Chile A Great Power

Hans Leip

Banned
How could with a POD of after 1800 Chile become a Great Power at least on the level of South Korea or Australia?
 
Doesn't seem that hard. Have them leverage their success in the War of the Pacific to obtain high levels of investment from Europe and the US. Have them then leverage their mining industry into increased internal development and military expansion. Basically it'd be pulling a Meiji in economic terms. As a matter of fact, I can't quite see why they failed to do this in OTL. I know the nitrate supply was invalidated by the development of synthetic nitrates, but if they expand their economy to include large-scale mining they should fare pretty well. Beyond that they just have to avoid political instability, possibly by allying with the US and sticking with that alliance.
 
That would be a Medium Power, not a Great Power. (which would be impossible to achieve BTW)

Find a way to have a first world economy, i.e. double the GDP/capita of today's OTL, should be possible with a stable regime, unfortunately South America isn't known for it's stable democracies...

Next, more immigration would help as even for a medium power Chile has a lowish population.
 
Doesn't seem that hard. Have them leverage their success in the War of the Pacific to obtain high levels of investment from Europe and the US. Have them then leverage their mining industry into increased internal development and military expansion. Basically it'd be pulling a Meiji in economic terms. As a matter of fact, I can't quite see why they failed to do this in OTL. I know the nitrate supply was invalidated by the development of synthetic nitrates, but if they expand their economy to include large-scale mining they should fare pretty well. Beyond that they just have to avoid political instability, possibly by allying with the US and sticking with that alliance.

:rolleyes: "pulling a Meiji" is so overused as a phrase, Chile had a good GDP per capita pre-great depression and a modernising economy (better than Japans!) and was a perfectly viable state. The reason Japan was a great power and Chile wasn't, is because Japan had 55 milion people and Chile had three and a bit. You could triple the incoming numbers and Chile would still be irrelevent on the world stage (even if it could absorb or want that many newcomers).
 
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