Not having written an issue in a while, I decided to write a twin issue to Quebec's "Got Democracy": mine is written from the perspective of Western democracies observing Libya.
NAME: A time to intervene?
VALIDITY: Only valid for democratic nations (i.e. with middling or better levels of political freedom).
DESCRIPTION: Following a wave of revolutions and insurrections around the world, a particularly vicious stalemate has developed in the highly repressive state of Maxtopia. Military intelligence suggests that well-equipped loyalists hold the West half of the country, while a rag-tag army of democratic revolutionaries hold territory in the East. The issue has been further complicated by a sudden rise in the price of the unprocessed uranium the country exports, as well as the growth of an extremely radical sect of the cult of Violet in the country.
[option] "It's clear, @@LEADER@@, that if we don't intervene here, another nascent democracy will be crushed under the boot of ruthless totalitarianism!" argues @@RANDOMNAME@@, a popular political figure who has long supported a larger role for @@NAME@@ in the international community, "If that happens, these people - our siblings in humanity, if not in nationality - will be massacred, and that's the truth. This will undoubtedly mean the loss of the lives of some of @@NAME@@'s finest soldiers, and a vast level of military expenditure, but if the cost of freedom lies buried in the ground, so be it."
[effect] @@NAME@@ has deployed a massive force to support democratic rebels in the fractured state of Maxtopia
[stats] taxes rise, defence funding rises, happiness falls slightly, deaths by war rises, political freedoms rise slightly, economy contracts, uranium mining industry grows slightly
[option] "While, of course, I support the emergence of democracy in one of the most tortured states in the world, we must hold our national interests at heart." says your ever-pragmatic advisor, @@RANDOMNAME@@, "There are things we can do to support this emerging democracy without provoking the rage of a regime that has sponsored Violetist terrorism in the past: raising tariffs against the nation, perhaps supporting a no-fly zone. These can be done to help tip the scales without risking the lives - or the wallets - of our citizens. Whether they'll make a difference is another matter."
[effect] @@NAME@@ has cautiously vowed to support rebel democratic movements across the world without giving any clear indication of what "support" means
[stats] defence funding rises slightly, happiness rises slightly, political freedoms rise very slightly, economy contracts, uranium mining industry grows slightly
[option] "We've got to take this to the next level," whispers the dramatically-minded @@RANDOMNAME@@, on mission from the World Assembly, "Without massive intervention, loyalist tanks will quickly overwhelm rebel rifles; and however much we may wish to hope otherwise, there is little any one nation can do about it independently. However, the World Assembly is putting a series of measures designed to finally oust this cruel and overbearing regime. If only this time, worth with us, @@LEADER@@ - we march unto the end of tyranny!"
[effect] @@NAME@@'s ambassadors are meeting behind closed doors to discuss the end of the Maxtopian regime
[stats] most avoided falls, tourism rises very slightly,
[option] "We should not be so quick to intervene," says arch-isolationist, @@RANDOMNAME@@, "A choice made between the death of @@NAME@@'s citizens on the one hand, and becoming increasingly tied to that packhorse of international affairs and wanton bureaucracy is no choice at all. In either case, we will soon end up embroiled in a costly war in a situation we know far too little about. And all that is besides the point that this revolution will only be recognised as valid by Maxtopia itself should it come from the mouths and rifles of the people themselves, not foreign imperialists; should the revolution fail, we may be able to extract concessions from the failing leadership to soften his reign. If we wish to accomplish our true ends, we must sit on hands and twiddle our thumbs in the midst of the fire and furor."
[effect] @@NAME@@'s government is decidedly isolationist in the face of foreign pressure and humanitarian crises
[stats] economy grows slightly, most avoided rises, taxes fall, defence spending shrinks slightly
[option] "I don't care about those stinking Maxtopians, I care about my son!" screams distraught parent and fierce nationalist, @@RANDOMNAME@@, one of a wave paraded on national television, "My son and his friends went their on holiday, thinking it sounded like a nice place, and now they're trapped! If the government has any compassion, we'll negotiate a settlement to with the Maxtopian government to get all citizens of @@NAME@@ out of that awful place. Submission to dictators must be placed second to the lives of @@NAME@@'s tourists!"
[effect] @@NAME@@ has organised a hasty airlift for tourists in the country after consent from the totalitarian Maxtopian government
[stats] happiness rises slightly, defence spending rises very slightly, taxes rise very slightly, tourism industry grows slightly, political freedoms fall very slightly, corruption rises very slightly,
[option] "Hmph. It's clear that if these people cannot govern themselves in a manner conducive to a civilised society, we'll have to do it for them," states self-styled snob, historian @@RANDOMNAME@@, "For years, this area of the world has been plagued by terror and abuses we would not consider remotely acceptable. The only way to make sure that this never happens again is to put their governance in the hands of someone more responsible, and to do that, we must invade and take control. In the very worst case scenario, it will stop all that uranium falling into the hands of any mad tyrant with an expansionist military doctrine."
[effect] @@NAME@@ has recently launched a full-scale invasion of Maxtopia in order to stabilise the country under its own rule
[stats] taxes rise, economy shrinks slightly, defence soars as a government priority, most avoided rises, deaths due to war rise, political freedoms fall, arms manufacturing and uranium mining industries grow while tourism contracts slightly
