A possible political situation / political history fleshed out:
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Ufopedia entry: "political situation"
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2084 - A time of relative peace has finally come to Earth. Old wars have been fought out, borders have healed, and governments have stabilized. Former nations and super-nations have coalesced into major political powers, and the United Nations now forms the seat of all World politics. Prosperity is no longer a stranger to many of the peoples of Earth as it once was in the 20th century, and the population now trusts its elected leaders, all experts in their respective fields, to maintain the balance of power and carry them forward into a tranquil, thriving 22nd century.
The Political Powers:
United Americas
Includes the former USA, Canada, Greenland, Cuba, Mexico and the nations of the Central and Southern Americas. After the USA's military activities across the world peaked in 2017, a more inclusive foreign policy in the years that followed was credited as the catalyst for integration with its neighbours and the formation of the Asian Commonwealth and Arab Emirates. Now regarded as a sound moral compass by other World powers, second only to the African Union. Retains its lead in space exploration as a result of the explosion in private enterprise in this area over the past seventy years.
The Greater European Union
The European Union continued its expansion efforts through democratic means to include more and more nations located on the European continent or adjacent to it.
The GEU currently consists of the following countries:
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, FYR Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
A heavyweight political animal, the GEU is a vibrant and often controversial source of political and social thinking. While it packs a punch, it is slow to manoeuvre in all its dealings owing to its bureaucratic infrastructure. Militarily powerful, second to the Asian Commonwealth in size, the GEU is now typically a neutral force, acting only in defense for the past half a century.
The Asian Commonwealth
Spanning China, Mongolia, Japan, the Indonesian archipelago, India and the smaller Asian nations. Art, architecture, manufacturing and finance have become the backbone of the Commonwealth's economic success. Advances in nanotechnology have helped the nations of the Commonwealth to retain their manufacturing prowess; demand for their skills has come from every sector, ranging from bioengineering to space exploration. Now the largest military force, 20% larger than that of the GEU, the Commonwealth also chooses to deploy its arsenel only in defense. Crucially, they are the quickest of all the nations into action, thanks to the organisation of their military into smaller functional units and a wider teaching of rapid reaction techniques throughout their personnel.
The Arab Emirates
Composed of all the countries in the middle east, including Israel. With dwindling oil reserves restricted to pharmaceutical use by international agreement, and the World's energy crisis solved by successive Russian breakthroughs, in search of an income the Emirates have turned to their one remaining, vast resource: sand. Advanced glass technology has driven the expanse of glistening city scapes across the globe. More importantly, and with the notable exception of intense, time critical computation that now relies on diamond based microprocessors, the worldwide demand for computational power has been satiated by the construction of cheap, sprawling silicon processor farms that rise out of the deserts from which they are made.
The African Union
A rising political and economic power spanning the entire continent of Africa and its islands. Its starving population saved by developments in Australia, civil unrest subsided and a new era of growth and social order ensued. A fiercely proud people, they have held up their escape from disease and disarray as an example to the rest of the world. Excelling in finance, politics and social philosophy they are held in the highest regard by other World powers.
Russia
Rediscovered and revived its beleaguered engineering and scientific communities, establishing itself as a powerhouse of great insight and accomplishment in these fields and revered throughout the world for its advances in energy generation, transport and medicine. Such advances have brought with them a greater political voice and international support.
Australia
Agreed in 2024 to play host to experimental terraforming work undertaken by NASA and the ESA, deep in the outback. Originally funded as part of a Martian exploration programme, subsequently aborted, ten years of fruitless research suddenly gave rise to a rapidly expanding antipodean oasis spanning most of the continent. Now the major food supplier to the African Union and parts of the Asian Commonwealth, exports of shrimps and barbecues are at an unprecedented high.
