Concepts to Navigate the Second Cold War
Some sens for crazy world.
Politics
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIa: Pops and Chains
Slavery as necessity. “To greatly simplify, in this vision, what makes the ancient economy distinct from other subsequent forms was its substantial reliance on slavery (as opposed to dependent tenants or wage laborers) as the main system by which labor… Read More »Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIa: Pops and Chains
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part I: Divisa in Partes Tres
Diplomacy was hard in the ancient world. “On the diplomatic side, yes, Imperator in its deviations from the EUIV model captures something real about the ancient world, which is, quite simply, the relatively primitive and disconnected state of diplomacy in… Read More »Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part I: Divisa in Partes Tres
Miscellanea: Victoria III Confirmed! (First Impressions)
Delegation. “the war system is quite different. Gone are moving individual armies through provinces, replaced by ‘fronts’ to which armies are assigned to either defend or push forward. I think some players are going to be quite unhappy with the… Read More »Miscellanea: Victoria III Confirmed! (First Impressions)
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Crusader Kings III, Part IV: Emperors, Soldiers and Peasants
Cities were powerful in the past. “A lord could dictate to the peasants, but had to negotiate with major towns, and this just isn’t well reflected in-game.” https://acoup.blog/2022/10/14/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iv-emperors-soldiers-and-peasants/
How South Korea Plans To Survive
South Korea is in deep trouble.
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Crusader Kings III, Part III: Constructivisting a Kingdom
How? “if power is personal, rather than institutional (leg one) and highly fragmented between many people (leg two), then how is power gained and kept within such systems.” https://acoup.blog/2022/10/07/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iii-constructivisting-a-kingdom/
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Crusader Kings III, Part IIa: Rascally Vassals
Ruling is not easy. “Because vassals only provide a percentage of their military strength to their liege but will field all of their strength in the event they rebel (typically through forming a faction whose demands are refused), large realms… Read More »Collections: Teaching Paradox, Crusader Kings III, Part IIa: Rascally Vassals
Iran’s crumbling economy
Is it?
Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part VIII: The Mind of Saruman
Yes, Saruman had policies. “The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and means can never be considered in isolation from their purpose…war should never be thought of as something autonomous, but always as an… Read More »Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part VIII: The Mind of Saruman