So in much of the middle east of OTL, we see a a pattern of countries striking liquid gold and discovering huge oil reserves in their borders. They then use this oil wealth to become wealthy countries, and in many cases diversify their economy by investing in trade, finance and tourism. This model can roughly be applied to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. These countries also attract enormous amounts of immigrants due to their wealth, and are often majority immigrant.
The goal here is to make this model more widespread, especially in Africa. On that continent the following are great candidates:
> Libya, because it was IOTL until 2011. With a peaceful transition of power it still would be, especially with more investment in tourism, which IOTL was not encouraged.
> Somalia, because it has a huge land area and a tiny population (2.75 million in 1960.) There are likely huge deposits of petroleum and gold there, some proven, and with good leadership and close connections to the Arab world they could easily go the same way.
> Equatorial Guinea, with large oil reserves and a tiny population of just 250,000 in 1960, and cheap labour sources nearby.
> An independent Cabinda for the same reasons.
> Gabon, the Sudan, Angola and other countries I know little about.
Other countries include Iraq, Brunei etc.
All comments appreciated on how this could work. These new states may either be authoritarian or democratic, although the model I'm referring to is of course authoritarian.
The goal here is to make this model more widespread, especially in Africa. On that continent the following are great candidates:
> Libya, because it was IOTL until 2011. With a peaceful transition of power it still would be, especially with more investment in tourism, which IOTL was not encouraged.
> Somalia, because it has a huge land area and a tiny population (2.75 million in 1960.) There are likely huge deposits of petroleum and gold there, some proven, and with good leadership and close connections to the Arab world they could easily go the same way.
> Equatorial Guinea, with large oil reserves and a tiny population of just 250,000 in 1960, and cheap labour sources nearby.
> An independent Cabinda for the same reasons.
> Gabon, the Sudan, Angola and other countries I know little about.
Other countries include Iraq, Brunei etc.
All comments appreciated on how this could work. These new states may either be authoritarian or democratic, although the model I'm referring to is of course authoritarian.