User:Etzan/Political Philosophy

''The following is a list of some of the critical questions of political philosophy. Feel free to answer any of them and post the answers below! The goal of this exercise is to ascertain the underlying political beliefs held by a character.''


 * What is politics?
 * What is the most influential actor in politics?
 * What is the state?
 * What is the role of the state?
 * What is a legitimate government? What constitutes right to rule?
 * What constitutes a just use of violence?
 * How is the international order organized?
 * How should it be organized?
 * How should states act towards other states?

Uriel Ultanos XVI of the Draconid Imperium
"Politics is the field of discussion and the engine which drives the stability and social development of a people; be they a nation, a city, a planet or a galaxy. Through discussions of state and society they are intertwined."
 * What is politics?

- Uriel

"I believe that the most influential actor is charisma. Charisma can turn enemies into allies and build paradise where there was desolation. But the inverse is also true; enough charisma can transform passive citizens into vengeful warriors. Whether charisma can be used eloquently or aggressively, its power to change is quite evident."
 * What is the most influential actor in politics?

- Uriel

"The state is the unifier of the disparate and a representation of the collective. Different groups, either geographical or geopolitical, bound together to from a single united entity."
 * What is the state?

- Uriel

"The role of the state is to guide the collectives that agreed to both found it and maintain it. It's responsibility is to the continuation of collective values and desires, and to the advancement of those collectives in unison."
 * What is the role of the state?

- Uriel

"A legitimate government is made so by recognition from those who have the power to challenge or remove it. What constitutes the right to rule is the demonstration of confidence in the sovereign's ability to lead the state just as a helmsman steers his ship on troubled oceans."
 * What is a legitimate government? What constitutes right to rule?

- Uriel

"Violence is an unavoidable facet of reality. But it can be just if words are failing, as for diplomacy to work both sides must be willing to negotiate. Yet if controlled, the expression of physical can say more than any lecture or debate."
 * What constitutes a just use of violence?

- Uriel

"A good leader must be decisive, informed and rational. Their decisions can affect thousands and cause ripples that can last years after the initial display. Some ripples will affect all society from then on. So a leader must also be mindful of consequence; but one man's disaster is another's opportunity, and at times failure can have a much broader effect than a success so a leader would also be wise to understand that some battles will affect more with defeat. So a leader must have foresight. But also be mindful that they would bear the sins and consequences of their predecessors."
 * What qualities does a good leader possess?

- Uriel

"At it's most basic level, the state international order is determined by those with power. While a state may be egalitarian, the cultural disparities encourage tendencies that relate more closely to earlier survival instincts. There will always be a small number of states or even a single state that sits like a nesting coarlatus|dragonlike apex predator from Alcanti, surrounded by either companions or lesser entities, each such state watchful of the activities of the others. It is natural for some top-level states to cooperate while others compete or dispense violence."
 * How is the international order organized?

"While a state can easily organise itself to be stable and harmonious, there will always be states and cultures that desire nothing of a uniform way of doing things. Thus, on a universal scale I see it short-sighted to command how the international order should be organised and accept the connections of universal society as they are. Between states that are harmonious however, I believe that unity and progression are best achieved in unison."
 * How should it be organized?

- Uriel

"Once again there will always be exceptions, but communication is what forms bonds that can last centuries. But the dominance of powerful states over weaker states, while controversial, is what has forged much of the present universe be that dominance benign or malignant."
 * How should states act towards other states?

- Uriel