Balkanize Me: Difference between revisions

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.

 

 

 

== Anime & Manga ==

== Literature ==

* [[Robert Heinlein]]'s ''Friday''. In addition to [[Divided States of America]], also has a divided Canada, and more than 400 UN member states. It mentions "Great Russia", indicating that the Soviet Union broke up (the book came out in 1982, before it happened in [[Real Life]]). There's also a mention of Prussia, but whether or not it's the united Germany is unclear.

** An article on the author's website, as well as two short stories released, talk about how Great Britain survives due to its offshore islands where civilisation can wait until everyone on the mainland dies off. It then rapidly expands to the point where in 2050 it controls all of Britain, Iceland (nominally) France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, a large Part of North Africa and the East Coast of the USA, as well as being the de facto rulers of New Zealand and what remains of Australia. It appears that instead of Balkanising, Europe simply falls apart and then a few states re-expand. Russia does dissolve into lots of rural kingdoms, though.

* [[Ken MacLeod]]'s ''The Star Fraction'' (first in the Fall Revolution quadrilogy) has a Balkanised UK, and mentions the UN having over two thousand national flags flying outside.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[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.

** Summed up in the opening line to [[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]: "The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide."

** In modern times China remains divided between the People's Republic of China (mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), while there are separatist movements within the mainland in both Tibet and Xinjiang, provinces which are Autonomous Regions only in name.

** Ironically enough, most of these further balkanizations has been under the auspices of Russia in order to weaken the states that broke away from the USSR, but also with a plausible reason -- most such territories were autonomous regions during the Soviet era, but lost the privilege once assimilated into the new republics, as is the case with Ossetia and Abkhazia, and their local populations were willing to fight to retain autonomy. Russia's autonomous oblasts retain their status, perhaps a lesson learned from the the infighting within the breakaway states.

** In 1993 Czechoslovakia followed USSR's example.

*** 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%.

** Saskatchewan and Alberta went through a phase of this in the early 1980s, with several secessionist parties, such as the Unionist party (Who wanted to join the US) and the Western Canada Concept (who wanted to make a new country from the western provinces and the territories.). The latter recently got semi-revived with the creation of the Western Bloc Party, but they're getting very little traction, coming in 3rd from last in the most recent election.

** Some figures point out that, if Belgium were to split, it could split into up to 4 different countries -- Flanders, Wallonia, formerly Prussian Eupen-Malmedy, and the multicultural city-state of Brussels, which also functions as the headquarters of the [[European Union]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Alternate History Tropes]]

[[Category:Balkanize Me]]