So Hansa af hizos Hriggsaiws - The Fellowship of the Ringsea

Steeling himself, the representative responded to these hard hitting questions. 'The prosperity of the state ought to translate into the prosperity of the people. If we enable trade to flourish, those markets which produce certain goods more cheaply than yours will be able to offer said goods to you at a reduced cost to your consumers, which in turn should help increase consumer spending and buying power. This also helps us, as it means that production of certain goods and extraction of resources do not need to be as limited as they have been, as we would no longer have to worry about suppressing our own prices to the point of no longer making a profit and over saturating our own home markets.'

'While it is true that the people tend to impose communism upon themselves, it is also true that the communists are currently fighting wars to forcibly re-unify the empire they themselves destroyed in Rodina. That, as I see it, is nothing but a warning of things to come. If they can not win us over with lies and honeyed words, then they will come eventually with guns and sabres. To add to this, I must point out that any unwise leaders that try to start wars in a world full of defensive coalitions, would be self-correcting problems. As this is a defensive coalition we ask for, there can be no unwise men starting massive wars, as they would stand on their own for their aggressions.'

"And this would be determined by a vote in the Hansa council?"

And what if all see them self as the defenders? Take for example a purely hypothetical example of someone from royalty going into an unruly province and getting shoot by an nationalist from an minor neighbouring power. This would of course be seen as an act of war or at the very least an provocation so the defensive pack sees them self in the right to retaliate. But the minor nation itself is in an defensive pact which in turn sees them self in the right to help their fellow against the "invader". It would be a true bloodbath.

At the silence that descended over the room, Clarke decided to speak once more. 
"As much as we would love to enter a mutually beneficial trade agreement, we Dunwikki fear that entering into a military alliance would potentially jeopardize our trade arrangements elsewhere. While we will to the best of our ability abide by the standards of this organization to ease in trade, we cannot risk our international relationships elsewhere by committing too hard to either the D.O.C. or the Hansa. At this moment, we must remain at arm's length. I do not want this to be seen as hostility towards you; quite the opposite, we wish closer relations... but not relations that harm our standing elsewhere. Thus, our involvement will be as it has always been - we will offer open trade to you, and in exchange we hope you offer open trade to us. Dunwik wishes to be a friend to all, but that position means we cannot be tied down too firmly for any one side. As of this juncture, we will not be direct members, but wish to be partners in trade on our own terms. Perhaps, in the future, we will join you, should our geopolitical position necessitate that."

'That is unfortunate... Though, if you do maintain the standards set by the organisation, it should ease the way back to this table should you ever change your mind.' A resigned feeling came over the man, as he now feared that the other two would reject the plan as well. He would likely be held responsible for this debacle, even though it was not his fault. Deciding to get this over with now, he turned to address the men from West-Thosel-Cransconia and Sheen.

'As the others have already made up their minds, is there anything that either of your parties would like to bring up or change?'

After having sat silently thoughout the whole meeting, Garend Marston finally rose.

It seems we have an impasse around a defensive pact, which is understandable seeing that many here today have never entered such a pact, seeing as my people's founding document is a defensive pact in and of itself, if I may, I have some proposals. I believe we should do two things in this area, firstly we should have the defensive pact only trigger in a clear case of one state invading another member state, and any other grey area war would be up to each individual member if they wish to join, secondly I believe the ability to opt out of the defensive pact would be a good idea, but still provide incentive to join it by giving any member of the pact greater say in the economic side than those who are just in the economic side, perhaps one extra member in a council perhaps?