Much has been made of the current state of affairs being multi polar. Those who proclaim a multi polar order point to the disparate blocs, which are strewn across the alliance system as proof that this world is somehow different than that which we previously knew. They say the Continuum was the defining characteristic of the pre-Karma order and it was the underlying cause of stagnation. Chiefly because a Continuum does not exist they deny that the self evident stagnation which they seek happens. They claim falsely that by specifically targeting alliances with little connection to their hegemonic grouping they are somehow different from previous hegemonic forces.
All of this is of course rather silly if not an outright lie. In fact to tell you how uni polar the international system has become, you only need to look at actions that VE and MK have taken recently. The fact is, is that MK and VE have largely been able to count on their allies to support completely aggressive wars against both the New Polar and New Pacific Orders in a way which neither the Continuum or Initiative even could get away with, excluding the possible exception of the time immediately after the Third Great War. In fact during the Continuum’s time, the multi polar allegiances of Q’s members and diversity of political thought within the Continuum were far greater than those that appear to constrain PB and Doomhouse.
As a witness to the internal workings of that bloc on its highest level, the members of that bloc maintained a much more diverse range of ties than New Heg currently does. Its been an unwritten rule of New Heg to seek and isolate the NPO and deny warm relations, even while it complains that the NPO is only allied with alliances hostile to Doom House. Continuum was not the exclusive bloc of any of its members; the NPO and IRON had One Vision. TOP, Old Guard, and Gremlins had Citadel. MCXA had BLEU and later One Vision. NATO had the CDT. FOK had LEO. The fact is, is that by the current measure of multi polarity, the sheer number of blocs that existed, multi polarity existed under the Continuum. There also were other power centers, those loosely or not at all connected with Old Heg: Complaints and Greivances, Superfriends, as well as of course BLEU. Yet people claim that multi polarity did not exist under the old system. They are of course right.
This is because Multi-polarity does not just mean the existence of many blocs, but rather it means the existence of many different political interests some of which are divergent. Multi-polarity does not exist when everyone in the system has the same goals even while wearing different uniforms. This is merely uni-polarity masking as multi-polarity for political expediency of those enjoying the uni-polarity.
Now some may say that the opportunity presented itself and these aggressors simply decided this was the time to launch a war, any war. This is also false. The NEW conflict was one where there were direct treaty obligations for the current Heg to get involved on opposing sides of the conflict (does that sound familiar). What did they do? They pressured NEW into not calling in their Heg allies and only calling in their allies who could engineer a series of events to force the Orders into the war. If multi-polarity was truly the goal, or if a truly challenging war was the goal, the most logical thing to do would have been to have a war where the ruling blocs were on opposing sides. Instead this scenario was one that the New Heg forces sought to avoid at all possible cost. They only wanted a fight they were sure to win. One must wonder how this is at all different from curbstomps that characterized the previous hegemony?
Further, the argument that such a war would merely allow the NPO to return to the top also rings hollow. Even if the NPO stayed out of a conflict unharmed, its ability to define the international order post war would be a dubious proposition. Yes as an individual alliance it would have much greater strength, but would it be able to command a coalition that could dominate everyone else to the extent that the Continuum is alleged to have done? No. Further the NPO was kept under war and terms for a year during which time it could not run tech deals and had to give most of its top tier tech away. Those nations still have a technology deficit compared to current Heg alliances. The ability for one war to destroy that deficit completely is unlikely.
Instead rather than mean a return to NPO hegemony, it would mean a return to true multi-polarity or reduced uni-polarity of new Heg. It would mean that it would become more difficult for Doomhouse or Pandora’s Box to just attack whomever they wanted with no warning or negotiations. This would undoubtedly be frustrating for current Heg that likes to use curb stomps as a way of appeasing its more bloodthirsty members but it by no means would mean anything close to a return of the much-maligned Continuum era.
Hegemony is not defined by the presence of blocs or treaties but by the convergence of interests towards a singular purpose. As we saw in the closing days of Q when political interests and relationships of trust diverged treaties are meaningless. This seems to largely exist albeit in a much more understated and less formal manner between DH, PB, CnG, and SF. These alliances uncritically seem to back each other in conflicts across Planet Bob, targeting alliances for the flimsiest of reasons. Polar was not given an opportunity to even begin a discussion on the obvious spy setup. The NPO was attacked for crimes that supposedly Karma was fought to stop and punish the NPO for. After extracting its pound of flesh from the NPO for crimes past and when the NPO had not committed a single aggressive act since the end of the Karma War, it was subsequently attacked again by Doom House. There are now calls for essentially what amounts to a PZI of an entire alliance. A practice that was one of the crimes which the Karma coalition spoke about.
We must ask ourselves how is this at all functionally different from what these very same alliances said they were opposing. If their answer is that it is not and they are merely playing the game for maximum destructive effect, then I would ask players to look at the pattern of war. If they merely go to war because other alliances may in the future pose a threat to their continued ability to do whatever the hell they want whenever they want, can any alliance truly be secure should they choose to do anything other than completely kow tow? The answers to these are of course evident.
NPO Hegemony is long buried, but a new much more virulent and insidious hegemony exists today. It will ultimately go through the same self-destructive cycle as the old hegemony, slowly killing off allies. I am sure that if Doomhouse is successful at destroying the Orders, then over spring break or summer break they’ll be coming for MHA, FARK, or Duckroll next. The pattern will continue eventually spreading to the weakest of the current Heg blocs. They will continue to lie about multipolarity while they launch unjustified steam rolls, seeking to divide and kill opposition over time. The attacks on the NpO, a former MK ally, are proof of this. The time has come to stand up and oppose it and usher in true multi-polarity. This need not be a moral thing to do, but a function of pure practicality for any alliance which wishes to maintain some degree of independence or security.
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