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War seems to be an easy concept. People say this is a war game. eWar not eRepublik! However what exactly is war? Is war just empires or tanks on some map? Is that really war? What is at stake? What is the purpose? Is it even political? War in eRepulik is just a tug of war contest rather than war. Real war I would argue, is not vernacular war, but real war is something fundamentally different.

Carl von Clausewitz, the nineteenth century Prussian military theorist offer us the most concise answer to the question of war. He posits three main criteria in order to qualify an action a war. First, all acts of war are violent or potentially violent. Second, an act of war is always instrumental: physical violence or the threat of force is a means to compel the enemy to accept the attacker's will. Lastly, war must serve a political goal.

With that said, the vernacular war with tanks is not war. For the "violence" is not that of the physical nature. War in eRepublik's past where land actually mean something could count as real war. But vernacular war today has no stake. There is no stake on the loss of control of the apparatus of governance. At most, you lost some tax revenue and congress. But in the modern game, the lost of congress due to the vernacular understanding of war would lead to a PTO or other forms of utter destruction. The lack of stake in vernacular war suggest that there is no physical violence.

I would also argue that most wars today are not political. While some wars are political in nature, most wars are not. The battle of alliance is more of a struggle of economic benefits and for the concept of "fun" than that of politics. It is more about ego and personal bragging rights than for real conquest and control. For countries can take "land" but never can take control of the means of governance via vernacular war. There is no real conquest in eRepublik anymore in conventional means.

So is there war in eRepublik? If vernacular war is not real war, what is real war? I would argue that wars are Political Take Over's (PTO). For PTO's fits best to the Clausewitzian notion of war. For the rest of the article, I would argue PTO's are wars and that eBelgium is at war for more than a year now with many people not knowing it.

PTO's are violent

PTO's are definitely violent. While it is not like that of real life violence which cause bloodshed but in the nature of this game, this is the only real action that does "pain" to the state and community. I would argue that it is a violence against the state and community for it is the only action that really neuter and emasculate the legitimate state and community. PTO's aim to take away the apparatus of the means of governance. With time, PTO groups will try to take away legitimacy of the true community. In many ways, a PTO is a violent rape against the state and community

PTO's are political

Most PTO's are political. They aim to establish their political hegemony by silencing the establishment. Many seeks access to easy cash but many others wants to create a new government for a certain group in the community. Most times, PTOs from foreign nations. They are often outcast and rejects of big countries like Serbia etc who cannot make it in their community and tries to seek political power and dominance in small and weaker countries. There are exceptions in which PTOers try to take on big countries like the eUS. Alliances at times try to PTO other countries but it is not really successful overall.

eBE is at War
eBE is facing a huge PTO. The PTO problem exist began as early as the War of Beers a year or so ago. Players like Vincent Pain (Wim), and his party were more active. They seek political power and influence. Bent on his personal radical weltanschauung and state funding for his MU, he became despondent with the state. With his friend Lin0lium, they tried to bring direct democracy to the game via referendum. They seek open boarders (against the rules, norms and traditions of the land) in part due to their radical ideology as well as a means to seek domination. They tried the referendum on open boarders but the people overwhelmingly rejected it. So they took matters on their own hands. Rejecting the referendums that they themselves held, they claim the community is corrupted and accepted many questionable people into eBE.

It is this that led to the PTO of eBE. With normally rejected people like ChristijanXD. It is unknown if Vincent Pain a PTOer but he did open the floodgates. Nevertheless, he is a threat as he and his followers are the source of real PTOers in eBE. ChristijanXD and his cohort want to create a state for themselves. As the screenshots provided by Cika shows, ChristijanXD wants to create a state where he can govern like Suleiman. What a silly man indeed. Others like Vincent Pain and GW Junior wants to create some anarchist paradise for their members. Shadow is a more complex issue. He held many grudges and violated many laws. When people are fed up and the supreme court ruled to remove his rights, he seeks vendetta against the eBE state. He join the likes of ChristijanXD mainly for revenge and to destroy the community that cast him out.

As you can see, the eBE story is base on the Clausewitzian notion of war. The PTOers are doing a violence against the eBE state and community. They pump in PTOers to neuter and to emasculate the means for the legitimate state to govern. They seek to create a totally different state and government. A state and government not for the people but that of their clients and members. In essence, they are trying to kick us out of our own houses. Their action is violent as if they are successful, the state and community will face a huge injury and a huge lost.

Their act is political. Not only as discussed about in regards to their clientelism, but they want to change the existing governing structure. They want to cast out "all nonbelievers" and change the laws, rules, and traditions of the land. I do not know what policies ChristijanXD would enact other than those pro his clients, but Shadow, Vincent Pain, and GW would burn and destroy the eBE law books and constitution. This therefore, is highly political.

eBE is at the state of war. It is not the war most people are thinking of. It is not a war against the Poles or the Dutch. It is not a war of tanks and guns. It is not the vernacular war. This war, is big. This war is high stakes. This is a do or die kind of war. This war is base on real damage, violence, and of political consequence. This is a true Clausewitzian notion of war. Therefore, all eBelgians should take heed of the dire nature that faces them now and ahead. It is time to be more united and to cooperate. For this war has lasting consequences. It is not a silly war of tanks. For this war might take months and years to fully recover.