Foreign Affairs 101: Why Spain IS a boss

Day 2,090, 21:20 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Brian Boru


Read my other article published today, IRELAN😨 THE MILITARY STATE
___

This is a critique of the article recently published by Death and Taxes on the situation of Spain within global geopolitics and within the TWO alliance.

Let's assume that the primary assertion of the article about international politics is true, namely this:
"In eRepublik, the true measure of a 'Boss' is to be able to gain and more importantly, retain 10/10 resources."

By that measure alone, Spain is boss. From a starting position that is not particularly advantageous, it has manoeuvred itself into having 10/10 resources while maintaining an empire and avoiding unnecessary conflicts. By Death and Taxes own definition, Spain is a boss.

The article asserts two reasons why this isn't the case, despite setting it up that Spain's objective has essentially been fulfilled by having 10/10 resources.

The first is Spain's alliances with Chile and Brazil.

A practical issue first of all with this criticism. At the moment, Spain doesn't have an MPP with Chile, and from what I've heard, the reason for that is TWO intervention. However, it retains the Brazilian MPP for another week or so, so we'll see if the ties have been entirely cut.

Aside from that, the assertion that Spain's position within TWO was weakened by having such alliances is not entirely true. On the contrary, its independent diplomatic strength allowed Spain to exercise far more weight that it should have by the mere ghost of their departure from the alliance. Furthermore, the very same alliance with Brazil helped give Spain a great excuse to stay out of the huge American war that kicked off recently, in which it had no real interest anyway. So while their South American alliances let TWO people bitch about Spain, they also allowed Spain room to manoeuvre where otherwise there would have been little.

The second reason according to Death and Taxes as to why Spain isn't "A Boss" is the occupation of Canada.

He asserts that the occupation is of no military, economic or political value. This is simply untrue. Spain clearly wishes to project its power into the Americas, and the Spanish people clearly want an empire. Towards these goals, the occupation of Canada is a very smart move. The eUnited States is insular, and is unlikely to go to war with the ally of an ally over Canada (again, the Brazilian friendship paying off for the Spanish).

Canada is isolated, not being part of a major alliance and being geographically remote from more strategically important areas. Canadian forces are also shrinking with every month of occupation, and are not capable of beating the Spanish in RWs consistently (contrast this with Irish RWs against Britain). The Spanish are perfectly capable of retaining the empire while maintaining a very capable level of military support for its allies. There is also a lack of cultural and social contact between the two peoples that makes a diplomatic solution very unlikely to work.

Canadian regions provide backup resources and regions in the event that some Spanish home regions are taken, much like Croatia's Indian colonies do for that country. Having such a redoubt removed from the home territories is a sound strategic move. As such, it is unlikely the Spanish will ever be removed from Canada save for a major offensive by a major alliance, and afterwards, Canada would probably require a garrison region by a major power as a guarantor of security. The seeming callousness of the eUnited States in particular to the plight of their northern neighbours prior to their own enemy occupation was stunning for its lack of foresight and grace.

Conclusion:
Regardless of the morality of Spain's leadership, which can be called dubious at best, the strategic analysis of their actions supports the idea that Spain is at the top table of international military and diplomatic affairs.

Like it or not, Spain is a boss.