A Long Time Coming:Today the news coming from Kizenia and New Endralon is dire. The country once heralded as an emerging power in not only Keris but Terra as a whole is now a shell of its former self, it is in the midst of a civil war, cut off from the rest of the continent and the world. The news stories coming out of the country are bleak with the Royal Family now imprisoned, the Socialist gangs ruling the streets and the Dual Kingdom now a long dead institution. This result did not happen overnight and despite the reactions from the rest of Terra as well as from countries closely aligned to the situation, it is clear to see what happened. This brand of extreme socialism does not pop up overnight, it takes years for it to take root before fully embedding itself into a society. It is best that Dolgava as well as the other Conservative to moderate leaning Democracies take note and remember the lessons learned in Kizenia and New Endralon, to ensure that this type of radicalism does not continue to spread across the globe.
Beginnings:It is easy for one side to blame the other for this tragedy but let us now take a deep dive into the many events that took Kizenia and New Endralon down this route. Before I continue I would be re-missed if I do not include Dolgava and Kizenia's troubled past as I believe this is a small part of the overall downward spiral of that country in a small way. For a long time Dolgava and Kizenia and New Endralon were on good terms both culturally and politically. Both the Dolgavan and Kizenia and New Endralonian Governments were ideologically similar, with the Kizenian monarchy stemming from the Dolgavan House of Rothengren-Ludwig. During this time Kizenia started to rapidly grow its geopolitical power forming a personal union in Trigunia. This was a major step toward something that for centuries seemed like a pipe dream, pan Kerisian cooperation. However this did not last long. In 5446 Trigunia elected a Socialist Government which declared that the ties between the two nations were broken. This was an event that was deeply traumatic to the Government and people of the United Kingdom and at the same time broke Dolgava's chances at establishing the Kerisian Economic Union in the process.
This event was dire by itself but it was the Dolgavan reaction that kicked this crisis into a full blown continental crisis. The then Dolgavan Prime Minister Veronika Witting declared that Dolgava supported the will of the people of Trigunia. Now it is believed by historians that this decision was made to lessen the tensions between Dolgava and Trigunia, as both nations have had a troubled past, but it completely and utterly backfired on the Dolgavan Government. The United Kingdom now had reason to believe that Trigunia and Dolgava were teaming up to crush their influence on the continent, and immediately severed ties. This decision not only crushed Dolgavan and Kizenian relations but it was the fist step of many that led to the Communist takeover of Kizenia...
Outside Diplomacy: The United Kingdom at this point lost trust completely with most of Keris. As Dolgava reeled from what the Witting Government saw as a harsh reaction. Kizenia took radical steps toward ensuring their stability and future. This began with courting the Kingdom of Lourenne. In 5450 Kizenia would sign a "unique military partnership" in which Lourenne would provide support in building of bases and strengthening the United Kingdom's military. They also housed the Second Fleet of the Lournenne Navy as a deterrent, mainly aimed at Dolgava and this threat was immediately doing its part by signaling alarm bells across the Dolgavan Government, and furthering the degradation of tensions in the region. At the time Lourenne said that "Keris can only be safe and free from neo-imperialism under the leadership of New Endaralon/Kizenia". However what they didn't realize is that this would be the beginning of the end of Kizenia's moderate Government and that this act of good intention, was a major pice in the downfall of the Kizenian State.
Artania Gets It's Foot in the Door:Luthori not to be outdone by Lourenne decided, it wanted to spread it's influence to Kizenia and New Endralon as well. Using the well known diplomacy through Royal Families, Luthori was able to position itself to marry into the Kizenian Royal Family and thus ensuring that Fort William and the United Kingdom maintain close ties moving forward. This had the complicated affect of attempting to side Kizenia with Luthori against Lourenne, in a now Geopolitical tug of war, for a major player in Keris.
Despite the courting and ceremony, both states merely wanted to use Kizenia as a pawn for their geopolitical ambitions... The United Kingdom's election of 5468, despite the UnionLiberals winning the election, the Social Democrats who were openly against the Monarchy, came in second, a sign of things to come...
Communist Revolution Matures:At this point the Communist movement was growing but needed a spark to propel it into the national spotlight. The Nationalist Attack against the Crown Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom was the spark that set the revolutionists in motion. Their deaths led the Kizenian monarchy to go to the Empress Consort who by many inside of Kizenia, seemed to be the face of a Luthorian takeover of Kizenia... The tragic deaths of the crown prince and princess were meant to instill chaos and disorder and because of the outside meddling by Luthori and others, it would bring about chaos and disorder on magnitudes that the perpetrators would have never imagined would have been possible.
With the ruler of Kizenia now deeply entrenched with the Luthorian Monarchy, it was only a matter of time before the longstanding arguments made by the radical left in Kizenia started to stick. The monarchy and the Kingdom were seen as a puppet of Luthori. The final straw came when Kizenia and Dolgava tried to make amends, this was portrayed as a move by Luthori into bringing Kizenia into Luthori's sphere, which was the straw that broke the camels back. If we know one thing about Keris, it is that the states of Keris do not appreciate being controlled by any outside power and the Communist have taken this fear and ran with it. The perfect storm was now complete.
What Can We Learn?:Despite Dolgava's distaste for Kizenia in recent years, the two states are not entirely different from each other. They are both heavily backing of the Monarchy. They have had longstanding conservative Governance. They are both fiercely independent, and they both do not like being told what to do by anyone. With Dolgava seeing a rise in the Social Democratic Party, which has said publicly that they will support the Dolgavan Monarchy and Democracy, there are still lessons we can all learn here. The first is that Dolgava must keep a safe distance away from major global powers. Dolgava has had a cordial relationship with Luthori and the members of the Commonweatlh for some time. Some of the highlights have been Dolgava's relationship with Lodamun and Hutori. One being a relatively new ally while the other being Dolgava's oldest continued ally. Dolgava needs to shed any criticism that they are being influenced by Luthori or they want to ensure what happened to Kizenia, doesn't happen to them. Keris is deeply independent,and Dolgava must ensure that it doesn't make the same mistake.
The second thing that Dolgava must do is, ensure that foreign powers do not get a foothold in Keris again. If Dolgava wants to legitimize itself and grow its regional and domestic power across the globe. It should ensure that foreign powers including Luthori, keep themselves removed from Keris. When it comes to states such as Lodamun or close neighbors to Keris, this does not have to be the case, but for far away powers like in Majatra, Artania, Dovani and even southern Seleya. Dolgava must ensure that foreign powers cannot influence the continent, to disastrous results again.
The struggle for Keris between Lourenne and especially Luthori was an abject failure. It shows the dangers of states attempting to gain influence on states that do not want it, and it shows the consequences of these actions. Dolgava is closely allied to Luthori, it is true, but if it wants to take the next step it must stand up for Keris and ensuring that the continent is demilitarized to non-Kerisian powers completely. By being the peacekeeper of Keris, you gain both the support of Kerisians as well as international respect and prestige. By all means,
keep close ties with Luthori but set boundaries! Do not let Keris become a Luthorian outpost or anyone's outpost for that matter. If Dolgava wants this, they need to stand up for themselves and their continent and ensure that Keris has the right to self determination. Self determination in Keris is better for Dolgava but for the entire continent and the peace of the continent. Political tug of war does not work, peace and stability, that is what works.
The University of Aikums is Dolgava's Premier University which has stood since 2120. Our Mission Statement is "To provide the next generations of Dolgavans with the finest classes and education they need to succeed while promoting and advancing knowledge"
