More hyperdeveloped city-states and regions

The East Asian Tigers saw rapid industrialization and development in the postwar, going from being agrarian type countries into high-tech states with dense urban areas.

Why? In a prior thread, I suggested it's a combination of Western foreign aid, and anti-communist siege mentality that drove rapid development (and maybe social cohesion through shared identity?). So could there be any other similar small countries that are able to do that in the 20th century?

I think the current prosperity of the UAE and other Gulf States shows that oil wealth goes a long way. But imagine if they managed to do that more equitably, and earlier on. Arab Nationalism succeeds, maybe?
 
Previous thread about East Asian city-states here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...theast-asian-city-states.302715/#post-8580967

The thing is, I'm curious if any of these enclaves could arise on other continents. How about, say, Königsberg/Kaliningrad as a disputed enclave that exists under its own authority and ends up becoming rapidly developed by exiles?

Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore/South Korea are definitely useful examples of how such states come to be.

Also consider a Pied Noir enclave of Oranais
 

trurle

Banned
Previous thread about East Asian city-states here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...theast-asian-city-states.302715/#post-8580967

The thing is, I'm curious if any of these enclaves could arise on other continents. How about, say, Königsberg/Kaliningrad as a disputed enclave that exists under its own authority and ends up becoming rapidly developed by exiles?

Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore/South Korea are definitely useful examples of how such states come to be.

Also consider a Pied Noir enclave of Oranais
I think the situation with rapidly developing enclaves is a particular case of self-accelerated hyperbolic growth. Small state having initially high population density "terraforms" its environment rapidly, making overshot in population and economics, like the Europe as whole did in 500 B.C. - 500 A.D, and Singapore and Japan did in 20th century. No need to invent fancy "mentality" theories, just account for population density and connectedness/isolation.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1510.00992
If the population density play dominant role, the Kaliningrad cannot be hyper-developed region. Not unless it absorbs at least 20 times its present popolation.
 
Zanzibar could totally work as this, considering it's historic role as a node of trade in the Indian Ocean region.

A city-state of Jerusalem could also work, assuming there is no Israel.

Perhaps also an independent Cabinda, although that would look more like Qatar or Bahrain than Singapore. Maybe Equatorial Guinea could have looked like that too without the utter, utter, misrule the country has had since independence which is beyond horrible even for Africa.
 
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