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With the results of the recent election counted, and the new governments of the eWorld beginning to get adjusted to the feeling of power, I find now to be the best time possible to discuss the structure of an eGovernment. The form that a government takes is crucial to the future of the country, as a well-structured government can take over almost effortlessly even if the CP is absent. Conversely, a poorly-structured government will flounder in misery, as is members disappear, its ministries fail to perform their duties, and general chaos reigns over the nation.

Although the exact structure of each government differs depending upon which nation one is located in, each government strives, or at the very least wishes it could obtain, the following:

1. A clear line of succession. In case of the disappearance of the CP, without a clear line of succession, the nation risks falling into anarchy. On a lesser scale, the disappearance of a minister can set back his department for days unless quickly rectified. In either case, a government structure must clearly lay out who succeeds who, and minimize the "dead time" spent between the disappearance of one minister and the rise of his successor.

2. An efficient military. A military is the line of defense for a nation, and, by extension, that nation's government. As such, it must be as efficient as possible, while possessing the least amount of bureaucracy necessary. Nothing kills a state as easily as does a bureaucratic military, filled with squabbling leaders and an inefficient means of distributing resources. Some government prefer to in a way "privatize" their military, by detaching it from the politics of government and establishing it independent of the political sphere. This has its flaws and its benefits, to be discussed in a future entry.

3. A capable series of ministers. The realm of politics is filled with inept and dithering politicians, who find every conceivable excuse not to do their jobs, thus weakening the structure of government considerably. A government needs to find the most capable individuals for a job, regardless of party, and promote them to the highest offices of the land in order to run a strong government.

4. A dynamic system of government. Even if one has the best and brightest individuals populating the ministries, that means nothing if the system is overly bureaucratic. Endless meetings, committees, and requests for permission only prevent a government from operating at peak efficiency. Ministers must be able to pursue their own projects without the need for a massive bureaucracy overseeing their every move. This ties in with no. 1, as a clear line of succession renders government much more dynamic due to a lack of confusion in the hierarchy.

5. A wide selection of ministries, with defined responsibilities. A government needs a lot of ministries to function properly, such as those of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Defense, and Immigration. If one of these ministries is not performing its duties, a government falls into the "not-my-problem" conundrum, as the other offices will normally be loathe to pick up the slack of the flagging ministry. At the same time though, each ministry must have clearly defined areas of responsibility, to prevent ministries from undoing each others' works. This should not preclude the possibility of overlapping responsibilities, but, if such things are established, they must be defined in a way as to prevent "bleed-over."

The ideal form of government that can perform all of these duties will be discussed in Part 2. If you are interested, please, keep reading.

Albert Neurath

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