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Balkanize Me: Difference between revisions
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== Anime & Manga ==
* China is further divided in ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'' where it is now the People's Liberation Committee (North China) and the Democratic Chinese Alliance (South China). Makes more sense than many, given the long-standing (cultural) north/south divide along the Yangtze.
* ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' has a Balkanized USA. After the end of the nuclear World War III, the United States was divided into three countries: the American Empire, the Russo-American Alliance, and the United States of America.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Shadowrun]]'' in addition to suffering from the [[Divided States of America]] has a large amount of Balkanization occurring, mostly as the result of famine, disease, [[Post-Modern Magik]] favoring rebellious oppressed groups, and other such things. This allows Megacorporations to assume more power then national entities.
* ''[[Rifts]]'', by comparison, partially avoids this only because most places are too wild to ''become'' nations, or the ones that do forms tend to quickly fill the old borders and then some. One notable exception being Japan, which is split into a High-tech time-displaced remnant of Pre-Rifts Japan, an anti-technology Empire of Samurai (who ironically, actually ''like'' the previously-mentioned Republic), a much meaner High-tech Shogunate, a kingdom of <s>Demons</s>Oni, and a few scattered nations besides.
* ''[[GURPS]] [[Transhuman Space]]'' has a few examples, but probably the most balkanized country is Canada. The core of the country is still called Canada, and the rest are Quebec, Newfoundland, the Maritimes (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), Nanavut, the ABC Republic (Alberta and British Columbia), and the Free City of Montreal. Quebec, Newfoundland and the Maritimes are members of the [[European Union]]; ABC is a member of the Pacific Rim Alliance.
* ''[[Risk]]''. This is really only done to provide game balance, as there isn't really much backstory to a simple board game. The extent of Balkanization is rather vague in ''Risk 2210 A.D.'', where one might believe ''every single individual territory'' to be a separate country.
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== Videogames ==
* ''[[Victoria:
** We can't mention [[Paradox Interactive]] games without mentioning ''[[Crusader Kings]]'' - just as in the real [[Middle Ages]], large kingdoms have an alarming tendency to fragment into independent states if the dukes and counts don't consider the king a worthy ruler. This sometimes happens peacefully, but [[Civil War|sometimes not.]]
* ''[[Supreme Ruler]] 2020'' has done this with pretty much the entire world (though some countries are slightly bigger, such as Belgium and Luxembourg forming one country.
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** In 1993 Czechoslovakia followed USSR's example.
** Famously inverted by the two German states in 1990.
** Sorry to interrupt, but the balkanization of the USSR was anything but peaceful: it resulted in terrible sieges in Middle Asian republics, wars in Chechnya, which to this day remains a terribly unstable region, racism and international hatred.
* Germany, to varying degrees in history. Spent several centuries as at least 300 states under one theoretical state, then reduced into around twenty, both legally and in practice (though bound in an alliance), followed by a shrinking number until there were two left (as far as Germans of the time saw it). After a short period of non-Balkanization, went back to being three again, with Germany split into Austria, BRD and the DDR ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]). Was [[Inverted Trope|inverted]] in 1990.
* Following the death of Prince Bolesław III in 1138, Poland was divided among his sons and over the next two centuries fractured into smaller princedoms. It was not until 1320 that the major regions were united under a single ruler. Some of the other regions would not become part of Poland until after [[World War 2]]
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* After [[The Korean War]] ended with an unofficial armistice (meaning both countries are technically still at war), the Korean Peninsula, once a unified state, split between communist North and capitalist South, and judging by their less-than-friendly relations, the status quo may have to remain.
* Sentiment for the secession of majority Francophone Quebec from Canada ebbs and wanes, culminating in a referendum which resulted in narrowly defeating the effort back in 1995.
** One possibility suggested during the 1995 referendum was that parts of Quebec that were against secession could split off from an independent Quebec and either form their own nations or more likely merge back into Canada.
** Quebec wasn't the first to attempt secession. Nova Scotia seemed to move to that direction in the first provincial election right after Confederation even occurred. British Columbia and western Alberta also mulled secession at the same time as Quebec. Newfoundland, the last province brought into the fold, has had a recent Premier who made overtures of secession, but it's never been taken seriously as in Quebec. Even ''Provinces'' came close to this at different times, such as creating a Province out of northern Ontario and dividing the Northwest Territories (one successful attempt is Nunavut)(Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nunavut were all carved out of the Northwest Territories).
*** YMMV on whether it has never been taken as seriously as in Quebec. The idea of joining Canada was put to a vote for Newfoundlanders and they joined the confederation because that side won by 1%.
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