What's wrong with Ulster?

From the world map, considering Britain controls all of ulster and Ireland claims it, I guess not pretty things.

Pretty much that, except Ireland doesn't claim it, the IRA-affiliated Ulster Free State does. It's almost turned into a Donbass analogue, without me intending for it to result that way.

Basically...

TTL's alt!WWI ends sooner, allowing the British more focus on the Irish situation, and thus all of Ulster is kept within the UK. The larger Catholic population goes some way to reducing conflict as a power-sharing government is set up from the start, although it's certainly without conflict, however, the Troubles never take off to the full extent that they do in OTL. As the Silent War takes off, France wants to score a win over Britain on their home soil, so they aid nationalists; Britain does not want to lose Northern Ireland and so offers more rights to the Catholic population to appease them. Apart from a few radical groups, no one really takes up arms; the few that do are put down reasonably quickly. Nonetheless, anti-British sentiment is strong in Southern Ireland (as Britain insists on calling it), exacerbated by French aid, resulting in a war of ideas and propaganda fought in Northern Ireland, for the hearts (and votes) of Ulster. As a détente is achieved in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Britain turns its attention elsewhere, and eventually the nationalists gain an edge, winning a large enough majority that they unilaterally declare Ulster's secession from the UK in May 2013. In response, Britain revokes its autonomy and sends in the military to "keep the peace", perceived by some as an invasion. Cue the Troubles on steroids. Ireland maintains it has no connection to the terrorist militias in control of much of the province's west, but everyone knows that they want Ulster back in the fold of the Irish Republic and are resfusing to intervene unless Britain promises a free vote on the status of Ulster as a whole. Britain wants any vote conducted district-by-district, although they'd rather not have it at all. So while the diplomatic stalemate continues, Ulster is still mostly a war zone - except for Counties Antrim and Donegal, firmly under the control of the UK and UFS respectively.

That enough information?

I'm surprised Britain requires additional safety measures, what's up with them?

Mostly the risk of terrorist attacks in relation to the War in Ulster. You'll be okay most of the time, but there'll be a bombing every few weeks, usually near government buildings, and there's a noticeably heavy military presence on the streets of London, Cardiff and Glasgow.

Still travel recommendation tends to overestimate the risk of developped countries that have some civil unstabilities or low level insurgencies even in our world, I doubt Ulster is as dangerous as literally travelling to the middle of the Sahara ITTL, but it is more dangerous than the rest of Europe I guess.

Ohhh... you'd get a pretty good run for your money. Saharan Africa and Egypt form the home of Islamism ITTL, so you'll do okay if you're a Muslim from a non-hostile country. Tasmania is not a non-hostile country, and has a comparatively insignificant population of Muslims, so in general, it's not great, but not an outright war zone.

Uh oh China doesn’t look so good,

No. Slightly further along the path to outright dictatorship than OTL Russia, and fast catching up to OTL China. Countries resisting the China Dream Party's attempt to assert full control are usually met with many of their citizens being arbitrarily detained. Again, Tasmania is not on super-friendly terms with China, and has been very vocal about their arrests of journalists and blatant election fraud. Unfortunately this means that at least six Tasmanian citizens are now tied up in the opaque web that is the Chinese "justice" system.

on the other hand it’s nice to see that the levant is mostly safe,

Oh yes. The butterflies from the alt!WWI (especially strong in the former Ottoman Empire) prevented any Sykes-Picot agreement, and thus when the Créteil is signed, the Middle East ends up very differently. Planning a map on that shortly.

also South Africa looks safe

Indeed. South Africa is more prosperous ITTL, and far safer. More on that to come too.

I didn’t put the “binders full of lore” tag in just to copy @Kanan, I did it cause I really do have that much backstory. I hope I’ll get to share heaps more of it with you!
 
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Australasian federal election, 2017
Not at this point, because he needs the Labour Party to win the election. After the election... probably.

So I've realised that all my talking about Australasian politics means very little without context. So here's some context: the last Australasian federal election. I've got a new computer, which uses a different default font, including for Wikipedia, so my apologies for the very thin font. I hope it's still readable.

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The Australasian federal election of 11 March 2017 was held to elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australasia. The incumbent, centre-left, Labour Party of Australasia, led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, won a second term against the opposition centre-right Australasian National Party led by Opposition Leader Gladys Berejiklian, after Labour formed a minority government, with the support of the Australian Democrats and independent MP Cathy McGowan.

Labour won 95 seats in the 192-seat House of Assembly, two short of the number needed for majority government, resulting in a hung parliament. The balance of power was held by ten crossbench MPs, six from the Australian Democrats, two from the Rural Alliance, one from the First Nations Party, and one independent. After weeks of negotiation, both independent member for Waveroo Cathy McGowan and the Australian Democrats declared they would support the government on votes of confidence and supply. The resulting 102-seat margin allowed Labour to form a minority government and win a second term. One year in, however, the Australian Democrats withdrew their support for Labour, citing "gross mismanagement", "corruption on a record scale" and a "disregard for the Australasian people" as reasons for their decision. In response, Democrats MP for Klemzig, Tim Storer defected from the party, becoming an independent pledging confidence and supply to the Government.

Elections for seats in the Senate were held simultaneously in the Australasian Integrated Territories, in for 4 members of the 96-member chamber. However, as elections to the Senate do not carry constitutional force, Senators were appointed by the incoming House of Assembly in its first session. More than 16 million Australasians were enrolled to vote at the time of the election, as a result of Australasia's mandatory voting policy, turnout for the election was 93%. Preferential ballots were used for elections to the single-member seats of the House of Assembly, with varying methods used in Senatorial elections. The Lower House election and elections in the AITs were conducted by the Federal Electoral Commission of Australasia (FECA). The next election must be held before 4 April 2020.

-​

Questions? Comments? I-hate-its? Where's-that-thing-on-Russia-you-promised-s?
(I know, I'm getting to it. I really need to stop promising things though.)
 
Wow that's an amazing looking article, what did you use to make it?

Looking at the sidebar headlines, British politics in the TL look even more complicated than OTL.

I'm loving the timeline as well, its nice to see the focus of a graphics-based timeline centred on Australia!
 
I'm awestruck. This post itself might've guaranteed that ODAFR is my favorite timeline ever on this site.

No AANW, Look to the west,Male Rising Our Fair Country or People's socialist atlas :p?

But yeah it's looking extremely promising.


The Australasian federal election

-​

Questions? Comments? I-hate-its? Where's-that-thing-on-Russia-you-promised-s?
(I know, I'm getting to it. I really need to stop promising things though.)

Wow, the first nation party does well, Australasia has like 1.3-1.4 millions people of native or predominantly native origin, and they can get more than half of their vote, impressive. that's quite better than the maori party.


Nice to see that yeltsin actually improved the quality of life of russians.

Vietnam as part of the commonwealth? Is this purely for economic/geopolitical reasons or does it have history with britain (at the same time if it was a french colony and fought an independence war against them it would be normal to align with france's enemy, britain.)

Channel tunnel... With the two countries history that seems as unlikely as those bering strait crossing projects...
 
Ooh, questions! I do like me some questions - keep 'em coming!

Wow that's an amazing looking article, what did you use to make it?

Source editing in Google Chrome, taking screenshots and then adding/creating images in GIMP.

Looking at the sidebar headlines, British politics in the TL look even more complicated than OTL.

Yes, well, that tends to happen when you have a war on your doorstep and a full-blown cold war with your neighbours. And before anyone asks, Theresa May is not the PM, she's the Minister for Northern Ireland (aka has almost unlimited power in the province under the terms of the Northern Ireland [Emergency] Act 2012).

I'm loving the timeline as well, its nice to see the focus of a graphics-based timeline centred on Australia!

That's why I made it. Glad you like it!

I'm awestruck. This post itself might've guaranteed that ODAFR is my favorite timeline ever on this site.

Umm... thanks? :):happyblush

Seriously though, thanks. I'm glad you like it that much, although I'm pretty sure it's not the best. It's not even my favourite!

No AANW, Look to the west,Male Rising Our Fair Country or People's socialist atlas :p?

But yeah it's looking extremely promising.

Glad you're liking it too. Glad you like all those ones as well!

Wow, the first nation party does well, Australasia has like 1.3-1.4 millions people of native or predominantly native origin, and they can get more than half of their vote, impressive. that's quite better than the maori party.

It does do better than the Maori Party, although not all the FNP's voters are indigenous. Many voters will vote for the party because they feel that indigenous issues are underrepresented on the national stage (which they are) and that voting for the FNP is the best approach.

If my town has its own electorate it would be interesting to see the electoral map.

It would be. I'd really like to make one, but I can't find any easy way to create alternative electoral maps for Australia and New Zealand. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, or can tell me how they make theirs, I'd be forever (or almost forever) grateful!

Nice to see that yeltsin actually improved the quality of life of russians.

He did, although his friends' quality of life improved at a much greater rate than the average Russian. Nonetheless, the much weaker executive of modern Russia meant that more competent decision makers also had a large part to play in that improvement.

Vietnam as part of the commonwealth? Is this purely for economic/geopolitical reasons or does it have history with britain (at the same time if it was a french colony and fought an independence war against them it would be normal to align with france's enemy, britain.)

'Tis both. Vietnam has been allied with Britain since before their independence, when Britain supported Indochinese campaigns for independence, and in recent years has prospered economically. Seeking the economic and geopolitical stability of the Commonwealth has been a long term goal of Vietnam for the past two decades at least.

Channel tunnel... With the two countries history that seems as unlikely as those bering strait crossing projects...

Yeah. Seems pretty unlikely, although the tunnel could go to Belgium... ;)

What's Bernie Sanders up to ITTL?

Bernie Sanders is currently the only member of a post-Canadian party to hold a seat in Congress outside the formerly Canadian Maritimes, as a member of the DLP. He is the incumbent senior Senator for Vermont and was the "United Left" candidate at the 2016 presidential election, representing the National Progressives, Democratic Labour Party, and the ultra-minor Green Party. Some want him to try again in 2022, but most think he should make way for a younger candidate.

Any further questions? Always happy to answer them... :)
 
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You want more flags? No? I'll give you more flags!

Flag of the Congolese Confederation.png

Flag of the Congolese Confederation

Flag of the East African Federation.png
Flag of the Federation of East Africa

Flag of the South African Federation.png

Flag of the Commonwealth of South Africa

I've got some more substantial things I'm working on, but in the meantime, any questions, or things you'd like to see?
 
I got a few questions:

What are America's major political parties?

How has Italy managed to hold on to a large part of Northern Africa?

What happened to Uruguay and Paraguay?
 
Nice flags, i love the argentinean and South African one. You already mentionned the british sinai, Did Arabia or Israel (I Guess it's an israel? No ww2 may mean less immigration from western europe, but i'm sure the orthodoxist russia would have pushed many jews to leave) invade it and it was taken back at some point? Having the Sinai is pretty redundant when they already have Suez.

When was the french monarchy restaured? 1870? Is it Legitimist or Orleanist? Did the Boulanger coup attempt succeed (note that this one would have more likely collapsed because of its wildly different support bases)

I'd love to see more about New Ulster/Munster and Costa Norde. Were the Maori Wars different?

How do Taiwanese feel about being japanese? IRL they were the best considered japanese colony, and they invested a lot in infrastructures there but it was still pretty shitty all things considered.
 
I got a few questions:

What are America's major political parties?

America still has mostly a two party system; its current iteration has lasted since the realignment of the early 20th century. It is notable for having far more entrenched factionalism than OTL.

The Union Democrats are the incumbent government and the party of the right. They are mostly united around their opposition to big government, high taxes and heavy regulation, pursuing reductions in government spending. Their main factions include the Conservatives, generally socially conservative, opposed to affirmative action, gun control, and illegal immigration. They tend to support a strong military, hold pro-business views and are generally supportive of free trade, and fairly interventionist. The Nationalists are typically further right, and sometimes considered a subset of the conservatives. They are usually protectionist and non-interventionist, favouring high tariffs and isolationism. They generally agree with the conservatives on social issues. The next faction is the Moderates, generally more socially liberal and willing to endorse affirmative action, same-sex marriage, gun control and a larger role of government in people's lives. Finally, there are the Libertarians, generally seeking to reduce government spending, regulation, and taxes. However, they are in favour of gay rights and abortion, free trade and privatisation of assets. They oppose gun control and generally oppose military spending and interventionism.

The National Progressives are the party of the left, also divided into a number of different factions. However, they generally favour heavier government regulation in the pursuit of social equality. Historically, they have been very socially liberal, and social progressives still make up the majority. Factions include the Liberals, overwhelmingly socially progressive, and in favour of gun control, greater immigration, multiculturalism, same-sex marriage and abortion. Further, there are the Centrists, the main dissenting votes on economic policy, the Radicals, generally taking a harder left position on economic issues and staunchly socially liberal. Finally, there is the National Unity faction, happy to endorse the NP economic programme, but socially very conservative. They're the main reason why the 'Progressive' epithet turns into a problem in some areas.

As you can probably guess, members of each party often cross the floor and vote with the other on certain issues, and primaries for every single seat can become quite fierce battles. Presidential primaries are the most bloodthirsty of all, often involving many, many back room deals in order to portray some semblance of a united party.

Now, you know how I said it was 'mostly' two party? That's because of the following. These two parties are the descendants of the main Canadian parties, which did not integrate into the US political scene and retain power in the states of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. In addition, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is a member of the DLP. Each party endorses a candidate from one of the two major parties for national offices, and usually are offered a couple of (non-voting) delegates to party conventions. The Liberals fell out of favour in Anglo Canada after being seen to be too close to the Québécois secessionist movement.

Democratic Labour Party: The DLP, with a 'Social' added to distinguish them from the Union Democrats. Typically side with Liberal candidates from the National Progressives.

United Conservative Party: Typical Westminster-style Tories. The UCP normally holds a party vote to decide which candidate to endorse, although so far it's always been a Union Democrat.

How has Italy managed to hold on to a large part of Northern Africa?

Thank this guy.

What happened to Uruguay and Paraguay?

Uruguay has been a disputed area between Brazil and Argentina for about two centuries now, with each competing for influence and occasionally engaging in wars there. At the moment, Uruguay is occupied by Argentina and has been since the Sixth Uruguayan War, however Brazil claims it. No one has asked the Uruguayans what they want.

Paraguay turned into the battlefield of South America, and progressively lost more and more territory (and men) until no one noticed when Argentina annexed the last remaining vestige of the Paraguayan state.

There is some seriously impressive and creative stuff here. Keep it up.

Thanks a lot! I appreciate the compliments a lot.

Do you think a TV show like Farscape could exist in this setting?

Almost certainly. And don't worry, I'm still working on your earlier question about TV in general.

Nice flags, i love the argentinean and South African one.

Thanks! I think they might be my favourites too.

You already mentionned the british sinai, Did Arabia or Israel (I Guess it's an israel? No ww2 may mean less immigration from western europe, but i'm sure the orthodoxist russia would have pushed many jews to leave) invade it and it was taken back at some point? Having the Sinai is pretty redundant when they already have Suez.

No. The British Sinai was annexed to Egypt after the alt!WWI. When Egypt decided it would rather be independent, an alternate Suez-esque crisis ensued, in which Britain occupied the region around the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt still claims it, but even France now recognises British authority in the region.

And yes it is an Israel, although it is called Palestine; 'twas established as a fulfillment of the Balfour Declaration. Although, there was an alt!WWII, so there was still some migration from western Europe, though most came from Britain and Russia.

When was the french monarchy restaured? 1870? Is it Legitimist or Orleanist? Did the Boulanger coup attempt succeed (note that this one would have more likely collapsed because of its wildly different support bases)

The French monarchy was restored in 1870, when Henri, comte de Chambord, was more willing to compromise. Nowadays it is Orléanist, with King Jean IV on the throne. He has been King of the French and King of New Caledonia (an independent kingdom in personal union) for eighteen days.

I'd love to see more about New Ulster/Munster and Costa Norde. Were the Maori Wars different?

Consider it on the list. The Maori Wars still occurred, but they were quicker and less violent, and with a generally better result for the Maori of New Zealand.

How do Taiwanese feel about being japanese? IRL they were the best considered japanese colony, and they invested a lot in infrastructures there but it was still pretty shitty all things considered.

Most now consider themselves Japanese. Taiwan/Formosa is just as well developed and integrated as the rest of Japan, after a series of colonisation/assimilation efforts coupled with heavy infrastructure investment.

Phew! What a lot of questions! Keep 'em coming!
Any ideas for specific maps or graphics you'd like to see?
 
Is America as polarized ITTL as IOTL 2019?

I would say not. It is still one of the most politically divided nations on the planet, but not as divided as OTL 2019, partly because there have been fewer controversies in recent history (e.g. no Iraq war). Nonetheless, politics is still heavily divided.

What is Portugal status ITTL?

Honestly, not massively different from OTL. Its history was at least superficially similar until the end of WWII (apart from the addition of two Pacific colonies); after that it joined the Nationalist Bloc (often known as the Fascist Four outside the Bloc). Following the deaths of Ciano and Franco within quick succession and an outbreak of revolution, Portugal returned to democracy and allied with the United Kingdom. In the modern day it is more prosperous and stable than OTL's Portugal, and retains close relations with many of its former colonies (with the exceptions of Angola and Mozambique, which fell into the spheres of Brazil and the Commonwealth respectively).

Who was the French noble put on the Polish throne?

King Jaroslaw I is OTL's Prince Jacques d'Orléans. His down-to-earth attitude and willingness to adopt Polish culture endeared him to the Polish people, and his remains one of the most popular monarchies in Europe. His close relationship with the King of France (his brother!) has kept the Franco-Polish alliance alive and well. In this image with the new French king, he is on the left.
 
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