Earth, 2174

[bartmoss]

Wow. Messy. And rather... worryingly... plausible!

Yeah, and above all: Fun! It'll make for a few good stories, and exploring the changes to US society will be interesting as well.

[RogerStenning]

So am I; Canada may not have "Kingdom" in its name, but it is one. I kinda like having a monarch though as long as she doesn't actually do anything but wear funny hats and wave at people (And admittedly, she doesn't actually live here).

Heh, have you read SS-GB by Len Deighton? The novel postulates that the majority of the Royal Family actually made it to Canada before the Germans successfully invaded! Very good thriller, btw; good example of AU/AH as well, come to that

It really bothers a lot of Americans when they find out . One would think that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or the Queen's portrait on all our coins and our $20 bill would give it away but it still comes as a surprise to a lot of them.

Ah, but we're talking obvious clues here, after all

[bartmoss]

Bonus: Active conflicts of 2174.

earth-2174-g-conflicts-small.png

Fluff at: http://enderra.com/2011/06/28/earth-...ive-conflicts/

[AlexTna]

A very good idea plus a nice and clean political map. I am a history enthusiast so this kind of world building gets me intrigued. You probably don't need any tips from me, but i will lay down some ideas i got just watching and reading your project:
1. India may have trouble maintaining its integrity over the next century, the hundreds off different ethnic groups may be hard to keep united
2. Papua New Guinea ( the south eastern half of the island) has a weak and decentralized government, its plausible Indonesia annexes it.
3. As you have said that global warming is problematic, but not catastrophic, it is plausible that in a century Greenland actually gets green, opening up vast resources and living space. It would make it the place to be.
4. Also plausible is the appearance of a "Polynesian Union" (similar to present day Micronesia). Most states in Polynesia are small and weak, but the inhabitants are related people with many common traditions and a common culture. New Zeeland could spear-head this coalition (thinking of the Maori, maybe a split up between the polynesians and germanic and also geographically of the 2 main islands) Tensions with US over Hawaii. Important states: New Zeeland, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu

[bartmoss]

I always appreciate feedback, AlexTna, or I wouldn't be posting! Thanks for the ideas.

I actually did think about India, but then decided that it being a nuclear-armed nation is in the end a stabilizing factor; nobody would let it disintegrate into chaos. Greater autonomy for various regions may be possible, or of course orderly independence for some parts.

I haven't really thought about the Pacific islands, I'd have to look into - and decide - how much they are affected by global warming. Good idea though, especially since submarine mining is important for a while - until asteroid mining and the hyperdrive makes off-planet imports dirt cheap. So eventually this could be a region once more pushed to meaninglessness.

As for Papua New Guinea, good call. When the Chinese civil war destabilizes the region, Papua New Guinea may even welcome such annexation.

And Greenland, yes, I ignored Antarctica too. I guess I really ought to find out how quickly those glaciers will melt... and who would move in on the Greenlanders. Either EU or US I guess, maybe Canada offers a good deal.

- Nils

[cfds]

I like how Switzerland still holds out against the pressure of the European Union. Seems like the Asteroid Belt does not yet provide adequate tax havens...

[AlexTna]

About the Pacific islands : many are actually atolls (coral islands) and anyhow even normal islands will have a hard time battling rising sea levels. They do have some problems now, so it is plausible that in your time setting most of them don't even exist anymore.

[Harrg]

cool. But why the structure of the Russia (Russian empire)))) doesn't include Ukraine and Belarus and Georgia and Armenia?

[bartmoss]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! - Georgia would have to be taken over by force, for certain. Could happen, but I doubt it. Belarus and Georgia are part of the EU. Armenia and Azerbaijan are an oversight really. Both seem quite pro-EU so I guess it's not that big of a stretch to throw them into the EU camp.

Updated versions:

earth-2174-h.pngearth-2174-h-conflicts.png

PS: Meh, forgot Papua...

[AlexTna]

Does a new British Empire/Commonwealth intrigue you? Thinking of Britain's many political and so on differences with the rest of the EU its plausible they split away. The rest of the former Commonwealth will feel the need for power in numbers (thinking about Canada, Australia, South Africa + the minor ones, on their own they can't do much against an Chinese/American/IU/Indonesian aggression ). Then again I was thinking about their current population to size ratio (very very low for Canada and Australia), but in a century they could even triple their population ( I know Canada is gaining in pop. due to good living conditions and immigration). Good Luck!