Post by Zyobot on Feb 17, 2019 0:02:18 GMT
IOTL, the Cold War was a worldwide standoff between the People's States of America and the Russian Empire as they built up nuclear arsenals, instigated proxy wars, and masterminded general geopolitical mayhem in order to spread their respective political and economic systems across the globe. America's collapse in the early 2000s marked the end of this decades-long gridlock, resulting in the ultimate triumph of imperial power and Eurasian laissez-faireism for generations to come.
But let's say that the roles were reversed. How would a Cold War with a capitalist America and a communist Russia play out ITTL?
Thank you in advance,
Zyobot
OOC
To clarify on what sort of world TTL takes place in, there are two essential PODs to it. The first is that Peter the Great democratizes Russia circa 1721, causing it to develop into a representative constitutional monarchy with an effective Duma and nominal (though still privileged) nobility. As the Industrial Revolution commences in both Europe and Asia during the 18th and 19th Centuries--leading to noticeably more technological advancement and overall modernization than is true IOTL--Russia transforms into a thoroughly mechanized colossus and champion of laissez-faire by the 1900s. At its height, the Empire's sphere of influence mainly encompasses Northern Europe, the Middle East and the pretty much anarcho-capitalistic Asia-Pacific.
The second is that a far greedier British Empire holds onto its Thirteen Colonies and eventually conquers the whole continent, now termed British North America (or BNA). Whatever industrialization it undergoes mainly benefits the upper classes and imperial overlords; while the British Isles take the lion's share of economic productivity, the American colonists toil and slave away in dangerous factories and mines, all for the benefit of people who don't even live amongst them. Add in mass conscription to fight in wars for the enrichment and prestige of those same people, and the colonists finally have enough as a socialist American Revolution occurs in 1920--the People's States of America (or PSA) is born. In its continued mission to establish a worldwide worker's paradise, the PSA's reach has extended throughout Southern Europe, South America and large swaths of Africa, which is home to numberless free communes and lasting resentment against the imperialistic powers that have exploited it for ages.
We can figure out the rest as the discussion evolves. What I have so far may not be perfect, but it was the most interesting/least cliche storyline that I could come up with.
But let's say that the roles were reversed. How would a Cold War with a capitalist America and a communist Russia play out ITTL?
Thank you in advance,
Zyobot
OOC
To clarify on what sort of world TTL takes place in, there are two essential PODs to it. The first is that Peter the Great democratizes Russia circa 1721, causing it to develop into a representative constitutional monarchy with an effective Duma and nominal (though still privileged) nobility. As the Industrial Revolution commences in both Europe and Asia during the 18th and 19th Centuries--leading to noticeably more technological advancement and overall modernization than is true IOTL--Russia transforms into a thoroughly mechanized colossus and champion of laissez-faire by the 1900s. At its height, the Empire's sphere of influence mainly encompasses Northern Europe, the Middle East and the pretty much anarcho-capitalistic Asia-Pacific.
The second is that a far greedier British Empire holds onto its Thirteen Colonies and eventually conquers the whole continent, now termed British North America (or BNA). Whatever industrialization it undergoes mainly benefits the upper classes and imperial overlords; while the British Isles take the lion's share of economic productivity, the American colonists toil and slave away in dangerous factories and mines, all for the benefit of people who don't even live amongst them. Add in mass conscription to fight in wars for the enrichment and prestige of those same people, and the colonists finally have enough as a socialist American Revolution occurs in 1920--the People's States of America (or PSA) is born. In its continued mission to establish a worldwide worker's paradise, the PSA's reach has extended throughout Southern Europe, South America and large swaths of Africa, which is home to numberless free communes and lasting resentment against the imperialistic powers that have exploited it for ages.
We can figure out the rest as the discussion evolves. What I have so far may not be perfect, but it was the most interesting/least cliche storyline that I could come up with.
