I see the Islamic folks to be in a particualrly Awkward position, considering that they are actually fairly Socially Conservative when you get right down to it but are going to have difficulty getting into that crowd wohile they will face some clashes with the Buddhist Religous folks and the more secularist groups in New Americanism.
Let The Eagle Scream!
- Thread starter Murica1776
- Start date
Honestly, the Islamic vote when the Philippines achieve statehood (probably divided into two states) is going to be a swing vote that is heavily sought after. The Democrats (who are going to remain the conservatives) will appeal to their traditionalism and subtly encourage them to conform to a more American culture. The Republicans will appeal to their desire to preserve their culture while gently putting their more traditional views aside.
I guess the same would go for the northern Catholic state, and for that matter the Mexican and Central American states.
Also would it be possible for a third group to emerge based on both Conservative Principles (basically that American culture and religiosity is a good thing, along with Soical conservative teaching) and New Americanism (Regulations and acceptance of other religons and races). For example they could allow each school to decide on what prayer they say and try to unite the Christians with the Muslims on certain political matters. What name for it though
Honestly, I think this will be less a coherent political movement and more or less the result of party moderates on both sides uniting. There will be things that each sides ideologues favor, but by in large I think there will be something of an "imperial consensus" if you will that might look quite like this. Since race isn't such a massive, pulsing ulcer ITTL, radicalization isn't going to be able to to take off like it has IOTL. So, more compromises along lines you described are probably likely.
Chapter 44: The New Europe Part I
Chapter 44: The New Europe Part I
In the aftermath of the Second World War, German power in Europe was nigh-limitless. No empire since Rome had so thoroughly and utterly reigned supreme on the continent. However, Germany did not have sole ownership of Europe. In the Balkans, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Greece were satellite states of the UOCS. Ireland remained a stubborn Yankee ally. However, the rest of the continent was in one form or another, an extension of the German Reich. This was especially true in Western and Northern Europe, where only Ireland remained to contest German dominance.
In Germany itself, the nation was experiencing an unprecedented wave of pride and prosperity, even as concerns about India mounted. However, the "Golden Germanic Age" that lasted from 1945-1962 was a time where it was better to be a German than to be almost anyone else. Wealth poured into the country from the colonies, even from India despite the grinding Crisis. The Freedom of Travel and Trade Accord signed by Germany's allies in 1947 allowed German goods and people to move freely across the continent, while also allowing Germany access to cheap Eastern European labor. This was supplemented by the Continental Autobahn, which saw all of German Europe build vast new roads and rail systems to connect the continent even more thoroughly than before. The Accord would outlast the vast German colonial empire, and form the basis for future European, Mid East, and African integration. The mood in Germany was one of optimism for the future, best exemplified by Germany's space program. To the chagrin of the Americans, the Germans managed to get the first object in space in 1953, dubbed Bismarck, and the first man into orbit in 1954. However, the gradual drain on resources caused by the Indian Crisis diverted funds and allowed the Americans to catch up and surpass the German program by the mid-60's. The era wasn't all peace and happiness though. Although government censorship downplayed the worst tragedies and humiliations in India and helped suppress fears of war with the US or UOCS, many Germans had a vague feeling of anxiety, something which was reflected in German culture of the time. Although many movies (and later TV shows) were blindingly optimistic, featuring heroic European explorers in outer space or depicting happy family lives of ordinary German village folk, edgier and grittier films filled with anxiety, paranoia, and the common image of a successful, decent, hard-working man who's luck is starting to turn for the worse became underground hits. The German government took some steps to stamp out these movies, but censorship remained lax till the post-India Crisis era. German films and movies were also exported across the continent, and German popular culture quickly became popular with the European masses. With its focus on faith, family, fatherland, and the problems and triumphs of the common people, it was the kind of comforting conservatism the European people needed after the traumas of the past few decades.
The Italians were also experiencing a Golden Age of vitality and imperial strength, one that would actually outlast the German one. The expansion of the Italian Empire in Africa made them a legitimate Great Power, albeit one still relatively subordinate to Germany. However, the 50's saw the Italians begin to build up their own sphere. They were the direct puppetmasters of Argentina and Chile, which was an immense boon to Italian power abroad. More subtly, the Italians also started cutting into the German sphere somewhat, mainly in Portugal and Yugoslavia. This earned Rome some reprimands, but wasn't taken too seriously. Nonetheless, the feeling that Germany was suffocating Italian ambitions for a "Spazio Vitale" or "vital space" where Italy could have power was increasing. However, Rome was generally content with the post-war boom years, and spent its time setting the example for the rest of the European colonial empires by beginning to value culture over race, and starting a giant Italianization program in the colonies. This was directly linked to a messianic wave of Neo-Roman influence in Italy. The new Italy was held to be the Third Roman Empire, and this influence was trickling in everywhere. The Kingdom of Italy was renamed the Italian Empire to much fanfare in 1952. The King henceforth became the Caesar of the Italians. The President and Prime Minister became the First and Second Consul respectively in 1950. The Chamber of Deputies was renamed the Assembly in honor of the Roman one. In a more practical sense, there was a revival of the Roman virtues and culture in daily life, driven just as much (if not more) by the common people as the authorities. Parents and teachers instilled their children with a sense of classical virtue, martial honor, and spiritualistic patriotism, infused with a heavy strain of Catholicism. The school system also began focusing rather heavily on fields related to engineering such as math and science, rightly noting "soldiers may have conquered Rome's empire, but engineers built it." Glorification of the military as "the New Legions of Rome" was omnipresent. Most importantly for the future of the Empire, the government and people largely embraced the old Roman practice of granting citizenship to the culturally Italianized. Germany would only follow this example after the India Crisis destroyed the remaining supports for white supremacy in the Empire. Meanwhile, by the end of the 50's, Algeria had seen enough Italianization that it became the first "Represented Province" in the Italian Parliament, and other North African states were quickly gaining ground despite residual literacy problems, and some extremist Muslims.
The Dutch were surprisingly a power player in their own right, albeit not on the level of the Italians. The re-incorporation of South Africa as essentially a Dominion of the Empire was a massive boost to prestige, and also helped spark the Netherlands own economic boom. The Dutch used their newfound muscle to turn Belgium into an economic dependency, as it was still recovering from the war and needed loans. The Australian Affair was a direct outgrowth of growing Dutch pride and the belief that they could bend at least some part of the world to their will. The actual result of the Affair dampened Dutch enthusiasm for the Empire and their country's newfound power, but didn't kill it. There were anxieties about the institution of Apartheid in South Africa, but many ignored these thoughts and focused on rising living standards and a Netherlands that was more powerful than it had been since the First Golden Age centuries ago.
In France and Britain, life was far humbler. Stripped of their empires, invaded by their enemies, and bombed into rubble, there was little cause for jubilation. In France, the Republic was ended after 70 years, and a Bonaparte pretender installed on the throne. In Britain, the royal family was forced to publicly denounce the IngNat regime, and the revelation of the End Plan led to a national crisis. The collapse in self-confidence in these nations was actually a hindrance to Berlin. The Germans needed them to be militaristic enough to be willing to contribute to foreign adventures, as mere coercion would only wring out a few thousand green recruits from shruken militaries. To this end the Germans collaborated with local governments to sell a new view of the Unitist era. While obviously evil and wrong, Unitism was said to have been the result of innocent people being duped by their leaders, not necessarily a bad reflection on the people or nation themselves. This was widely unpopular in the nations invaded by the Unitists, who remembered full well the newsreels of screaming masses and the war crimes of ordinary soldiers. However, the combined propaganda apparatuses of all the European powers went to work smoothing everything over, and a general consensus was made. A revival of French and British national pride really took off in the second half of the 50's, and thousands of French veterans and young men fought in India and elsewhere on behalf of Germany to "prove that we still have it." The British wisely decided to sit that one out for obvious reasons.
Spain and Portugal, the last two Unitist powers in Western Europe, were doing modestly well for themselves. While the Spanish Empire had been reduced to a small, dusty slice of Morocco, at least they still had something. Plus, the Spanish made a great deal of money helping the Germans rebuild Southern France, which had been an invaluable boost to the economy. Some Spanish were still eager to try and reclaim swathes of the old Empire, but the practical domination of Madrid by Berlin, and the titanic power of the Americans who had claimed so much of their old colonies, meant that this movement gradually shrank. Instead, Spanish Unitists sought to claim a profitable spot in the German order, and they were largely successful. Portugal, on the other hand, still had sizable African territories that were incredibly profitable. Their brand of Unitism called for race-mixing between the Portuguese settlers and the natives, as well as a more pluralistic style of empire. This idea had deep roots in the Portuguese imperial project, which had always been less concerned with racial purity than their rivals. This helped maintain Lisbon's dominance of its African territories, while also pushing them closer to the Italians. The Germans were still very puritanical about the "proper relations" between colonizer and colonized, and would remain so to a lesser extent for decades. The Italians were much closer to the Portuguese ideal, and this opened an opportunity for Rome to build a new relationship with the Unitist government. Trade treaties and intelligence sharing agreements were signed between the two powers in the 50's, and Portugal even hosted several thousand Italian troops starting in 1958. This would have alarmed Berlin if it weren't for the fact that the India Crisis was consuming more and more resources and attention. As the 60's dawned, the Unitist government was already making preparations to become a full Italian ally when Germany started to fade.
The Scandinavians were among Germany's more troublesome allies. Having been close to Berlin since the 1880's, the Nordic powers had contributed troops to German imperial adventures and both World Wars. They even had special privileges in the German colonies not afforded to any other power aside from the Italians, such as the right to invest large amounts in resource development. The Scandinavians were proud of their military heritage and of the growing ethnic and cultural unity between them fostered by both the Germans and their own governments to ease cooperation. However, they were also tired of fighting. They had no grand empires to defend, nor did they have any unified, original imperial ideal to keep them invested in maintaining the global German Reich. On the surface, little changed at first. Thousands of Swedes, Danes, Finns, and Norwegians went off to fight in India with little complaint, even as the number of men coming home in flag wrapped coffins increased. However, it was clear that a shift was occurring. The Swedes downsized their substantial navy, and created a universal health care system for their people. The other Scandinavians would follow this example. Governments became more reluctant to contribute troops to Germany's never-ending war to keep the Empire. However, it wouldn't be till the post-India Crisis era that a real rift began to form.
Ireland, and Ireland alone, resisted German power in Europe. Instead, they were firmly pro-American. The Irish felt they owed much to America, and not without reason. Americans had fought in their war of independence, liberated them from IngNat Britain, and helped them reclaim the entirety of the Emerald Isle after WWII. Millions of Americans were fully or partially of Irish blood, and several thousand American servicemen came home with Irish brides. In short, blood, culture, and history bound the two nations together in a way that few other nations could be bound. Many started speaking of the "special relationship" between Ireland and America, while others derided Ireland as "American Occupied Ireland." Ireland experienced an economic boom in the post-war years, profiting off of special trade deals with the Americans and their empire, while also still doing some trade with the German sphere. Ireland also became home to 5 US Air Force bases in the 50's, leading many American soldiers to affectionately call the country "Eirestrip One." Although allied with the most liberal of the three superpowers, the Irish were a profoundly conservative country in this era. Catholicism was state-enforced, and Irish nationalism was incredibly intense, especially against the hated British. Sometimes, this made the Irish difficult to work with, but overall the Irish were celebrated as an allied people and the "Emerald Fortress of Freedom" staring down a Europe dominated by German imperialism and Russian totalitarianism.
The famed Cafe Wintergarten opened in Berlin in 1951. It became a hotspot for the booming nightlife of the city.
Enrico De Nicola, the first First Consul of the Italian Empire
Dutch soldiers in South Africa
Napoleon VI of France
Portuguese Native Auxiliary troops on patrol in Mozambique
The thriving city of Stockholm circa 1954
US Air Force jets stationed in Ireland
In the aftermath of the Second World War, German power in Europe was nigh-limitless. No empire since Rome had so thoroughly and utterly reigned supreme on the continent. However, Germany did not have sole ownership of Europe. In the Balkans, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Greece were satellite states of the UOCS. Ireland remained a stubborn Yankee ally. However, the rest of the continent was in one form or another, an extension of the German Reich. This was especially true in Western and Northern Europe, where only Ireland remained to contest German dominance.
In Germany itself, the nation was experiencing an unprecedented wave of pride and prosperity, even as concerns about India mounted. However, the "Golden Germanic Age" that lasted from 1945-1962 was a time where it was better to be a German than to be almost anyone else. Wealth poured into the country from the colonies, even from India despite the grinding Crisis. The Freedom of Travel and Trade Accord signed by Germany's allies in 1947 allowed German goods and people to move freely across the continent, while also allowing Germany access to cheap Eastern European labor. This was supplemented by the Continental Autobahn, which saw all of German Europe build vast new roads and rail systems to connect the continent even more thoroughly than before. The Accord would outlast the vast German colonial empire, and form the basis for future European, Mid East, and African integration. The mood in Germany was one of optimism for the future, best exemplified by Germany's space program. To the chagrin of the Americans, the Germans managed to get the first object in space in 1953, dubbed Bismarck, and the first man into orbit in 1954. However, the gradual drain on resources caused by the Indian Crisis diverted funds and allowed the Americans to catch up and surpass the German program by the mid-60's. The era wasn't all peace and happiness though. Although government censorship downplayed the worst tragedies and humiliations in India and helped suppress fears of war with the US or UOCS, many Germans had a vague feeling of anxiety, something which was reflected in German culture of the time. Although many movies (and later TV shows) were blindingly optimistic, featuring heroic European explorers in outer space or depicting happy family lives of ordinary German village folk, edgier and grittier films filled with anxiety, paranoia, and the common image of a successful, decent, hard-working man who's luck is starting to turn for the worse became underground hits. The German government took some steps to stamp out these movies, but censorship remained lax till the post-India Crisis era. German films and movies were also exported across the continent, and German popular culture quickly became popular with the European masses. With its focus on faith, family, fatherland, and the problems and triumphs of the common people, it was the kind of comforting conservatism the European people needed after the traumas of the past few decades.
The Italians were also experiencing a Golden Age of vitality and imperial strength, one that would actually outlast the German one. The expansion of the Italian Empire in Africa made them a legitimate Great Power, albeit one still relatively subordinate to Germany. However, the 50's saw the Italians begin to build up their own sphere. They were the direct puppetmasters of Argentina and Chile, which was an immense boon to Italian power abroad. More subtly, the Italians also started cutting into the German sphere somewhat, mainly in Portugal and Yugoslavia. This earned Rome some reprimands, but wasn't taken too seriously. Nonetheless, the feeling that Germany was suffocating Italian ambitions for a "Spazio Vitale" or "vital space" where Italy could have power was increasing. However, Rome was generally content with the post-war boom years, and spent its time setting the example for the rest of the European colonial empires by beginning to value culture over race, and starting a giant Italianization program in the colonies. This was directly linked to a messianic wave of Neo-Roman influence in Italy. The new Italy was held to be the Third Roman Empire, and this influence was trickling in everywhere. The Kingdom of Italy was renamed the Italian Empire to much fanfare in 1952. The King henceforth became the Caesar of the Italians. The President and Prime Minister became the First and Second Consul respectively in 1950. The Chamber of Deputies was renamed the Assembly in honor of the Roman one. In a more practical sense, there was a revival of the Roman virtues and culture in daily life, driven just as much (if not more) by the common people as the authorities. Parents and teachers instilled their children with a sense of classical virtue, martial honor, and spiritualistic patriotism, infused with a heavy strain of Catholicism. The school system also began focusing rather heavily on fields related to engineering such as math and science, rightly noting "soldiers may have conquered Rome's empire, but engineers built it." Glorification of the military as "the New Legions of Rome" was omnipresent. Most importantly for the future of the Empire, the government and people largely embraced the old Roman practice of granting citizenship to the culturally Italianized. Germany would only follow this example after the India Crisis destroyed the remaining supports for white supremacy in the Empire. Meanwhile, by the end of the 50's, Algeria had seen enough Italianization that it became the first "Represented Province" in the Italian Parliament, and other North African states were quickly gaining ground despite residual literacy problems, and some extremist Muslims.
The Dutch were surprisingly a power player in their own right, albeit not on the level of the Italians. The re-incorporation of South Africa as essentially a Dominion of the Empire was a massive boost to prestige, and also helped spark the Netherlands own economic boom. The Dutch used their newfound muscle to turn Belgium into an economic dependency, as it was still recovering from the war and needed loans. The Australian Affair was a direct outgrowth of growing Dutch pride and the belief that they could bend at least some part of the world to their will. The actual result of the Affair dampened Dutch enthusiasm for the Empire and their country's newfound power, but didn't kill it. There were anxieties about the institution of Apartheid in South Africa, but many ignored these thoughts and focused on rising living standards and a Netherlands that was more powerful than it had been since the First Golden Age centuries ago.
In France and Britain, life was far humbler. Stripped of their empires, invaded by their enemies, and bombed into rubble, there was little cause for jubilation. In France, the Republic was ended after 70 years, and a Bonaparte pretender installed on the throne. In Britain, the royal family was forced to publicly denounce the IngNat regime, and the revelation of the End Plan led to a national crisis. The collapse in self-confidence in these nations was actually a hindrance to Berlin. The Germans needed them to be militaristic enough to be willing to contribute to foreign adventures, as mere coercion would only wring out a few thousand green recruits from shruken militaries. To this end the Germans collaborated with local governments to sell a new view of the Unitist era. While obviously evil and wrong, Unitism was said to have been the result of innocent people being duped by their leaders, not necessarily a bad reflection on the people or nation themselves. This was widely unpopular in the nations invaded by the Unitists, who remembered full well the newsreels of screaming masses and the war crimes of ordinary soldiers. However, the combined propaganda apparatuses of all the European powers went to work smoothing everything over, and a general consensus was made. A revival of French and British national pride really took off in the second half of the 50's, and thousands of French veterans and young men fought in India and elsewhere on behalf of Germany to "prove that we still have it." The British wisely decided to sit that one out for obvious reasons.
Spain and Portugal, the last two Unitist powers in Western Europe, were doing modestly well for themselves. While the Spanish Empire had been reduced to a small, dusty slice of Morocco, at least they still had something. Plus, the Spanish made a great deal of money helping the Germans rebuild Southern France, which had been an invaluable boost to the economy. Some Spanish were still eager to try and reclaim swathes of the old Empire, but the practical domination of Madrid by Berlin, and the titanic power of the Americans who had claimed so much of their old colonies, meant that this movement gradually shrank. Instead, Spanish Unitists sought to claim a profitable spot in the German order, and they were largely successful. Portugal, on the other hand, still had sizable African territories that were incredibly profitable. Their brand of Unitism called for race-mixing between the Portuguese settlers and the natives, as well as a more pluralistic style of empire. This idea had deep roots in the Portuguese imperial project, which had always been less concerned with racial purity than their rivals. This helped maintain Lisbon's dominance of its African territories, while also pushing them closer to the Italians. The Germans were still very puritanical about the "proper relations" between colonizer and colonized, and would remain so to a lesser extent for decades. The Italians were much closer to the Portuguese ideal, and this opened an opportunity for Rome to build a new relationship with the Unitist government. Trade treaties and intelligence sharing agreements were signed between the two powers in the 50's, and Portugal even hosted several thousand Italian troops starting in 1958. This would have alarmed Berlin if it weren't for the fact that the India Crisis was consuming more and more resources and attention. As the 60's dawned, the Unitist government was already making preparations to become a full Italian ally when Germany started to fade.
The Scandinavians were among Germany's more troublesome allies. Having been close to Berlin since the 1880's, the Nordic powers had contributed troops to German imperial adventures and both World Wars. They even had special privileges in the German colonies not afforded to any other power aside from the Italians, such as the right to invest large amounts in resource development. The Scandinavians were proud of their military heritage and of the growing ethnic and cultural unity between them fostered by both the Germans and their own governments to ease cooperation. However, they were also tired of fighting. They had no grand empires to defend, nor did they have any unified, original imperial ideal to keep them invested in maintaining the global German Reich. On the surface, little changed at first. Thousands of Swedes, Danes, Finns, and Norwegians went off to fight in India with little complaint, even as the number of men coming home in flag wrapped coffins increased. However, it was clear that a shift was occurring. The Swedes downsized their substantial navy, and created a universal health care system for their people. The other Scandinavians would follow this example. Governments became more reluctant to contribute troops to Germany's never-ending war to keep the Empire. However, it wouldn't be till the post-India Crisis era that a real rift began to form.
Ireland, and Ireland alone, resisted German power in Europe. Instead, they were firmly pro-American. The Irish felt they owed much to America, and not without reason. Americans had fought in their war of independence, liberated them from IngNat Britain, and helped them reclaim the entirety of the Emerald Isle after WWII. Millions of Americans were fully or partially of Irish blood, and several thousand American servicemen came home with Irish brides. In short, blood, culture, and history bound the two nations together in a way that few other nations could be bound. Many started speaking of the "special relationship" between Ireland and America, while others derided Ireland as "American Occupied Ireland." Ireland experienced an economic boom in the post-war years, profiting off of special trade deals with the Americans and their empire, while also still doing some trade with the German sphere. Ireland also became home to 5 US Air Force bases in the 50's, leading many American soldiers to affectionately call the country "Eirestrip One." Although allied with the most liberal of the three superpowers, the Irish were a profoundly conservative country in this era. Catholicism was state-enforced, and Irish nationalism was incredibly intense, especially against the hated British. Sometimes, this made the Irish difficult to work with, but overall the Irish were celebrated as an allied people and the "Emerald Fortress of Freedom" staring down a Europe dominated by German imperialism and Russian totalitarianism.
The famed Cafe Wintergarten opened in Berlin in 1951. It became a hotspot for the booming nightlife of the city.
Enrico De Nicola, the first First Consul of the Italian Empire
Dutch soldiers in South Africa
Napoleon VI of France
Portuguese Native Auxiliary troops on patrol in Mozambique
The thriving city of Stockholm circa 1954
US Air Force jets stationed in Ireland
1. I would think the Irish Defense Forces and police/security forces would be larger and more well armed than IOTL.
2. How many 'Volunteer Legions' went to fight with the Germans in India?
3. What is the state of organized crime in Europe and the US?
2. How many 'Volunteer Legions' went to fight with the Germans in India?
3. What is the state of organized crime in Europe and the US?
The Irish Defense Force is indeed a fair bit larger. They might even do an Israel style mandatory service period.
I don't have a precise number in mind but I'd say maybe about 12 from Scandinavia, 10 from Italy, 4-5 from Portugal, 3-4 from Spain, and maybe about 7-10 from the Dutch and South Africa
Organized crime is actually going to be covered pretty soon. I imagine that ITTL, the Irish Mob will dominate the US, especially in the North, and the Italians run organized crime throughout the European sphere.
I would be interested in seeing how Italy handles the probably coming period of socially progressive youth culture. Will their roman system collapse or adapt into a starship troopers like egalitarian military democracy?
First man in space by 1954 isn't completely unreasonable, given sooner and higher investment into rocket technology, but to make that date work the "first object in space" date should be somewhere in the mid 40's. In OTL the first object was put in space in 1949 as part of the Bumper program, and it took 12 years from that point to get the first person into orbit.
Thanks about the faves of the above post. Do any of you like the idea of Mosley wring this world verison of 1984. Or maybe is son niclous could have writen . Niclos Mossly was an author or little note. I kind of little niclous moosly being the big guy on britain undergornd pro american press cirucitl.
His son seems to really like changing how his name is spelled. Makes sense I suppose, need to stay ahead of the censors.
Neo-Romanism
Neo-Romanism:
Throughout Italy's Imperial Era, the nation entertained notions of recreating the Roman Empire. However, starting in the 1920's and fully crystallizing in the 1950's, an actual ideology fusing religion, Italian Nationalism, and a cyclical view of history formed. Throughout out the interwar and WWII years this ideology grew in strength, becoming the de facto state ideology of the Italian Empire, regardless of which party was in charge. The real difference would be between the Mussolinians and the Evolians, who had different visions of a Nova Roma.
The originators of this ideology were the Baron Giulio Cesare Evola and WWI hero Captain Benito Mussolini, who would rise to the rank of General by WWII. The two men actually met in the Army, where Evola served as an artillery officer, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel thanks to his aristocratic pedigree. Despite the differences of rank and background between the two, they became fast friends. After the War, Evola was granted a seat of honor at the ceremony where Mussolini was made Knight Grand Cross with cordon (Cavaliere di Gran Croce con cordone) the highest possible rank of chivalry in the Italian Kingdom, in recognition of his brilliant and brave actions in the French Alps, where his strategic thinking and willingness to hold the line helped save the entire front on more than one occasion. Mussolini was also admitted to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre for his conduct. Despite it all, Mussolini was famously humble and insisted on being called either General or Mr. depending on the circumstances. The Baron Evola himself won several medals for bravery, but was overshadowed by the titanic heroism of his friend.
After the War, the two men lived in Rome. Mussolini was a native Roman, and the first thing he did was marry his longtime sweetheart Maria, nicknamed "The Virgin Maria" for her religiosity and demure behavior. Evola was a famous playboy, and the tension between his libertinism and Maria's conservatism would be the root of the eventual split between the two men. However, throughout the interwar period the men remained close, and it was during their famous evening drinking sessions that Neo-Romanism began to emerge.
Both men were ardent Italian patriots and heavily admired Ancient Rome. Both wanted to create some kind of New Roman Empire, and they discussed the how, why, and what of this issue at length. Eventually, after hearing their discussions stretch on particularly long into the night one particular evening, Maria suggested that they write it all down if it's so important to them. They did, and their 1923 treatise "On the Formation of a New Rome" became an incredibly influential bestseller. Ideas from both men were melded. Mussolini proposed that Italian nationhood and Catholicism was the "Final Completion" of Roman, and indeed human civilization. The Italian people needed to awaken to their ancient heritage, and meld it with the best of modernity. The virtues of the ancient patrician, the faith of the medieval crusader, and the rationality of modern technology and civic nationalism should be combined to create a new Empire, that would spread progress and the true faith across the world. To this end, Mussolini included a very detailed and surprisingly realistic plan of expansion for the Italian Empire to achieve its goals. Evola's thought was more spiritualistic, while also being far less Catholic. He argued for a radically altered Italian nation that practiced a militaristic "imperialism of the spirit." Before Rome could truly be rebuilt, the Roman Man must be reconstructed in the heart of every Italian. He also wrote about the Hindu vision of the cycles of history, and argued that the previous era of Italian division and the triumph of other European powers was the Kali Yuga, or Dark Age, but that the triumph of Rome could build a new Golden Age. Despite some of the contradictory threads and the different natures of the two men's thoughts, Evola's education in literature combined with Mussolini's almost inherent ability to connect with the Italian people made it extremely readable and popular for blue collar worker and aristocrat alike.
The next several years saw the men write two sequels to their book, ironing out and refining their ideology. However, a rift was growing. By 1930, Mussolini was a father to three children who he was raising to be good Catholics. Evola, on the other hand, was still living his playboy lifestyle, and had gotten heavily involved with mysticism, including Hinduism and an aristocratic cult that arose around Jupiter as the progenitor of the Italian aristocracy. Mussolini had a private discussion with Evola on October 8th, 1930. He wrote in his diary that he "Wanted to bring his brother back to righteousness." What actually happened that day is a mystery. What we do know is that in the aftermath, Mussolini declared a "damnatio memoriae" in his household regarding Evola, forbidding the very mention of his name. For his part, Evola adopted the name Julius, and declared that "my time with the brainwashed peasant is over."
Throughout the 1930's, the two men wrote competing books that expounded their vision of a New Rome. Mussolini came into his own as a modern civic nationalist, who had a vision of an Italy that followed the example of the Republic more than the Empire, although he firmly supported the monarchy as at least a symbolic institution. The right to liberty and to influence one's government was the hallmark of the Republic, and this system was seen as an important way to get natives in the colonies to buy into the Italian Empire. However, Mussolini proposed a catch to this egalitarian system; a stratocracy. Yes, liberty and the right to shape the state were important. However, these things should only be guaranteed to those that serve the state. Thus, for a truly fair state to protect the liberty of the Italian people to exist, that liberty should only be available to those who are willing to labor or fight on its behalf. This idea became exceedingly popular in the post WWII era, and would eventually be enacted. He also had the idea of engraining the Classical Virtues of Honor, Bravery, etc into schoolchildren, which caught on quickly.
Evola took a stranger, more aristocratic and esoteric path. He argued that the patricians are what made Rome great, with their sturdy values, noble gods, and "warrior spirits." If the Italians were to thrive and succeed once more, they would have to become "patricians of the spirit" and also create and empower a new "warrior patrician aristocracy." Perhaps his most controversial statement was his belief that the Catholic Church needed to be "Romanized, then phased out." According to Evola, the Church had been a vehicle to spread "limp-wristed Eastern values" like tolerance, mercy, and charity. The Roman Empire was a tough nation, and it needed a tough religion native to its soil, not the "ramblings of a Jew carpenter." With that in mind, the State should gradually reintroduce the Roman pantheon as the state religion.
Predictably, Mussolini's more practical version caught on first, and would eventually shape Italy's future. However, Evola wasn't without his followers, and they too implemented some more practical versions of his beliefs. The divide between these schools would help define later Italian politics.
General Mussolini, Founder of the Mussolinian School of Neo-Romanism
Baron Giulio "Julius" Evola
Members of the Roman Youth of the Fasces, a neo-Romanist answer to the Boy Scouts
Throughout Italy's Imperial Era, the nation entertained notions of recreating the Roman Empire. However, starting in the 1920's and fully crystallizing in the 1950's, an actual ideology fusing religion, Italian Nationalism, and a cyclical view of history formed. Throughout out the interwar and WWII years this ideology grew in strength, becoming the de facto state ideology of the Italian Empire, regardless of which party was in charge. The real difference would be between the Mussolinians and the Evolians, who had different visions of a Nova Roma.
The originators of this ideology were the Baron Giulio Cesare Evola and WWI hero Captain Benito Mussolini, who would rise to the rank of General by WWII. The two men actually met in the Army, where Evola served as an artillery officer, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel thanks to his aristocratic pedigree. Despite the differences of rank and background between the two, they became fast friends. After the War, Evola was granted a seat of honor at the ceremony where Mussolini was made Knight Grand Cross with cordon (Cavaliere di Gran Croce con cordone) the highest possible rank of chivalry in the Italian Kingdom, in recognition of his brilliant and brave actions in the French Alps, where his strategic thinking and willingness to hold the line helped save the entire front on more than one occasion. Mussolini was also admitted to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre for his conduct. Despite it all, Mussolini was famously humble and insisted on being called either General or Mr. depending on the circumstances. The Baron Evola himself won several medals for bravery, but was overshadowed by the titanic heroism of his friend.
After the War, the two men lived in Rome. Mussolini was a native Roman, and the first thing he did was marry his longtime sweetheart Maria, nicknamed "The Virgin Maria" for her religiosity and demure behavior. Evola was a famous playboy, and the tension between his libertinism and Maria's conservatism would be the root of the eventual split between the two men. However, throughout the interwar period the men remained close, and it was during their famous evening drinking sessions that Neo-Romanism began to emerge.
Both men were ardent Italian patriots and heavily admired Ancient Rome. Both wanted to create some kind of New Roman Empire, and they discussed the how, why, and what of this issue at length. Eventually, after hearing their discussions stretch on particularly long into the night one particular evening, Maria suggested that they write it all down if it's so important to them. They did, and their 1923 treatise "On the Formation of a New Rome" became an incredibly influential bestseller. Ideas from both men were melded. Mussolini proposed that Italian nationhood and Catholicism was the "Final Completion" of Roman, and indeed human civilization. The Italian people needed to awaken to their ancient heritage, and meld it with the best of modernity. The virtues of the ancient patrician, the faith of the medieval crusader, and the rationality of modern technology and civic nationalism should be combined to create a new Empire, that would spread progress and the true faith across the world. To this end, Mussolini included a very detailed and surprisingly realistic plan of expansion for the Italian Empire to achieve its goals. Evola's thought was more spiritualistic, while also being far less Catholic. He argued for a radically altered Italian nation that practiced a militaristic "imperialism of the spirit." Before Rome could truly be rebuilt, the Roman Man must be reconstructed in the heart of every Italian. He also wrote about the Hindu vision of the cycles of history, and argued that the previous era of Italian division and the triumph of other European powers was the Kali Yuga, or Dark Age, but that the triumph of Rome could build a new Golden Age. Despite some of the contradictory threads and the different natures of the two men's thoughts, Evola's education in literature combined with Mussolini's almost inherent ability to connect with the Italian people made it extremely readable and popular for blue collar worker and aristocrat alike.
The next several years saw the men write two sequels to their book, ironing out and refining their ideology. However, a rift was growing. By 1930, Mussolini was a father to three children who he was raising to be good Catholics. Evola, on the other hand, was still living his playboy lifestyle, and had gotten heavily involved with mysticism, including Hinduism and an aristocratic cult that arose around Jupiter as the progenitor of the Italian aristocracy. Mussolini had a private discussion with Evola on October 8th, 1930. He wrote in his diary that he "Wanted to bring his brother back to righteousness." What actually happened that day is a mystery. What we do know is that in the aftermath, Mussolini declared a "damnatio memoriae" in his household regarding Evola, forbidding the very mention of his name. For his part, Evola adopted the name Julius, and declared that "my time with the brainwashed peasant is over."
Throughout the 1930's, the two men wrote competing books that expounded their vision of a New Rome. Mussolini came into his own as a modern civic nationalist, who had a vision of an Italy that followed the example of the Republic more than the Empire, although he firmly supported the monarchy as at least a symbolic institution. The right to liberty and to influence one's government was the hallmark of the Republic, and this system was seen as an important way to get natives in the colonies to buy into the Italian Empire. However, Mussolini proposed a catch to this egalitarian system; a stratocracy. Yes, liberty and the right to shape the state were important. However, these things should only be guaranteed to those that serve the state. Thus, for a truly fair state to protect the liberty of the Italian people to exist, that liberty should only be available to those who are willing to labor or fight on its behalf. This idea became exceedingly popular in the post WWII era, and would eventually be enacted. He also had the idea of engraining the Classical Virtues of Honor, Bravery, etc into schoolchildren, which caught on quickly.
Evola took a stranger, more aristocratic and esoteric path. He argued that the patricians are what made Rome great, with their sturdy values, noble gods, and "warrior spirits." If the Italians were to thrive and succeed once more, they would have to become "patricians of the spirit" and also create and empower a new "warrior patrician aristocracy." Perhaps his most controversial statement was his belief that the Catholic Church needed to be "Romanized, then phased out." According to Evola, the Church had been a vehicle to spread "limp-wristed Eastern values" like tolerance, mercy, and charity. The Roman Empire was a tough nation, and it needed a tough religion native to its soil, not the "ramblings of a Jew carpenter." With that in mind, the State should gradually reintroduce the Roman pantheon as the state religion.
Predictably, Mussolini's more practical version caught on first, and would eventually shape Italy's future. However, Evola wasn't without his followers, and they too implemented some more practical versions of his beliefs. The divide between these schools would help define later Italian politics.
General Mussolini, Founder of the Mussolinian School of Neo-Romanism
Baron Giulio "Julius" Evola
Members of the Roman Youth of the Fasces, a neo-Romanist answer to the Boy Scouts
I actually used your Starship Troopers idea for the neo-Romanist chapter! I honestly think the Italian Empire will at least partially survive as a Greater Italy around the Mediterranean and whatnot. They're going to be a more malleable and less authoritarian empire, which when combined with an earlier and more complete embrace of the non-white population compared to the others, will actually mean that the population will think of themselves as Italian, much like in Roman times. Especially since I can see religious toleration coming for loyal citizens.
Thank you for that! I'll get ready to edit that chapter. Given that the Germans get to keep men like von Braun and others, I think maybe the first object being in space in say 1947 and the first man being in space in around 1959 could work. It could also be a symbolic last hurrah of the German Golden Age.
The Chinese Navy isn't too strong right now. They're protected by the US Navy, and are more concerned with the Russians and the Middle East than anyone over the sea.
The boysscouts were found in britan. I think TTL the boys scout would probbly be twisted by evil orwell into something resmelbing hitler youth. I doubt that there would be american boyscouts or if there were they would disbanded in ww2. I feel that the main youth orgaiztion in america would either be the woodcraft indaians/woodcraft league or the camp fire usa
Seems like it depends on how powerful catholicism is vs racism. If racism is stronger than they will be more likely to keep the areas of the Mediterranean, if Catholicism is entrenched than I would think they would be far more likely to keep Dahomey and areas nearby it.