Kantrias to the World; The Land of the Gavel and Sword
From the Kantrian Ministry of Foreign Relations
Kantrias is experiencing a period of economic revival, and is prepared to re-assert itself on the global stage. All of the Government Roles have been filled, and much has taken place.
Governmental Positions:
Supreme Chancellor: Caldemar Leutria
Speaker: Mumtaz
Minister of Outreach: Samuel Jackson III
Minister of Community Engagement: Bentonova
Minister of Propaganda: Zoygaria
The Allied Forces of Kantrias now sits under the command of Grand General Samuel Jackson III, and is now accepting recruits to defend Kantrias and it's allies.
The Alliance of Kantrias - A Primer
Kantrias has been quiet on the world stage for quite a while, so many of you likely do not know about us. In fact, even if you do know about us, Kantrias has changed. So, what is Kantrias?
First and foremost, Kantrias is a friendly region. Even if you are just visiting with us, we will welcome you and try to make you feel at home. If you do join, we will do our best to get you involved and feel like a vital part of the region.
Kantrias is a Democracy. Our legislature is an “open legislature” where all players with a nation in the region get a seat in the Delphinium Council. The alliance of Kantrias functions like a unified nation (although players of course can still run their own nations as they want), where all players with a nation on the forums are the councilors representing their nation.
Furthermore, our head of state, the Supreme Chancellor, is elected, as well as the Ministers who help them run the executive government. This includes the Speaker, who facilitates the functioning of the Delphinium Council.
Kantrias is an imperial region, with the Allied Forces of Kantrias projecting our power, standing ready to defend our interests or help our allies.
Finally, Kantrias is a cultured region. We remember our long and storied past and mix elements of that with new initiatives and institutions. We strive to have regular events to engage the region, and continue to adapt, grow, and evolve to remain a fun place to be where everyone can be proud to be a part of Kantrias.
The Culture Report
"I'm pleased to say it's fantastic that more people are joining us. Event-wise, we've got plenty of plans, including (but not limited to) a brand new Kantrian Olympics, Grand Prix, and other sporting competitions. We'll also be revealing a weekly discussion thread for Counsellors to offer their opinions on a chosen subject matter of the week. And, we're in the process of setting up a 'Featured Nation of the month' allowing any registered Nation to become a featured nation, and get those all important bragging rights!
"In the coming month, we'll also be revealing a huge new festival coming to the region, open to anyone (you don't have to be a councillor OR a diplomat) for a 2-week period. Things to look forward to include unique competitions (from poetry to art), engaging discussion threads, interesting theme nights (from gaming to movie nights) and some never before seen forum games! It's all to look forward to, and it'll be great to see you there!"
-Bentonova, Minister of Community Engagement
The Delphinium Council and Beyond
With a new forum in place, it was only fitting that Kantrias once again hold a Constitutional Convention to establish an agreed upon rule of law in the region. Starting on January 14, 2020 with a first draft made by the admin of the region, it lasted 18 days with 13 different people taking part. The actual draft of the constitution changed quite considerably over this period, with some structural changes being made to the future government of the region. On February 1st the final version of the Constitution went up for a vote by the region, and on February 3rd it had passed by a vote of 20 to 0.
With this Constitution being passed, elections were called. First, the elections for Speaker and Supreme Chancellor were held. For the office of Speaker, in charge of organizing the Delphinium Council and ensuring debate be kept on track, the sole candidate and now holder of the office was Muntaz. The office of Supreme Chancellor, being the executive head of the Kantrias, was more hotly contested, with Caldemar Leutria, Samuel Jackson III, and Statnick all vying for the position. In the end, Caldemar won with 6 votes, with Samuel securing 2, and Statnick none.
Following these elections, elections for the 3 Minister positions were held. These Ministers are not elected with a specific area of power, but rather would be assigned duties by the Supreme Chancellor following the election. With so many positions up for grabs, this election saw as many as 6 Councillors running for office. Following the first round of voting Bentova and Samuel Jackson III secured a seat, with a runoff being required to determine the final seat. That runoff was between Zoygaria and UAU, with Zoygaria winning in the end.
Very shortly after the elections, Caldemar passed a series of executive orders, in Kantrias having the force of law, but being overwritten by any acts passed by the Delphinium Council. These acts were intended to form the framework for the executive government, as well as provide a legal framework of things not yet legislated on by the Council. Meanwhile, the Delphinium Council has begun debate on its Rules of Order, and a preliminary discussion on the law surrounding the position of World Assembly Delegate was started.
The Allied Forces of Kantrias have Joined the Battle
Executive Order 003 established the Allied Forces of Kantrias (AFoK for short, AFK if you are feeling cheeky) as the military forces of Kantrias. This order also established the AFoK as a force that would remain ready to defend the region if the day ever comes we are vulnerable, assist our friends and allies with joint military operations, and participate in Tactical Army Games (TAGs) for training and to keep their skills sharp. At the same time, with Kantrias being a just and fair nation, it forbade the AFoK from initiating the destruction of any region unless a formal declaration of war has been made (an action which can only be done by our legislature, the Delphinium Council).
Samuel Jackson III was appointed as the first Grand General of the Allied Forces of Kantrias. Having been previously involved with The Black Hawks and the Europeia Republic Navy, his leadership will make the AFK a force to be reckoned with throughout the NationStates community, and an asset to not only Kantrias, but to our allies.
A training site has been created, although the AFK is not quite ready for action. Once the command structure is complete (which is extremely soon), trainings will become a common occurence.
An award system is also in the works, and there will be many opportunities for soldiers to prove themselves worthy of such medals.
An Interview with the Supreme Chancellor
Caldemar Leutria is the first Supreme Chancellor of Kantrias, an admin on the forums, and a longstanding member of the region. As such, he is one of the best people to talk about Kantrias, past and future.
Bentonova: As one of the oldest surviving members of Kantrias, how would you say the region has evolved?
Caldemar: I would say fundamentally Kantrias is the same region it was when it was founded back in 2012. We are just as friendly as ever, and still fundamentally a democratic, imperialist region.
There have however been some large changes to the region over the years. Most notable in my opinion is the abolition of the monarchy in 2018. When the region moved to Discord we changed a lot of the theming of the region, and a monarchy no longer fit it.
To quickly go over the changes in the theming of the region, we started as a classic constitutional monarchy, with the idea that the region was a storied kingdom, and its players citizens. In our first major restart we advanced the clock on the region, to a future where the nobility had risen to a state where only nobles mattered and the King was weakened. The next big change was the Quilor Proclamation, which put the monarchy back in charge but as a triad of rulers, and while there was a legislature of elected citizens, they were inferior to the triad of rulers when they were unanimous. From that point we went to the mentioned move to Discord, where we basically moved into a parallel universe (or maybe before the founding of the original Kingdom of Kantrias), where the Council of Kantrias was a international organization, where the nations of the region Kantrias would meet and agree on common standards and rules for the region. Finally, we come to our present configuration. Back on a forum the Alliance of Kantrias despite the name is a much tighter coalition then the Council of Kantrias. Players are representatives from their nation, but the alliance itself functions more like a unified nation then an alliance. Sort of like something halfway between the EU and a single federation.
To get back to practical differences between when we started and today, we are now if anything even more democratic today then we were in 2012. Our legislature is open, where any player with a nation in the region and a forum account is a member of our legislature. Our head of state is the Supreme Chancellor and is elected every 4 months. Finally our Ministers rather than being appointed by the Supreme Chancellor are elected every 2 months.
As a final note, one thing that evolved in the region I love but don’t fully understand is a semi-active group of nations that RP on our regional message board. Even in our quietest lulls in activity, there have been semi-regular updates by some resident nations in the region, and at our more active periods we have had RP events, negotiations, and even wars organically happen.
Bentonova: As Chancellor you describe yourself as a steady hand for the future. What do you see in that future?
Caldemar: I see the region growing, and new standard conventions forming. I hope to see new bills regularly proposed once the groundwork has been laid out. I see us returning to our roots as a classic imperialist region and having an active and capable military. I hope we can form alliances with other regions and regularly host cultural exchanges increasing the activity on both of our forums and deepening our ties.
All that said however, the main thing I want for the region to remain a friendly place, where anyone who jumps into the community feels welcomed and like they have found a second family. No matter what shape the region takes going forward, as long as that remains true I will be content.
Bentonova: You've established three ministries to help run the region, but what are your own personal objectives?
Caldemar: I feel like this is more or less covered by my previous answer, but I can elaborate further. I feel as the first Supreme Chancellor my job is to establish our institutions and create an environment where other players can succeed. With a solid framework, it becomes easier for new players to come in and find things they can work on and build on that framework.
I want to see us hosting festivals, because they have always been one of my favorite things in NationStates and they can be a great chance to play with your regionmates, and any visitors who decide to come and join. To further that, I hope for us to form new connections with regions and hold cultural exchanges where we can all get to know each other and simply have fun.
Finally I want to get some solid recruitment going to build the region. The only way to keep the region active long term is for us to consistently have new nations moving to Kantrias, and getting new players active and embedded in the community. No matter how great the region is, people move on in their lives, get busy, or get burnt out. Without new people to fill in those gaps we will slowly decline.
Bentonova: You recently executed an order to establish the Allied Forces of Kantrias. By belief are you a natural pacifist or aggressor?
Caldemar: Personally? I am an absolute pacifist, and I have said many times in the past my natural inclinations would be towards defending if I got involved in R/D at all. However, that is not what Kantrias is, and my exposure in my early days in NationStates was being a part of an imperialist army. Since that is what I know, and that is what I believe is best for the future and activity of the region, that is what it will be. So expect to see some tag raids from Kantrias in the near future, but don’t worry too much about us causing harm. I still am that pacifict, so I have banned the Allied Forces of Kantrias from ever engaging in region destruction, and as long as I am the Supreme Chancellor we will never initiate the occupation of a region with an active community.
Joke of the day: Takeout can mean three things: to go on a date, to eat, and to kill someone. If you're a praying mantis, it means all three.
Quote of the day: "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."
-Sun Tzu
