What are the advantages of joining the UN? I have a dictatorial neighbour, and some sort of assurance of mutual defense would be appreciated.
Secondly, what are the power of a nation state, and how does one make use of them. Basically, if I need to declare war, how do I go about doing it, and then what?
What are the advantages of joining the UN? I have a dictatorial neighbour, and some sort of assurance of mutual defense would be appreciated.
The advantages of joining the UN are more of a political nature than a military one. If you have enough endorsements, then you can try to inflict whatever ideas you have upon the rest of the UN (within certain limitations). Some UN nations might help each other out militarily, but it's not as common.
Secondly, what are the power of a nation state, and how does one make use of them. Basically, if I need to declare war, how do I go about doing it, and then what?
There are two fora - NationStates and International Incidents. The simplest way to declare a war is to go to either and start a thread entitled "Nikvonia declares war on [nation]". The problem there is that it's not usually the done thing - you kind of need to have a reason (even a spurious one) before you go around shooting. Therefore, have a look at the threads on both fora and see if (to take an example) a nation is trading slaves. You might then decide to take part in a war to stop such trade from happening.
As for the "and then what?" part, it's all role-played. There are threads at the top of both fora explaining what this means exactly, and there should be players willing to assist if you ask in there.