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Description

A rework of an older map

An attempt at a better Interwar period (or: no Nazis, no Wehrstaat, and also no Stalin): When I started reworking this I considered moving back the POD (Point of Divergence) by a few years (either to 1918/19 or 20, to prevent the Spartacus Uprising and the Kapp Putsch, respectively), but I realised that alone would not be able to fix the underlying issues Weimar Democracy faced (a pre-World War 1, most likely pre-1871 and perhaps even pre-1848 POD would be necessary for that), so I decided that working with the troubled Weimar Republic would be the best course of action. And indeed there are a few ways things could have gone (significantly) better. These include:

-Hitler dies (this probably stems from an overestimation of the importance of Hitler and isn't a necessary or even all that great solution to, really, any underlying issue, but it might lead to...)

-...the Nazi Party breaking apart into ideologically opposed factions (Völkisch-Conservative groups, Strasserists/NazBols, etc.)

-Hindenburg is not elected president in 1925 or 32 (ideally a SocDem/Zentrum politician is elected, less ideally a non-Hindenburg DVP candidate)

-The Genoa Conference has tangible results and as such there's no occupation of the Ruhr (ideally the Soviet Union is included in the final agreement in some form and even more ideally this kicks off a more general trend of economic cooperation and integration in western Europe)

-Germany and Austria are allowed to unite or enter some form of economic union (the former is explicitly not the case here)

Again, *ideally* this would result in Weimar Democracy weathering through the Great Depression and beyond. The longer peace(ful development) and democratic governance are undisturbed, the more it becomes the norm, and eventually old wounds and grudges should heal, to a point where revanchism and war are no longer on people's minds. The sames goes for the Soviet Union (more on that below): the longer the USSR exists and the more it normalizes it's relations with Germany/'the West', the less 'spooky' it appears to the ordinary citizen (or rather, fearmongering and propaganda become less effective); the longer the NEP continues and proves to be successful, the more it becomes 'the norm' and the more difficult it'll become to get rid of it.

That forms the core idea behind this world.

Elsewhere:

-Bukharin becomes the paramount leader of the Soviet Union (Lenin speaks out against Stalin while he still can?), there's no Great Terror and the NEP continues ad infinitum.

-The situation in the Far East is largely unchanged by the events in Europe: Japanese democracy crumbles, the KMT solidifies it's rule in Canton and launches an expedition against northern warlords, Japan seizes Manchuria.

From there on major changes occur: an alternate Central Plains War ends with a victory for the anti-Chiang forces, the CCP looses a significant amount of potential support due to the continued presence of the Guominjun, and Japan discovers oil in Manchuria (and decides to invest in it). The combination of peace in Europe and the discovery of oil in Manchuria (which is to say, energy independence) lead to war between Japan and the USSR. Japan, facing both the Red Army and the NRA/Guominjun and suffering from western sanctions, is eventually pushed off of the continent (the invasion of Hokkaido was a rather bloody affair in any case).

-There's no Chaco War

-Fiume is internationalised

THE PRESENT

-New Deal-types still rule the United States (while the Democrats of course are the 'New Deal Party', the Republicans aren't significantly different, and their main points of disagreement are on US expansion and the American Community (to both of which the GOP is opposed))

-Bulgaria is cautiously pro-USSR

-China is a good two decades ahead of where it was in otl's 1979

-People living in the former french colonial territories are full citizens of France

-The lack of a Holocaust (and other genocides committed by the Nazis), second World War, Great Terror, Great Chinese Famine, the earlier Great Depression recovery and the much earlier access to proper education of millions of people (through the integration/emancipation of former colonial territories) have allowed science and technology to progress ahead of otl 1979 by 2 to 2 1/2 decades

-The USE is similar to our timeline's proposed EPC

-There's a South Seas Dominion

-The NIA is the National Intelligence Agency, the successor to the older Cypher Bureau

-The chinese letters mean "anti-imperialist" and mark pro-chinese, anti-european sub-national/autonomous (colonial) governments, such as Vietnam or Java

-The Suez Canal is officially under LoN control, but in reality jointly administered by Britain, France and Italy

-There's a canal connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Bay of Bengal (a joint sino-thai project to undermine the importance of the Malacca Straits/Singapore) and a bridge/tunnel has been built across the Strait of Gibraltar

On soviet strategy: The absence of a world revolution, the subsequent failure of Soviet Russia to export communism through military means, the long period of peace since the first World War, during which 'Socialism in one country' and the 'New Economic Policy' were in place, and the increasing cooperation with the western powers; these factors all lead to the current development of soviet political strategy, which holds that, if it is impossible to topple the imperialist powers through neither military means, nor political agitation - due to the formation of a labour aristocracy - it must be achieved through the revolutionising of the colonial subjects, and either a subsequent revolution 'from below' or the political blackmailing of the ruling elites in the metropole. While the colonial powers were forced to integrate their colonies and grant their subjects political rights, this strategy has not brought about the hoped for results. This entire process in turn has caused the main ideolouges of Soviet Russia to become practically revisionist, which is the main point of friction between the USSR and Iran, the latter being strongly opposed to any cooperation with the colonial powers or acceptance of their 'liberal imperialism'

Description

A rework of an older map

An attempt at a better Interwar period (or: no Nazis, no Wehrstaat, and also no Stalin): When I started reworking this I considered moving back the POD (Point of Divergence) by a few years (either to 1918/19 or 20, to prevent the Spartacus Uprising and the Kapp Putsch, respectively), but I realised that alone would not be able to fix the underlying issues Weimar Democracy faced (a pre-World War 1, most likely pre-1871 and perhaps even pre-1848 POD would be necessary for that), so I decided that working with the troubled Weimar Republic would be the best course of action. And indeed there are a few ways things could have gone (significantly) better. These include:

-Hitler dies (this probably stems from an overestimation of the importance of Hitler and isn't a necessary or even all that great solution to, really, any underlying issue, but it might lead to...)

-...the Nazi Party breaking apart into ideologically opposed factions (Völkisch-Conservative groups, Strasserists/NazBols, etc.)

-Hindenburg is not elected president in 1925 or 32 (ideally a SocDem/Zentrum politician is elected, less ideally a non-Hindenburg DVP candidate)

-The Genoa Conference has tangible results and as such there's no occupation of the Ruhr (ideally the Soviet Union is included in the final agreement in some form and even more ideally this kicks off a more general trend of economic cooperation and integration in western Europe)

-Germany and Austria are allowed to unite or enter some form of economic union (the former is explicitly not the case here)

Again, *ideally* this would result in Weimar Democracy weathering through the Great Depression and beyond. The longer peace(ful development) and democratic governance are undisturbed, the more it becomes the norm, and eventually old wounds and grudges should heal, to a point where revanchism and war are no longer on people's minds. The sames goes for the Soviet Union (more on that below): the longer the USSR exists and the more it normalizes it's relations with Germany/'the West', the less 'spooky' it appears to the ordinary citizen (or rather, fearmongering and propaganda become less effective); the longer the NEP continues and proves to be successful, the more it becomes 'the norm' and the more difficult it'll become to get rid of it.

That forms the core idea behind this world.

Elsewhere:

-Bukharin becomes the paramount leader of the Soviet Union (Lenin speaks out against Stalin while he still can?), there's no Great Terror and the NEP continues ad infinitum.

-The situation in the Far East is largely unchanged by the events in Europe: Japanese democracy crumbles, the KMT solidifies it's rule in Canton and launches an expedition against northern warlords, Japan seizes Manchuria.

From there on major changes occur: an alternate Central Plains War ends with a victory for the anti-Chiang forces, the CCP looses a significant amount of potential support due to the continued presence of the Guominjun, and Japan discovers oil in Manchuria (and decides to invest in it). The combination of peace in Europe and the discovery of oil in Manchuria (which is to say, energy independence) lead to war between Japan and the USSR. Japan, facing both the Red Army and the NRA/Guominjun and suffering from western sanctions, is eventually pushed off of the continent (the invasion of Hokkaido was a rather bloody affair in any case).

-There's no Chaco War

-Fiume is internationalised

THE PRESENT

-New Deal-types still rule the United States (while the Democrats of course are the 'New Deal Party', the Republicans aren't significantly different, and their main points of disagreement are on US expansion and the American Community (to both of which the GOP is opposed))

-Bulgaria is cautiously pro-USSR

-China is a good two decades ahead of where it was in otl's 1979

-People living in the former french colonial territories are full citizens of France

-The lack of a Holocaust (and other genocides committed by the Nazis), second World War, Great Terror, Great Chinese Famine, the earlier Great Depression recovery and the much earlier access to proper education of millions of people (through the integration/emancipation of former colonial territories) have allowed science and technology to progress ahead of otl 1979 by 2 to 2 1/2 decades

-The USE is similar to our timeline's proposed EPC

-There's a South Seas Dominion

-The NIA is the National Intelligence Agency, the successor to the older Cypher Bureau

-The chinese letters mean "anti-imperialist" and mark pro-chinese, anti-european sub-national/autonomous (colonial) governments, such as Vietnam or Java

-The Suez Canal is officially under LoN control, but in reality jointly administered by Britain, France and Italy

-There's a canal connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Bay of Bengal (a joint sino-thai project to undermine the importance of the Malacca Straits/Singapore) and a bridge/tunnel has been built across the Strait of Gibraltar

On soviet strategy: The absence of a world revolution, the subsequent failure of Soviet Russia to export communism through military means, the long period of peace since the first World War, during which 'Socialism in one country' and the 'New Economic Policy' were in place, and the increasing cooperation with the western powers; these factors all lead to the current development of soviet political strategy, which holds that, if it is impossible to topple the imperialist powers through neither military means, nor political agitation - due to the formation of a labour aristocracy - it must be achieved through the revolutionising of the colonial subjects, and either a subsequent revolution 'from below' or the political blackmailing of the ruling elites in the metropole. While the colonial powers were forced to integrate their colonies and grant their subjects political rights, this strategy has not brought about the hoped for results. This entire process in turn has caused the main ideolouges of Soviet Russia to become practically revisionist, which is the main point of friction between the USSR and Iran, the latter being strongly opposed to any cooperation with the colonial powers or acceptance of their 'liberal imperialism'