The World Situation, 2010
The world is dominated by the six major powers. There are no independents or neutrals, by this time every minor nation has been absorbed into one of the six powers. These powers are divided as follows:
The Great Powers - the Western Alliance and the European Reich;
Middle Powers - the USSR and the Japanese Empire;
Minor Powers ? the Indian Republic and the African Union.
Both the Western Alliance and the German European Reich have fostered and encouraged international travel, and, in general, have allowed fair free access to each other?s citizens. Multi-national corporations do not exist as such, as corporations are seen as another facet of national power and pride. Still, in spite of the absence of multi-nationals and limited investment opportunities in each other?s economy due to protective laws, tariffs, and treaties, the Alliance and the Reich have a fairly close relationship. In particular, all of the major news organizations in the Alliance have bureaus in throughout the Reich, and the same can be said for Reich news organizations.
Japan and the USSR, on the other hand, have discouraged international travel for their citizens, and exist almost completely separate from the other nations behind what has come to be called the ?Iron Curtain? for the USSR and the ?Bamboo Curtain? for the Japanese Empire. Aside from participating in various international conferences and summits, and limited trade arranged by governmental treaty, neither of these governments desires or allows foreigners to visit or its own citizens to travel.
India, for the most part, encourages international travel and has a track record of successfully obtaining Alliance and Reich capital investments in its economy and, most particularly, its educational system. India has a fairly open society, including a free press that its supporters claim is more ?free? than either the Reich?s or the Alliance?s.
The African Union is the newest power, and is in what many view as a ?transition-state? between the more totalitarian middle powers and the open societies of the two great powers. The Union is very touchy about its national pride, and will only allow limited numbers of foreigners to visit their country and will heavily control their movements when they do.
At the current time there is no international diplomatic body like the old League of Nations, which died in the fires of World War II. The United States attempted to create a successor to the League, optimistically called the United Nations, but because of its reduced prestige and internal turmoil it was unable to effectively convince other nations to sign onto the plan. In the absence of an international diplomatic body, semi-regular summits and treaty meetings handle international relations. The Alliance and the Reich hold regular conferences by sub-Minister-level officials to resolve issues before they become problems.
The result of all of this is that the citizens of the Alliance, the Reich, and the Indian Republic all have a fairly cosmopolitan world-view and good information about world events that are provided by a <relatively> free press. The citizens of the USSR and the Japanese Empire are, for the most part, held in ignorance about events transpiring around the world, or even in their own countries.
Currently, international relations are strained. Both the Reich and the Western Alliance are fighting what amount to undeclared wars against guerillas in Egypt and South Africa. Both major powers have intelligence that the African Union is funding and supplying the guerillas/terrorists, however, neither has any hard information and to date the terrorists have limited their attacks to the portions of the African continent controlled by the larger powers. The Reich also faces an on-again/off-again insurrection in its Indian Province, and as with the African situation, it suspects that the Indian government is fostering this insurrection to regain territory.
Both the Japanese Empire and the USSR have taken every opportunity to weaken the Great Powers, or to undermine the relationships between the Minor Powers and the Major Powers. However, neither of the Middle Powers dares directly confront either of the Major Powers and they trust each other even less than they trust the Reich or the Alliance.
Still, in spite of the international tension the general mood is hopeful. Both of the Major Powers are substantially stronger than the dictatorships that comprise the Middle Powers, and the Major Powers have generally good relationships. Relatively cheap system-wide travel appears to be on the horizon and mankind appears to be on the brink of expanding beyond the bounds of Earth.
The current situation with the powers of Earth (listed in order of overall strength):
The Greater German Reich: The Reich has maintained a leading position among the world powers for the last fifty years. Its lead is not undisputed. The Alliance is very close in terms of economy and raw military strength, and both nations have mirrored the other?s activities in space. The Reich is ahead in both theoretical and applied physics, while America has a significant lead in most aspects of computer technology. The Reich also enjoys a relatively high standard of living that is the envy of much of the world. Although the German portion of the Reich enjoys a slightly higher standard of living than the rest of the member nations, this lead has shrunk over the last several years as investments in the other nations of the Reich increased their relative wealth. The Reich Territories, on the other hand, have average standards of living lower than those of the full members, although they are not anywhere near poverty level. This disparity is the source of significant discontent, particularly in the Middle East. Several political groups advocating for full membership have become very vocal lately, and several others pushing for independence are coalescing. The Reich?s Indian Territories are a hotbed of discontent, unrest, and even terrorist activity that has only gotten worse as the Indian Republic gains confidence and power. Prior to the transition to Trans-Newtonian tech, Germany had a significant presence in orbit and on the moon, several missions ongoing to the asteroids, and had a small colony (50,000) on Venus. Most of the ongoing missions were withdrawn to be refitted to trans-newtonian tech, but the Venus colony continues and is slated to be expanded once the new ships are ready. The Reich has relatively good relations with Japan and the Alliance, but there is significant tension with the USSR. The Reich is engaged in what amounts to an undeclared economic and intelligence war with India and the African Confederation over terrorist attacks in its border territories.
In the aftermath of the War of European Unification, the Reich depended on the German military to act as its armed forces. The Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine were all seconded to the Reich from Germany in a complicated arrangement that depended on the fact that the Kaiser was both the titular head of state of Germany and the actual head of state of the Reich, and as such was the commander in chief of Germany?s armed forces no matter which organization they were technically working for. This unwieldy arrangement came to an end in the late 1970?s, after the African war demonstrated the drawbacks of this arrangement.
As a result of the military reforms of the late 70?s and early 80?s, which were accelerated when Kaiserine Hildegard assumed the throne after her mother stepped down as Regent in 1982, the Reich Army (Reich Wehrmacht), Navy (Reich Kriegsmarine), and Air Force (Reich Luftwaffe) were born. All three arms drew heavily from Germany?s armed forces, of course, but the reforms included significant advances in terms of giving the other European nations a presence in the Reich?s military. In spite of these advances the Reich?s military still uses German ranks and German is still the military?s only official language. This is not as much a hardship as one might think; given the fact that German is taught at every elementary school in the Reich and is considered the national language.
All three Reich military arms maintained an interest in orbital warfare, and fought against the formation of an independent space arm, which they correctly saw as a competitor for scarce funding. It wasn?t until late in 2004, over six years after the Western Alliance formed its own Space Force, that the Kaiserine finally overruled the heads of the military arms and ordered them to give up their space-based assets to the new Reich Space Navy (Raummarine).
The Raummarine relies on missiles as its primary offensive and defensive weapons. The Reich tends to use more capable missiles than the Western Alliance. The Raummarine prefers large, well-armored generalist ships capable of handling any situation they might encounter.
The Reich?s goals are similar to those of the WA, to expand, explore, and exploit other worlds. The Reich will be more interested in military affairs on Earth, though, and will focus more time and energy in bolstering its defenses as a result.
The Western Alliance: The Western Alliance is the Reich?s primary rival in the modern world. The Alliance?s economy is close to that of the Reich, and its science and technology is effectively equivalent. Over the last fifty years the Alliance has evolved from a loose organization of nations with a common concern to a fairly strong confederation of nations bound together by law and precedent. Each member nation retains almost complete internal sovereignty, although there are significant limits to that sovereignty. Despotism is not tolerated, nor is widespread or systemic corruption. The Alliance Council has required these impositions as, over the years, the Alliance has spent vast sums of money on improving the infrastructure and living conditions in Alliance countries, and they did not want these resources misspent or diverted. The Alliance Council has jurisdiction over intra-state relations and activities, and extra-national affairs, and has the authority to tax and maintain a military. It is largely an outgrowth of the British Commonwealth, and indeed the first members were Canada, Australia, and the US. England has been talking a larger and larger role in recent years, as its economy has largely recovered from the war and, while it does not retain the leadership role it once had, it is an important part of the Alliance. The treaty requirements that limit England?s military have actually stimulated their economy and the English public is the Alliance?s staunchest supporters. The Alliance has faced increasing internal problems of late as Central and South American countries have begun to push for a larger say in Alliance affairs. There is also some dissatisfaction within the Alliance over the disparity between the US standard of living and that of most other American nations. The Alliance has a significant presence in orbit and on the moon, and has several missions active in the asteroid belt. In addition, the Alliance has a small colony (50,000) on Mars. The Alliance maintains good relations with the Indian Republic. There is significant tension between the Alliance and both the Reich and the Japanese Empire. Relations are currently strained between the Alliance and the African Confederation.
The Western Alliance Military has three primary components, the Space Force, the Strategic Air Arm, and the Marine Corps. The Space Force was created in 1998 and was formed around the nucleus of the Alliance Strategic Air Arm?s Space Operations Directorate. The rank structure of both the Space Force and the Strategic Air Arm are similar to that of the US Air Force. The Alliance Marine Corps was created during the same reorganization that created the Strategic Air Arm in 1975, and was formed out of the US Marine Corps and the Royal Marines. The traditions of both of the original organizations have been maintained by the Alliance Marine Corps. The Alliance Marine Corps is a specialized rapid strike group, and is not intended for heavy, long-term combat. Each member nation maintains its own national armies, many of which include heavy armor and infantry units.
The Western Alliance Space Force (WASF) has focused on a combination of missiles and beams for their primary striking power. WASF ships rely on shields for their primary defenses, and are generally lightly armored. The WASF prefers specialized ships, which means that it will deploy specialized missile defense ships, missile cruisers, and beam strike cruisers. The general WASF strategy is to use large numbers of generally light missiles to drain an enemy?s shields, leaving their ships open for attacks from laser cannons.
The Western Alliance?s goals are to very similar to those of the Reich, to explore other systems and colonize suitable planets. Like the Germans, the WA will feel it is particularly important to expand beyond off of Earth given the intense concentration of nuclear weapons on and around Earth. The WA will try to maintain superiority over other nations, but will not launch an attack against another nation unless severely provoked. The WA will respond with overwhelming force if attacked, though.
The USSR: The USSR has been unable to match the economies of the Reich and the Alliance, but has managed to maintain its status as a Great Power by diverting immense amounts of resources to its military. The USSR currently has the largest standing Army of any major nation. This investment in the military has damaged their economy and reduced their citizen?s standard of living to one far beneath that of the two leading powers, and as a result the government can only maintain its rule by using an iron fist. The USSR is behind the two leading powers in technology, but has remained in shouting distance of the Alliance and the Reich by heavy use of the KGB to steal technology or hinder the research efforts of the two leaders. The USSR has a limited presence in Earth Orbit and on the moon, and has made no effort to send expeditions beyond the Earth-moon system. The USSR fears the other powers and has good relations with none of them, although it has made a significant effort to cultivate the African Confederation.
The People?s Space Navy (PSN) prefers heavily armed ships. Defenses, speed and pretty much everything else are sacrificed to give PSN ships the heaviest punch possible. The PSN prefers kinetic weapons over missiles and beams.
The USSR?s primary goal is to equal and, if possible, exceed the power of the two superpowers. To do this they will focus on military might, colonization, and conquest, if necessary. They desperately want to establish an interplanetary empire as a means of achieving their goals, and will ruthlessly subjugate any alien species they find to enrich themselves. They may ally with an alien race against the other human nations, but such an alliance will be one of convenience only, to gain advantage over the other nations.
The Japanese Empire: Imperial Japan is in much the same position as the USSR. It cannot hope to match the two leading powers in terms of technology or economy, so it has invested heavily in its military and possesses the second largest strategic nuclear rocket force. Japan rules China with an iron fist, and the Chinese are little better than slaves working on Japanese military factories. Conditions for Japanese citizens are austere, which the Japanese government has successfully portrayed as a matter of national character. Conditions are downright hellish for the Chinese. Japan has also relied heavily on its intelligence services to obtain technology, and it is generally acknowledged to be equivalent to the USSR in most areas. Japan has attempted to maintain cordial relations with the Reich; however, its efforts have been hampered by its mistreatment of its Chinese subjects. Japan?s relationship with the Indian Republic is poor, as is its relationship with the Alliance. Japan is the primary supporter of the African Confederation, and is the only nation that enjoys warm relations with that nation.
The Japanese, like the Germans, prefer big, heavy ships. Unlike the Germans the Japanese prefer speed above all, believing that speed is a space ship?s primary offensive and defensive weapon. Because of this Japanese ships will tend to have fewer weapons and defenses than other comparable ships, but will likely be faster.
Imperial Japan?s goal is similar to the USSR?s, except that they are more desperate than the Soviet?s. Their hold on China is slipping and they feel that they need an enhanced military to retain control of their conquests. They will do anything they can to fend off attempts by the superpowers to liberate the Chinese, and can be counted on to counter the USSR?s maneuvering. They are completely willing to take significant risks to harm the other nations and advance their own position. Much like the USSR the Japanese have a limited presence in Earth-orbit.
The Indian Republic: In the nearly fifty years of its existence, the Indian Republic has become a master at manipulating its larger neighbors to maintain its independence and bolster its economy. India maintains a standard of living for its citizens that is approximately equivalent to that of the Central and South American Alliance nations, and it has surprised everyone by developing a significant research and development capacity that has put it within striking distance of the Reich and the Alliance, and beyond the USSR and the Japanese Empire. The Indian government is a fairly democratic republic that is devoted to maintaining India?s independence. India?s military is strong, but not in the same class as any of the four larger powers. Instead it relies on the rivalry between the major powers as its primary defense. India maintains a moderate presence in orbit and on the moon, and was planning several missions to Mars and the asteroids before the advent of trans-Newtonian technology. The Republic has a warm relationship with the Alliance and has, perhaps surprisingly, cordial relations with the USSR, but as noted above it is engaged in significant conflict with the Japanese Empire and the Reich. There is significant tension between the Republic and the African Confederation over a recent incident in the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Union has focused on research above all other things, and will continue to do so in the future. The Indians will be willing to trade tech to other nations in exchange for resources, including weapons tech/missiles.
The African Islamic Confederation: This is the newest power on the world scene. While it is relatively stable internally, the Confederation is a destabilizing force in the world as it is pushing to recover territories that it claims were stolen by the other imperialistic powers. The Confederation is an autocratic government that is relatively honest in its desire to better the conditions of the average African. In the last several years the Confederation has spent huge sums on vast engineering projects in central Africa in an attempt to harness the continent?s large deposits of natural resources and improve the living conditions of the people. The Confederation is the weakest of the powers in terms of military, economy, and science and technology, but it is showing signs of significant economic growth in recent years as peace and the suppression of corruption have spread throughout the African continent. The Confederation has good relations with the Japanese Empire, and increasingly good relations with the USSR. The African Alliance is very hostile to the Reich and the Alliance, which is understandable given their history.
The Union has no standing space navy. The Union has no plans to build a deep-space navy at this time and instead will likely concentrate on researching and deploying systems appropriate for local defense.
International Treaties (Both formal and informal)
1. MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction)
Both the Reich and the Alliance have, informally and unofficially, embraced the strategic doctrine of MAD. While the Reich and the Alliance enjoy a relationship that is much warmer than the one that spawned the Cold War in our reality, they still have numerous nuclear weapons pointed at each other and all of the other nations. Given the reality of the nukes, both the Reich and the Alliance have independently decided to avoid an arms race by building enough nuclear weapons to wipe out the other nations and then stopping there. Under this strategy it is important that no one build defenses or the wheels begin coming off. Therefore both the Alliance and the Reich have let the other powers know, in no uncertain terms, that they would consider it an act of war to build any kind of defenses on or around Earth. Both of the Major Powers are very serious about this, as they consider it extremely likely that once one nation begins building defenses all the others will be forced to do so as well, and that the ultimate result will be a bankrupting arms race with only one possible outcome ? total war.
Note: Both the Reich and the Alliance fear that the unofficial strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction will begin fraying under the pressure of trans-Newtonian technology and their expansion into the Solar System.
2. Active Sensor Ban
The Reich and the Western Alliance signed this treaty in 2004 after both nations launched small orbital stations designed to scan the others ships. Tensions rapidly escalated as both tried to stop the other from obtaining new intelligence while gathering as much of their own intelligence as possible. The situation nearly led to shooting before cooler heads prevailed and the stations were deactivated. The Treaty of Puerto Rico, negotiated and signed after an incident in orbit involving Reich and alliance space assets, banned the use of active sensors within ten million kilometers of Earth, and their use in proximity to other nation?s ships is discouraged even outside the zone.
While the USSR, the Japanese Empire, the Indian Republic and the African Union are not signatories of the treaty, the two Major Powers have made it clear that they expect all of the other nations to adhere to the basic tenants of the treaty. The resolve of the Alliance and the Reich was tested by the Japanese Empire late in 2004 when they launched an unmanned sensor satellite. The satellite was destroyed five minutes after it activated its sensors by a single missile launched by each of the Major Powers. Since then no one has tested their resolve.
3. Use of transponders
In anticipation of the rapid expansion that is predicted to go along with the conversion of the economies and fleets of the powers to trans-Newtonian technology, the Reich and the Alliance have recently signed the Treaty of Tycho which requires all civilian and military ships to install and use transponder equipment. Any ship encountered by and Reich or Alliance ship without transponders will be considered a pirate or a smuggler, and will be either impounded and seized or destroyed. As with the treaty of Puerto Rico, the major powers expect the other nations to adhere to this treaty whether they are signatories or not.
A note on this alternate world:
The standard of living in America and Germany is lower than it is in our timeline; however, the standard of living throughout the rest of the world is significantly higher than it is in our world. Central and South America, the Middle East, and even Africa enjoy standards of living in this world that are far beyond what they suffer under in our world, although they aren?t quite up to those of the leading nations. This has several consequences. First, this is a significantly richer world than ours, because the GNP of so many nations is so much higher. Secondly, this world has several problems that are significantly worse than the same problems in our world. First off, they are looking at a significantly more urgent resource depletion situation than we are, because there are so many more economies that are using so many more resources. Secondly, pollution is a significant problem, for the same reason. Efforts to reduce or eliminate pollution have met with limited success, as a booming economy is seen as a national necessity to compete with the other major powers. Thus, no government will allow mere ecological concerns to interfere with important economic matters. This has led to a significantly degraded ecology in industrial areas, which is now encroaching on living and farming areas, particularly outside of the US and Germany. Severe smog is common in most cities, and the problem is growing worse.
