Renegalle

"My fellow citizens,

I am proud and honored to be celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of Force’s Founding with all of you. We have made tremendous progress since our founding, and particularly in the past year, especially in our states and territories. In our core regions (comprising the capital and states), we’ve gone from 338 nations to 525 and counting. And in the overall Union, comprising the capital, states, and territories, we’ve grown from 406 nations to more than 615.

In early September, the Citizens Alliance of Democracy became our newest state, having grown from just 14 nations last Force Day to around 70 at the time of statehood (and 85 now). Our other states have done well too – Heart, which last Force Day had only 20 nations, now has 95, and RGBN, which last Force Day had 161 nations, is stable at 155. Just this January, following a referendum almost a year ago, a raid by unknown belligerents that forced the region’s refounding, and significant growth and reforms since the refounding, Prudentia became the Union’s newest Province, bringing around 45 active nations with it.

Our community has become significantly more active and engaged – in our clubs alone, activity has quadrupled, going from around twelve thousand messages in the preceding year to more than forty thousand this year. We have supported each other through a very difficult time – the coronavirus pandemic has continued, for the most part, unabated, forcing many of us to isolate and avoid doing those things we most enjoyed before the pandemic. As a result, this Union is no longer focused on what it was originally, which was simulating government – now, our focus is on community, and the efforts of government reflect that. The Ministry of Culture has put on countless contests and events to try and get people involved in fun, social activities. We’ve had great success with this, and in just the past week, we’ve already put on four events and a contest, with two more events to come. We have also grown closer as a community – I’ve witnessed firsthand how amazingly supportive so many of the people here are, helping each other through personal struggles and providing emotional support when it’s needed the most.

Although the political arena is no longer a focus for some of our members, it continues to show growth and engagement. In our last election, held this January, we had 52 voters, surpassing an all-time record of 48, set in November 2020.

Our government has made progress in many other areas as well. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been particularly focused on encouraging manual recruitment – this past January, the capital gained nearly 40 nations in the span of just two days, much of which can be attributed directly to the efforts of manual recruiters. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has faced many setbacks this year, but this has also forced a change in strategy – we have re-evaluated which regions we consider it worthwhile to have relations with and are working to address longstanding issues and misconceptions about us abroad. The Ministry of Media has done a fantastic job in the last year, releasing seven (soon to be eight) editions of The Force Flyer, and finally getting on a consistent schedule of releasing them on the first of every month. As previously mentioned, the Ministry of Culture has also done a very good job this year, helping us all get through difficult times. The Ministry of Roleplay has focused on a number of structural changes and experiments, like seeing what would happen if the United Nations were all powerful, while keeping on a good schedule of updating RP stats, the map, and welcoming new members, all of which are time-consuming, but ultimately rewarding tasks. In July of this year, for the first time ever, we released handbooks for each ministry, detailing how to do each job, which makes the process of inducting new members easier, and transitions from one minister to the next less time-consuming.

None of this – and I mean none of it – would have been possible without the contributions of our many members. Over the past year, four different prime ministers have led the Union, all of whom have done an exemplary job, showing the power of the democratic process and its potential to promote growth and change for the better. They have been assisted by numerous cabinet ministers and advisors, without whom none of their work would have been possible. The leaders of states and territories, as well as their deputies, have done an exemplary job as well – in Heart, with efforts to promote activity and growth, all while working to reform legislation and promote involvement in government; in RGBN, with continued efforts to improve the RP, while also promoting changes like the introduction of an oversight board; in the Citizens Alliance of Democracy, with efforts to create a functioning RP and encourage manual recruitment; in Prudentia with the creation of a legislature, an active RP, and the first elections, featuring high turnout; in Hyperion with a focus on growth and engagement, as well as reform to promote these two objectives; in Canterbury with the creation of a ‘hobby’ system, functioning a bit like clubs; and in The New Kingdom, with ongoing efforts to create a ‘themed’ region, to attract new members and encourage stable activity. Not all of these efforts have been successful, but they do show vision, and the desire to see through that vision shows dedication, which in turn shows how much people truly care about this place. There are many others who I’ve neglected to mention, like our hard-working civil servants, enthusiastic club leaders, forward-looking House Representatives, and dedicated High Court Justices. The Union is strong because the Union stands together. Our future is bright.

Happy Force Day!"

Apply here, or contact Battadia (Battadia#8545 on Discord, or just send me a Telegram).

Azerubia

Azerubia said "It is quite funny that the 50th edition of the Force Flyer would end up getting released 1 day after Force’s 5 year anniversary but sometimes stars align. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this over the years, whether it was a small article or a list of them, thank you. Information is the key to this world and it has been an honour to have been able to participate and lead such a project for almost a year. Though it has sometimes been difficult to stay unbiased during the many dramas that plagued Force, I am happy that the FF can stand as one of Force’s most impartial institutions. I would also like to say a special thanks to all of those that have directed the publication of this newspaper, trust me it’s not as easy as it sounds mostly when you need to force the articles out of your writers. But alas, thank you to everyone who has been here across this journey. I also thank you the reader, for reading the Force Flyer. Whether you are a loyal reader or it’s your first time, thank you. And to another great 50 editions of the Force Flyer!"

Kronisia said "I wish to join the Media Ministry in celebrating the 50th edition of the Force Flyer! This newspaper has been a wonderful way of spreading news about the region amongst our allies, and also sometimes a great way of finding out new things, such as recipes, on the occasions that they end up in the Flyer. It always makes for a nice read, and I look forward to many more editions!"

Renegalle said "I am proud to have seen The Force Flyer blossom from what was once just two or three articles, usually written by myself, sometimes with the help of someone else, to as many as six or seven quite often now, with several writers contributing, and with significantly improved formatting, quality, and variety."

Within our ministry, you will have the opportunity to take on one of a few jobs. Recruiters, who are in charge of recruiting newcomers help keep our population stable and our community strong. Hosts welcome new citizens to the Union, provide them with helpful information, and answer any questions they may have. As the face of the Union, if you like community, this job is for you!

There were 12 people who announced their candidacy for the House, and five seats were put forward by the Federalist Party on their List. Two people announced their candidacy for Prime Minister (note that both of these candidates also were candidates for the House). Again, the Union People's Party failed to put forward a list of candidates, with their leader, Caribou island, explaining that this was an objection "[T]o the idea that legislators can be appointed by the whims of a particular party without having to be voted in in their own merits. This was a symbolic stand against the tyranny and corruption that plagues the Federalist Party who lack our moral rigour." Most candidates for the House did little, if any, campaigning, as most House seats are still fairly secure. What was more interesting was the endorsements for Prime Minister, with Caduceo and Greatest elysium endorsing Kronisia, while Lashnakia and Battadia endorsed Sumeka. However, as is the theme with any Force election, the vast majority of the campaigning was memeposting, as any suggestion that electoral campaigns take on a more serious tone are usually met with incredulity by the majority of the population.

The Prime Ministerial election was quite contestable, as both candidates had fairly strong platforms and followings. However, this election showcased how undivided politics in Force is, with Kronisia at one point stating, "[W]e both seem to have the same end goal in mind". Surprisingly, the final voting result showed that Kronisia had taken over twice the number of votes. This was mostly due to Heart flipping from its usual support of the Federalist candidate, which was Sumeka in this election, to instead support Kronisia. He additionally pulled all the votes from Citizens Alliance of Democracy, and several from another Federalist stronghold, RGBN. For the House, every single candidate for the House won their seats. However, primarily due to several long-standing Representatives not standing again, the House has shrunk to 17 members, 9 of them Federalists, 3 Union People's Party members, and 5 independents.

A full list of voting records is available here.

Second, I want to fix the Civil Service; as it currently stands, very few people take part in our civil service, often meaning that one or two people are trying to do the work of an entire ministry that should be using at least double the amount of people, if not far more. To this end, first and foremost, I encourage all of you who are reading this, and are not already part of your region's civil service, to join at least one part of it as these services are crucial to the effective running of your region. The Cabinet has discussed several avenues to this end, with ideas such as a recruitment drive for each ministry on different days of the week (or every other week, as some have suggested), and possibly a rework of how civil service as a whole is organized, such that the Union's various civil services can work together, placing individuals where they're needed amongst the regions, encouraging a stronger sense of community, and mixing of our great regions. Again, please, if you can spare the time, take part in your region's civil service!

If anybody has any questions relating to these two main aims of my term, please, do message me on Discord, or TG me my nation West kronisia.

Way back in February of last year, Amendment 31, or to use its full name, the High Commission and Union Reform Act, passed the House and was signed into law. While Amd. 31 did several things, I feel it has several under-appreciated changes, some big, some small.

Big Change One: The Title
The very first part of the body of Amd. 31 did, what I feel, was the biggest change to the Constitution that it could have done. It changed the title of the Constitution, from “The Constitution of the Union of Force and its Territories” to the “Constitution of the Union of Force”.
This may not seem like that big of a deal, ‘the Constitution got a name change, big whoop.’, but you see, that name change makes all the difference to someone that identifies more with their native Union region rather than the Union as a whole. This name change made it very clear that the Union of Force isn’t just Force and lesser regions that are subjects of it, but instead it is simply the Union of Force. It’s one big thing, it’s the Union OF Force, and not a Union BY Force.

Big Change Two: Article K
In contrast to the Title change being the first part of Amd. 31, the change to Article K was the last thing in the Amendment, but it was just as substantial. Before Amd. 31, Article K was called ‘Territories’. A label that, while technically fine, very heavily implied a superiority towards the Capital.
Amd. 31 changed that, however, renaming Article K to ‘The Union’. This is a name that embraces the change to the title of the Constitution fully, showing that this Article doesn’t just outline the Territories, oh no, it outlines the Union itself.

Other Changes
Some lesser, but still under-appreciated changes that Amd. 31 made are,

• The change to §C.2.2 that made the MoIA in charge of not just Capital domestic matters, but simply domestic matters.

• The change to §H.2.2 that made it not ‘residents of each territory’, but ‘residents of each region’.

• The change to §I.1.3 that made it illegal to occupy, not a territory, but a region of the Union of Force.

These minor changes put emphasis on the fact that the Union is a union of regions, and not territories that Force has made bend the knee.

Conclusion
Combined, all these changes to the Constitution greatly improve the feeling of being a member of the Union. The change to the Constitution outlines that the Union is truly what it is, a union, and not an empire. The changes to other parts of the Constitution help reinforce this, as the Union is not made of territories, it’s made of regions. And finally the rename of Article K. With Article K being the representation of the Territories within the Constitution, the renaming of the Article that concerns them to truly label them as what they are, integral regions that contribute to the vibrant mess of a place that is the Union and not just addons of Force, is a great service to that illustrates that the Union is a shining beacon of, not just what a regional government can do, but what an Interregional Government should do. It helps show to the wider community that Force has done it right, and that we’ve created an interregional government that successfully works, one that allows all member regions to feel included within it.

In the past month, the High Court has had seven reviews under the Freedom of Information Act, and four other reviews. Additionally, the High Court has had an election for the position of Chief Justice. This election followed the same set of proceedings that all recent Chief Justice elections have, whereby Tigslarlowducken announces his candidacy, and is confirmed as Chief Justice within minutes. This election was slower than the previous one, with voting taking 37 minutes to conclude. All of the Freedom of Information Act requests were from Krovx Belgium, and can be broken into two main groups.

The first group requested all the logs from the High Commission, High Court, and the governments of Canterbury, Heart, and Citizens Alliance of Democracy. The reasoning behind these requests was that Krovx Belgium wanted to use the information from these sources in order to see how those organs perform, so that he could improve the functioning of the government of RGBN. However, these requests were denied, on the grounds that the information was too sensitive relative to the justification. The second group of Freedom of Information Act requests regarded a summary of all past and present government agencies and their heads, the justification for which was that it would be used on the (as of writing, unreleased) Union Wiki. These were denied on the grounds that the information is already publicly available.

The three of the four other reviews were also made by Krovx Belgium. The first regarded Clause E.5 of the Union Constitution, and asked if the Court could clarify whether this section meant that the House of Representatives could impeach State and Territorial officials. The answer was that the House can impeach all Union officials not explicitly mentioned in that section. The second request asked if the Executive Order on Ministries was still in force. The Executive Order on Ministries decrees that the Discord channels of all government Ministries, with the exception of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, should be made publicly viewable to all citizens. The Court ruled that the Executive Order should be repealed, which was done. The third request asked if Executive Order #9 was still in force. Executive Order #9 creates a "Truth Committee", comprised of two people whose sole purpose is to determine whether statements are true. This order was struck down by the High Court, as it forbids members of the Truth Committee from holding public office, amongst other breaches of Article B of the Constitution.

The last review was made by Carropia, and asked for clarification of a section in the Freedom of Information Act regarding consequences for failing to provide documents. The Court's judgement was that failure to provide documents within the timeframe specified by the Freedom of Information Act would be a criminal charge of nonfeasance.