Osiris

[Darkesia]

I am honored by the request. I haven't the time that I had previously devoted to the task. However I will venture over and do what I can to help.

[kingsteck]

Just to let you all know,  i'm no longer an a ambassador for Osiris, I havent been since the change of forums.

I wish Osiris well in there endeavors to become stable, but alas it will be without my help as i have retired from forum life.

The only place i have fun anymore is on the RMB, and even that is waning.

 

Cheers to you all, i wish you the best in your gaming adventures.

 

~Kings~ ~Diamete~ ~Sentimental Journey~

[Westwind]

Thank you Kings, you might want to update your signature

[Consular]

That's a shame, I'm sure the new Osiris would love to have you.

[Cormac]

Severance of Diplomatic Relations
Between the Osiris Fraternal Order and the People's Republic of Lazarus

---

It has come to our attention that the world at large, and particularly our enemies and the enemies of our allies who are one and the same, may be unclear in regard to the political orientation and military alignment of Osiris. We want to clarify this in unambiguous terms. The Osiris Fraternal Order is, and has been since its inception, imperialist in political orientation and raider in military alignment. Each Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order has enthusiastically advanced this imperialist orientation, and several have also had extensive military careers as raiders. On the current Hedjet, or Cabinet, are several imperialists and raiders, and the Deshret, our legislature, is comprised of many imperialists and raiders while welcoming those of other backgrounds who can accept the political orientation and military alignment our region has chosen.

This is not a mistake or an accident. Indeed, we have quite intentionally chosen to adopt an imperialist political orientation and raider military alignment. It was imperialists and raiders who stood the most strongly behind Osiris last December, when we threw off the chains of oppression imposed upon Osiris by the pseudo-defenders and opportunists who comprise the organization known as Empire. More importantly, the Osiris Fraternal Order has decided that Osiris will never again be the fragile, timid region it was during the days of the Kemetic Republic. We will project our power on the world stage, we will take any military action that is in our region's interests, we will defend and advance our region's interests wherever and whenever we deem fit. We will offer no apology and we will not equivocate. We will not back down under pressure from the faux morality of defender ideologues, who will never be satisfied by anything less than complete conformity to their views and subjugation of regional sovereignty to super-regional organizations led by an elitist oligarchy.

Regrettably, the People's Republic of Lazarus has taken a position of rabid anti-imperialism. Government officials within Lazarus have stated that it is in the PRL's interests to extend friendship to Osiris, and yet the path to friendship with Balder remains closed. Indeed, some high profile Lazarenes and the PRL overall have not ruled out the use of direct force against imperialist regions, including Balder, and have pledged to fight a propaganda war against our allies in Balder, The Land of Kings and Emperors, The New Inquisition, Albion, and presumably other friends and allies of the Osiris Fraternal Order that defenders have correctly or incorrectly identified as comprising the imperialist sphere of influence. This commitment to hostility against our closest allies, particularly our twin sister Sinker, is simply intolerable.

While we remain distinct from our allies with a unique political and social culture as well as external interests specific to our region, the Osiris Fraternal Order states unequivocally that we will not tolerate this stance of open hostility toward our allies and pretend that the aggressor is a friend to Osiris. Any attack upon our allies, whether through the use of misinformation or through actual force, is an attack upon the Osiris Fraternal Order. We cannot, nor will we, tolerate such attacks.

Indeed, we cannot support nor lend credibility to a regime which finds it in its interests to engage in open hostility with most, if not eventually all of our allies. We will meet all acts of hostility against our allies in equal measure and in collaboration with allied regions, up to and including the use of military force. Given the hostile stance of the PRL toward our allies and given that the PRL will not rule out the use of direct force against even a fellow Sinker, as we did in ratifying a non-aggression pact with The Rejected Realms, we cannot move forward with relations with the PRL while maintaining full knowledge that we may be compelled due to the PRL's refusal to respect the sovereignty of other regions to defend our allies against PRL aggression.

Effective immediately, the Osiris Fraternal Order severs all relations with the People's Republic of Lazarus. We will maintain no ties to a regime that threatens our allies or our own principles. Moreover, we offer this warning to any region considering a position of open hostility toward or outright attack upon our twin sister, Balder, or any of our allies: If you believe we, who drove Empire from Osiris when others were too timid, are the weak link in the bond of friendship that unites imperialist and raider regions, you are very wrong. We seek peace and cooperation with regions that will respect our sovereignty and the sovereignty of our allies, but if a fight is brought to us, a fight it will be, and the Osiris Fraternal Order has never and will never back down and betray our principles or our allies in the face of adversity.

---

Severisen Isaraider

Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order


Cormac Somerset
Vizier and Scribe of Foreign Affairs

[Westwind]

It is always a sad thing when relations are closed between fellow GCRs.  Unfortunately The West Pacific has experienced that sort of tragedy itself.  

 

Obviously, it is a matter of respect, one for another, that is the appropriate spirit of relations between GCRs.  That respect includes the respect for the sovereignty and community of each. 

[Cormac]

The Osiris Papyrus
An Update from the Osiris Fraternal Order

First Edition

---

Government of the Osiris Fraternal Order

Pharaoh: Severisen Isaraider
Vizier: Cormac Somerset
Scribe of Isis (Integration): Frederick Alexander Fominov
Scribe of Horus (Foreign Affairs): Cormac Somerset
Scribe of Sekhmet (Military Affairs): Joshua Bluteisen
Scribe of Ptah (Culture): Rachel Somerset
Scribe of Ma'at (WA Affairs): Treize Dreizehn
Scribe of Bastet (Security): North East Somerset
Scribe of Seshat (Justice): Abacathea North

Keeper of the Deshret: Treize Dreizehn
Curator of the Deshret: Blaine Zeorus Montresor

Chief Elder of the Pschent: Josh Sebastian
Elders of the Pschent: Jurisdictions, r3naissanc3r

Guardians of the Atef: Datford-Zyvetskistaahn, Revert, Treize Dreizehn

---

News from Osiris

~ The Osiris Fraternal Order and the Republic of Europeia are currently celebrating their first joint cultural festival. The first half of the festival is taking place in Europeia and will soon be moving to Osiris for the second half. The festival has been great fun for both communities!

~ The Osiris Fraternal Order has ratified treaties with a number of allies and partners since its inception in December 2013. We look forward to continuing to work with our allies and partners!

• The Fraternal Treaty of Thebes with The New Inquisition on 23 January 2014;
• The Mediterranean Accord with Albion on 12 March 2014;
• The Treaty of Maxonberg with The Land of Kings and Emperors on 22 April 2014;
• The Treaty of the Old Gods with Balder on 27 April 2014;
• The Treaty of Alexandria with Europeia on 27 April 2014;
• The East Pacific - Osiris Treaty of Amity on 31 May 2014;
• The Third Monarchist Treaty with fellow monarchist regions on 09 June 2014;
• The Non-Aggression Pact between Osiris and The Rejected Realms on 09 June 2014.

~ Ambroscus Koth, co-founder of the Osiris Fraternal Order, has been nominated by the Pharaoh of Osiris and the King of Balder to serve as the second Joint Commander of the Imperial Sovereign Realms Army, the joint military force created by the Treaty of the Old Gods. His confirmation is pending in the Deshret of Osiris and the Riksdag of Balder.

~ The Deshret of Osiris is considering amendments to the State Code of Osiris, our regional constitution, that would among other things shift from challenge elections to regularly scheduled elections for Pharaoh, an elected rather than appointed judiciary, and an elected attorney general. The amendment to the State Code is expected to go to vote in the next few days.

~ Charles Cerebella has unveiled a new map for the Great Cities of Osiris, an extensive role play project developed by former Pharaoh Joshua Ravenclaw. Check out the new map here!

~ The Imperial Sovereign Realms Army has recently participated in the following multi-regional operations:

• Liberation of Liberal Haven from occupation by Right Wing Uprising;
• Defense of Hogwarts, the regional territory of our friends from Lone Wolves United;
• Invasion of NAZI EUROPE, with the Sekhmet Legion of Osiris participating at update and the Jomsvikings of Balder providing post-update support.

~ The Osiris Fraternal Order recently severed relations with the People's Republic of Lazarus. We regret that this step was made necessary by their open hostility to our allies and our own regional principles. If you missed our statement, you can find it here.

~ The Priesthood of Horus has published a new Policy on Forum Embassies and Consulates that may impact your regional embassy over the next couple of months. We ask ambassadors to familiarize themselves with this policy.

[God-Emperor]

Treaties on treaties.

[Westwind]

Kinda like the olden days.

[God-Emperor]

Kinda, sorta.

[Andy]

i am unsure where to put this but I thought it appropriate it put it here. I have been sent as Ambassador to The West Pacific from Osiris Fraternal Order

 

It is a pleasure to be here 

[Westwind]

I'd say you found the right place to announce yourself Ambassador.  Welcome to The West Pacific

[God-Emperor]

Sorry to see Cormac go, but welcome.

[Cormac]

I'm still around! 

 

I actually was never supposed to be the Osiran ambassador to TWP, but due to leaves of absence and such always ended up posting to this embassy in my capacity as Scribe of Foreign Affairs.

[God-Emperor]

Oh, I know.  That's why I never added ya to the Diplomatic Corps under Osiris.

[Lord Ravenclaw]

I'm still around! 

 

I actually was never supposed to be the Osiran ambassador to TWP, but due to leaves of absence and such always ended up posting to this embassy in my capacity as Scribe of Foreign Affairs.

 

That and you seem to be everywhere at once. It got so bad that I asked my cabinet to consider tying you down to a room in the great pyramid but we could never get a consensus on which room.

[God-Emperor]

The bedroom...Rawr.

[Lord Ravenclaw]

erm, whose bedroom? I didn't have a bedroom, I had a nest at the top of a tower.

[God-Emperor]

Did I have a bedroom there for some reason, or at least a guest room named in my honor?  If so, that's the one.

[Lord Ravenclaw]

It may have been in one of the old cities residential/foreign districts, and there were plenty of them or in the West or South Pacifican embassies.

[God-Emperor]

Either would work.  I also seem to find my way back to both...

[Lord Ravenclaw]

I no longer have any participation in Osiris, let alone citizenship and I can't remember the layout of any of the above.

[God-Emperor]

Damn.  Ya'd be no good in an Ocean's 11 situation.

[Andy]

Statement from the Osiris Fraternal Order
on the Pursuit of National Sovereignty

 

---

National Sovereignty is, at its core, about the sovereign right of nations to govern themselves. The General Assembly should only legislate on matters that are truly international in scope, and in such a way that allows as much freedom in governing to World Assembly nations as is practical. This focus on not only the right, but the ability, of nations to govern themselves better than an international bureaucracy can is the foundation of the modern National Sovereigntist movement. Modern National Sovereigntists are not focused on destroying the World Assembly, but rather on limiting the General Assembly to truly international law and improving the quality of legislation one resolution at a time, for the benefit of sovereign nations.

In recent years the distinction between National Sovereignty and International Federalism, once so clear in the minds of General Assembly authors, has become blurred. This, along with the collapse or reduced activity of important National Sovereigntist regions -- which has been accompanied by the collapse of exclusively International Federalist regions as well -- has led some to suggest that the National Sovereigntist movement is dead. The truth is that the movement for National Sovereignty is never dead as long as there are those in the world who believe that national governance is preferable to international bureaucracy. National Sovereignty is alive and well, not so much concentrated in particular regions but in a worldwide movement that can now be found in many regions.

The first duty of any government is to its own people and for this reason the Osiris Fraternal Order is committed to the protection and advancement of National Sovereignty. As we have insisted upon the sovereign right of our own region to determine her own destiny and to pursue her own interests, so we insist upon that same right for the nations of Osiris. This commitment to National Sovereignty will not be placed to the side or on the back burner, as has been the case in many regions oriented toward gameplay, but rather will be integrated into our broader external policy. Long a priority of individual Osirans in their World Assembly voting, National Sovereignty will be a priority of the Osiris Fraternal Order and we will seek to leave a lasting mark on the General Assembly in favor of the sovereignty of nations.

This pursuit of National Sovereignty begins in earnest today with the publication of the following document, The Modern NatSov: Freedom to Govern. Authored by our Vizier and Scribe of Foreign Affairs, Treize Dreizehn, as well as Delegate Mousebumples of Europeia, this document explains the philosophy and aims of the modern National Sovereigntist movement. We are very pleased to present this document to the world with the signature of our Pharaoh, as well as the signatures of the Queen of Balder, our great ally and twin sister Sinker, and the Delegate of Monkey Island and the Founder of Antarctic Oasis, partner regions that have made historic contributions to the World Assembly.

We hope that this document and our renewed focus on National Sovereignty will encourage other regions to make the sovereignty of the nations residing within their borders a central priority of their external affairs. Any region that does so will find, in the Osiris Fraternal Order, a partner in the reinvigorated pursuit of National Sovereignty.
 

Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order

Vizier and Scribe of Horus for the Osiris Fraternal Order

 

 

 

 

 

The Modern NatSov: Freedom to Govern

 

 

Introduction:

So you wanna be a NatSov? Well first you have to ask yourself what that is. National Sovereignty is the belief that Nations are better suited than the World Assembly at legislating on most matters. You'll note that I said most, not all, and we'll get into that soon. But first, let's talk about the link between the real world and the game world.

Sovereignty is a term full of meaning. At its core, it means the sole and absolute power over a nation. This does not necessarily indicate a dictatorship mind you, a democracy or republic can have sovereignty over a nation as well. But the decisions that the democracy or republic makes are to be considered absolute and unquestionable.

That's the base of sovereignty as a concept, but of course goes much further than that - especially as the term has changed throughout history. At first it generally meant a truly sovereign monarch, beholden to no laws or other persons (this was the model used in Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan") but with this idea came some of the earliest concepts associated with the social contract. Rousseau's later works on the subject began to shape the idea of a collective sovereignty (the social contract), which is much closer to how it is considered today.

In the real world, today, accepting the concept of the sovereignty of nations has helped result in one of the longest eras of peace in human history (despite the fact that we've had many wars in the last century, the world is more peaceful today than in almost any other period of human history). Sovereignty is so ingrained in our thinking that we find it hard to think of a border as some arbitrary distinction anymore. A nation is considered sovereign today in ways that centuries ago would've been just as hard to conceive of.

We have to remember that the game of Nationstates is a nation simulator. Under most modern concepts of the word, each nation possesses sovereignty. You can see that when you answer issues. You alone are responsible for your national history. RP's can only be entered into voluntarily. You can name your national religions, currency, national animal, and leaders. You have sole and absolute power over your nation, as long as you do not join the World Assembly.

Legislation:

It's clear that by joining the World Assembly that we give up *absolute* sovereignty. That does not, necessarily indicate a willingness to give up *all* sovereignty. That is the root of what I consider the Modern NatSov movement.

NatSov is the genuine belief that the sovereignty of nations should be preserved whenever possible, even when those nations are a part of the World Assembly. This is, strangely enough achieved through legislation. All repeals inherently increase national sovereignty by allowing nations more freedom to legislate on particular topics themselves, however, some repeals help explain the issue better than others. I think one of the best examples of a well meaning proposal that caused significant harm was the Habeas Corpus Act.

The HCA was a resolution proposed back in 2012. It mandated that except in a few circumstances, no one could be detained for longer than 6 hours every week without first being charged with a crime. This resolution did not provide any exceptions for the following: Child Protective Services (so children could only be removed from abusive homes for 6 hours a week), "drunk tanks", or detaining immigrants to ascertain the veracity of their documents and claims (such as asylum claims). An excellent repeal was written that pointed out these flaws and more, and the resolution was stricken from the record.

The replacement of the HCA was written by an author who probably wouldn't classify himself as being a NatSov. But it still does the job it needs to do magnificently. It allows nations to detain persons in reasonable situations, and still blocks abuse of the system. That law still exists today because it toes the line between respecting sovereignty and dealing with an issue that isn't necessarily of international importance. It is not a purely NatSov solution, but it is a significant improvement and one I support.

So now that you have a handle on what a Natsov is, let's get into a little bit of the whys.

Why join the WA at all?

A fair question. If you respect the national sovereignty of your own nation, it would seem to follow that you'd be unlikely to join the WA at all. But that methodology of thinking would fail to take into account the ideals of National Sovereignty. That is, the belief that the increase of national sovereignty worldwide is a net good. There is no way to combat the effects of WA legislation without actually joining the World Assembly itself. So yes, we join the world assembly to advance our viewpoints and to increase sovereignty for all.

Why shouldn't I support a resolution that increases human rights? Or one that stops human rights abuses?

You SHOULD support resolutions on the issues that are important to you. I know this is strange, and a little counter intuitive from what most people think of as a NatSov standpoint, but it isn't. The WA is capable of doing great harm if legislation is clumsily and recklessly passed, but new resolutions that respect the National Sovereigntist standpoint are inherently better than their alternative. Are we more likely to support a repeal than not? Sure. But I guarantee you'll have some difficulty finding a significant amount of NatSovs who'd support the repeal of a law banning slavery, well crafted laws on genocide, most children's issues, or any other number of issues that are of "international importance".

That's another factor to consider as well. The World Assembly is, for lack of a better process, a way to enforce international treaties on a wide scale. As long as most of the enforcement and definitions are left up to the nations in question (while avoiding creating severe loopholes), an international issue can be dealt with by the WA in a way that doesn't necessarily wreck the sovereignty of its member nations. That is the ideal resolution we work towards.

Why is freedom important for nations?

Because the nation is YOU. In Nationstates you control your nations! If the WA takes power away from you, it has limited the options you have on personal legislation. It is taking freedoms from you as the leader of that nation. The Modern NatSov is about making sure that as little power leaves your hands as possible, while not ignoring substantive issues that may shock the conscience.

Why do gameplayers tend to be NatSov?

A lot of gameplayers don't care much about the World Assembly (and especially not the General Assembly). But I think GPers becoming NatSovs is definitely a trend and one that I welcome. While there are a certain amount of defenders that are active in the GA and aren't NatSov, the vast majority of Gameplayers who do get involved in the GA tend towards the NatSov ideology.

Simply put, a GA ideology about national freedoms rather than worldwide and collective legislation is something of a natural fit for most gameplayers who get involved in the GA.

Why aren't you anti-everything like I thought?

Well. That's an older version of National Sovereignty that doesn't really exist anymore on any significant scale. The modern NatSov does not hate the WA. You'll hear that argument from our opponents on occasion but it's a smokescreen. It's a caricature that may've once been close to accurate, but doesn't tell the whole story. The two authors of this ducment have almost 40 resolutions between them (that's about 15% of all active GA resolutions). So no, we're not about destroying the WA, we're about improving it. We want the institution to do good, just as much as anybody. We just insist it be smarter about doing so.

Conclusion:

So you still wanna be a NatSov? That's good. We are an open ideology, where the only rules are to be smart about legislation, don't be a dick, and engage with our opposition until it's no longer reasonable to do so. If you have an idea for a resolution there is almost certainly a way to go about it that respects the sovereignty of almost twenty thousand nations in the WA and remains within the 3500 character limit. Trust us on that.

Thanks for reading!

Here's a couple of guides to help you get started on passing NatSov Legislation, namely Repeals and Blockers:
Why repeal?
Improving the world, one blocker at a time

And a few more on the concepts of NatSov:
Will the real 'IntFed' please stand up?
FAQs from HotRodia from the UN Days

Authors:
Foreign Affairs Minister and Vice Delegate of Osiris: The Dourian Embassy.
Delegate of Europeia: Mousebumples.

Supporters:
Delegate of Osiris: Cormac A Stark.
Delegate of Balder: Solorni.
Delegate of Monkey Island: Ainocra.
Founder of Antarctic Oasis: Omigodtheykilledkenny.

 

 

 

[God-Emperor]

This looks familiar.