Diplomacy is all interaction between countries. Diplomacy is driven by the players, and can occur for any number of reasons. Diplomacy ranges anywhere from simple trade agreements to reduce or remove tariffs up to alliances. There are benefits to engaging in diplomacy, whether it be potentially improving your economy and resources or acquiring allies and friends that may support you in future crisis. Diplomatic agreements and actions should be posted onto the Game Thread, or else they will not count. Dialogue between countries and replying is allowed on the Game Thread though one must remain in character when doing so.
Trade agreements are simply agreements between countries to make trade easier for both sides. This can be in form of lowering or removal of tariffs, either on all goods or specific goods. Trade agreements can also entail other things, such as exclusively trading with a certain country or allowing exclusive access to certain ports or goods. Whatever the trade agreement entails, both sides have to publicly come to an agreement. Trade Agreements have a positive impact on the economy, as trade barriers are removed making trade easier. However, beware since this might cause the balance of power to tip in someone’s favor, if a country is particularly strong economically.
Due to the time period, nationalist ideals will permeate throughout Europe as time progresses, which might cause friction between countries, particularly if they are rivals or at odds with each other already. Beware other countries that have a history of hostility towards you, as this may lead to conflicts in the future. Wars can be declared for theoretically any purpose, provided that the purpose of war is somewhat reasonable.
To defend oneself against hostile countries, one might seek alliances with others. There are 3 types of alliances: a Defensive Alliance which means a country will come to your aid if you are attacked, an Offensive Alliance which means a country will come to your aid if you attack another country or a specific country, and a General Alliance which means a country will come to your aid in any eventuality. It is recommended that one keeps to their alliances, as it will maintain trust between yourself and other countries. While there is no immediate and sure penalty for breaking alliances, one might find themselves having trouble gaining the trust of other countries after breaking an alliance, or even trouble in their government if the situation demands it.
To conclude wars, a peace treaty between the warring parties must be agreed upon and posted in public. Anything can result from a peace treaty, ranging from monetary reparations and reparations in the form of goods and resources to ceding lands to simply upholding the status quo. Anything within reason can be demanded in a peace deal, as long as both sides agree to it. Peace deals also do not have to include all the parties involved in a war. As long as 2 opposing countries agree to cease hostilities, they can form a peace treaty between themselves. However, it is not wise to create peace deals separate from your allies, since this might poison relations and cause others to lose trust in you.
There are other ways of supporting or operating against other countries without having to join a war directly. One way of helping or operating against another country diplomatically is to publicly show your support for a side in a crisis. Though this has no effect in game, publicly demonstrating your support for another country could discourage others from attacking or harassing that country, since the threat of war may be too great. Another way of helping another country in a war is through the sending of supplies or subsidies. Whether it be firearms, cannon, ammunition, food, uniforms, or simply money, resources can be sent to another country in order to aid them in their war efforts. This can be done either publicly with the consent of the receiving country or secretly, so long as both sides demonstrate their consent and it is PM’d to the GM. Another way of supporting another country without getting directly involved is to send volunteers. Volunteers are simply people from your country who are willing to go abroad and fight for another country. A country can either allow volunteers to come from or come to their country or create a volunteer unit that either receives volunteers or can be sent to another country. Volunteer groups are typically very small, ranging usually to a few hundred, or thousand at most. Volunteers can be sent and received publicly or secretly.
While it is extremely discouraged to join wars not related to your affairs or without an alliance, larger and more influential countries like the United Kingdom can choose to intervene in a war if they deem it necessary to keep the balance of power in check. For this, however, careful diplomacy is key. Intervening on shaky grounds might cause conflict with other countries, or even trouble in your government.