2100: New Countries from GURPS Transhuman Space

[Strategos' Risk]

GURPS is a pen-and-paper RPG series from Steve Jackson Games. In a nutshell, Transhuman Space takes place in a neither dystopian nor utopian 2100, where Earth has done some colonizing, but the real story is that an immense amount of bioengineering has been created, to the extent that obesity is nonexistent due to gene-modifications and there are actual David Brin-style Uplifts of animals. The movement of giving people superhuman abilities through bioengineering is called transhumanism; there’s a nascent movement today called that.

The political situation is as follows [I copied this from the site]:

Three nations (or groups of nations) are dominant and shape the politics on Earth (and beyond): The People's Republic of China (leader in military power and political influence), the European Union (leader in technology and sheer wealth), and the USA (trying hard to catch up to the other two after decades of withdrawal from world affairs).

Several other Powers are also gaining world-wide influence: India (in "danger" of going over to the nanosocialist camp after the next elections), the Pacific Rim Alliance (a military mutual defence pact dominated by Japan, Korea, and Australia), the Transpacific Socialist Alliance (an alliance of so-called "nanosocialist" nations and favorite villain of capitalists everywhere), the Islamic Caliphate (a group of Arabic nations united under a Caliph and dedicated to creating an "ideal" Islamic state), and the South African Coalition (a group of African nations dedicated to mutual economic development). The Duncanites, a loose group of transhumanists and libertarians mostly concentrated in the Main Belt, is also becoming increasingly influential in space.

Nanosocialism (the belief that only governments can make sure that the benefits of technology can be distributed in a way that benefits everyone - and that private individuals or organisations should not be allowed to "own" intellectual property and patents. This isn't so strange if you consider how hard it is for many of the poorest and most afflicted nations today to afford the AIDS treatments they need...)

Anyhow, I don’t have the GURPS book(s), but their site does have a calculator thing that lists all of the series’ countries. Some new countries formed were done so as part of the plot (Canada for some reason breaks up, and there is a war involving China at some point). If someone has the books, I’d really appreciate feedback.

Until then, can anyone help me think of reasons why any of these places might become countries of their own in the future? I’m thinking of any of these future nations are applicable for a different timeline.

In the United States’ Bloc

America Samoa
Marshall Islands
Northern Marianas

Do the island chains above have any reason to leave the U.S.?

In the Caribbean Union

Anguilla (currently British in 2005 in OTL)
Cayman Islands (currently British)
Guadaloupe (I’m not sure what this is referring to)
Turks and Caicos Islands (currently British)
Virgin Islands (currently American)

Is there any reason for these current British dependencies to leave the U.K.?

In the Chinese Bloc

There was a war between China and the Transpacific Socialist Alliance, which includes Vietnam and Myanmar. Would China be willing to “liberate” the following two ethnic enclaves, if there was a war in SE Asia?

Kachin
Shan Republic

In the European Union
Aruba
Bermuda
Brussels
Catalonia
Faroe Islands
Flanders
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Gibraltar
Greenland
Koningsberg
Maritimes
Martinique
Mayotte
Montserrat
Netherlands Antilles
Newfoundland
Quebec
Reunion
Saint Helena
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Scotland
Wallis and Futuna
Wallonia

Of course, I guess some of the islands/possessions in the Americas and Africa might simply be included if the future EU allows autonomous zones of countries to be included, so some of these listed above are not independent nations.

I could talk about the interesting characteristics of the RPG’s EU (Central Asian ex-Soviet nations, like Azerbaijan and Georgia, are included), but I won’t.

Islamic Caliphate
Plastinian Enclaves Asia [Southwest] 14 million 11.7

What the heck is Plastinian?

Pacific Rim Alliance (led by Australia, against China and TPA in three-way cold war)
Alberta & British Columbia
Kanaky republic Oceania 310,000 8.6
Maluku Selantan Asia [Southeast] 3.9 million 10.4
New Guinea (apparently the whole island)
Solomon Islands Oceania 1.4 million 7.5

What’s Kanaky?

South African Coalition (A renaissance of sub-Saharan states)
Tanganyika Africa [East] 125 million 12.7

For some reason, Tanzania breaks up into Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Got any ideas why?

Unaffiliated Nations
Benin Africa [West] 27 million 12.1
Casamance Africa [West] 5.6 million 10.3
Cook Islands Oceania 25,000 3.0
Haut-Zaire Africa [Central] 43 million 9.7
Katanga Africa [Central] 24 million 8.9
Kivu Africa [Central] 46 million 9.8
Kongo Africa [Central] 190 million 11.9
Mekamui Oceania 380,000 8.8
Montreal America [North] 4.9 million 13.0
Nunavut
Sahrawi Republic Africa [North] 840,000 2.8
Sarawak and Sabah Asia
South Sudan
Zanzibar
Zulia America [South] 5.5 million 12.3

What’s Zulia? What’s Mekaumi? Why would Montreal secede?

[Bill Cameron]

Until then, can anyone help me think of reasons why any of these places might become countries of their own in the future? I’m thinking of any of these future nations are applicable for a different timeline.


SR,

I know someone who was in on the playtest of this stuff. SJG playtests most releases via it's web forum. Suffice it to say, he told me the nation creation and splitting you see in the game was done with equal amounts of "What Would Be Cool" and "AH Plausibility" in mind.

I'd asked him the same question you're posing for the same reasons. He enjoys AH too, but he also points out that the idea was to create an enjoyable game setting and not a history textbook of the next 100 years. A lot of the advances, especially in the biotech and space areas, are little more than speculation. By way of example, in 2100 Mars is partially terraformed and genetically modified human can already live on its surface without protective gear.

What the heck is Plastinian?

A typo. It's Palestininan. as in Palestinian Enclaves; i.e. Gaza and the West Bank. Israel still exists and the Enclaves are associates, but not full members, of the Islamic Caliphate. You'll note how the setting kept intact the real world phenomena of Islamic states always wailing about the plight of the Palestinians in the 'occupied territories' while treating Palestinians in their own countries as second-class citizens or worse.

What’s Kanaky?

A polity made up of Kanakas, an actual racial/cultural group in the southwest Pacific.

For some reason, Tanzania breaks up into Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Got any ideas why?

For pretty much the same reason Singapore and Malaysia split. Why should a potential lucrative, cosmopolitan, and (relatively) progressive island be saddled with a shithole mainland backwater? I've been to Tanzania. Shithole is a kind description.

Why would Montreal secede?

The Free City of Montreal and Canada's disintegration are one of the 'Interesting Game Setting' bits and not one of the 'Plausible AH' bits. My friend told me that because Mexico/Central America was always the anarchic nasty region of most near-future settings, they decided to turn the idea on its head and make poor, boring Canada the anarchic nasty region. There's is no other reason for it than it being 'cool'.

[Strategos' Risk]

Ah. Is Quebec a royal French state? I thought that's why it was in the EU.

[Bill Cameron]

Ah. Is Quebec a royal French state? I thought that's why it was in the EU.

No, and France isn't a monarchy either. Where'd you get that bit?

Quebec is in the EU as a run-of-the-mill member nation, just as are the other, former European colonies in the Western hemisphere.

Let's see, the EU is described as:

The Treaty of Warsaw in 2041 saw the balance of power in the European Union swing from national legislatures to direct democracy. Today, decision-making and legislation are largely handled by the European Parliament, which is run on cyberdemocratic lines.

and...

E.U. policies tend to be dominated by a large class of reasonably well-off elderly voters in four of the most powerful member states: France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

No monarchies there.

Oh, cyberdemocracy is a twist the old 'Government by Draftees' idea. The thinking is people randomly selected to do the job for a set period are better than those egotistical enough to run for office and all the campaign; ie. money, lobbyists, bribes, etc. problems that engenders. The twist in this case is that the draftee is assisted by AIs while on the job. Whether this is plausible if left to the reader.


Bill