New York is the hegemon of the region, though an increasingly vulnerable one. Of the ten states of the northeast, New York's is the largest and most prosperous. An oligarchy controlled by a cabal of businessmen, military leaders, and slum lords, New York is the very image of corruption. An immense gap in wealth and standards of living persists between the metropolitan center and the imperial regions; while those in the city live much as they did before the fall of civilization decades ago, those beyond the metropole live at subsistence levels reminiscent of feudal Europe. The oligarchs fear what their serfs might do if they were to understand the extent of their exploitation, so information flow between the city and its subject lands is tightly controlled. Despite immense efforts, unrest permeates the countryside. Peasant resistance has already boiled over into one successful rebellion in Newark, though the oligarchs would deny this fact vehemently if you were to present it to them. Simultaneously, New York's neighbors grow bolder in their resistance to their oppressor. Despite these rising challenges, the Imperial Military remains unmatched. It's army and air forces are formidable, but the backbone of New York military power lay in the immense Imperial Navy. Strategic control of certain islands and ports allow the Imperial Navy to dictate the sea trade among its neighbors and between its neighbors and the rest of the Atlantic world.
Commonwealth, however, exists as an exception to New York's naval supremacy. A technological edge, superior tactics, and a timely nor'easter enabled the upstart Commonwealth Navy to defeat an Imperial Navy invasion in 2089. Victory ensured the state's continuing trade with Europe and allowed its navy time to increase in strength enough to defend Commonwealth territory against further incursion. This triumph further entrenched the ruling elite -- an alliance between the Military and the Academy which respectively dominate foreign and domestic policy. This technocracy rests on the symbiotic relationship between its constituent parts. The Academy develops new weaponry and technology to bolster the Military's expansionist goals, while the Military collects taxes and defends the borders of the state so that the Academics can live secure in luxury. Driving much of the elite is the dream of establishing The Dominion, a super-state consisting of the territory once called New England. Propaganda efforts have convinced most of the lower strata of Commonwealth society of the value of this goal, and a carefully constructed system of exams and meritocratic advancement under the state gives all Commoners hope of joining the ranks of the elite. In effect, the Academy has the wider population in a thrall despite their failure to lift most Commoners out of poverty.
Providence is one of the states that stands between Commonwealth and Dominion. Unfortunately for the Military and the Academy, Providence will defend its independence with fanatical fury. A cult of personality to the faith leader-cum-dictator of the state, Roger Williams, controls Providence. Williams claims to be the reincarnation of the seventeenth century religious leader by the same name and further asserts to represent the rebirth of his namesake's views in the world. Fortunately for him, most of the books on the original Williams have been lost to time. The modern dictator preaches a militant and evangelical form of Christianity with strict rules on personal appearance and conduct. All Providentials wear dull grey garb covering all of their skin save their faces (though women also wear veils). Men and women live separately until marriage. Children are removed from their parents at birth to be raised in the state's religious kindergartens. Williams' enforcers, the Inquisitors, measure the faith of all Providentials by opaque and inscrutible metrics. Providentials must maintain the high opinion of Inquisitors, for only they can approve of marriage, bank loans, entrance into University, and a variety of other activities. Naturally, only those who worship Williams' Faith may live in providence. In addition, no Providential may be a person of color, transgender, bisexual or gay, or physically disabled. Though other societies in the northeast are often brutal, Providence is the last place any person in this region would wish to stay within.
Hartford lives uneasily amidst its ambitious, land-hungry neighbors. One of the region's most democratic states, Hartford also maintains a high living standard across all social strata. Refugees from neighboring states flee to Hartford, perpetually fueling a "brain gain" that gives the state an edge. The Assembly, Hartford's legislature, gives deference to the refugee intelligensia in developing domestic policies, but it continues to assert its independence against encroaching technocracy. Driving the elite of this state is Western Revanchism -- the desire to regain Fairfield county from New York and to annex Haven, reconstituting the state of Connecticut. As such, Hartford is the only non-signatory of the First Haven Accord.
Haven, having lost the "New" in the decades after the pandemic, is the international city. In 2070, all of the nations of the region save Hartford signed the First Haven Accord, which in perpetuity accepted the microstate's military and economic neutrality. All signatories guarantee the city's neutrality with the force of arms -- any state stupid enough to attack Haven would be subject to military retaliation by all other states in the region. Haven's ruling elite has thus gone entirely pacifist, seeking to foster diplomacy and comity among the fractious members of this region. Haven has hosted a total of five treaty negotiations to end regional wars since the first accord, and each state stations many of its best diplomats in the city to conduct relations. The density of secrets and state knowledge in the city, as a result, gives rise to a rabid industry of spies. The common people live by a strict creed of self-improvement, meditation, and care for the earth. Haven is the second largest destination for refugees in the region.
The Newark People's Republic is the most radical state in the region. A commune divided among socialists, communists, and anarchists, the only ideology uniting its populace is furious hatred for New York. Newark rose in rebellion against its imperial overlords in 2097. Makeshift barricades, smuggled heavy weapons from Baltimore, and deft urban warfare tactics enabled the ragtag rebels to stave off destruction from the overstretched New York military. A year after their final victory, the city remains under siege. The citizens of the republic carefully husband their resources. A renaissance of urban agriculture has barely kept the city from starving, and the strategic scrapping of buildings and vehicles have provided enough scrap metal to maintain their guns and tanks. The people largely live in the same poverty they experienced under New York, but they are no longer beholden to the rent lords and oppressive taxes. Diplomats have run the siege lines and beg the other states for assistance -- all publicly refuse, but some clandestinely supply ammunition and spare parts. Others have run the lines to quietly foment rebellion in other parts of New York.
Philadelphia is the other mostly democratic state in the region, but widespread corruption and incompetence in the political apparatus has repeatedly crippled the state in conflicts with its rival, New York. The two states have battled for decades over the region formerly known as New Jersey. In the last decade, New York gained the upper hand. Philadelphia's naval commerce has been been halted for over a year now following the last war with New York when that state sealed off Delaware Bay. With Baltimore in disarray and The Wilds separating Philadelphia from The Confederacy, the city-state has been slipping further and further into an economic depression for want of resources. Philadelphia is a favorite target of the Angels, which the state has been unable to keep from raiding its frontiers. Consequently, the area of greatest unrest lay in the northwest. Both Baltimore and New York realize that Philadelphia's days are numbers. Military exercises provide tense entertainment to Philadelphians on the borders with both of those states.
Baltimore is a pure military junta. By sheer numbers, Baltimore commands an army far more powerful than New York's and a navy nearly on par with the Imperial. Relations between the commanders of these two branches of the military, however, are cold at best. Army and Navy commanders consistently diverge in their policy views and appeal to the Air Force to break the gridlock. Air Force commanders present an aloof disinterest in these squabbles, however. Each branch thus tends to rule on its own, creating an artificial division within the state centered around the headquarters for each branch: Baltimore proper for the Army; Annapolis for the Navy; and Dover for the Air Force. Only the threat of invasion seems able to break through the divide, as demonstrated by the Delmarvan War in 2083 in which Baltimore's military fought New York to a standstill, leading to the creation of the Neutral Zone between Baltimore and New York's naval base in Ocean City.
Delmarva was the main casualty of the Delmarvan War. This state once controlled the entire peninsula south of Dover, but the descent of the New York goliath and Baltimore's retaliation saw over half of Delmarva's land being either annexed or turned into terra nullis. The military junta on Deal Island chafes under the "protection" of Baltimore, but the state's tiny population can do little to resist the encroaching influence of its neighbor. As such, the junta has turned to drastic measures in order to protect itself. Expeditionary troops into the old American South have returned several atomic mines which the junta has strategically placed in projected avenues of advance from the north and east. That the people of Delmarva don't know of the existence of these weapons is key to their secrecy. Additionally, the junta has trained a small cadre of suicide submariners to pilot torpedoes armed with atomic mines to deter naval descents. This secret nuclear arsenal could kill half of the population of Delmarva, but this toll is worth paying for security, by the Junta's reasoning.
Hillsborough is the last pure republic in the region. Two cities rule the state together; each city rules its territory with its city council, while the two councils form a bicameral legislature to deal with issues of national import. Manchester and Nashua cooperate most of the time, and state lives peacefully. Commonwealth would rather see its neighbor fall into disarray, so it secretly finances political dissidents and populists in the state. Hillsborough is well aware of this effort, but it does not have the resources to combat it. Increasing paranoia of Commoner infiltration and corruption has steadily decreased the civility of the state. It remains to be seen if Hillsborough will overcome this danger.
The Confederacy is the newest player on the regional geopolitical stage. The four cities of Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo together loosely rule over a large territory in the former upstate New York. The cities are joined by a fifth non-state member called The Angels. The Angels are the descendents of biker gangs that existed prior to the pandemic. They are a nomadic people that thrive on raiding in The Wilds and on the frontiers of the weaker city-states (read: Philadelphia). The Angels and cities live symbiotically: the cities provide housing and some kinds of food and mechanical support to the Angels, and the Angels share in the spoils of raids and defend the cities from attack from The Wilds. These five actors came together in 2095 and immediately overturned the balance of power in the region. Instantly New York had to designate much of its military power to its norther frontiers in order to defeat Angel raids. New York's intricate, delicate system of tax collection and policing came under strain, leading the state to pull defenders from its frontiers with Hartford and Philadelphia, increasing the risk of invasion from those avenues. These knock-on effects understate the potential power of The Confedracy. The four cities are often united in purpose and can manage to agree on means for pursuing them. Increasingly, they wish to incorporate new cities into its territory -- consensually or otherwise. The towns of Springfield and Winchester in the former Western Massachusetts are the towns they covet most in 2099. The four cities have launched a charm offensive to woo the two cities into the fold; simultaneously, disguised elements of the Angels hammer the cities from the north to pressure them to accept Angel protection. This strategy has come into conflict with efforts by Hartford and Commonwealth to woo these same cities. Though most observers would say that the Confederacy will go to war first with New York, the brightest about know that Springfield will be the spark of war.
Beyond the great states of the Northeast lay The Wilds. The Wilds are home to many small, independent communities with an infinite number of governing structure. They usually maintain their towns close to pre-pandemic standards, but raids by the Angels and smaller outfits present a challenge. Few communities consider joining the city-states, though. Wildlings mostly consider those states to be despotic hell-holes where their rights would fall away. The Wilds are home to about a third of the region's people.
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