Less excitingly, the Security Council is a few nails away from being unceremoniously sealed in a pine box and thrown into the nearest ditch. Without a contested R/D game, the SC’s more notable features have fallen into disuse, and the wave of commendations a few months ago seems to have exhausted some creativity. In the Forums, a few repeals can be found, as well as declarations, although it seems unlikely many of those, being unserious drafts without much political backing, would pass at vote. We may nonetheless see them get to quorum, as happened with two resolutions this month.
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With a strong lineup of authors and Ministry contributors, as well as an undeniably strong hand in Foreign Affairs related to the World Assembly, Starborn in our region have an easier time than ever in writing their own proposals and contributing to the WA affairs of Starlight & Horizon! The Ministry is always appreciative of new members looking to get into this part of NS. Feel free to  message the Minister if you need any guidance or have any interest in participating, and join our Discord to find out about more opportunities for regional advancement!

To those who are not aware, the World Assembly Secretariat is one part of the site staff-led initiative to completely change how the General Assembly has been used and played thus far. Despite being introduced as a concept that was not set in stone, a recent news announcement by the team confirms that it'll be implemented as had been originally proposed months ago.

It will be a panel of five elected positions with the power to put up voting recommendations visible alongside at-vote proposals to sway member-states, and it’ll use election mechanics similar to those of the (until recently) joke role of Secretary-General. Elections will happen in two rounds of 24 hours each, the first selecting 25 candidates that then proceed to the second, and the five top-voted nations from that are selected to fill the positions. The nation with the most votes becomes the Secretary-General, and will have their recommendation displayed more prominently than the rest. Older players and GA veterans in particular will note that this is not the first time site staff tried to make Secretary-General a significant role, an initiative that was met with significant criticism at the time. The choice to tie this new organisation to an unrelated old attempt has no known motive.

Given the system presented to us, there are some interesting speculations to raise about the conditions of this election, synthesised in a list of axioms for the sake of time:

1. There is one dominant bloc in the General Assembly, the Sovereign Seven, while the rest of GA power is fragmented;

2. There is no prominent political organisation in the Security Council besides the party lines of Gameplay (Raiderdom, Defenderdom, Independence, and their branches);

3. Most voters are not active government participants of their respective regions;

4. It’s hard for an individual region to organise support for more than one candidate;

5. 25 candidates is a big list for the second round.

It’s not unreasonable to say that General Assembly politics will be the primary rhetorical factor of these elections. The Security Council, while more prestigious in Gameplay than the GA, is a rather predictable institution, and one that has been relegated to passing commendations in light of the fall of Raiderdom. The fact that there is a pre-existing organised bloc dedicated to the GA gives it an upper hand.

Points 3 and 4 mean that even well-organised players will be forced to divide allied regions up according to how many votes they can expect to get out of their WA residents, and hope that those estimates hold true when election day comes. Any coalition or political movement that seeks to support multiple candidates will have an exponentially increasing chance of not securing any seat with each candidacy they put forward. Avoiding overvoting will be the biggest hurdle that the establishment will have to overcome to ensure dominance in this budding institution. Smaller participants will have to bet on making big-tent coalitions to secure one seat alone, and many regions, even ones with plenty of raw WA voting power, will have to come to terms with supporting candidates that may not come from their own region. Five seats is a shallow bench, and the art of coalition-building will be put to test for those prospecting for a minority seat.

My prediction: two seats directly aligned with the Sovereign Seven, one compromise seat generally friendly to S7 regions but not directly loyal to it, and two wildcards that may be filled by whichever secondary and/or independent major powers make the best voting coalition. The five Pacifics come to mind, excluding The West (current member of the S7), and prominent UCRs such as Europeia. Communities that have been isolated, whether intentionally or not, from the greater game such as The Communist Bloc or Europe may also find themselves with an opportunity to force their way into relevance again, if they so desire, given their large voting bases.

Due to point 5, I don’t think we’ll see significance in the phenomenon of candidates dropping out of the first round and supporting a candidate in the second one. 25 candidates is a big list, and would probably include all coalitions with a real chance of winning a seat. We can expect to see a tight race with unexpected names battling to the bitter end for their chance to define what the World Assembly Secretariat’s place in modern Gameplay will be.