MA 2 – President Simulator: How to Conquer Nations Using Soft Power

To conquer and annex rival nations without declaring war in MA 2 – President Simulator, force the target country's domestic stability below 20% using a combined strategy of religious conversion, covert espionage, trade deprivation, and diplomatic encirclement. Once stability falls below this threshold, the target state fractures, enabling bloodless takeover through protectorate vassalization or diplomatic annexation.

Spreading State Religion for Ideological Alignment

Religious dissemination serves as the baseline for non-military conquest by systematically removing diplomatic friction and lowering annexation resistance. Rather than treating faith purely as an internal domestic metric, use missionary programs and religious funding as an offensive tool against rival powers.

Prioritize missionary dissemination toward major neighboring states rather than minor nations. As the foreign population converts to your state religion, bilateral diplomatic thresholds drop, making treaties and open-border compacts easier to sign. If the target government adheres to a competing dogma, high religious alignment among its citizens erodes internal unity, inflicting continuous passive attrition on the target regime's stability.

Covert Espionage and Internal Sabotage

Direct state revenue into espionage infrastructure and intelligence training rather than standing armies. Covert operations bypass foreign mutual defense alliances and strike the target state's internal systems directly.

Execute covert actions in the following sequence:

1. Theft of Technology: Steal advanced research projects directly from the target nation to close scientific gaps while cutting domestic research costs.
2. Infrastructure Sabotage: Dispatch spies to disable electric grids, resource extraction sites, and communication networks, forcing the foreign government to drain its treasury on emergency repairs.
3. Funding Rebellions and Coups: When enemy stability drops, fund local insurgent factions to trigger civil unrest. If stability reaches critical lows, sponsor a coup d'état to unseat the leadership and establish a compliant government.

Enacting Economic Starvation and Resource Deprivation

Soft-power expansion requires breaking the target nation's balanced budget. Because industrial production and civic order require constant commodity flows, cutting access to vital materials initiates a compounding deficit.

Begin by terminating direct export agreements for essential commodities:

• Crude oil
• Iron ore
• Food supplies

Simultaneously, buy surplus stock from the international market to produce artificial scarcity. Deprived of regular inputs, the target state must purchase goods at spot-market rates, running massive daily deficits. As cash reserves run out, the target's central bank relies on high-interest loans, creating debt burdens that halt infrastructure spending and civic services.

Diplomatic Isolation and Department Levers

Prevent third-party interventions by isolating the adversary before their domestic collapse begins. Secure non-aggression pacts, non-intervention agreements, and trade treaties with every state bordering the target nation. This cuts off foreign bailouts and neutralizes regional mutual defense compacts.

Annexing the Destabilized State

When covert subversion, resource starvation, and ideological assimilation push foreign stability below 20%, the target government loses effective authority, causing widespread desertion and factory strikes.

Capitalize on this terminal phase using one of two peaceful resolution options:

• Protectorate Vassalization: After executing a successful coup or rebellion, offer a protection treaty to the newly installed administration. The unstable regime will surrender its diplomatic autonomy in exchange for economic assistance.
• Direct Diplomatic Annexation: If your state religion holds majority status across the target nation's population, issue financial grants to restore bilateral relations, then propose a full diplomatic merger. The target state will accept integration, transferring its territory and industry to your nation without provoking an international war.