Balkanize Me: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"It is a general truth of this world that anything long divided will surely unite, and anything long united will surely divide."''|''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]''}}
 
In [[Alternate History]] and [[Speculative Fiction]] (especially the kind that takes place [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]]), authors like to have fun by turning big countries into lots of smaller ones. May be justified by a war, a large-scale catastrophe, or simply a successful secessionist movement. Often happens with the United States of America, resulting in the [[Divided States of America]], but other large countries such as China or Russia are also considered fair game. China has a tendency to make works [[Banned in China]] if this is done with China, even during recent-past periods it was historically accurate, as it contradicts national propaganda.
 
Contrast [[Space-Filling Empire]], which is about filling the map with large countries so as not to bother with pesky borders. Also see [[United Europe]], [[Expanded States of America]], and [[Middle-Eastern Coalition]] as other examples of counterparts, where different countries link up or expand into huge regional or continental polities.