I'm currently working on a novel set in an total Axis-victory world and have read among other things The Man in the High Castle in full for the first time for that purpose. I fully understand that such a total Axis-victory (ie one where the Axis powers goes on to militarily defeat not just Britain and the USSR but even the United States) was utterly implausible for strategic and economic reasons, so I will not attempt to argue for its possibility. What I am more interested in is how such an Axis-victory world would develop into by the present day. Broadly speaking, the strategic situation is similar to the world of MitHC with the globe split into two power blocs led respectively by the Third Reich and Japan, but there were plenty of implausibilities in the book that it will not be the "same" alternate world (ie the Nazi space expeditions to Mars and Venus or the genocide of Africa).
That said, here's a few of my thoughts and considerations that I have regarding the world of my novel:
Government-The main setting of my novel as is the case in Dick's work would be in the West Coast of the United States, under the government of a Japanese ally. However I found the name "Pacific States of America" unlikely since in the event of an Axis occupation of America and partition of its territories, they would almost certainly have tried to split the American Republic. A name like "PSA" would recall too much the original American identity of the Pacific Coast which the Japanese would not wish to encourage (of course the fact that both Germanies after World War II retained that name may provide a counterpoint to this), which would lead them to encourage instead the concept of a new and separate nation of which "Pacifica" would be the most obvious name (since the area would cover everything from the Arctic Circle to San Diego and probably as far east as the Continental Divide rather than just California). Due to the nature of American political culture and society, I suspect states under Axis rule would be relatively open and non-totalitarian. Resistance groups would certainly exist in such a country no matter how marginal they would be and can be classified into two broad groupings with further divisions for the latter: 1) groups sponsored by the "eastern" American state (which may retain the label of the United States and its American identity) and its German ally-probably some sort of a fascist/National Socialist outfit that calls for the liberation of the West Coast's Aryans from Oriental despotism and the reunification of the American English-speaking peoples and 2) groups opposed to both of the Axis powers which would include a) nativist groups akin to the KKK which would not be very much fond of Germans notwithstanding their racialist rhetoric for obvious nationalistic reasons, b) a broad, "liberal" democratic organization akin to the Free French, and c) a far-leftist communist groupings, with orthodox Marxism ironically enough being in a stronger intellectual position with the destruction of the Soviet Union.
Society and Culture-Pacifican society will probably be proportionally far less whiter than our world's West Coast due to many Anglos migrating to live under the rule of those of their own race in the East Coast. Conversely, there may be proportionally more blacks and Hispanics depending on how their treatment differs in the two North American states for the former and how much immigration from Latin American states is permitted for the latter (this probably is heavily dependent upon whether Mexico is in the Co-Prosperity Sphere). Almost certainly there would be a higher proportion of East Asians including not just the Japanese but also Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese, and so forth there for military, administrative, and business purposes along with permanent settlers filling the demand for labour after white flight and retirees attracted by the natural setting of the place. The Japanese government may very well encourage such an "Asianization" of Pacifica to further dilute its connection to its American heritage. Overall, without the massive growth of the Sunbelt or American's vigourous economy in OTL's postwar era the West Coast will be less populated and developed. The latter would be especially true since the Japanese would probably high-density urban growth policies over massive sprawl and suburbanization-especially since without American's postwar economic boom there will be far fewer middle-class people able to afford a house in the suburbs and an automobile for commuting. Large tracts of Southern California, for instance, would probably remain orange and lemon groves-owned by Japanese agricultural interests and worked by Hispanic, and Indonesian workers. The Japanese and Pacificans would retain the relatively extensively urban and interurban public transportation system of prewar times and expand and improve upon them as an alternative to the Interstates.
The development of the education system would be another area of some interest. In a fairly authoritarian society such as Pacifica, it is quite likely many people will see the Japanese educational system as "superior" as was the case OTL when Japanese economic growth seemed to threaten American dominance in the '80s. Certainly things like school uniforms in public schools will probably be far more common along with more authoritarian methods of teaching. The summer vacation would be abolished for the antiquated relic of the 19th Century it is.
Apologies for the relatively incoherent nature of my ramblings. I may post more later.
Any thoughts?
That said, here's a few of my thoughts and considerations that I have regarding the world of my novel:
Government-The main setting of my novel as is the case in Dick's work would be in the West Coast of the United States, under the government of a Japanese ally. However I found the name "Pacific States of America" unlikely since in the event of an Axis occupation of America and partition of its territories, they would almost certainly have tried to split the American Republic. A name like "PSA" would recall too much the original American identity of the Pacific Coast which the Japanese would not wish to encourage (of course the fact that both Germanies after World War II retained that name may provide a counterpoint to this), which would lead them to encourage instead the concept of a new and separate nation of which "Pacifica" would be the most obvious name (since the area would cover everything from the Arctic Circle to San Diego and probably as far east as the Continental Divide rather than just California). Due to the nature of American political culture and society, I suspect states under Axis rule would be relatively open and non-totalitarian. Resistance groups would certainly exist in such a country no matter how marginal they would be and can be classified into two broad groupings with further divisions for the latter: 1) groups sponsored by the "eastern" American state (which may retain the label of the United States and its American identity) and its German ally-probably some sort of a fascist/National Socialist outfit that calls for the liberation of the West Coast's Aryans from Oriental despotism and the reunification of the American English-speaking peoples and 2) groups opposed to both of the Axis powers which would include a) nativist groups akin to the KKK which would not be very much fond of Germans notwithstanding their racialist rhetoric for obvious nationalistic reasons, b) a broad, "liberal" democratic organization akin to the Free French, and c) a far-leftist communist groupings, with orthodox Marxism ironically enough being in a stronger intellectual position with the destruction of the Soviet Union.
Society and Culture-Pacifican society will probably be proportionally far less whiter than our world's West Coast due to many Anglos migrating to live under the rule of those of their own race in the East Coast. Conversely, there may be proportionally more blacks and Hispanics depending on how their treatment differs in the two North American states for the former and how much immigration from Latin American states is permitted for the latter (this probably is heavily dependent upon whether Mexico is in the Co-Prosperity Sphere). Almost certainly there would be a higher proportion of East Asians including not just the Japanese but also Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese, and so forth there for military, administrative, and business purposes along with permanent settlers filling the demand for labour after white flight and retirees attracted by the natural setting of the place. The Japanese government may very well encourage such an "Asianization" of Pacifica to further dilute its connection to its American heritage. Overall, without the massive growth of the Sunbelt or American's vigourous economy in OTL's postwar era the West Coast will be less populated and developed. The latter would be especially true since the Japanese would probably high-density urban growth policies over massive sprawl and suburbanization-especially since without American's postwar economic boom there will be far fewer middle-class people able to afford a house in the suburbs and an automobile for commuting. Large tracts of Southern California, for instance, would probably remain orange and lemon groves-owned by Japanese agricultural interests and worked by Hispanic, and Indonesian workers. The Japanese and Pacificans would retain the relatively extensively urban and interurban public transportation system of prewar times and expand and improve upon them as an alternative to the Interstates.
The development of the education system would be another area of some interest. In a fairly authoritarian society such as Pacifica, it is quite likely many people will see the Japanese educational system as "superior" as was the case OTL when Japanese economic growth seemed to threaten American dominance in the '80s. Certainly things like school uniforms in public schools will probably be far more common along with more authoritarian methods of teaching. The summer vacation would be abolished for the antiquated relic of the 19th Century it is.
Apologies for the relatively incoherent nature of my ramblings. I may post more later.
Any thoughts?
