Lalli, how far do you think the TU is willing to go? And do you think they can be successful?
Also, I know English isn't your first language but be careful assigning character traits to entire races.
The Union Forever: A TL
- Thread starter Mac Gregor
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Lalli, how far do you think the TU is willing to go? And do you think they can be successful?
Also, I know English isn't your first language but be careful assigning character traits to entire races.
Ok. Sorry if it went too much as generalisation. I edited that away.
But China still probably try help AAA so much as possible but not intervene there at least not now. They might send military advisors anyway. And Chinese probably hope that great powers not be stepping there. But I guess that at least in London is hard pressure do something. South Africa is fine and might be able kick Angola off and probably East Africa can stop Abyssinia. But Nigeria is in real troubles. Its government hardly can survive without British intervention. And if Congo decides invade Kamerun it is in war with Germany. It is too possible that USA participates too to the war if West Africa invades Liberia.
The Technate Chairman is going to be a strong advocate for Option 1, as any sort of failure in Africa will be a reflection on his control of the party and the Technocratic Revolution. If his political opponents smell blood in the water, he's going to be in for the fight of his life.
If I were in his shoes, I'd try to shore up Africa by any means I can without direct involvement. Send the AAA whatever experimental weaponry they can get their hands on, and have all sorts of 'advisors' lend whatever minor assistance they can.
As for what to do about the risings costs of war, that's something the rest of his party can easily be distracted from. If they lose in Africa, the rest of the world will be preoccupied with the burgeoning refugee crisis, and that gives China the perfect cover to fund some more global revolutions. No better way to show your strength after a stormy political patch than to add more nations to the fold.
I wonder if the status of the TU as the “international boogeyman” replacing OTL’s USSR has led to an increase in anti-intellectualism in other countries’ cultures?
(Although if it has, it doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect, given the generally more advanced state of TTL’s technology.)
(Although if it has, it doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect, given the generally more advanced state of TTL’s technology.)
Good question. Possibly, but I imagine it might be minor stuff like an aversion of ceding to much power to city managers and other small t technocrats.
Interesting to see so many people thinking the TU would go for option 1. Does there seem to be any reasonable chance that it would be successful? To me, it would like the USSR escalating OTLs Cuban Missile Crisis instead of cutting its loses. Possible but I’ll advised.
I think it depends on Technocratic China's internal power politics, and whether they misread other countries reactions to their actions.
Option 1 is double-or-nothing, and as mentioned above, would be the option which most reflects a concern for shoring up domestic as opposed to foreign opinion. Option 2 is to essentially muddle along and hope for the best, which isn't working, and option 3 is centered on cutting losses abroad and appeasing the other main power blocks. The major factor which determines what choice TU leadership goes for is how secure they believe themselves to be, how unified the leadership is, and how much of a threat from below they perceive. If they are both unified and primarily worried about public opinion in general, especially relating to economic matters, they'll be more likely to go for option 3, and attempt to deescalate and try to reestablish economic links with the other blocs. The Technocratic bloc is quite large and populous, but they still need external markets, and access to imported goods can be a useful lever to keep the middle and elite classes in line. If leadership is not unified, but still largely worried about public opinion, they'll be more likely to default to option 2 due to decision paralysis over whether to alienate the hardliners (option 3) or everyone else (option 1). If leadership does not see the public as a threat but does see potential competing cliques either within itself or in some other organ of the state, option 1 becomes more attractive, especially in the short-term. Africa is a far-off place, but a threat close to home can have a powerful effect on national unity, and would be highly effective in saving face with hardliners and staving off a coup among the elites. There would have to be some manufactured fig leaf of a casus belli, but a conflict with Russia or Japan seems to me to be the most likely outlet if the TU feels itself backed against the wall. Their offensive power projection in their immediate backyard would be much greater than a continent away, and the population and industrial strength of the TU makes it a formidable opponent on the defensive. A short, victorious war would win back all the prestige lost in African adventures and then some, cementing the TU bloc as the preeminent Eurasian power and staving off any leadership challenge for at least a generation, if it works. There is a very good chance, however, that such a move would pull in several of the other power blocs beyond the immediate initial combatants, at which point the war will no longer be short, or victorious, but tremendously bloody for all sides and potentially thermonuclear. Given the massive risk of starting a hot conflict, the TU leadership would have to either greatly underestimate the resolve of the other world powers, or consider its safety to be in grave danger before doing so.
We're bloodthirsty little monsters, that's why we demand Option 1.
On a more serious note, I think that China's level of support for the AAA means that they have a lot to lose from a defeat. I think that realistically, they're going to do whatever they can to not suffer a serious loss to morale. I see two options for how this plays out:
1: They ramp up support for the AAA, or find some other way to increase their power/influence in the world at large (technocratic revolutions in susceptible countries?)
2: Their failure in Africa makes them internally weak, and a power struggle breaks out between various factions of the Technate. Russia could use the new chaos to take back their lands in Manchuria.
Either way, the African War is the spark that ignites the powederkeg.
2024: Foreign Developments
2024
Foreign Developments
Foreign Developments
Flag of the Irish Republic
On February 17, Ireland became a republic ending more than eight centuries of ties to English royalty. Debates of severing the last vestiges of the British monarchy had resurfaced periodically since achieving home rule in 1919 and only intensified after gaining full sovereignty in 1960. Former prime minister Cathleen Ó Domhnaill was elected as the nation’s first president, a largely symbolic post. It was widely interpreted that this final transition to republicanism, was messaging by the Irish government of its hostility towards ComNat’s growing involvement in the African War .
While aerial autocraft (AAC)were busily being used for belligerent ends in Africa, an increasingly wide array of peaceful applications for flying drones were utilized elsewhere. In the Alps, AACs dropped supplies and medicine to stranded hikers, and served as lifeguards on Floridian beaches. Unfortunately, 2024 saw a number of incidents involving AACs near airports, resulting in several delays but luckily no accidents. In addition to a growing number of package delivery services, several companies experimented with developing AAC for human transport.
Throughout Europe and the Americas, religious organizations redoubled their efforts in a massive relief fundraiser for Africa. While united by a desire to ease the suffering, a schism between leaders of the religious left deepened. Some such as Norris Topolansky gave explicit support to the CDA while others, including Arend Beulens and Sheila McDermott, demanded a swift end to the fighting. Many were concerned that politicization over the African War threatened the spiritual message of the waning Rainbow Revival.
After years of speculation and searching by astronomers, a team from the Turin Pact’s European Space Research Organization (ORSE) led by Dr. Marjolaine Faucheux discovered an 11th planet in our Solar System. It was the first non-exoplanet to be discovered since Niflheim in 1990. Estimated to be slightly more than five times Earth’s mass, this distant world’s highly elliptical orbit takes it 25 times further away from the Sun than Neptune. As of the end of the year, a name for the new planet had not been decided upon, though suggestions abounded.
The small Ciscaucasian nation of Dagestan was rocked by deadly riots after an online Turkish news service unveiled a massive oil smuggling operation by government officials and Russian crime syndicates. The embattled regime of Abdulkhakim Umalatov managed to quell the unrest, but only after calling for Persian aid. The incident highlighted the complicated battle for influence that Persia, Russia, and the Turkic League waged in the volatile region.
In August, Brazilian researchers announced a breakthrough in desalination technology. A significant improvment in reverse-osmosis membranes allowed for fast and more efficient means of turning seawater into freshwater. While still energy intensive, it was hoped that further development would help combat the growing water scarcity affecting many areas of the globe. The result of poor water management and global warming.
Pope Gregory XVIII died after 28 years as pontiff. While notable for being the first non-Italian pope in centuries, and for his assertive stance against the persecution of non-Christian groups, the recent outbreak of several sex scandals involving Catholic clergy marred his reputation. After a lengthy debate, the College of Cardinals elected Filipino bishop Carlos Joseph Guingona as Pope Stephen X. It was hoped that Pope Stephen’s reputation as a reformer would help shore up the Church’s image.
Completed in November, Canton’s 1005 meter high Diānfēng Tower became the tallest building in the world, surpassing the previous titleholder Jayakarta’s Asian Financial Center. As the first building to surpass a kilometer, it was trumpeted by the Chinese government as yet another sign of the Technocratic Union’s technological and engineering prowess.
Diānfēng Tower
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Wait, what. 11 planets? How?
Also for some reason I think that Tower is going to be one of the last if not last time the TC has bragging rights like that.
Also for some reason I think that Tower is going to be one of the last if not last time the TC has bragging rights like that.
The regular eight planets + OTL Pluto, OTL Eris, and OTL Planet 9 (a hypothetical gas giant at the edge of the solar system, circumstantial evidence right now)
FossilDS is right. #9 is Nox (OTL Pluto) and #10 is Niflheim (OTL Eris).
Anyone have any recommendations for planet #11 name?
To be fair, the ComNat has been doing far better than OTL. Still the centrifugal forces of nationalism and relative decline compared to other power blocs is taking its toll.