New Peace

The New Peace was launched by Rhodes Palmerston in the wake of the Leviathan War; it was an attempt to build a new Web order where the powers of the Web worked together to resolve problems peacefully.

Origins

The most obvious impetus for the New Peace was the abject horrors of the Leviathan War, which caused many nations in the Web to conclude that war between the Great Powers was a far greater threat than the hypothetical extradimensional invasion the Grand Army was poised to fight. GACA declined as a political force during the Age of Imperialism; the most significant debate of the post-Omnisent Conflict in the House of Lords was the decision to do nothing during the Imperialist War.

It should also be noted that the post Leviathan War political situation left the Tasnica Republic as the leading Great Power in the Web, and led by someone with as much of a reputation for statesmanship as Rhodes Palmerston. Someone with Rhodes's knowledge of Web history surely realized that this was a fleeting moment, and seized upon it to attempt to build a new Web order through the creation of a new system of international relations.

Palmerston's Reforms and Politicking

Palmerston's brought about many policy changes in GACA, most significantly the near-universal adoption of the Hosluftgrad Conventions and the creation of the Alliance Congress. It was the Alliance Congress that Palmerston charged with "Creating the Peace". Rhodes also established the office of Sovereign Executive, to be the political head of GACA. (In typical Rhodes fashion, he then declared his intetion to be the first such Sovereign Executive. Amazingly, he managed to gain the support of all of the Great Powers, which led to his near-unanimous approval.)

In a massive Web-spanning tour Rhodes spoke to large crowds to raise support for the New Peace. He also made important concessions in Tasnican foreign policy, such as allowing Albrook the status of Interdimensional Treaty City and forcing a repeal of the Extraterritoriality Act through the Tasnican Senate. Ironically, it was this focus on foreign policy that led his fellow Conservatives in the Senate, particularly Franklin Yeats, to conclude that Rhodes was insufficently invested in the domestic fight against the Populists and force him out of seeking another term as Prime Minister in 40 WR. Ironically, Kenny Brackhaven, the Populist, managed to defeat Yeats largely by promising to continue and maintain the policies of the New Peace.

Impact

The New Peace resurrected GACA as a political force, and, equally significantly, led to the promotion of the idea that Web peace was something that could be aspired to and had to be worked for. Following the Leviathan War Tasnica could have easily led the Great Powers on a return to the politics of the Age of Imperialism, but instead Rhodes (himself a great empire-builder) committed to attempting to build a Web of peace and international law. Many in Tasnica today are divided over Rhodes's legacy as a peacemaker and his legacy as an empire builder; Rhodes's genius was to use Tasnican empire to promote Web peace, the Nova Pax was to be a Pax Tasnica, but the marriage of the two sides of the coin takes a rare leader indeed.

One of the first acts of the Alliance Congress was to dramatically slash the military budget of the Grand Army (proposed by Eblan MAC Sakura Shiawese). This helped provide a ready source of funds for humanitarian work; disaster relief funds were voted to Guardia in the wake of the Defiler War and to the new government of Medina. It also lead to a series of conferences and exchanges of scientific knowledge.

Some have pointed out that there has yet to be a "Second Leviathan War" as some evidence of success of the New Peace, but cynics and skeptics point to several clashes that have come close (see Three Week War). Nonetheless, the transformation of GACA from its inception as mere check-writers to fund a military machine to a Web-encompassing alliance with aspirations to creating world peace must rank as one of the most significant political developments in history.