Space-Filling Empire: Difference between revisions

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[[File:sfempire_2151.jpg|link=Nineteen Eighty Four|right]]

[[File:sfempire_2151.jpg|link=Nineteen Eighty-Four|right]]

When writing alternate timelines or playing around with maps, [[Alternate History|counterfactual]] historians sometimes don't see the point of coming up with lots of different countries, especially for regions they know little about such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. There may also be a need to make sure that the entire earth is [[PVP Balanced]] in more warlike stories. So what they do is just fill the map with large polities, even when there would be little plausibility to a single empire ruling said territories. This is derisively referred to as a Space Filling Empire.

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Contrast [[Balkanize Me]]. See also [[Risk Style Map]]. Several types are found in [[United Europe]], [[Expanded States of America]], and [[Middle Eastern Coalition]]. Can lead to [[One Federation Limit]].

== Anime and Manga ==

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== Literature ==

* The best-known example is ''[[Nineteen Eighty Four|1984]]'': The world consists of just three countries, Oceania (the Americas, the British Isles, Australia, and Southern Africa), Eurasia and Eastasia (which are pretty [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|self-explanatory]]). The remainder of the world (the northern half of Africa, the Middle East, Southern India, Southeast Asia, the polar regions, and the Pacific islands) is a permanent buffer zone with control constantly shifting from one side to the other, and where the three powers wage endless war against each other so as to divert resources and attention away from domestic reform. Allegiances constantly shift so no side gains an advantage, but officially [[Internal Retcon|Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia]].

* The best-known example is ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'': The world consists of just three countries, Oceania (the Americas, the British Isles, Australia, and Southern Africa), Eurasia and Eastasia (which are pretty [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|self-explanatory]]). The remainder of the world (the northern half of Africa, the Middle East, Southern India, Southeast Asia, the polar regions, and the Pacific islands) is a permanent buffer zone with control constantly shifting from one side to the other, and where the three powers wage endless war against each other so as to divert resources and attention away from domestic reform. Allegiances constantly shift so no side gains an advantage, but officially [[Internal Retcon|Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia]].

* The United States of Africa from the ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[Expanded Universe]].

* ''[[The Draka]]'' series: OK, the titular empire's insane growth [[Villain Sue|is sort of the whole point]], but areas like South America seem to randomly agglomerate for no real reason except to cut down the number of polities in the final wars.

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[[Category:Alternate History Tropes]]

[[Category:Space Filling Empire]]

[[Category:Trope]]

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