ensure that the Administration, the National Council, and the Opposition forms a Balance of Power where no party can overwhelm the other two.

In the end that is mostly left up to the voters. You seem to be misunderstanding us on one count though, party manifestos are generally made with the assumption that the party will gain full power of the government to show what the party's line will be on various issues, if the National Ummah were to gain control of the National Council then those would be the changes that would be put into place.

We are NOT saying that the National Council should be run entirely by the National Ummah as a direct point of the Administration, rather that the Coalition will be putting up a member for it and that member will follow the plans given in the manifesto of our coalition. We welcome opposition as would anyone in a democratic nation.

 

[Muhabir]

The rules of the game are not designed to dictate a balance of power; rather they are designed with the goal of allowing the people itself to choose what sort of balance there will be. Democracy is sacred, the application of democracy or the practical considerations for such application is not. Here comes to the stage 2 opposing points of view: The Ummah, from what we can tell, appears to favour a strong administration where efficiency is sought after. We can't really argue against the fact that any National Council which ties the government's hands on purely ideological grounds is illegitimate. Sometimes, decisions have to made and they have to be made quickly. But the same can also be said of a government which detracts from executing the will of the people to executing their own will, their agenda which may or may not be agreeable with the good of the people. This is why total and unobstructed independence of the National Council is the key to keeping the administration in check. We are not arguing against the National Ummah here, nor are we questioning their legitimacy should they be elected. However, there will come a day when there won't be the National Ummah but something else, someone else. And if we begin putting pressure on the council today, who is to say that others won't put more pressure tomorrow? Who is to say that at some point, a line will not be crossed which ends up practically, even if not officially, reducing the council to a mere formality? We are here to ensure that does not happen.

This is not a matter of constitutionality or legality; this is a matter of conscience and forward planning. What is written is of no consequence, what is spoken is barely worth our consideration; it is the intent behind these that is truly at question here. And I am personally sceptical at best and untrusting at worst of your intentions as a coalition of the willing. A stance, which is apparently not unique to myself or my party. A stance which your recent elaborations have not changed a single bit but rather strengthened. In the end, you have your voters. We have our voters. No vote is for given, not for any side. And we will defend our ideas and ideals to eternity in the face of such voters, just as we expect you to do. And the rest, as they say, will be history.

 

[Patchy]

Just to be entirely clear: Are you saying that the National Council should be composed of members entirely removed from the Administration's Coalition regardless of what that coalition is?

 

[Muhabir]

No,what I am saying is that the National Council should be independent and representative at the same time. Which would require, as laid out in our party's list of principles, a member who is sympathetic to the ruling coalition as well. The argument here is that this member should be able to put aside their partisan views and perform as much as possible as an objective observer no matter what the composition of the council is or who the governing and opposing coalitions are. Our preference is for this member to be moderate in their support of the government and be prepared to go against the coalition in case their legitimacy is put under question and this requires the government coalition to be as far removed from influencing the National Council as they can without totally severing contact between the two. Hence, total and unobstructed independence.

As for actually finding such a person, I suppose we will simply have to find a very long-lasting candle and go out searching in broad daylight.

 

[Wyverncraft]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a "moderate observer" strongly contradict the democratic mandate? If the people are overwhelmingly in favor of a non-moderate candidate, why should the workings of government be hampered?

 

[Magnive]

I believe that the point of a "moderate observer", as you refer it to, would be that the person should be a member of the National Council first, and part of the ruling coalition second.

The National Council doesn't exist to criticize the plans and proposals of the Administration - that job belongs to the Opposition. Rather, it exists to ensure that neither the Opposition nor the Administration abuses the powers afforded to them. An example would be if the Administration constantly tried to defang the Opposition.

From the perspective of being a member of the Administration, it would make sense to push for getting the Opposition Strength reduced to None, but to be pushing for such a thing while sitting on the National Council would be a breach of duty.

 

[Muhabir]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a "moderate observer" strongly contradict the democratic mandate? If the people are overwhelmingly in favor of a non-moderate candidate, why should the workings of government be hampered?

I believe that the point of a "moderate observer", as you refer it to, would be that the person should be a member of the National Council first, and part of the ruling coalition second.

The National Council doesn't exist to criticize the plans and proposals of the Administration - that job belongs to the Opposition. Rather, it exists to ensure that neither the Opposition nor the Administration abuses the powers afforded to them. An example would be if the Administration constantly tried to defang the Opposition.

From the perspective of being a member of the Administration, it would make sense to push for getting the Opposition Strength reduced to None, but to be pushing for such a thing while sitting on the National Council would be a breach of duty.

While I feel that the answer given by Magnive touches the essence of the subject, there is still room for more explanation and elaboration:

Firstly, the National Council in some sense actually exists to contradict the democratic mandate.

How so? The President's office is at best a manifestation of an overwhelming majority and at worst a simple plurality. It is almost impossible to actually have a president, or any official of the administration for that matter, to have come to power through unanimous consent. It is not the fault of the constitution or the administration, but rather a flaw present in any practical electoral system. Which is why the National Council exists. Just to make sure that pure democracy does not turn into a lynch culture or mob rule.

The duty of the administration is to rule according to a mandate given to them by the people. The role of the opposition is to show them how they can better do that, in their own opinion. The National Council exists in order to make sure neither of them can totally deal away with the other and that the two camps stay within their respective roles and limits. In order to be able to accomplish this, it is our party's sincere belief that the National Council must be formed of a single representative from both sides of the spectrum alongside a third, independent representative who would have the role of defending other viewpoints and arbitrating between the two sides. This is our formal stance, it is in no way a legal requirement or even some traditional rule which we can enforce. However, we will do everything within our power that doesn't cross into the territory of insanity in order to secure this outcome.

In doing so, we as a party only have the tools of endorsements, declaring support and using the power of our personal votes to work with. Which means that any action we take to ensure such an outcome would have to fall within the limits of the democratic mandate and be representative of the people's will. If the people are overwhelmingly in favour of a non-moderate candidate, ((a "moderate" being someone which we define as an adherent of reason and a servant of the people rather than an adherent of an ideology and a servant of their coalition leader)) and if all our efforts to support a moderate and champion their election are in vain then naturally a non-moderate will have been elected and we will have to accept the outcome as is.

Whether we are the government, the opposition or an independent third party doesn't matter. What matters is that there is balance between as many viewpoints and as diverse an electorate gets represented as possible. If we happen to become the governing party, we will put forward but one candidate of our own to the Council. Same goes for being the opposition.

 

[NinjaCow64]

I am updating the description of my party:

The Hashashin believe that our freedoms, faith and unique form of government must be defended at all costs. And that the best defence is a good offence. That is why we advocate for an aggressive expansionist policy, conquering those who are a threat and bringing their people liberty. We must also be on guard from tyranny brewing within Arabia, which is why we will never support moves towards authoritarianism.