Political Retrospection: 1985 - 1989 Part 3
Political Retrospection: 1985 - 1989 Part 3
The Middle East
The Iran-Iraq War would end in the Summer of 1985, with Iran triumphant over its rival. Saddam Hussein would be killed in the Invasion of Baghdad with many of the other leaders still escaping along with their men, heading to undetermined destinations while a few would go and bend the knee over to the Iranian victors. Iran would proceed to create a Kurdish homeland from Iraq while forcing an administration of in Iraq and holding some new elections, with most of the Baathists having now gone. After some admittngly tense elections, a new stable government was held along with one in the new Kurdistan and Iran happily flexed its new power and prestige, all while happily enjoying the fruits of its labor and growing economy. However, this would put them in conflict with other nations, mainly Turkey. The creation of a Kurdistan reinvigorated the Kurds in Turkey, which concerned the Turkish government. This alongside the rise of another regional power made conflict almost an inevitability. Iran has also begun increasing ties to the Americans, to where assistance with nuclear power estasblishment would be outlined and planned by near the end of the decade. Some more positive news came with the 1987 Peres-Hussein Solution. The West Bank, having been occupied by Israel would see it being annexed by Jordan. Specifcially, while Israel would keep the Hebron region, Jordan would annex the rest of the West Bank and thus all the would-be Palestinians would become Jordanian citizens, virtually killing off the dream of the PLO and of Palestine. While questions about Gaza and Jerusalem remained, future plans have been established to peacefully deal with the situation though already local leaders of Gaza have begun talks with the Israel government while others would accept immigrate, most notably to the United States.
Saudi Arabia meanwhile would start declining due to the concerns of climate change and jeopardizing the future of oil, to where there have been growing protests or insurgency movements over in the nation, some being reactionaries who wish to see a total cut from the West. The Baathist forces that fled Iraq would also begin causing trouble over in the Arabian peninsula, especially throught touting the end of "Islamism" as a movement, with some believing tensions will worsen over time as the Baathists exploit some political troubles. This became much more prominent with Pakistan's brutal defeat in the Afghan-Pakistani War. Afghanistan with its ally in India would proceed to war against Pakistan for the latter's backing insurgent groups in Afghanistan. They were also the ones who exposed Pakistan's nucler program, leading to sanctions starting in 1983 and leading to the Zia-ul-Haq regime doubling down on its quasi-theocratic principles, much to the trouble of many. Eventually, war would break out and it would putan end to the Zia-ul-Haq administration along wth many of Pakistan's provinces seceding and being annexed or becoming their own nations for the time being. Afghanistan would gain the Pashtun regions of Pakistan along with Baluchistan joining them as an autonomous territory. Getting everything they wanted, Afghanistan has now been focusing on consolidating their holds along with maintaining modernization through contacts with the USSR and US though concerns remainined over the minority groups. Pakistan meanwhile is now on life support as more of the governing folk have left and only remains as the Punjab. While some have immgirated to the United States, most of the people lie in need of American aid, dealing with being a quasi-pariah state and even many wrestling with their faith given how it would be associated with the Zia-ul-Haq regime.
Asia
India meanwhile would continue to tumble over in the latter 1980s. The Punjab has become a growing spot of conflict as the Sikhs continue to protest against the mistreatment they felt against the Indian government and the rise of the Khalistan movement. India's initial assumption that the sanctions on Pakistan would kill the movement would backfire as Operation Blue Star still occured. Instead, it just forced the movement to become more focused domestically and grow their home support. The lackluster Rajiv–Longowal Accords also contributed to the growth of the movement. Other groups were also displaying their growing frustration and India's troubled economy was not heping matters. Despite this, Rajiv would manage to win reelection by exploiting the victory over Pakistan, their former rival and enemy. However, now that Pakistan was gone, the political situation would now be forced inwardly and the political elite could no longer try to deflect their problems onto an outside force. When the Khalistan movement attempted to use the victory to tout the Sikhs' importance to the war effort and thus to promote greater autonomu, they would be unsurprisingly snubbed and many saw this as just increasing tensions and disillusionment further still.
Corazon Aquino would become the Philippines' new president after years of autocratic rule and would lead the path to the Philippines' gradual recovery while dealing with coup attempts and economy recovery. Japan meanwhile would continue to prosper and really shine over on the world stage, while also becoming a major contributor to the discussion of nuclear power, especially with the development of the first Gen III reactor and thus hoping for more projects as a result from it. Concerns have arisen over regarding potential economic bubbles or slowdowns however. South Korea meanwhile maintains its gradual economic recovery while North Korea has been noticing the troubles over in the Soviet Union along with the political turmoils in China and has begun questioning if the system could remain, thus starting some talks over with their neighbor for the idea of peace if not more. China would meanwhile deal with a tense standoff of ideals over with the Protests of Tiananmen Square, the result of the growing demands for democracy over in China. It would also prove to be a pivotal moment over for Zhao Ziyang, who managed to get the protestors to leave while showing support of their endeavors and to focus over at home. At the same time, it would also be a moment for Premier Li Peng, who's attempts at escalation along with his stance against the reformation attempts of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping would lead to Peng's decline as Xiaoping would begin working to either force Peng to retire while ousting his supporters from the party. The CCP is also keeping an eye on their Russian neighbor with their political trouble as it was becoming clear that they too would need to change in some form in order to survive.
Africa
The continent of Africa continued to try and move forward from the daunting past of colonial exploitation, but it remained a difficult and long affair. Despite that, there was still positive news to try and celeberate. South Africa has been facing more and more scrutiny and pressure to end apartheid, especially with nations like the United States and others getting involved. Attempts at a snap election have failed though F. W. de Klerk would still become president and would begin plans over to accelerate the end of the apartheid system, which many expect would be seen in next couple years. Meanwhile, over in Ethiopia, the Derg would transition over to creating the so-called People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. However, many of the problems would continue to remain in the region and the Soviet Union was becoming less and less able to provide assistance to the nation, especially with problems of its own. This along with the intense reliance on outside aid was leaving many questions over regarding the potential future of Ethiopia, especially with the growing resistance movements over in the nation. Some have even speculated if this would mean the rise of a true democracy or perhaps a restoration of the monarchy over in Ethiopia.
Egypt meanwhile continued its reforms and stances under Hosni Mubarak, who would continue to give support to the peace talks regarding Israel as well as help lend support for the Peres-Hussein Solution. Morocco meanwhile continues its tensions over with the so-called Western Sahara and their desire for independence there. Another war of independence going on was in Eritrea fighting against the Ethiopian forces with the Battle of Afabet beign a very notable battle there. Algeria undewent large social unrest as their dependence on oil proved to be a problem with the econimic problems of the time combined with the climate change revelation screwing up the petrol prices. Additionally, the fall of Islamism would see troubles for the growing "Arabization" programs in the area. Libya would also become affected by these sort of petrol troubles, especially forcing problems onto their leader Gaddafi, though also balanced by growing relations with the Americans. Additionally, he would also begin shifting from pan-Arabism to pan-Africanism, likely influenced by things like the Peres-Hussein Solution and the growing turmoil. Rwanda meanwhile was getting the concern of people due to the growing instability there. All the while, African nations were finding that their potential relationship with Africa may be compromised by the USSR's decline along with other issues and lack of spport.
