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There are a few popular ways to look at the eWorld and how states behave. I think the most common way to look at eInternational Relations is that of the realist paradigm and that of the Marxist. Students of IR will say that there is the Global Security/ Liberal model of IR, but I personally do not believe it exist in eIR since the point of the game is war and not peace resolution. To the realist, they set up a principles in which it explains the world and government through power politics and state interest in an anarchic world. To the Marxist school of thought, it focuses to explain the inequalities of the world and states. Both schools of thoughts have different focuses, perspectives on human nature (realist tend to think human nature are naturally bad, while the Marxist tend to think that human nature is good but is corrupted) as well as goals. Some might say that there is no room for the Marxist school of thought in eRep since the game is base on war, I disagree with that as realist can never fully get what they want as well. In the tug of war nature between PHX and EDEN etc (not sure that eRealist really want to destroy EDEN and PHX anyways since the game will be boring and most likely lead to more instability and chaos in the future , to me both the Realist and the Marxist are both trying to reach the horizon (feat cannot be accomplished). So to me, these are schools of thought, philosophy that guides the president and nothing more. So these schools of thoughts guides the human side of presidents which determines their policy decision and style.

The president's personality is very important to decision making. There are a few key factors that greatly effects the political personality of the president. The cognitive style/ the way the president process information plays a great role. Is the president likes long detailed briefings (trying to know each key issue as much as possible etc or are they minimalists (more like key points). This does tell us what kind of person the president is and how he plans/ thinks in decision making. Another important personality point is his sense of efficacy. If the president feels confidence in what he is doing or not. What the president feels strong at and where he feels he is weak greatly shows his leading style as a president. There are other personality factors but the last one I will cover is his political conflict resolution. How he resolve political problems is a great indicator on how he/she make decision etc.

There are three common style of decision making models as well. There is the Competitive Model in which it is a free for all for advisors and ministers debating/ infighting within and the president decide the stronger/ the one s/he liked the best. The Formalistic Model is that of well constructed hierarchical lines of reporting and have well define procedures. President using this model tend not to like open conflicts. The last model is the Collegial Model. It is the middle ground of the two in that it is not a free for all but that the hierarchy is not as rigid as that of the Formalistic Model. I think most eGerman president use either the Competitive Model or the Collegial Model of decision making.

At this time I will give an image of the eGerman presidents that I know and try to explain what kind of president they are.

Gobba:

I never serve under him in any minister position but base on his articles and activities, he has a very high interest in great details in the ways he receive information. Regardless, of your opinions of him now, Gobba is not an information minimalist and he tries to know the issue to the max of his ability. From his handling of the 3rd Swedish/ Polish invasion to the Polish PTO (ePolish Gold Stunt), he strive to get as much detail information as he can and therefore, I believe he has strong sense of confidence in what he is going as CP. In many ways, Gobba reminds me of President Nixon in real life. Gobba is a staunch political realist. He understands greatly of the facts and situation which he and the nations faces, but is not the most comfortable in dealing with public relations. While he masterfully manipulates foreign policies, I do not remember him using the media to the fullest. Gobba like a traditional realist and his great command of understanding in a way became cold and isolated to itself and a few of his closed network. In a way you can see and understand why he took the gold. He does believe that he is doing the right thing and that the combination of realism and his understanding of the eWorld, he does not apologize for it and to him he is doing a service for eGermany.

The German Eagle (TGE):

TGE is one of the most well rounded presidents in eGermany. He is very diplomatic and I believe he definitely followed the Collegial Model of decision making. His presidency was stable and calm. I also believe that TGE is not a information minimalist. At least with the issues I worked with him, like the Frankfurt Treaty, we engaged in long discussions with the eBritish trying to get as much details and information as possible. Then there was a lot of discussion in the Regierung. It was analyzed in great detail and time before the signing of such a treaty. I also believed that TGE was very comfortable in the CP position. He has a sense of confidence in dealing with policy (while not as "bold") as Gobba, but in his own style that shows great competence and efficiency. It was possible due to his great command in public relations and the use of media. Of all of the CP in eGermany, I think TGE is the most accomplished and must successful president and that no other president reach the same success as that of TGE.

Donnie Bronco:

In many ways Donnie Bronco is like Gobba. Donnie is one of the most competent president in eGerman history. He really knows what is going on etc. He understands the international system in great detail and he wants information in great and clear detail. I really do not think he is a minimalist. Working with Donnie, you will sense that he is very confident in what he was doing. There is an aggressive nature to Donnie as well. He stands really strong on his position and fights/ debate strongly for his position (especially in congress.) I have a sense that he is a realist too but he never said that he was (unlike Gobba). Cold and a great chess player. He calculates before acting. In a way you can say he is cold too like Gobba. He tends not to like to deal with domestic political conflicts and is pessimistic towards the inexperience if congress and at times not too comfortable with the goals of the congress.

Konrad Neumann

Maybe the weakest president of all time. While I try to learn as much as I can, due to the language barrier, at times and on some issues (especially in economics) I was a minimalist and trusted the MoF and MoE to do what is needed. Especially on my first term, I was not too confident on what I am doing. Since we lost all eGerman territories and eGermans are in eUK and eRussia, my morale was low like that of most eGermans. While I say things will improve etc, I was not very confident in what I was doing. PHX at the time was busy with the liberation of Slovenia as it was in the same situation as we were in and not too much people in PHX was working on the German position. With the evac which was chaotic and with PHX at the time, I really have no confidence in what I was doing. I mainly relied on Donnie (other people too but mainly Donnie due to him being SG of PH😵 for support as well as for ideas and plans in my decision making.

During the second term when we got Germany back, I was more confident. Survival is my only key focus and I did my best to maintain it even doing some unpopular policies like ending our MPP with eUK which closed the war with Poland. I do not believe I was uncomfortable with political conflicts, as I remember that I debated Nymphe and some other eGerman politicals (mainly SPeD I think) many times on policies etc. But due to language which on some issues like econ, it still effects my confidence levels. I also used the media. I guess I would put myself in the middle of TGE and that of Gobba/Donnie. I used it but not to the effect of TGE (especially on the first term). You can see that my weak confidence cause me to make safe policies that tends to have low or no risk to eGermany.

MachtGeil:

I think it is very hard for me to write about MachtGeil in an objective way after the history that we had. I believe that he really enjoyed using the media and he used that often. Some called him a propagandist but I do not think that is all that fair. But unlike TGE, his articles has a more provocative nature than that of TGE's. MachtGeil was able to evoke strong feelings on both sides which to give him credit, greatly strengthen his base and party. I am not too sure if MachtGeil and his command for details but I do not think he is a minimalist, but he is definitely not as capable of that of Donnie, Gobba, and TGE. However, to be fair, politics at that time was a mess and people where all over the place. I believed that the month of March, eGermany was divided like it was never divided before, and while it is not his fault, it is really hard to illustrate him fully and fairly. MachtGeil was not a bad president by all means but I think it is really hard for anyone to analyze him this way in a clear and objective way.

Letnix:

Letnix is a rational president. He is a realist like most presidents in eGermany. You can clearly see that he is a realist bye his anger and dismay over the MPP of eSK at the time. Letnix I think is a strong president really close to TGE. I believe he is not a minimalist as he demands and do understand the international system to great effect. On many issues, he ask for all or most perspective possible and he a lot calmer than the MachtGeil's administration. He is very diplomatic in his attempts to reach an agreement with Gobba over the gold crisis. I think he has perfect right to be outraged and extremely upset with the MPP with eSK. I believe that his firing with MachtGeil from his VP post was fair and valid. However, while he normally used the media very well etc, I did not think he handle the situation well with the PPD. At some point it felt like it was both sides flaming. I understand that it is not all of Letnix's fault and I do not understand what was happening with PPD at the time, but at least in public perception it looked really strange and rushed etc. Overall, he is a cool, down to earth president. Not an elite like that of Donnie and Gobba, but still have the experience and understanding of elites.

TMV23:

I really do not know too much about his presidency. So I will not really talk about him at this point since it will not be fair or accurate representation of the style and type of president he is.

Base on what I do know of him, he is not a minimalist and he does write a lot of articles. eGermany did great in aiding PHX war effort. But like I said I do not know his presidency that well. I do not understand the conflict with SPeD and Clifford etc. I guess we will let you decide what style of president he is.

Closing:

It is easy to view international events base on the Realist or Marxist perspective. In many ways we can explain a lot of things that way. Why did Poland want Brandenburg Berlin? Oh they want and need high resources for their economy (mercantilism etc). Why did MachtGeil want to have MPP with eSK? To fight against eJapanese imperialism etc. Such schools of thoughts are just basic philosophies that the actors believes in. However, the personality of the individual president plays a great part of policy making. It can make or break a presidency. It can also explain why despite presidents from the same party with similar ideologies etc make different policies etc. While we can easily understand politics on rigid schools of thoughts, to understand the eWorld, one must understand the leaders as well be it a CP or members of PHX etc. Luckily this month, TMV23 is one of the SG of PHX and Dermont and KTTRS are 2 of the SC of PHX. So to understand their personality and behavior might help you understand the eWorld a little better.

Konrad Neumann
Former eGerman President (Jan and Feb of 2010)
eGerman Congressman x6
eNL Congressman x5
Party President of Open Minded Germany x5
Party President of Green Liberal Democrats x4
Former eGerman MoFA
Former eNL MoI
Former eNL MoFA