Origin of Unseelie Accord

Question

Probably the most important law document in the "Dresden Files" universe is the "Unseelie Accords", which is similar to the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations. According to linked page, it has been proposed by Queen Mab of Winter Court, and has been signed by most political players, including the Summer Court.

Yeah, thats the thing that bothers me: why Summer would sign something called Unseelie Accords (Unseelie relates to "dark faeries", associated with Winter, contrary to the Seelie ones associated with Summer) - Winter and Summer are in a state of cold (ha ha) war since times long before humanity and if compare it to real world Cold War, I have hard time imagine USSR signing "Washington Convention" or USA signing under "The Communist Treaty". I know that diplomacy is an art of compromises, but such important document signed by Summer would be a display of weakness.

So, why Summer has signed this treaty under such "offensive" name?

Answer 1

There really isn't a lot of information on the origin of the Unseelie Accords in the books. So I speculate.

Their intention seems to have been (seems, as Mab usually has at least 3 angles on everything) to broker peace or at least forced less aggression among the supernatural nations at large. It does so not by banning hostility but by adding a large amount of rules lawyering, based on old notions of honor and hospitality. Bureaucracy isn't usually that effective at anything, but I guess when it's designed by the most calculating mind we've met in the series thus far, and then imposed by that same being who excels at being very, very scary, even wizards sit up and pay attention.

This is a lot of lead up around the question posed. It's nature though, is at the core of this. The name of the Accords keeps Winter in everyone's minds, and politics rules the day. That cold calculation is what Winter is all about. It's not what Summer is all about though. They may all be Fae and all love a good bargain, Summer's default mode may always be to counter Winter, but their goals and their methods of thinking are not the same. If Titania thought a greater goal would be achieved by Mab's bizarre notions of peace, she wouldn't care what it was called, so long as the balance of power didn't shift (and Mab is crafty enough to calculate that balance of power into her planning).

Mab would write it because it sets the game of nations to her advantage, and that edge is what Winter is all about. Titania would sign because peace would promote life, and life is what Summer is all about.

Answer 2

Because the name is not offensive.

The majority of treaties that have been signed throughout history are named after the location of the signing itself. Such as: The Camp David Accords, The Treaty of Warsaw and the Treaty of San Francisco.

In the case of this treaty, it was likely named based on the fact that the majority of the discussions took place in the Unseelie Court.

Sometimes a treaty is named after only one of the people it is responsible for such as in the case of hostilities between Pakistan and the Waziristan area tribals where we have a treaty named after only one of the parties, the Waziristan Accord.

Answer 3

I'm not sure that Summer would necessarily find that name offensive. It's really just a factual description of the agreement.

It is typical for such diplomatic agreements to be named after the place where they were signed or the group that wrote them in the first place. Since Mab wrote them, it's not hard to believe that she invited the first few signatories to her Court -- the Unseelie Court -- to sign them. Calling them the Unseelie Accords is just the most reasonable thing to pick.

It's not like the names Seelie and Unseelie are insults or derogatory. They're the formally correct adjectives for the two Fae Courts.

In top of that, my vague understanding is that the Accords, at least in the beginning, were conceived partly to minimize the bickering and fighting between denizens of the Nevernever so they could all cooperate in keeping the Outsiders out. Since Winter is on the front lines of that war, it would make sense to name such an agreement after their court, to remind everyone why they've signed.

(I'm not sure where I got that idea in my head, as I can't find it again; in any case, as far as I know every signatory to the Accords has shown to be an enemy of Nemesis at some point, even the Denarians.)