Board Thread:Lore and Fanon Discussion/@comment-10148112-20150604171243/@comment-4681356-20150605170716

I've tried to type something up for this several times, for forgive me if I'm a little more succinct than I would have been if typing all of this up for the first time, haha...

I like the NATO model; it maintains sovereignity for all involved nations, keeps the political structures of them, doesn't have a top-down model, and still have the strength of an Alliance. If I were picking just for flavor, this would be the one I picked.

But there is a foil this this, at least in part I think: Varian. Take the Council of the Three Hammer's inception. Varian didn't like the result of dwarven succession laws when Magni was petrified, and so he stormed Ironforge, no doubt taking out several Ironforge soldiers on the way in. He very nearly kills the licit monarch of Ironforge, stopping only because his kid told him to do something else, IIRC.

Instead, he undermines the laws of Khaz Modan, unilaterally changing the social and governmental structures to the Council of the Three Hammers. Whether or not that change was a good one or not is irrevelent; he evidentally circumvented Ironforge's sovereignity through force in ways that even some emperors are not empowered to do.

This would be a lot like, I don't know, USA or Canada, both close NATO founders and allies to UK, deciding that they don't like how the lawful general elections went, somehow land Air Force One on Downing Street, getting the prime minister in a firing line, and at the last minute deciding to make an oligarchy from people from statesmen from Scotland, North Ireland, and England. I don't think that NATO model held up there.

I think that Varian's role has changed over the past few expansion a lot, though. He seems to be gaining considerable new power, and with him, the Alliance as an organization seems to be growing in power over the subfactions. Who knows if these subfactions know or if they care, but it seems to be the case. Maybe Grand Alliance could be NATO if NATO had a major cult of personality going around one of the heads of government to the point where that official had about as much power over the subfactions when he wanted it as, say, an especially strong emperor. Whatever the case, the rest of the Alliance leaders don't seem to mind his role. Let's hope any draconic advisors or Old God insanity ever gets to him, because I think most of the Alliance would probably listen to him anyway.