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Now that eSouth Africa has become a focal point for both EDEN and Phoenix, I started thinking that the eSA and the eUnited Kingdom fill similar and pivotal roles for both alliances-- I realize that eSA is not an EDEN member, but they play a role for EDEN despite this. These countries hold striking similarities which I wanted to illustrate below.

There’s more in common here than meets the eye.

Attention Grabbers
By and large, the real movers and shakers of eRepublik, unsurprisingly, are the states who have the most experience points or largest populations. On this list, the eUK (13th) and eSA (18th) should not captivate the international media and the attention of the New World; however, they continue to grab headlines and remain near the center of the war despite their stature. One can posit several reasons for this, but a few of the main ones include:

Strategic Importance
The strategic element of the eUK and eSA is apparent by virtue of their locations alone; without getting too sidetracked, eJapan would be the third such disproportionally important country for this reason. The eUK acts as the most accessible doorway between North America and Europe, and friendship with (or control over) this chokepoint makes the eUK invaluable for EDEN and Phoenix. It was eUK’s complicit region swap with eHungary, after all, which allowed PEACE to make headway in the North American theater this summer. Similarly, eSA holds the keys between South America and Australia/Asia. Whether eBrazil wanted to attack eAustralia, or eIndonesia wished to move on South America, neither would be possible without first traversing eSA-- with or without consent.

With the same game mechanics logic, both countries have value for their impact by initiative blocking. The eUK stymied the eUSA’s plan to invade eJapan for several days by attacking the Northeast US, and has since controlled the effort in Western Europe by effectively forcing EDEN’s neighboring countries to react to their moves. eSA has recently been targeted by eIndonesia for several reasons, but one of which was to preemptively deny eSA the ability to initiative block eIndonesia were the Phoenix member to move on South America. Finally, eSA boasts significant diamond reserves; although the eUK is not particularly unique resource-wise, Phoenix members have occupied portions of eSA with these diamond reserves as a major factor behind their decision making.

Sometimes, EDEN's obsession towards the eUK
rivals this. Same of the eSA animosity, to a lesser extent.

Love to Hate
Infatuation with anything can create obsession and tunnel vision, clouding out other priorities or interests, and the same can be applied to how both alliances look at their respective adversary. Older citizens and newer players learning from them will never forget that the eUK once was allied with the EDEN countries who wish to destroy them; eSA harbors ill feelings towards eBrazil for taking advantage of a region swapping deal, while eBrazil recently broke off trade following the attempted resistance war (RW) on Gauteng. Nothing generates eRep trolling like an eUK-eUSA article, and although the same cannot necessarily be said of eSA’s foreign relations, the international attention given to the small country is a product of well-known animosity between eSA’s and some neighbors.

At times, the obsession borders on irrationality. It never becomes entirely irrational to obsess over the eUK or eSA, however, because of the reasons mentioned above; more importantly, it becomes a sort of ‘group exercise’ for EDEN and Phoenix to simultaneously obsess over the eUK or eSA, as doing so makes whatever current battle more important because of the EDEN-Phoenix bipolar system. Because these countries receive so much animosity from the other side, they create a clear zero-sum mentality which is fueled by emotion-- a force stronger than game mechanics in some cases and the reason these two chokepoint countries are different from eJapan. As long as the eUK is hated by EDEN, they will continue to be a major focus for them as well as Phoenix; although eSA is nominally neutral, eSA will remain an equally significant country on the international sphere as long as two prominent Phoenix members loathe them.

The little guys need help in fights like this

Entrapment
Combining the game mechanics and emotion-based reasons results in an entrapment dilemma for EDEN and Phoenix, where they cannot afford for their nominally or actually-allied partner to fall. Were the eUK to be successfully invaded, EDEN would waive it in Phoenix’s faces for months, and would also have a clear point of entry for the eUSA and/or eCanada into Europe. As a result, Phoenix’s militaries have deployed to the eUK and deflect EDEN blocking attacks with walls that are millions of points high. At the same time, EDEN could not let eIndonesia enter South America uncontested, and cannot let eBrazil settle differences with eSA. The deployment of EDEN’s military to eSA’s aid-- even though eSA is not in EDEN itself-- reflects the importance EDEN has given to eSA as a Southern Hemisphere chokehold that can limit Phoenix's mobility. It is because both alliances have such an interest in one of the smaller states’ survival that they will continue to rally to that state’s aid and seek to justify doing so, even if other priority objectives (such as the Three Pillars or Phoenix’s need to recover eGermany and eFrance) may still have gone unfulfilled and are briefly reduced in importance. They are handcuffed behind the need to protect the eUK (Phoenix) or eSA (EDEN), and the obsessive attraction to these states gives justification to a cause which may not look as urgent on paper.

What This Means
Put simply, the eUK and eSA will continue to command attention as long as they draw a balance of strategic and emotional interest from EDEN and Phoenix. It might be this unique role that makes eUK and eSA citizens among the most informed countries regarding game mechanics and current events, based on those I have met in-game (along with eSerbian and eSpanish citizens, who are particularly intelligent gamers, although for different reasons). Because they draw so much attention from diverse parts of the New World, these countries must remain cognizant of the world’s developments. Without question, these countries have much in common and serve similar roles, and will continue to resuscitate the war if it stalls for a couple of days or weeks.

God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf

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