The Economist ~ Escaping the Garden

Day 1,900, 11:23 • Published in Poland United Kingdom • by Spite313



Dear friends,


I’m writing to you today in eulogy to one of the greatest alliances ever to have existed in eRepublik. First founded in 2009, after the fall of ATLANTIS, EDEN was created as a tight-knit brotherhood which has grown, evolved and outlasted three major rivals and a half dozen other minor allies and enemies. Although members have come and gone, EDEN has stood together through times of struggle and times of triumph. As a leader in PEACE, Phoenix, ONE and TWO I tip my hat to the one alliance we’ve respected all the way through as a rival, enemy and friend.


With the emergence of CoT we have seen a game shift which is so profound it has essentially spelled the death knell of the alliance. With CoT and TWO on one side, the damage quota is so high it’s impossible for EDEN to win. In short term, their organisation allows them limited victory. But the huge waste of CoTWO damage isn’t enough to prevent them winning the overall war. And accompanying that defeat comes something that has never come before- a desire for change from within EDEN countries. Sometimes you just have to admit that change is good, it keeps the game interesting. Many EDEN citizens feel that time has come.





A little bit of background

When Bulgaria and Chile formed a small mutual defence agreement, few thought it had the potential to grow into an alliance to rival TWO. The first pillar of CoT came with the movement of MKD from ONE to the other block after the collapse of that alliance. Conflict with SPoland, but close alliance with Serbia meant that CoT allowed MKD to fight for their friends and maintain arms length from their erstwhile ex-allies. From there the alliance picked up friends and allies, growing to it’s current size of 14(+1). The basic policy of CoT is expansionist- they’re willing to take any member who shows commitment and isn’t directly opposed to any of their members. The exception is obviously the USA. America is so big that it’s automatically an exception, plus of course it’s a bit of a curse to any alliance it joins.


What this spelled out was that there was now a third option for countries who were drifting away from EDEN or ONE, but who wanted a full say in an equal alliance. With TWO forming with just 6 members, and no plans for expansion, it pushed TWO supporters towards CoT. As CoT grew to form a genuine rival to EDEN and TWO, the world became a very unbalanced place. A tripartite alliance system is impossible- each time it will always end up as 2 vs 1, and the two alliances working together share mutual enemies and goals, precluding swapping sides. Once CoT became a serious alliance, a bipartite system emerged with CoTWO fighting EDEN. Obviously in this case EDEN was pushed down, and began shedding members.





After EDEN


With EDEN sinking, where do it’s members go? One option is to do what PEACE’s children have been doing for years and reform under a new name, new logo, new HQ and new rules. But creating such an obvious target would only draw CoT and TWO closer together, and result in more months of pain before a baby boom, diplomatic faux pas or similar screwed things up. It’s not practical for EDEN to reform, not in the same way other alliances did. They have nothing much to gain, and plenty to lose. It’s not organisation that’s killed EDEN, it’s lethargy and numbers.


The other option is a bitter one. Without EDEN, CoT and TWO have nobody to fight but each other. Both will need allies in that battle, but especially CoT. With Greece and Turkey facing enemies in CoT, both will find themselves on the side of TWO, officially or not. Greece’s RL relationship with Serbia has been a white elephant in the room for years. Croatia and Romania are more difficult, since they’re enemies with both alliances. Whether they choose to align with their ancient enemies or the CoT is hard to say- but will probably be the deciding factor in who comes out strongest. Whether Hungary and Serbia manage to overcome their opposition to Cromania could be a major factor. China faces Indonesia in the battle over Asia, meaning they are unlikely to be CoT aligned. The remainder of EDEN members are occupied by TWO and likely to go towards CoT. Argentina too will probably end up TWO aligned, as will Australia.


Of course all of this depends on many factors, but the nightmare of a CoT-TWO showdown is fresh in the minds of everyone on both sides. With EDEN failing, it seems inevitable that the two new superpowers will turn on each other given time. However how EDEN’s departing members decide to play it could make the game far more interesting. Seeing Hungarian troops fighting alongside Romanians would be something. Seeing the shadow of a Balkan super-alliance rising would bring echoes of CTRL. With so many old disputes, it seems unlikely. But it would be interesting!


Iain



Ps. the views in this article are:

a) Entirely speculative and not relating to any negotiations or decisions ongoing in game
b) Entirely the product of myself and not associated with TWO, EDEN or CoT