Titanomachy Continued: The 1990s retains superpower conflict

When we look back at the '90s through rose-colored glasses, we can see that the Soviet Union left a bunch of capitalistic, democratizing states in the wake of its collapse, China was not rich enough to pose a threat to anyone, and basically all we had to worry about then were... terrorists, or at least non-state actors stirring up ethnic conflict in third world countries that we only see on CNN.

Is there any way for the 1990s to be a time in which the world remained mired in a starring contest between superpowers, probably including the U.S./NATO/West as one of the starers?
 
When we look back at the '90s through rose-colored glasses, we can see that the Soviet Union left a bunch of capitalistic, democratizing states in the wake of its collapse, China was not rich enough to pose a threat to anyone, and basically all we had to worry about then were... terrorists, or at least non-state actors stirring up ethnic conflict in third world countries that we only see on CNN.

Is there any way for the 1990s to be a time in which the world remained mired in a starring contest between superpowers, probably including the U.S./NATO/West as one of the starers?


Well, that's essentially "USSR survives as bad guy": I don't think it really calls for a fancy new title.

It's not like there were any real contenders for Replacement Evil Superpower. Hmm. US returns to isolationism after WWII, western Europe decides it must "hang together" or "hang seperately". So, 1990's: USSR collapses economically/has a civil war/has nuclear war with China: US must deal with the United States of Europe, a right-wing, militarized state which now that the main threat of the USSR is gone, feels those smug isolationist American SOBs need to be taken down a peg... :confused:

Bruce
 

Sachyriel

Banned
Get the Ottoman Empire to survive, I'm sure it would qualify as a superpower the Euro-American Alliance (whatever you want to call it) can stare at.
 
You could just have the USSR pull a "China". Gorby holds on, liberalizes the SU. Rather than total collapse and balkanization you perhaps see a Commie-in-name, National-Kapitalist in reality hegemonic power with a more "Commonwealth" Warsaw Pact. Premier Putin? :D
 
Well, not with a post-1991 POD. Post-1945 PODs you might get Bigger Badder China, Fascist Arab Union (Israel never gets off the ground and the Baa'th party ideology wins out in Egypt as well as Iraq), Militarized Pissed-Off Europe (see earlier post), Comunist Brazilian SuperCuba (with ICBMs, even), Big Bad Red or Hinduveta India, or perhaps even a Mad As Hell Third World Alliance headed by Less Doctrinaire China or Pushily Ghandhist India (sure, he was a pacifist, but he could also be a rather in-your-face kinda guy).

Bruce
 
(Note: I'm leaving out SuperJapan because, frankly, their need for imported resources and not-huge population puts some serious limits on how much they can throw their weight around).

Bruce
 
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