'A Fighting Chance?' The Weasel in the White House, Part II

[TNF]

January 20, 2021



"I, Elizabeth Ann Warren, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God."

[NeverAgain]

Yay! It's Back!

[TNF]

Where in the World is Everyone Else? Or, What the Hell is Going On?

An around the world in 30 minutes post on what's been happening around the globe.

United Kingdom

The 2015 General Election saw a plurality in parliament for the Labour Party, leading to yet another coalition government, this time a grand coalition between Labour and the Tories, the first of its kind in 70 years. The subsequent government, continuing with Cameron at its head and Ed Miliband as Deputy PM, would continue to implement austerity measures, albeit in a smaller and more limited fashion. In return for Labour Party support, the coalition would agree to the establishment of an elected House of Lords, ending the undemocratic nature of that body and setting the date for the first elections to that chamber to coincide with the upcoming 2020 General Election.

British response to the Great Upheaval in the United States was mostly muted. Cameron and Miliband alike praised President Walker in 'doing what was necessary' to restore order after the events of May 5th, but Miliband in particular criticized some of the excesses of the security state afterward. Cameron likewise signed on to the War in Venezuela and has been providing British military aid to the effort, which has caused the unpopularity of the new coalition government to rise. Only more unpopular was the participation of Labour in the coalition, which found itself with its worst ever showing in the 2020 General Election, which returned a majority for the Tories for the first time since the 1990s.

The Green Party has effectively positioned itself into the space formerly occupied by the Liberal Democrats, who count seats in the single digits as of this posting. Various nationalist parties have grown in strength (the SNP now holds every MP in Scotland), and both UKIP and the far-left Socialist Trades Union and Left Alliance (STLA, a merger of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and Left Unity) now have seats in parliament.

France

Nicholas Sarkozy is once again President of France, having defeating Marine Le Pen in the 2017 Presidential Election, with the incumbent President not even qualifying for the runoff. The PS is the weakest its been in generations, with the far-right FN occupying the position of effective opposition to the UMP. Polls indicate that renewed unpopularity for the UMP (which has intervened with the United States and UK in Venezuela) and presided over attacks on trade union rights and austerity may lead to a total victory for the FN in the 2022 Presidential Election, as the FN parliamentary bloc continues to grow with each electoral contest. France is increasingly a very scary place for leftists, immigrants, and the working class.

Russia

Vladimir Putin remains President of Russia and remains the public face of international opposition to the United States' foreign policy objectives in 2021. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has recently lead to threats of full-on intervention by the Russians as Kiev moves toward membership not just in NATO, but also the EU. Russian politics is increasingly insular, homophobic, and nationalistic as Putin expands the ranks of the Russian Federation military and forges closer ties with the Chinese. He has been vocal in opposing the American-led war in Venezuela, and cynically condemned Walker for his actions in response to the May 5th events, although he has himself cracked down harshly on the opposition in his own country, most notably the Communist Party, which has had something of a renaissance in recent years.

China

The slowdown of the Chinese economy in 2016-17 precipitated the second part of the Great Recession, and pump-priming in China has thus far not done the trick to reverse the downward trend there. As the world's manufacturer has slowed down, strikes and political unrest have grown, leading to crackdowns and mass executions not unlike those following the events of May 5th in the United States. This has likewise lead to the rise of a supposedly neo-Maoist segment of the Chinese leadership (which is not so much Maoist as it is anti-US), which has built up the People's Liberation Army and has strongly condemned US actions in Venezuela, leading to a chilling of relations between the US and China, ending nearly five decades of diplomatic peace.

The new leadership is increasingly close with the Russian leadership under Vladimir Putin, and both have recently signed a new military pact, along with a number of smaller anti-US nations.

Germany

The CDU has been finally booted out of power and replaced by...a grand coalition of the SPD and CDU led by the SPD. Germany is increasingly resented among the European periphery for its uncompromising position in pushing forward austerity and refusal to budge in Greece, which ultimately led the SYRIZA government there to go for broke and attempt a Grexit, which was itself snuffed out by a military coup. With money again flowing to Germany and Greece under 'responsible' leadership (if suspended from the EU...momentarily), the German leadership is content with its role as the major economic power in Europe, although the rise of Russia in the east has led to the Germans successfully pressuring the international community to allow it to expand its military capabilities.

The Germans have also been pushing the idea of greater European integration in an effort to stave off 'the Russian threat', which has predictably caused outrage in many countries that are increasingly skeptical of the European project.

Japan

Famously rigid and reactionary Japan has become even more rigid and reactionary in response to the second half of the Great Recession and the neo-Maoist ascension in China, repealing the clause of its constitution that prohibits it from maintaining a regular military force and forging closer ties with the United States in response. The governing LDP is popular, but the neo-fascist right threatens to win the next general elections, sparking some nervousness among the Chinese and the Americans alike.


Any requests for more countries?

[Türkisblau]

Great to see this return. What's going on in Ireland?

[Senator Cris]

Italy?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

India, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Cuba, Spain?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Italy?

Seconded.

[TNF]

Ireland

The 2016 general election saw a return to government for the ruling Fine Gael party, in coalition with the remnant of Irish Labour that is still more or less hanging on by a thread. It also notably saw the eclipse of Fianna Fail as the main opposition party, with Sinn Fein taking the overall second spot, Fianna Fail coming in third, and the various Trotskyist and left-wing independent groups becoming the fourth largest political bloc in Ireland, when you combine all their number.

For the most part, Ireland has continued along the path of austerity inaugurated in response to the initial crisis of the Great Recession. The next general election may yet give Sinn Fein the victory it has been seeking all these years and redefine Irish politics for a generation.

India

The governing BJP has forged closer ties with the United States, the European Union, and other traditional Western-aligned nations, hoping to replace Pakistan as the key partner of the West in that region. Although the Indian economy has been negatively effected by the slowdown of the Chinese economy, signs point to a revival in the near future that may place India as the new 'economy to watch' in the 21st Century.

Mexico

The chaos and violence of the Mexican Drug War, combined with political repression and continued privatization has left much of Mexico a terrifying place. The governing PRI remains in power by hook and crook (mostly the latter), although as of this writing, the promise of a left-wing turn in Mexican politics, largely in response to the ongoing U.S. war in Venezuela and fears of the U.S. getting ideas about cutting off the drug trade in Mexico by force have propelled the Chavista-esque PRD to the top of the polls.

Brazil

Although the incumbent PT voiced apprehension at the idea of the United States sending troops to a neighboring country, Brazil has mostly taken the conflict in stride, beefing up border security as it attempts to deal with the festering economic crisis and public unrest stemming from it. As far as Latin America goes, the Brazilian economy is still more or less the engine of growth in the South, and the United States has made some recent comments about 'Brazilian ties to China' that have made many in the region a little bit uneasy about the prospect of more U.S. intervention in the region in the future, especially with President Warren proposing a 'surge' in Venezuela.

Turkey

The Turks are still trying to join the European Union, even as many European nations want out. Nevertheless, Turkey has won some bit of approval among members of the European ruling class for its role in the conflict with ISIS, although its subsequent smashing of the Kurdish Revolution has made the name of the ruling AKP kind of an epithet among Turkish leftists, who are dissatisfied with the general fount of reactionary security state type legislation coming out of the legislature as of late.

Cuba

Ever the fighter, the thaw in Cuban-American relations has been partially reversed by the U.S. invasion of Venezuela, although neither side is calling for the re-establishment of diplomatic silence between the two republics. With each passing year Americans have more access to what is increasingly described as the 'People's Republic of Vacationland', as it becomes more and more a popular place for American tourists and spring breakers. Cuba itself has continued to liberalize, but the Communist Party continues to hold out a guiding role over the political system and the economy is still tightly administered, albeit through an increasing amount of workers' cooperatives. The situation probably best approximates that of Titoist Yugoslavia in terms of social freedom and an increasing reliance upon workers' self-directed enterprises as part of the domestic economy.

Spain

Although initially viewed as a more moderate version of Syriza, Podemos has actually performed as a more radical actor, in a sense, since taking power in Spain. When the Grexit attempt ended in a military coup, the Spanish immediately cut ties with the European Union and Podemos mobilized the public in an attempt to put down any such episode from repeating itself in Spain. This of course was helped by the fact that Spain was already fraying at the edges, with regions like Catalonia agitating for independence and others slowly taking up that cause, as well. Spain outside the Eurozone has had a hard time finding trading partners in the West on account of its refusal to pay back the debts incurred, and has instead shifted focus to trade with the Chinese, Russians, Cubans, etc. Internal chaos is high, with the next elections almost surely to be accompanied with chaos, as regional governments continue to threaten independence and rapprochement with the European Union and the center converging against Podemos, with tacit approval of the military and the monarchy...

Italy

The Democratic Party still has a fairly firm hold on Italian politics, and has continued a policy of strengthening Italy's position within the European Union and enacting liberalizing measures as far as the economy is concerned. The last elections saw (what some would describe as) the frightening rise of Lega Nord as the dominant right-wing opposition party, while the Five Star Movement continues to gain a kind of catch-all support for populists discontent with the existing state of things in the boot shaped republic.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Germany

The CDU has been finally booted out of power and replaced by...a grand coalition of the SPD and CDU led by the SPD.

wow. afd must be on at least like 15% then, right?

[TNF]

Germany

The CDU has been finally booted out of power and replaced by...a grand coalition of the SPD and CDU led by the SPD.

wow. afd must be on at least like 15% then, right?

Yeah, AfD is doing really well these days, as is Die Linke.

[TNF]

The Caucus formerly known as We the People

When the new Congress met, the organization that had effectively made the 2020 elections as interesting as they were, We the People, was officially in shambles. The right-wing of the party, disgusted with the compromisist centrist faction, officially split from We the People after the inauguration of Elizabeth Warren as President. Congressman Ben Townsend of Iowa, the leader of the right-wing faction, would go on to play a colorful role in the history of American politics, of which we will discuss at length in future posts. But for now, his role was that of de facto leader of the right-wing of the We the People caucus, which organized itself as a new political party, the Sons of Liberty.

The Sons of Liberty was more or less a right-libertarian outfit with all the usual suspects lining up behind it. But it also attracted support from some elements of the far-right, who would increasingly come to define the terms of debate within the party and gain the party leadership when Ben Townsend later came out, with the zeal of a convert, for the far-right party faction. But that's a story for later. The Sons of Liberty controlled about a third of the former We the People caucus, and had the backing of influential media figures like Glenn Beck, who praised the Sons of Liberty for its uncompromising opposition to the security state, the higher taxes that the Warren administration was pressing for, and the War in Venezuela.

Lisa Chen, leader of the centrist, or 'compromisist' faction that had swung the bulk of the party toward electing Elizabeth Warren in the electoral contest, continued on as the leader of the rump We the People caucus. The deal agreed to with Warren in return for the support of We the People was weighed heavily toward economic policy actions, although Chen did manage to wrangle a few electoral reforms out of the whole process. A nationwide ballot access law, streamlining the process and denying federal funds to states that did not comply, made it much easier for third parties to make it on the ballot, including Chen's own We the People, which would ironically not benefit much at all from it on account of its disintegration. Likewise, a new Voting Rights Act explicitly banned the use of discriminatory voter ID laws and was upheld by the Supreme Court, now holding a liberal majority on account of an early appointment by Warren following the death of Justice Scalia in Summer 2021.

The economic agenda of the Warren administration was stalled in part thanks to dissent within her own party. The Walker tax rates stood, unemployment insurance privatization remained, and the national right-to-work law didn't move an inch. These of course disappointed many within the liberal segment of the party, but what disappointed them more was the action of the administration toward a surge of forces in Venezuela, which was announced shortly after Warren took office.

We the People stumbled around for most of 2021, but the pivotal event of that year, the event that changed everything (this will be detailed in the next update), would ultimately render it impotent. By 2022, Lisa Chen and the centrist caucus had integrated itself almost fully as an appendage of the Democratic administration, providing ostensibly 'independent', liberal cover for the administration's war policies. We the People would endorse Warren for re-election in 2024 and would subsequently lose all of its House seats in that year's congressional elections, which gave the Republicans a 2/3rds majority in both chambers for the first time since before the Great Depression.

On the left edge of We the People, those left-wingers who wanted a strong third party were dismayed by the support of the leadership for Warren and the Democratic Party's policies. Like the right-wing, these elements disaffiliated from We the People shortly after the seating of the new Congress and, in a major political action conference (by left-wing standards) held in Chicago in the Summer of 2021, voted to form a new, left-wing party, almost a mirror image of the Sons of Liberty. The new organization that emerged, the Socialist Unity Party, would be led in Congress by the outspoken left-winger Louise Reed, herself a former construction worker with ties to the newly emerged sectors of organized labor that had succeeded the former AFL-CIO in the wake of the May 5th events.

These developments would prove crucial harbingers of what would come. As the American political system, stable for nearly two centuries, began to unravel under the combined pressures of international conflict and domestic unrest, an even more foreboding international conflict would rock the nation itself, and risk engulfing the entire planet in carnage unseen since the close of the Second World War in 1945...

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Fantastic.

[TNF]

The Guns of October

The year 2021 is etched in the memory of so many of those who lived through it, for reasons that will soon become evident to our readers.

It was chaotic from the start, especially in the United States. Warren's victory, the collapse of the promising 'We the People' alternative to the two mainstream parties, the surge in Venezuela, etc. None of this, however, would hold a candle to what happened that autumn.

Throughout the Teens, the Obama administration had been re-orienting American foreign policy away from the conflicts inaugurated by the Bush administration in the Middle East, instead focusing on containing the emergent 'threats' of a newly emboldened Russia and the growing power of China. This led to a military buildup following the defeat of the Islamic State in 2016, one that continued under Walker and helped pave the way for the partial economic recovery after the May 5th events.

Of course, both China and Russia responded by making similar moves toward military buildup, as both understood that they were miles behind the U.S. in terms of military technology and would need to rely on each other if worse came to worse. In the latter part of the decade, the conflict in Venezuela became a proving ground for the emerging capabilities of both Russia and China, who supplied the Chavista government with the kind of military tech that kept it competitive with U.S. backed rebels and U.S. forces in the region. The known involvement of both led to a new round of U.S. sanctions on Russia and, for the first time, U.S. sanctions on the PRC in the post-Nixon going to China era.

In response, the PRC and Russia signed a mutual defense pact that garnered signatures from a number of smaller nations, as well. This 'counter-NATO', which built upon the foundations laid by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from years prior, would be known to history as the Eurasian Mutual Defense Organization, or EMDO, and would represent a challenger to the US-EU led bloc of nations. A new Cold War, with seeds going as far back as the kerfuffle over Ukraine in 2014, had emerged in earnest by the time of the 2020 Presidential Election.

It would be fitting then that Ukraine would be the impetus that brought on the actual conflict between the two power blocs. Kiev had steadily been moving into the orbit of the EU since the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, and this process had only accelerated as the economic crisis made it more reliant upon the West. Although tensions remained high and terrorist violence ever present in the eastern part of the nation, plans went ahead for full affiliation with the European Union (2017) and for integration into NATO (set tentatively for 2021). It was the latter that would set off the awful chain of events that would engulf the world in fire.

The integration went rather smoothly, with the obvious protestations of the EMDO powers, of course. Now fully part of NATO, the Kiev government decided it was time to rid itself of the thorn of ultranationalist violence in the East, and mobilized a contingent of forces, including foreign special forces units provided by the Germans and other European powers, to put an end to the conflict. The campaign kicked off in earnest in August 2021, with bombing raids directed against rebel-held territory and counterinsurgent campaigns in many of the areas controlled by rebels.

Occasionally these operations would venture close to the Russian border, which naturally concerned the Russians. One such operation, Operation Falling Star, would be the straw that broke the camel's back. Following a bombing raid against rebel targets in the eastern part of Ukraine, a Ukrainian fighter pilot swerved out of Ukrainian airspace and into Crimea, still disputed territory with Russia at the time of the incident. With repeated warnings to leave or be shot down, the pilot continued on. Later reports (published after the war and after much investigation by the postwar government of Ultranationalist Russia) indicate that radio interference may have prevented the pilot from hearing the warnings, and a malfunction in the radar system of the plane might have led the pilot to believe he was over friendly skies.

Thus, without any response from the pilot, Russian anti-aircraft guns fired and brought down the plane, and with it, eight decades of peace between the big dogs of international politics.

At first, no one knew exactly what to do. A Ukrainian pilot had been shot down by Russian anti-aircraft guns, and as a new member of NATO, the rest of the continent was as obligated to defend Russia as it had been obligated to join with the United States in its invasion of Afghanistan twenty years prior.

Germany appealed to the United Nations on behalf of NATO, while China did the same for EMDO, although it was apparent that such a poisonous atmosphere existed between both power blocs at this point that UN mediation wasn't really ever in the cards. Hearing after hearing produced nothing of value, and eventually, both sides committed themselves to ignoring whatever would come of the talks at the UN. Both sides talked past one another as the frenzied march toward a third world war increased.

The breaking point came on September 30, when the EMDO delegates, upset with being given the 'run-around' about their proposal for a demilitarized, neutral Ukraine at the United Nations, walked out en masse. NATO aligned states quickly moved to secure the passage of a military intervention mandate giving NATO the right to intervene if Russian troops were not removed from Crimea by October 31, 2021. In response, the chief EMDO powers disaffiliated from the United Nations entirely, first the Russians, and then the Chinese, condemning the United Nations as a 'tool of American interests'.

The stock market plunged as the date for the immediate removal of Russian troops from Crimea neared. President Warren put the nation on a war footing as Congress, now unified behind the popular vote loser a year prior, extended the security state policies of Walker and instituted the first draft since the Vietnam War. As the deadline for war approached, Warren's approval ratings, which had been stuck in the high 30s, shot upward. On October 31, they stood at 75% as NATO troops moved to remove EMDO troops from Russian-held Crimea.

Addressing the nation that day, President Warren announced that "nothing short of the full cooperation of every American citizen is needed to secure victory in this conflict," and promised "a full and lasting peace." Censorship of the media intensified almost immediately, as broadcasts began being interspersed with patriotic propaganda. Websites that criticized the war effort were shutdown by the FBI fairly quickly after the firing began. Those who criticized the war publicly were shamed into silence, lost their jobs, or were arrested (in some instances) for 'disrupting the war effort.' Russian and Chinese immigrants became immediately suspect, and loan words from both languages were changed to reflect 'American values.'

All of that would have been rather silly were it not for the fact that mankind was playing a planetary game of Russian roulette.

[TNF]

The Third World War - Year One

With the refusal of EMDO to comply with the UN mandate regarding Crimea (which they regarded as illegitimate), NATO troops moved to 'liberate' Crimea from the Russians on October 31, 2021. The Russians, having reassigned quite a bit of firepower and manpower to Crimea and the surrounding areas, responded in the first battles of what would be known to history as the Third World War, although at the time it was simply referred to as 'The Russian War', as the Pacific theater had not yet opened up.

In November and December of 2021, the fighting was mostly on the Eastern Front, although the formal association of Venezuela into EMDO shortly after the beginning of the fighting opened up a front in Latin America, with Chinese and Russian troops moving to support their beleaguered allies there. EMDO troops also moved to target NATO positions in the Baltic states and in Scandinavia, quickly occupying a lot of former Soviet territory as NATO struggled to mobilize its forces in the dead of winter.

In Asia, the conflict had spurred quite a bit of regional unrest. India was doing its part to remain neutral in the affair, having close economic ties with both parties to the conflict, although it was fairly obvious that the Indians had designs on Pakistan, which had become increasingly ungovernable as the conflict ballooned in the latter part of 2021. When rioting erupted in Pakistan and threatened to spill over into India, the BJP led government got the tacit approval of both major power blocs to intervene, occupying all of Kashmir and looking the other way as the state formerly known as Pakistan balkanized, providing logistical support for pro-Indian groups in the area.

Conflict also brewed in the South China sea, where rival claims on oil and gas reserves would provide the impetus for the opening up of a theater of conflict in the Pacific. Disputes between the Philippines and China would ultimately lead to the Chinese occupation of islands claimed by various US-aligned powers in the region, most notably the Philippines, Vietnam, and the Republic of China in March 2022. The response from NATO was immediate, with US forces beginning to mobilize for conflict in the region, backed by troops from Australia, Japan, and the aforementioned nations disputing territory with the Chinese.

On the Korean peninsula, the rotten edifice that was the Kim family regime came crashing down amid the chaos caused by disruptions in global supply chains with the onset of the war. South Korean troops quickly moved across the border to 'unify' the peninsula under its leadership, and signed an agreement with the PRC recognizing it as the legitimate power on the peninsula in return for not actively supporting the NATO-led war effort against EMDO. South Korea complied mostly out of suspicions directed at the Japanese and out of its own self-interest in exploiting both sides of the conflict to sell Korean-made military goods, which were of course in high demand.

As 2022 progressed, operations in Europe stalemated. Even with the end of the brutal winter of 2021-22, neither side gained much territory as the line only marginally shifted in the Spring and Summer months. This led to political unrest in Europe, where fewer and fewer countries found themselves willing to accept 'Germany's war' (as the war effort was increasingly being directed by a centralizing European Union).

Most notably, this was the case in France, which had lost hundreds of thousands of young men and women since the conflict began. With the 2022 Presidential Election coming right on the heels of the opening of a third front in Asia, the administration of Nicholas Sarkozy panicked as the FN, running openly against 'Germany's war' rose in the polls. The first round of the French presidential election saw Le Pen top Sarkozy and force the President into a runoff a month later.

At the same time as the unfolding political drama in France, Chinese forces leveled and occupied Taiwan. This was followed by open warfare in Indochina and in the Philippines, especially with the attack on the latter by Indonesia (entering the conflict on the side of EMDO) in the early part of 2022. With Indonesian forces and Chinese forces battering US and Japanese forces in the pacific, Russian forces entered the fray with an invasion of Hokkaido in May, putting the key US ally in the region under siege as EMDO forces began to converge and plan a full on invasion of the Japanese islands.

These events led to the biggest political upset of the year in May, when Marine Le Pen defeated Nicholas Sarkozy on an anti-war platform, shocking NATO and opening up political space for EMDO forces. A month later, the far-right, which had moved from an insignificant minority in the National Assembly to a power broker following the 2017 legislative elections, won an outright majority in the chamber as the PS and UMP vote collapsed.

The Le Pen administration moved quickly to secure a separate peace with EMDO forces, in spite of threats from NATO that France would be suspended for doing so. Once the peace was signed, France was suspended, of course, but the National Assembly voted to abrogate French presence in NATO and subsequently voted to withdraw from the European Union. With French troops coming home to joyous parades, the Le Pen government would move to make major constitutional changes to the French government itself, becoming the first nation (there would be many, many more after the war, of course) to embrace the emerging ultranationalist movement around the globe.

In the summer of 2022, the war would place increasing strain on all major parties to it. In the United States, more dissidents got locked up with every increasing month, and President Warren had to pull troops from the front to suppress rioting and strikers more than once as her approval ratings collapsed and the war started to become unpopular. With stalemate in Europe and defeat in the Pacific, the public turned on the administration and voted in a solidly Republican Congress in that year's midterm elections, while also increasing the number of representatives from among the Sons of Liberty and Socialist Unity parties, in spite of a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans attempting to prevent the latter from being seated on account of their antiwar views.

As Year One came to a close, the idea that the Third World War would be a short one became as laughable as the claims of those who said the First World War would be over 'in time for Christmas'. And yet, as chaotic as things were, Year One would prove to be the most stable any of the participating countries would have over the course of the bloody conflict.

Year Two would be worse.

[TNF]

The Third World War - Year Two in Europe

Although Year One had proven to be unsatisfactory for every major combatant in Europe, Year Two would be significantly different. The stalemate on the Eastern Front was finally breached, less on account of the military prowess of NATO than it was on the total collapse of the Russian economy, supply chains, and the military itself. Having stretched itself thin helping the Chinese conduct an invasion of Japan and providing military aid to Venezuela, the Russians found themselves under immense strain. After negotiating a separate agreement with Japan (behind the backs of the Chinese), the Russians called off their assault on Japan and in doing so, essentially tore up the Eurasian Mutual Defense Organization.

In response, the Chinese pulled their troops from Europe and Venezuela, seemingly undaunted by this betrayal. But it wouldn't forget it, and when Russia began to splinter as food riots gripped the country in summer 2023, the Chinese moved to occupy positions along the Russian border and install pro-Chinese satellite governments in some of the breakaway republics.

The collapse of Russia was more or less what made the will to continue fighting among NATO forces hold. In the western part of Russia, a dissident government of liberal politicians declared itself the legitimate government of Russia following a series of disastrous defeats at the front, and appealed to NATO for support. The 'Russian Republic' as this government dubbed itself, moved to quickly arrest the Putinist government in Moscow for 'treason' and would subsequently try and execute most of those who had been in the leadership of the country during the past few decades. The Russian Republic signed a peace treaty with NATO forces almost two years to the date of the beginning of the conflict.

But they weren't the only game in town. Russian ultranationalist forces, now under a single banner and proclaiming themselves to be the legitimate government of Russia, regrouped and formed a government of its own, declaring itself the 'Russian State' (RS, or 'Ultranationalist Russia'). RS forces moved to re-integrate dissident republics within its own orbit and mobilized for war with the Russian republicans. A small third pole of opposition to the RS and the republicans, formed by members of the Communist Party and smaller left-wing opposition parties and movements, would likewise come to the fore and declare a restored Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

The Second Russian Civil War thus began with the end of the Third World War in Europe. NATO forces backed the republicans, ultranationalist forces from around the globe flocked to support the RS, and left-wingers did the same for the reborn RSFSR.

In Europe as a whole, the conflict had a profound conflict on the functioning of the European Union, which had become more tightly centralized under German leadership during the war and especially after the exit of France. Seeing the close cooperation as a good thing, the Germans have called for a closer Europe in response to the end of the conflict in the region, to help better coordinate the war effort in the Pacific and build a lasting international structure for the postwar period.

The response to this has of course been mixed. Nowhere has it been more dramatic than in Greece, where the military junta tacitly backed by the EU has been swept out of power by a popular uprising that has put the far-left into power. The new government, a coalition of the Communist Tendency of Syriza, Antarsya, and the KKE, has forged close ties with the Spanish, left-wing nationalists in Latin America and Africa, and the new RSFSR and has predictably been condemned by the EU.

In Spain, the internal chaos of the prewar period has mostly been quelled as the Podemos-United Left government has found willing partners for trade in the nonaligned countries and the emerging international left. They have no intentions of rejoining the EU and are of course, opposed to both the French and the Germans.

The United Kingdom has seen a chaotic political debate surrounding Germany's proposed 'European Federation', with the grand coalition of the Tories and Labour cutting ties over it. The new government, a coalition of the Tories and UKIP, are not pleased with the proposal, to say the least, and will be putting the idea to a public referendum at the conclusion of the war.

The most responsive parties to the proposal have been those that in no small part have benefited from the war or whom would benefit from closer ties with Germany. Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Poland, etc. have all signed on to the project, and seem willing to go through with it even if the Brits aren't into the idea. It also goes without saying that the Russian Republic would be a welcome member of such an organization, provided that it can hold itself together long enough to sign onto the requisite treaties.

The Le Pen government in France has meanwhile been doing its very best to transform the country, proposing legislative act after legislative act to seriously alter the face of France. It has returned to issuing its own currency, thrown up barriers to trade with other parts of Europe, and has abolished dual citizenship. Immigration restrictions have been tightened, the death penalty reintroduced, and ties have been established with the Russian State, which Le Pen has been sending quite a bit of military support to since the declaration of the ultranationalist regime there.

As Europe cooled down, the Pacific theater heated up. The invasion of Japan, long-postponed on account of the Russian withdrawal from the conflict, would finally be carried out when Chinese bombers smashed targets in Okinawa and were followed by Chinese naval vessels landing on Japanese shores in the Spring of 2023.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

What's going on in the Balkan right now WRT both EU members (Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia) and non-EU members (Serbia, Bosnia, Albania)?

[Arturo Belano]

Will there be any updates anytime soon?

[TNF]

If there's enough interest, I'm certainly in favor of continuing!

[Türkisblau]

Interested.