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This article is reprinted at the behest of an eRep friend of mine.

Along with fighting, politics is the most important aspect of eRepublik. Most citizens desire political power, but very few citizens ever gain it. The ability of a citizen to shape a nation is one of the best attributes of eRepublik, and is something that all citizens should aspire to be able to do.

All successful political movements have the four following characteristics:

1. A close group of individuals who share the same goals and ideas for the nation. Leadership, at least in the early stages of a political movement, will come exclusively from within this group. Each member of this group should endeavor to become expert in one or more areas, such as finance and media communications.

2. An easily understood message that captures the raison d'etre of the party. Once a political movement has the core group established, the next step is for that same movement to begin spreading its message to other citizens. Some of these citizens will understand the more sophisticated message completely; others will not comprehend the full scope of a political leader's plans. Regardless of which group a political party targets, a mission statement is required for that party to have any realistic chance of gaining mass support.

3. The ability to disseminate the mission statement across the media efficiently and effectively. This is the hardest part of gaining political power, as not all citizens will agree with the goals of a movement. However, as is the case in all nations, there is a group of citizens who vote but who do not closely follow political developments. The mission statement works best when targeting this group, as they are the most susceptible to political messages.

4. The stated opinions and positions of a party must not be too radical, lest they not be accepted by the general population. This has doomed many parties that have all of the other characteristics, as there is no chance of a movement gaining mass support if the position are too radical. A RL example is the USA's Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party has a small, devoted group of individuals forming the core of the party, an easily understood message, and the ability to disseminate that message by way of the internet and party activists. However, some aspects of its platform (e.g. legalized crack cocaine, privately-owned tanks, very minimal government) are incredibly radical, meaning that they stand no realistic chance of getting elected to a partisan office. An eRepublik political movement must avoid this trap.

If the four steps are performed successfully, congratulations, you have a political movement. In the next few installments, I will cover in detail how to perform each and every one of these steps, followed by the second major aspect of politics, Keeping Political Power.

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Albert Neurath