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Note: Since people say my articles are too long, I will try to have a summary in the beginning of my article of the key points. They will not be intended to replace reading the whole article but the key points of the articles without the details.

Executive Summary

This article will seek the purpose of ambassadors. They do not really aid in the process of diplomacy and in many case serve little to no purpose. So why do states employ them? I argue that states employ ambassadors for intelligence and clandestine purposes. Ambassadorship is as an educational apparatus, a governmental storage apparatus (tool to keep people busy), and the symbol of prestige and well being of an society..... End of summary.

Article

When we look at the MoFA and the ambassadors, we would think of them planning foreign policies, meeting new contacts around the world to promote relations and cooperation etc. The problem is, in this game the MoFA and especially the ambassadors are pointless. They really do not do anything of importance and it is nothing more but a fancy title.

Ambassadors and MoFA does not make foreign policy at all. Especially that of the ambassadors, they are mostly inactive and have little to no information to any important information at all. All they do is to read the news of other state's media and say hi. In a way, they are poor PR nations for the state that the ambassador represents.

So who makes foreign policy and build relations? In a way the CP does most of the foreign policy stuff. While in PHX, MoFA have access to Phoenix itself, the MoFA is mainly to assist and represent the president and is more of a messenger. The MoFa might aid the MoD as well as with military planning. Since the PHX structure is pretty centralized, the CP or within PHX CP's can relay messages quickly and secretly with each other. The absence of ambassadors should be noted since ambassadors are not needed at all for alliance members.

Ambassadors do not really have much communication function with hostile states as well in regards to diplomacy. They say hi and read their media, that is about it. Since the key leaders of PHX knows the key people of EDEN, if they need to communicate with them, they do not need a middle man.

So what do ambassadors do? They really do not do so much. They read foreign media and get to know the people in their host state. They are to be expert of that nation and to gather information.

So what is the functions of Ambassadors?

Here are some ways to explain the functions and the reasons why states employ ambassadors and not abolish it.

Ambassadors as spies

While ambassadors clearly shows their color to their host states, making clandestine activity hard or impossible, but they do serve a function of intelligence. The job of ambassadors is to get to know the peoples in the host state's members and to read their media. They are to become experts of their state. So when events happens, they are to report it to their superiors which will rely the messages to the policy makers like that of the CP, MoD, and/ or MoFA. At times even to PHX itself. Since their mission profile is information gathering only, they do not really effect diplomacy but to serve as an intelligence officer.

In addition to gathering information, ambassadors are to know the community and their members of the host state well. If they can find people who are upset with the state or the government etc, ambassadors and influence them either by recruiting them directly to do clandestine activity or to gain more secretive information. Many times a good ambassadors can manipulate and influence these people or groups without directly recruiting them. Therefore, ambassadors can clandestinely effect policies of foreign states. While ambassadors successfully changing policies of other states is difficult and would require an very talented ambassador; nevertheless, it happens.

Ambassadors as an educational apparatus

States can employ ambassadors to each them the fundamentals of the game. A lot of ambassadors in the game tends to be noobs or newer players. While there are experience ambassadors, but the noob and the inexperienced out numbers that of the experienced in normal situation. By giving noobs and energetic new people the ambassadors, this gives them the means to learn the structure and the bureaucracy of states. They will learn who has the power and who to send reports. The position of ambassadors also forces many noobs to pay attention to foreign media. It create an habit for them to read and pay attention to international events and not just focusing on a single fixed media.

The state employs ambassadors so that the job teach them the basis of statesmanship so it is an low risk investment for the state. They are exposed to different communities and increase access to other important people from the state that the ambassador is representing as well as to the host state. Making connections and new networks of important people will give them the opportunity to get to know the right peoples which will help the ambassador's understanding of the game from the experienced . Knowing the right people and networks greatly improve the political career of the inexperienced in forms of endorsements, so the ambassadors have many benefits.

From the state's point of view could be a great program if the MoFA or the person who runs the ambassador program is active and knowledgeable. The state gives a title to a noob and the Director of Ambassadors are mentors guiding the ambassadors to a self taught education. No cash, no real risk and the state could gain good statesman in the future. Also ambassadors will see their nation behaves and understand the behavior of their states. Ambassadors tend to defend their state's action, so the state is teaching ambassadors the values, interest, and priorities, "educating" ambassadors to be better citizens of the state.

Governmental storage apparatus (Brushing their egos with busy work)

With many noobs in the game and many of them wants to either be in power or to be active in the game. There are so much position in the government. The need for 7 MoE and 8 MoF is present. The state functions best with one or two ministers in each post. Where do we place these very eager but inexperienced players?

Yes it is cynical, but ambassadorship is great. The post sounds very important but with no power and of no importance at all. They have a newspapers once a week and really does not even touch the state that much. The state and appoint almost an infinite amount of ambassadors/ vice ambassadors and they can place countless noobs and others in such position in essence, to shut these people up and to leave the state alone. You include them in the "part of state" and they will feel ownership to the government, so the chance for them to be a huge disturbance will be low. Therefore, ambassadorship can be a storage apparatus for states to put the noobs and to too eager so they would stop being disruptive.

Prestige and the symbol of the wellbeing of the society.

Many states use ambassadors either for the above purpose or for others. Other states have it and it would be strange if my state does not have one. Having ambassadors shows that your state have structure and the energy and the mental resources to maintain one. If your nation is in disarray and is in a declining population, their energy would not be used on such a institution even if it serves as an intelligence or an educational apparatus.

Like in eNL during the summer of 2010. There was a time during the world cup and summer vacation, that there was no ambassadors and that the community was inactive. Despite efforts to get ambassadors, it was a failure. They adopted a zone system in which the little active people tried their best to know as much as possible of each zone like Western Europe, North Americas, etc. Therefore, having ambassadors is to show prestige as well as the prosperity of the community.

Closing

While I am sure you can think of other reasons why there are ambassadors, but here are some of my ideas why states continue to employ what seems to be a pointless and powerless institution. Ambassadors do not build important intrastate relations. They do not behave and operate to be real ambassadors like that of the real world but an information gathering apparatus. I believe there is an educational as well as busy work aspect as well. The prestige and wellbeing of the society argument is more messy but I also think places a small role on why states have ambassadors as well. So the combination of the above, ambassadors as clandestine agents, operated my inexperienced and at the time undesired people, educated by the state to think and act of state interest to portray the vitality and the functioning of the state is why states employ ambassadors.

Konrad Neumann
-Officer of Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw (Political dedication and service)
-Knight of Orde van Oranje Nassau (Societal dedication and service)
-ex eGerman President from January to March 5th.
-13 time congressman
-Former Minister of Interior of Netherlands
-Former eUNL ambassador to eGermany
-Former Minister Foreign Affairs of Netherlands
-Former Party President of Green Liberal Democrats [GLD]
-Retired Emeritus of Phoenix
-Co-Author of the Frankfurt Treaty
-One of the negotiator, author of the Phoenix alliance under then President Donnie Bronco
-Vice/MoFA of eGermany from August to January
-Former eGerman ambassador to eAustralia, eUK, and UNL
-5-6 month of Party President of Open Minded Germany