International Situation

**Okmin** · July 14, 2011, 03:50 PM

Diplomacy

Current events (will be updated whenever needed) Declared alliances

The Grand Coalition (Austria, Spain, Russia, Poland-Lithuania, Denmark-Norway, and Brandenburg)

The Hapsburg Containment Alliance (France, Ottoman Empire, United Provinces, Sweden, and England)

Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate (vassal)

Ongoing wars and rebellions

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The Great War: Grand Coalition vs. Hapsburg Containment Alliance (in Europe, for conquest, declared by Grand Coalition)

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England vs. Irish clans and Spain (in Ireland, over English conquest of Ireland, since 1594)

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Hapsburg Austria and Spain vs. Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate (in the Balkans and Middle East, over Ottoman expansion, since 1593)

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United Provinces, England, and France vs. Spanish and Holy Roman Empires (in the Netherlands, for the independence of the UP, since 1568)

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War of the Scottish Succession: England and supporters vs. Denmark and supporters (since 1600)

This is for keeping track of the current publicly announced dealings between factions and any other major events that everyone should know about. Post here with any announcements you wish to make.
The following events must always be publicly announced:

Declarations of war
Ceasefire and peace treaties
Claims to territory and other changes to your formal title
Merger or union of nations
Territorial purchases or trades
Declarations of secession/independence
Change of government

Alliances can be secret.

Faction Rankings

Current Rankings Superpowers: None
Greater powers: Ottoman Empire, Russia
Great powers: Spain, France, Austria, Poland-Lithuania
Major powers: England, Denmark-Norway, United Provinces
Regional powers: Brandenburg, Venice, Sweden
Vassals: Crimea, (Ottoman Empire)
Minor powers: Everyone else

You might've noticed in the Rule Book thread that starting armies will be determined by your factions tier. Well, here are the tiers. I've tried to make these as historical as possible. Since we're playing on just a map of Europe, the criteria for each tier is a bit different than in real life, so I'll explain.

Tier Definitions Superpowers: Powerful enough to potentially have significant influence outside of Europe (I say potentially only because we can't actually do it in this game)
Greater powers: Basically this tier is for great powers that are ridiculously large, and therefore have more manpower and resources than the regular great powers.
Great powers: Have significant influence in Europe (and the Middle East and North Africa)
Major powers: These are regional powers that have substantial influence inside and outside of their immediate regions, but not so much influence as great powers.
Regional powers: Have significant influence in their surrounding areas, not so much in the rest of Europe.
Vassals: Are considered one tier above minor powers simply because they are under the protection of a much bigger power.
Minor powers: The small, so-called "insignificant" states.

The rankings will be updated as the game goes on. Factions will move up and down or even be removed from the list if they cease to exist for some reason (like being nuked off the face of the earth... if we had nukes).