Strategic Decision:

A Strategic Decision is a decision a nation makes about their national strategy. It reflects the nation’s interests, values, priorities, an analysis of available resources, and the external security environment. A Strategic Decision is a choice about how, where and why the nation wants to develop. Contest Europa creates different tiers of Strategic Decisions that are available to nations depending on their size (measured in total development) and certain events (such as the start of the Protestant Reformation or the presence of Nationalism).

Strategic Decisions enable missions, events and decisions related to the selected Strategic Decision and disallow others related to different Strategic Decisions. For example a state that has selected the Strategic Decision to form France will get missions to conquer French territory and, assuming it is not France, the decision to Reform into France. A state that has selected the Strategic Decision to form the Carolingian Empire will get missions to conquer territory that belongs to the Carolingian Empire and the decision to Form the Carolingian Empire.

Selecting a Strategic Decision is different than actually achieving the end goal. Many states may select the Strategic Decision to Form the Western Roman Empire, but only one may actually be the Western Roman Empire (achieved the end goal). A Strategic Decision is more like a goal, what you want your state to become. This distinction is important because a key component of Contest Europa is conflicts between states that have selected the same or competing Strategic Decisions.

Conflicting Claims
Selecting a Strategic Decision will have consequences, both positive and negative, for the nation’s relationship with other nations. Contest Europa provides a series of events which pit states with conflicting Strategic Decisions against one another. Two states that have selected the same Strategic Decision, say to form France, will get events in which they are presented the other state’s claim and must choose whether to refute this claim (accepting a negative relations hit with the other state) or concede the other state’s right the claim (results in missions, events and decisions related to that Strategic Decision to be unavailable for a period of 20 years). This same mechanic also happens to states with conflicting Strategic Decisions, such as France and the Western Roman Empire (because those two Strategic Decisions both imply territorial claims in the same area). Losing a war to a states with the same or a conflicting Strategic Decisions will have a similar effect, disallowing related missions, events and decisions for a period of 20 years for the losing country.

All states with claims conflicts can use the Passive Claim Conflict casus belli on rival claimants, this decreases costs and increases prestige. When a claim event fires and a state chooses the option to rebuke the other claimant then both parties gain access to the even more beneficial Active Claim Conflict CB which lasts for 30 years.

Human players may directly select different Strategic Decisions when they meet the requirements in the decisions menu. In addition, all nations (AI and human) select Strategic Decisions through events called Strategic Events.

Strategic Events
A Strategic Event is an important event in the domestic, regional or international environment which causes a nation to refine or reconsider its National Strategy. For example take the nation of Burgundy. Burgundy may start off content as Burgundy, not seeking to be anything else. In Contest Europa terminology we would say it has selected the Strategic Decision to remain as a Nationstate. If the nation of Burgundy grows to a certain size it may decide to stop being Burgundy and instead want to become France. When Burgundy reaches a development threshold (total development of 100) it has a Strategic Event. This event allows Burgundy to select to remain as a Nationstate or decide to pursue the formation of France. Burgundy can choose the France Strategic Decision even if France already exists. It is, in effect, deciding to challenge France for the throne of France.

Strategic events vary from culture to culture and country to country, reflecting the different factors the impact different countries. For example Italian culture states get a Strategic Event when Italian Nationalism becomes a major force in Europe (this happens via events added by Contest Europe). States will get a new choice of Strategic Decision and may now choose to pursue the formation of Italy among other choices.

Strategic Events are the only means the AI uses to select Strategic Decisions.