Conversations with Caesar - Interviewing the Vikings

Day 2,070, 09:52 • Published in Finland Finland • by TheJuliusCaesar


Good evening!

Today I present you an article, which is approximately 1,2 Eriuses long. Don't worry, I have few photos in the middle to balance the article.
My goal was to interview players, who have contributed a lot for Asgard either by acting as a Supreme Commander of the alliance or as a HQ member (President) in some point of our journey. I acknowledge there is plenty of notable players who should have been interviewed in order to fulfill the condition of Asgard contributors. I selected these seven due their recent important positions in Asgard. I contacted and succesfully interviewed current presidents of Canada, Norway, Finland, current SC of Asgard and three former SCs. I sent eight interview request and got eight positive answers out of them, however I didn't get the answers from Swedish CP in time to take part in this article. Without further delays, let's get into the questions:



Q: There has been some fierce debating about the plans of Spain, Argentina and Serbia in the TWO alliance and the consequences of them. Spain is still occupying Canada, and Argentina used to have great relations with Asgard. How do you see this fragmentation of TWO affecting to Asgards, or does it affect at all?

Vileskont, Secretary General of Asgard
It will affect us for sure. What is important to me personally, and to Asgard as a whole is for us to keep and strengthen our relations with Argentina and the other friendly nations. We value them very highly and I believe they have the same feelings for us. Therefore it is of paramount importance that we work together for our common better future. As for Spain, we shall wait and see how things go.

Akashaton, President of Norway
If it affects us, it's a good thing. The more fragmented TWO gets, the better for us, but as long any nation is still a member of TWO, it will always be frowned upon by Asgard, in any kind of diplomatic endeavor. eg. Though I don't see any problem, if Canada strikes a NAP or something to secure a region sometime in the future. I do think and hope that TWO will collapse in the end, nice to see it fracture!

WP Attak, President of Finland
I will leave the first question to Canadians, as that is something they are working on.

Pat Harper, President of Canada
As far as I am concerned, TWO is our enemy and always will be until America/Canada is free. Asgard is weak compared to other alliances, and our current situation is unfortunate. It still seems very fragmentary with things changing every day so it is hard to comment in detail.

Kain Propan, former SC of Asgard
If TWO falls it would surely affect Asgard as they are currently our opponents. Though I cannot say for sure how it would affects us but looking at the current situation I would guess that it would benefit us seeing as it can hardly get any worse than it already is region-wise. eRep is a back and forth game. As long as we keep standing strong even in the toughest of moments we will, if we play our cards right, come out on top once another alliance shift happens.

JudasGoat, former SC of Asgard
Of course it affects Asgard. If TWO fragments it makes our main enemies direct mpp-damage smaller, ties more of their damage-output to other fronts and most importantly, if a real fracture comes in form of new alliance it will definitely affect us diplomatically, opening whole new opportunities where we can gain new allies (and make new enemies).

Mr_W, former SC of Asgard
The turmoil in TWO will of course affect Asgard, but it is a little bit too soon to say excactly how. Canada's position will be even more difficult unless they can come to an agreement with Spain. Regarding the other Asgard countries, Spain and Argentina are not nearly as big an issue as for Canada. If Poland and Serbia stay in the same alliance things will really not change fundamentally.

Fragmentation of TWO was widely seen as a positive event, of course, since this eWorld powerhouse-alliance is the current enemy of Asgard and CoT. Recently TWO HQ tried to calm the situation down, urging members to remain untied for the sake of the alliance. Situation of Canada was concerned hard to solve, seems like there is some kind of NAP-effort being put into effect. Reportedly both parties, Canada and Spain, have already agreed to terms. Interesting to see how does it turn out in the end.



Q: People at least in Finland have questioned the current foreign policy of both Finland and Asgard. Some say the alliance doesn't have any direction nor even the knowledge to get there. Have you noticed anything like this? If yes, how should we stabilize and get the direction for the policy?

Vileskont
I would say that Asgard is doing exactly the same as ever. Asgard is no orinary military alliance. Asgard was never forged with ideas of military supremacy and world domination. Asgard is rather a community of values. And we act as such, fighting shoulder by shoulder often in hopeless battles. Sacraficing our dearest for our brothers knowing that they would do the same for us. This was Asgard, this is Asgard and I hope that the alliance will remain the same for the forseeble future. I do not think this is "a crisis" of any sort.

Akashaton
I think Asgard & Asgard HQ has don a excellent job lately! I also think this accusations need to be a bit more specific, if I'm to answer them, but I can say that we have had a lot of Military challenges of late, so this has mainly been prioritized, and we have become a lot better at addressing these treats, and organizing our efforts, in all member nations, the same goes for Asgards united coordination.

WP Attak
Finland foreign policy is very clear: We do not want to fight anyone in our neighborhood. Estonians are friends. Belarus was friend. Lithuania is friend. Russia is a good friend, and so is USA. Even Germark is a good friend. Only Latvia and Ukraine were big challenges, and always have been, and even that I believe is due to communication challenges. Asgard respects each nations choices in their foreign policy, but if requested we help each other when needed. Sweden and Norway have their challenges, and Finland has done its best to assist.

Pat Harper
I think communication has improved lately but there has been a hell of a lot of complaint in Canada about whether Asgard is right for us or not. The opinion is pretty much split down the middle, I for one love Asgard and am happy to stay in the alliance, but I understand where peoples views, especially after being wiped for 6 months and other countries in Asgard not fairing all that much better.

Kain Propan
What is there to question? That we didn't side with TWO/ACT instead of CoT? That would hardly have been possible since they would have no need for us and I don't see myself fighting on Latvias side vs Russia.That didn't disband Asgard and join CoT? Like that would have changed anything. That we didn't go our separate ways and end up as enemies fighting each other? No thanks.
Personally I am pretty clear on our current direction even though the goal at the moment is pretty much impossible to achieve. Free all members and if possible wage offensive wars. TWO has such a superior damage output at the moment that nations a lot bigger than us can't liberate themselves so why would we be able to. We should stay patient and loyal instead of hoping for miracles or quick fixes. I'd rather stay wiped for six more months than surrender on lousy terms or switch sides just because we are currently losing. The reputation and honor of my country means more to me than it's region.

JudasGoat
Yes, I've seen that happening. It seems there are different views on where we should focus on, and it shows especially on expansion-policy. I can't go to details but I think things are moving too slow and communication and activity sucks. Mostly this comes from issue called "Summer".

Mr_W
I don't agree with the claim we have no direction, we have increased cooperation with CoT as planned. Unfortunately that has not made our position on the battlefield much better, when even tiny TWO nations can beat almost any country with three or four superstrong mpp's.

This question raised quite a lot of different opinions. Finnish CP even says Lithuania, who is currently occupying Sweden, is a friend. I just can't imagine how one can get into that. If a country occupies your ally, your neighbour, it just can't be your friend. Hopefully he only mixed Lithuania and Latvia, though Latvia is also fighting against Sweden. Another issue which also raised some concerns, was the communication (or lack of it) inside of Asgard, last HQ-newspaper article was published over month ago. But as JudasGoat said, this inactivity probably (and hopefully) is caused by the classic reason - summer. Hopefully the alliance would burst back alive when it's time to come back from vacations.



Q: Asgard has been tied up to CoT more and more during recent months, do you see this as a positive development? Should Asgard try to keep its neutrality or get more affiliated with one of bigger alliances?

Vileskont, Secretary General of Asgard
We are neutral. We never forget those who help us. We have many friends and we always help them. This does not however mean that we take sides easily. This is so exactly because of the nature of our alliance. We do not fight for countries, we fight for values, for friends. This is who we are.

Akashaton, President of Norway
This is true, and I think it's good and necessary, as long as it don't compromise our sovereignty as an independent alliance. In this case of CoT ties, a lot of CoT members are old allies of the Asgard nations and there is always the thing, the enemy of my enemy is my friend...

WP Attak, President of Finland
Asgard is neutral. Our enemies are from TWO so we have asked for help from CoT, and they have asked us for help. You could say we are pro-CoT, but we are still local and respect our old friends in TWO. Asgard is local and neutral still, as it was supposed to be. Of course each CP term can have small changes to those policies but each Asgard nation will respect those local political decisions of member nations.

Pat Harper, President of Canada
I definitely see this as a positive, there would be no siding with TWO due to our current wars, with CoT under pressure, they need as much help as possible to fight off the TWO menace!

Kain Propan, former SC of Asgard
I prefer neutrality most definatly. It gives us flexibility and freedom to choose many things for ourselves.

JudasGoat, former SC of Asgard
We should keep our neutrality and independence. We work with CoT against our common enemy TWO, as working together we can achieve more than working alone.

Mr_W, former SC of Asgard
I think we should continue to cooperate with CoT on all levels, but I don't see any immediate need for becoming a suballiance or something similar.

Almost everyone highlights the fact that Asgard is, and will be a neutral alliance. Still as far as I'm concerned, we're no longer "as neutral" as we were when alliance was formed. Global alliance politics have forced us to take the stand in certain side of the wall. Naturally the side was CoT due our main enemies among TWO-alliance. Cooperation with CoT was widely seen as a positive thing, and I have to agree with that.



Q: A lot of discussion about internal matters has been circulating around Asgard lately, especially Canadas position in the alliance has been repeatedly questioned by the citizens of Canada and other Asgard countries. How do you see the future of Canada in the alliance?

Vileskont
Canada is a key member of Asgard. Being the third country to enter Asgard, Canada has helped signifficantly in the development of the alliance. I believe that they will do a lot more for Asgard and I see no other place for them but at the centre of the vikings' horde.

Akashaton
I think Canada is a great and wanted addition to Asgard, and we need to keep them with us! It's understandable that they need to be a bit continental, but they help Asgard a lot, and we stand by to help them when the need arises!

WP Attak
Canada is extremely valuable member as 24-h damage is often required. Now when we have been in wipe that has not been such an issue but I am sure everyone can recognize that Asgard needs 24h damage. Someone has to fight our wars during nights also.

Pat Harper
I see a positive future for sure, I love the alliance and as stated in a previous answer, there is clearly confrontation on whether Asgard is the right alliance for us but I think it is brewed on the fact we have been wiped for so long. Even if Canada joined CoT, we wouldn't be free from Spain's clutches, especially with the USA under such onslaught.

Kain Propan
There was talk about them joining CoT a couple of months back but it is pretty clear that such a move would not have changed anything. I understand the frustration some Canadian citizens have but I would be surprised if it went so far as to them switching sides though stranger things have happened.

JudasGoat
On the thought of any country joining or leaving any alliance I take the most basic way of thinking; if country decides to leave, then it leaves. If country wants to join, it does what it can to get application to pass. On Canadas situation; it is difficult. Spain is one of the powerhouses of the game, and when our allies within CoT have serious trouble keeping their own powerhouses on the map it seems to be a very difficult task to find a way to free Canada (and keep Canada free) using only brute force. Luckily this is a game, and situations change when stuff get's too one-sided.

Mr_W
Concerning Canada, they are in a very difficult position, if Spain leaves TWO and starts to sign mpp's with CoT countries like USA and Russia. I will respect their decision whatever they decide to do if that happens. If they want to go on fighting against Spain, they would probably have to align themselves with TWO.

Despite the extremely difficult situation and minor uncertainty on Asgard-membership, Canada is concerned as a valuable member of the alliance. Whatever their decision will be, it'll be appreciated. Hopefully we can see the liberated Canada as soon as possible, internal clashes of TWO might give Asgard the possibility of liberating Canada finally.



Q: There has also occurred discussion whether Asgard should expand or not, Netherlands application for membership proceeded to the voting, but wasn't accepted by all member congresses. How do you feel, should Asgard expand in near future? If yes, what country would suit best in our alliance?

Vileskont, Secretary General of Asgard
On a personal level I strongly support eNetherlands joining Asgard. If we are to remain true to our nature and namely- to remain a community of fellow friends sharing common values, there is no country more suitable to join Asgard as eNetherlads. They are highly valued friends who have helped us on a numerous occasions, proving their loyalty and friendship. I would be glad to have them amongst us any time soon!

Akashaton, President of Norway
I am a big advocate for expanding, adding the right good nations.I think it was wrong to turn down Ireland and the Netherlands! The Netherlands is a great Allie and they will not give up joining the right Alliance (Asgard) just because we got some fearful narrow minded Congress members in some parts of Asgard, that rejected there firs application. I strongly advise all Congress members to see that letting the Dutch join us is only beneficial! They want to be our Brothers, if they were looking for the power to have there regions freed from Poland, then CoT is what they wanted.

WP Attak, President of Finland
Asgard has to expand, and the best way is to choose the best of the best friends. Netherlands, Portugal and Ireland are my top three candidates. Don't get stuck on the name, in the end Asgard is a military alliance and has to work towards its best interests, and for the member nations interest.

Pat Harper, President of Canada
I think Asgard should look to expand, the more fighters the better in my eyes. I see no problem with letting the Netherlands join us, I like their players and every man counts!

Kain Propan, former SC of Asgard
My hope is that Asgard stays a small alliance with member nations that are somewhat closely located to eachother. I'm no stranger to expansion if there is a good candidate but at the moment I don't see any good ones. I was opposed to NL joining Asgard and I still am. Not because I dislike them or anything but because of their current situation and location on the map.

JudasGoat, former SC of Asgard
Yes, Asgard should expand. I supported idea of trying to get Ireland and Germark on board in the past, but nowadays I think we really should just get strong allies (who does not need to actually be in our alliance) on different timezones as the current situation gives us a clear primetime, and time when there is almost impossible to get damage to battlefields without heavy use of mercenaries. Problem with getting weak countries actually comes from our command structure and the fact that to survive you would need a lot of weak countries to create enough power-output. If we ever get into situation where you have 5 members from 10 countries in HQ, it would be far from ideal as things probably would grind into a halt even on simplest of summits and votes.

Mr_W, former SC of Asgard
Since there is such turmoil in TWO right now, I don't think the time is right for expanding Asgard. The Netherlands would surely be a loyal ally, but it might make our position difficult if there is a major alliance reshuffle. I would like to know what happens to TWO before that decision is made.

This question too divided the house. While all participated presidents of member countries and current SC agreed with the idea of Netherlands joining into Asgard, former SC's were not so enthusiastic about it. Only one was against the expanding in principle, few are still waiting for suitable candidates. I have to agree with JudasGoat once again. Perhaps some kind of cooperation pact (see Valkyrie Pact with some of powerful country would do major impact in our battles.



Q: And for last but certainly not the least, how should Asgard improve, how can we get the alliance into the next level? What needs to be done in order to activate and unite Asgard to the major power of Northern Europe again?

Vileskont
I don't think that we ever planned to be a great power. However we are certainly a force to be reckoned with. We are, so to say, a dwarf that can pack quite a punch! And we have proven this on a number of occasions. We shall stay true to our nature, respect our principles, be loyal to our friends and punish our enemies! Not to forget having fun meanwhile! This is how I understand "Asgard"!

Akashaton
It's more then one way to go about doing this. I personally think we need to keep the Brotherhood strong, appreciate Canada's needs and there US ties. Accept the Netherlands as worthy members of our Alliance! Maybe also revisit the opportunity of adding Ireland and Portugal, if they are willing. Then we just need to be patient, and aid CoT in there efforts against TWO.
We may also strengthen our relations to NaN. But I think it's wise to make these necessary expansions, so we got some power to bring to the table, and defend our boarders.

WP Attak
Asgard has already improved, and many things are in the works. We have common channels with our external friends, and we are renewing our command chain with national MUs. Also Finland has considered allocating one organization for Asgard so that all Asgard news would be "local" to our media. We have also moved most of our irc communications to Rizon to improve common foreign politics.

Pat Harper
For sure, we need to be free from occupation. Canada has lost over 50% of its previous population since the Spanish invasion 6 months ago, we are weak and our MU's can only just support our small player list. It simply can't go on. If Asgard has any hope of expansion we have to secure our frontiers, that has to come down to extremely good co-ordination from inside the alliance, friendly nations (Pro-CoT), and someone with a bottomless Visa card 😛

Kain Propan
I am sure improvements can be made in organizational matters and such but I am afraid that wont really change anything major due to the current imbalance of power in the world. We just have to stay strong and loyal and ride out the storm.

JudasGoat
Season needs to change, for starters. If you have thousands of players, it does not affect that much if there is bump in activity of masses, those who keep on playing still have enough power to keep things going. But when we have only handful of players it seriously hurts us when active people go to summer-mode (or full summer-hibernation). Another issue in my opinion is that Asgard needs it's own multinational military-unit or strikeforce (not necessarily an actual MU but people the HQ can get in touch quickly, arm them easily and who make enough damage to actually move that damn wall). Now it seems that presidents/HQ just gives orders to leaders of main MUs who then obey or don't, and we can see the results.
Another thing that might be worth thinking would be a military-funds, where members would donate a sum of money/tanks that would be spent to supply critical battles. Then there would always be resources at hand when needed instead of wasting time trying to scrape them from somewhere when the supply should already be on.

Mr_W
I think we should be patient and see what will happen next between TWO and CoT. Our present situation is the result of TWO being so powerful. If they continue to be so, we will have big problems. As I said earlier, I think nothing much will change as long as Poland and Serbia are in the same alliance.

Few say Asgard should expand to stay in the surface, some say we need to form relations to NaN. These both are considerable option in the future of Asgard. We also need to keep our ties with old, loyal friends and actively form new relations. Summer surely plays its part, but we can't blame the season from all of this. Efficient foreign policy is the key to success. But still, the most valuable thing we have in Asgard, as Kain Propan says it: "We just have to stay strong and loyal and ride out the storm". Let's keep the Vikinghood going.



A major thank you to all participants, you provided me extremely fruitful answers. Without these this article would've been a lot shorter and duller. Hopefully readers won't burn themself out while reading this wall. And no, there was no proper pics in the article. Got you!

Until the next time,
Caesar