Isolation and encirclement of continent-sized country

Fenestella

Banned
Each of the existing continent-sized countries, namely, Russia, Canada, USA, PRC, Brazil, Australia
in a hypothetical worst case scenario of international embargo and blockade
as far as their geographic locations and natural resources are concerned, how would you rank them in terms of vulnerability and resilience?
 
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i) USA - unquestionably the least vulnerable and best prepared, although living standards would probably drop a little and some rare earths might be difficult to acquire.

ii) Russia/Canada - a tie, would depend how into the blockade their neighbours are.

iii) PRC

iv) Brazil

v) Australia
 
i) USA - unquestionably the least vulnerable and best prepared, although living standards would probably drop a little and some rare earths might be difficult to acquire.

ii) Russia/Canada - a tie, would depend how into the blockade their neighbours are.

iii) PRC

iv) Brazil

v) Australia
I'd put Canada lower. Russia has the benefit of multiple, highly invested-in ports, and a gargantuan land border with multiple states of varying foreign policy. Much of this border runs through areas which are difficult to regularly patrol by blockading forces.

Canada's ship routes, however, all run through icy, hard-to-navigate areas. And, while it has a massive land border akin to Russia, this border is well patrolled, defined, and secured.
 
Australia is short on oil production and refining as well as industry, but both could be ramped up in an emergency. Otherwise we are pretty self sufficient.
 
Canada's ship routes, however, all run through icy, hard-to-navigate areas. And, while it has a massive land border akin to Russia, this border is well patrolled, defined, and secured.

No they don't. Halifax and Vancouver are both ice-free ports. And there are others as well.
 

CalBear

Moderator
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A Canadian embargo would be much more difficult to maintain unless it was due to some truly abhorrent action. The U.S./Canada border is not patrolled in any real sense. There are actual hiking trails that cross the border with the only security being a sign telling people that they shouldn't enter the country there. There are also the Great Lakes, with hundreds of miles of shoreline on each side of the border.

The U.S./Mexico border is a thousand times more secure and it is, frankly, a joke. If you get caught smuggling ANYTHING over that border its because you are too stupid to be a smuggler.

There is no recent history of hostility between the U.S. and Canada, that means there is no deep seated reason to support an embargo among the population of the U.S. (something that Russia can not claim, plenty of open wounds there). That being the case, plenty of folks would be perfectly happy to make a few extra dollars (or oil) providing whatever might fall off the back of a truck (like entire semi-trailers). Short of the U.S. becoming a DDR style police state any embargo against Canada would fail, and spectacularly.
 
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