The Caliphate has a big market on oil, something the SNE can heavily profit on, and the SNE has a big market on engineering, and manufacturing, something the Caliphate can profit on. The Caliphate wants housing utilities and air conditioning, radio technology, pipe and factorized mechanisms and especially motor vehicles like cars and trucks. This is all for civilian use, and the SNE is the best at making the most well engineered civil vehicles and engineering parts. A trade deal would lift up both nations heavily. What'ya say? The Caliphate has a lot of oil, and is willing to trade, but will you accept?
The SNE accepts. It's great for both the SNE and the Caliphate. The oil will be used to power anything made, such as cars all the way to military vehicles. This is an advantage for the SNE and helps ease tensions with the Caliphate by trade.
The LSPY (current majority party) isn't doing great. Their polls are down and election outlooks are seeming to be a Christian Democrat victory. The election occurs soon [post 1367] and results will become public shortly after [post 1370]. The LSPY has been renamed because they want to distance themselves with the scandals that were going on. They are now the Green Democratic Socialist Alliance, or GDSA for short. Their future is uncertain.
The Caliphate worries that if the Christian Democrats are voted in that they will ruin Caliphate relation with the UBR, because well, the Sunayyad Caliphate is an Islamic governing state. Ashqar doesn't give a rip regardless of a states religion, if a relationship and trade show benefits, it doesn't matter, but he fears that the Christians will no doubt turn their backs on the Muslims.
After being slowly shuffled off to early retirement, Mao has retired "for his health" at the age of 61. Deng Xiaoping, a much younger man at the age of 50, is a powerful candidate for the People's Leader. Mao was never the most effective leader; the only thing that kept the SEU from stagnating completely was Deng Xiaoping. Mao was retired mostly "for his health". The People's Leader is an extremely exhausting job, and people that actually do it ages fast. Mao is very, very tired and wished to retire anyway, and that was good for Deng who was planning to retire Mao in any case whether he liked it or not. Deng's first agenda of business is to shrink the manufacturing to a sustainable level; the SEU manufacturing industry is far too large. Far, far too large. It is bloated to an extreme degree, and SEU does not want to fall into the trap. SEU plans to simply shrink it slowly, and to make SEU a center for development, because SEU has money and for now is very very rich. Many business owners protest this plan because they really like the manufacturing boom (not thinking about how it could completely implode), but the Socialist Party shuts them down. SEU intends to diversify their economy completely so that they don't depend on the manufacturing of goods. Manufacturing is a reliable source, but it can rock and vary at times.
SEU's goal was to combine the best of the Qing and Joseon meritocracies and Western Democracy. Their form of government is interesting. In summary: The People's Leader has to be a sitting People's Congressperson. The People's Leader has extensive authority, but has a short term. In this way, it resembles the Roman Consul. The People's Congress has 4-year terms and is the manifestation of the Socialist Party and the will of the People. Many former Generals also work there. There are three branches of government. They are in a way one and the same, but also different. They are one in the Party, but divided. Socialist Eurasian Union Military: The weakest of the branches in peace, the strongest in war. Has an implicit deal with the Party that they will be given unlimited power in War to bring it to its end, but that they won't try anything and will be kept on a short leash in peacetime. The Socialist Party: Possesses great behind-the-scenes power, and makes no legislation, only backroom deals. That's how the Party operates. Enormous amounts of factionalism mean that despite the fact that it controls the other two branches, it can't actually do much. The Establishment: Actually does stuff, and is the most public face of the SEU Government. It is little more than a puppet of the Socialist Party, but the Socialist Party infights so much that the Establishment is mostly left to its own devices. How successful are they? Somewhat. Successful bits: Extensive usage of tests and meritocratic performance for promotions. For example, there are many tests and assessments for Public Servants. Corruption is a taboo. There is a culture that the Public Servants are just that, and that taking bribes or being corrupt is bad. Really, really bad. As in taking bribes will make your life a living hell, and that taking bribes is suicide Politically. There are no Public Officials. There are only Public Servants. In government documents, there is no term "Public Official", because such an idea is antithetical to the SEU's ideals. Unsuccessful bits: That exact same meritocracy has led to a shortage of competent Public Servants. Not that many people can meet SEU's high standards, and there are too few of them. This has led to problems in the past, including: INCOMPETENT MIDDLEMAN SYNDROME. The thing is, no one really regulates middlemen but themselves. The bottom is regulated by Public Opinion and complaints, the top is regulated by the strict anti-corruption culture. The middle has nothing. This problem is with every branch of Government. No one wants to be a Public Servant, only weirdos do it. The thing is, being a Government Worker is just not a good gig at all. This just exacerbates the shortage of Public Servants. This has resulted in a bizarre system that runs close to perfectly at the tactical and strategic levels, but terribly at the operational levels. As a result, the top has to repeatedly send officials down to regulate the middle, with varying degrees of success. Okay. So how is life in SEU? Decent. Cities: The SEU has centrally planned cities. This effectively means that at a glance, it's New York. But take a look around the city and you realize it is something different entirely. It is no New York. Sure, it has the trappings of Capitalism. But at the core, it is a Socialist-Confucian Meritocracy. There are very few homeless people; they are relocated to shelters (admittedly of questionable quality) and given basic job training as well as given some work to do. It is pleasant to look at, but the cities are frankly overcrowded. There are too many people and too little room; housing costs are high and SEU has been attempting to fix this for some time by making new cities, with success. However, that success is not fast enough to match the sheer number of people that flood into the cities. There are very few unemployed people and there are no lines for food. Subtle propaganda is everywhere and omnipresent, and it seems true at a glance; SEU cities are a genuinely nice place to live in if one enjoys city life. Suburbs: This is where the SEU Government's control over the narrative starts to slip. The SEU Government is loved by the Urbans, rich and poor because the SEU Government provides them with generous benefits. The Suburbs? Not so much. The SEU Government provides them with very little; the only thing keeping them afloat is the SEU industry and factories. Without that, the Suburban communities would be wrecked. The Government has noticed this and has some State-Owned Enterprises (mostly left to own devices) planted there to make sure that the Suburban people have some sort of employment. However, these SEOs are kept up at state expense and is a very inefficient way to subsidize these Suburban places. Rural: Farms. Farms. Farms. Farmers are jealously protected by the SEU Government and guarded from foreign enterprises as well as SEU megacompanies. Ukrainian farmers have it really good, as they are basically feeding the Soviet Union with their rich farmland and cuts off SEU dependence on the Bosporus Strait because Ukraine produces enough food to feed Russia and Belarus. Without Ukraine, SEU would be at the mercy of the Caliphate. SEU knows this and would defend Ukraine fiercely in the case of any conflict. Middle of Siberia/Desert: NO
The election in the UBR is beginning. It seems that the outlook is still somewhat negative; GDSA is predicted to lose seats. Results will be published post 1370.
SEU has decided to tackle HIV. To this end, SEU is making Public Health Guidelines and funding the Ministry of Public Health further (although at the expense of some other departments.) In addition, SEU is asserting itself as a regional power in the South China Sea. It is pressuring Indonesia and Malaysia (already unstable frankly) to get out. SEU is carving up the SCS for itself and its buddy, Vietnam and angering the Islamic countries neighboring it in the process. The SEUN and IRMN (Islamic Republic of Malaysia Navy) has clashed multiple times, once violently. SEUN Destroyers repeatedly show up in contested waters and the IRMN has sent multiple Cruisers in an attempt to get rid of them, although the SEU Destroyers are honestly too fast for the Malaysian Cruisers. It is of note that SEU believes it is asserting itself as a major power again, and that it is reclaiming its Superpower Status once more and will not back down. The Qing Dynasty once ruled Asia, its dominance was unquestionable and now SEU is taking its home turf back. List of territorial disputes of SEU: James Shoal (De facto control by Malaysia) SEU is trying to expel the Malaysians by force. Kuril Islands (De facto control by SEU) SEU has seized control of the Islands with military force. Spratly Islands (De facto control by SEU, Vietnam and Malaysia) SEU and Vietnam are attempting to expel Malaysia, with little success. Paracel Islands (De facto control by SEU, Vietnam) SEU, Vietnam and Malaysia has been conflicting over these islands for a long time. Natuna Regency (War Zone) Currently in a state of war with SEU-backed terrorists and the Indonesian military. Senkaku Islands (De facto control by Vietnam on 999-year lease) SEU initially annexed these islands by force. However, SEU gave it to Vietnam at a low price-lease as a reward for being a loyal lackey. Due to this, a dispute has erupted as to whether this is legal with Japan and Vietnam fighting each other and SEU helping Vietnam. World GDP rankings: 1st: SEU, clocking in at 26% of World GDP. Most of this is some sort of Industry, digging things out of the ground or Services. I've gone into detail about this. 2nd: India, clocking in at 20% of World GDP. Farming, Industry and Services are all big money-makers, and they also dig things out of the ground. 3rd: Sunayyad Caliphate, clocking in at 11% of World GDP. Oil money is big, but trade is even bigger. They make truly crazy amounts of money off those things. (enough to have the 4th highest GDP Per Capita in the world). 4th: Socialist Nations of Europe, clocking in at 9.6% of World GDP. High-quality manufacturing, the arts, German engineering is a thing that can be seen through the whole of SNE. Their GDP is growing faster than the Caliphate's and will overtake them by 1970. 5th: Brazil. The strongest state left over from the former Federation, they produce great amounts of various foods. Their forest has been cultivated for farmlands (with negative implications for the environment). 5.7% of world GDP. 6th: Indonesia, clocking in at 4.1% of World GDP. Oil, gas, textiles and the such mean that Indonesia has a strong Industry that fills gaps in what SEU doesn't produce or can't produce, particularly textiles. 7th: Italy, with their new Union and many annexed territories mean that they are an economic powerhouse at 3.8% of world GDP. They are like SNE , but with more chill. 8th: UBR 2.9% of world GDP. Producing Coffee and high quality gadgets, their GDP is low despite their strong development and absurd amounts of Steel export because of a low population. 9th: NAE 1.9% of world GDP. They produce a lot of the food for the Caliphate, but a low development holds them back in many cases. I mean, they are still richer than a lot of people. America is a crapstorm that no one wants to touch, many parts of Central America are very poor, Mexico's been in a state of instability for years after the Federation's collapse. (really the only nation that got off relatively well was Brazil) and Africa is... Africa. 10th: DRC 1.8% of world GDP. Their jungles have been exploited as a massive focus for tourists. Despite their significantly lower population, they hold their own against NAE because they are more developed. They have a thriving mining and agricultural sector. It provides the electricity to the whole of Socialist Africa with Hydroelectric Dams.
ELECTION TIME! Voter Turnout: ~80%, 37,500,000 people GDSA: Red, 29 seats Liberals: Green, 18 seats Moderates: Yellow, 16 seats Minority's Party: Teal, 3 seats Christian Democrats: Blue, 30 seats Conservatives: Pink, 19 seats Baltic Nationalists: White, 10 seats The GDSA, Liberals, and Moderates have formed, as usual, a coalition government, but just barely. Despite that the CD got more votes, the GDSA is still the party in charge, just by one seat.
Clean water is soon becoming a boasting factor in Mesopotamia. With all the money at the hands of the government, building infrastructure is a no brainer. Water treatment plants are being built at a fast rate, and sewage is being treated before flowing into any public water source. It is illegal to pollute the rivers, and anyone or company caught in the act faces a charge of $6,500 or a 1 year sentence OR 3 years of community service. These sentences are outrageous, yes, but for a good cause, a cause that will keep the rivers of MENA flowing clean for centuries. Dams have also accounted for the generation of clean energy to their respective regions and the proper irrigation and distribution of said water. However, a new industry pops up. Tourism. The Sunayyad Caliphate is gifted with the greatest tourist potential. Literally craddled between dozens of ancient civilizations, the industry would boom heavily. The 1st Caliph introduced a professional archaeological department, growing jobs in the career and literally boosting discoveries by 110%. New discoveries are made quite literally every day, and museums are flourishing. Biggest Tourist Attractions: Pyramids of Giza (obviously) Petra in Jordan Jerusalem (For the 3 main religions, a very important place) The Blue Mosque - Turkey The Dead Sea New Great Library of Alexandria (The biggest library in the entire world) New Babylon - Capital of the Sunayyad Caliphate Esfahan - Persian City (The Mosques are beautiful) Baghdad The Alhambra and Generalife Gardens, Granada Spain (Islamic history) Since literally every major city is slowly transitioning into metropolitan areas of lush greenery and beautiful architecture, there are so many great spots to visit in the Caliphate. And the Caliphate is quite safe too, having a small mark from the past civil wars which is now fading away quite slowly into distant memories. Musawaism has made a massive impact, making the Sunayyad Caliphate a lot more liberal and western like. Sand dwelling muslims in sandals living in fishing ports is a thing of the past now, as the most common careers are business men and women, accountants, and educated field workers. The only dangerous places in the Caliphate?... Well, no where... The only tension is in the region of Israel with Zionism, and now, South Nubia's tension is almost gone, as they focus on hard development instead. All religions are tolerated, and Ashqar has made it into such a big point to where he even had a Church and Synagogue built with the Grand Mosque in New Babylon. Resorts are also in fashion as well, as Persia boasts a literal SKI resort (yes, they have mountains and snow), as well as coastal hotels and resorts at the Caspian Coast. Spain is a massive hotspot as well, still under Caliphate rule, even though they are semi self governed, they show a massive leap in tourism.
The Caliphate handles South Iberia like it is a bomb. Although in a current state it is functioning well, it can blow over quite easily. Even though Spanish and Portuguese controlled territory by the Caliphate are all Christian and Catholic, they dont have the largest backlash against the Islamic rulers. For this simple thing, and that is that the Caliphate holds all affairs with them in a secular stance. Yes, they are angry about their pope, although Ashqar has openly apologized and condemned his brother, the wounds healed barely slightly. To keep the people in South Iberia happy however, they are left mostly alone and giving their own governor rights. Taxes are paid to the Caliphate, but a portion is taken for development else where and the rest is given to the Spanish leaders for country development. Over all, it's a very, very tricky situation, and the Spanish feel a bit too independent. A conflict occurring in the next few decades is inevitable, but for now the economy of South Iberia grows massively with their connection to the Caliphate.
The SNE Northern Iberian Peninsula is stable for now. The economy is fine and basic necessities are being provided. But it lacks one thing, defense and/or an army. This is horrible for the SNE, So first: Docks and air craft hangers are set up and next:The SNE sends over some troops so they have an army. But the SNE is hoping that this part of the Iberian Peninsula learns how to set up its own army. In the SNE all is going well except for the amount of pollution made from all the factories. The amount of factories is huge and they provide a lot of jobs. The Scientists in the SNE think they only way to reduce the pollution is to get rid of most of the existing factories. But one other way some people are thinking is eco-friendly factories. They say to use alternative fuels which will really reduce the pollution.
Okay. SEU. The unquestionably most powerful nation on Earth. Could take on the entirety of the Muslim religion and survive it. Could probably take on the entirely of the Christian religion and survive it. These guys have many strengths but many weaknesses. Strengths: Incredibly powerful. 1v1, it can fight any nation and hold its own. Massive GDP and Industrial Capability, as well as complete self-sufficiency helps a lot in this regard. Overwhelmingly dominated by the (Han) Chinese ethnic group. This means that the other ethnic groups have to go along with what the Chinese want. 70% of the population is Han Chinese of some sort. The Russians are the only group with any sort of leverage that are not Han Chinese. Unmatched endurance. Self-sufficiency, massive industrial capability and sheer size means that they can outlast any foe. Network of allies. Has a network of buddies that they can call upon; these buddies hold down regions of the world, meaning SEU doesn't have to deal with every problem in every Socialist Country ever. Weaknesses: Incredibly slow. In the first 1-2 years of any conflict, it is going to suffer defeat after defeat. Size is unwieldy. SEU learned this lesson in WW2 and is trying to solve it, with varying degrees of success. Geographically divided. It's in 2 massive halves that each have large chunks of GDP and population. This is an obvious weakness, as the two halves are unable to help each other effectively. Incredibly large. This is a double-edged sword; supply lines are long (mitigated by sheer industrial output, but still.), it takes ages to mobilize, and it takes ages to actually do anything. Network of allies. Keeping all of their major allies happy and not trying to kill each other is a task that is almost as hard as dealing with every problem in every Socialist Country ever. Crash Course to SEU allies: USSR (Soviet Union): An exclusive club of only the most developed Socialist nations, with much greater trade cooperation than other Socialist states. UBR: SEU's most trusted ally, enforcer of Socialism in the European regions and is sandwiched between SNE and SEU, which means nothing good for UBR should a war break out. Acts to constrain SNE presence in Norway. DRC: SEU's most useful ally. The second most powerful nation in Africa and sole African member of the Soviet Union (South America is trying to get in but repeatedly denied on grounds of GDP Per Capita). Holding down most of Socialist Africa by existing. Chile: A wild card in South America, one of the few Socialist nations there. Currently in a standoff with Brazil for control of the region while Argentina reels with useless dictators and is distracted trying to deal with internal problems. Everyone else: SEU subsidizes these guys at immense personal cost in order to maintain Socialism around the world. Despite their fast development, development takes time and SEU is financing them with massive low-interest loans. How would I defeat SEU in a war? You don't defeat them, you knock them out of the conflict. (Unless you are India. Then things change.) Give them a sufficient bloody nose that isn't strong enough to anger them. Too small and SEU just shrugs it off, and you achieve nothing. Too big and SEU gets angry. Really, really angry. Best-Case Scenario: You deal genuine harm to SEU and get them to back off, basically coming out with a win and some concessions. Above-Average Case Scenario: You do relatively little damage but get them to think you aren't worth dealing with and just signs a peace treaty giving you what you want. Average-Case Scenario: You get SEU into a 1v1 fight that they don't really want to fight. You could probably extract one of the above two from this scenario. Below-Average Case Scenario: You get into a fight where SEU has something to lose but isn't angry as so much slightly afraid. You could probably extract an unfavorable treaty. Worst-Case Scenario: You make them mad. You now enter into a long, drawn-out war where you cannot win. Good job.
The NAE is getting a very big boost from the Caliphate. They are being given a mass surplus of weaponry, M4 Sahkra's and their variants, and the MBT-5 Omega, the past, but great and widely available variant of the current, and probably last major model Omega, the MBT-5/7 Omega. In the ship department, the NAE dominates with Destroyers, having over 100 at their arsenal, and at their well defended ports. Now, they are constructing 1 aircraft carrier, very expensive to their budget, but a model as cheap as it can get while being effective given to the NAE by the SCN. Old cruisers are given to the NAE by the Caliphate, such as the Little Tigris, and the Ninurta and Euphrates Battleships. NAE is well prepared for a war, and with control over a vast sea territory and a massive ally, they are ready. Outcomes: DRC vs NAE: Debatable, both sides are nearly equal, and an outcome would be harder to predict DRC/SEU vs NAE: No competition DRC vs NAE/CAL.: DRC will get clubbed easily DRC/SEU vs NAE/CAL.: Most likely a win for the SEU, however if a grand plan were mastered, the CALIPHATE has a chance at a win, but broadly, no. The IDF wont exist in this New Nations, but the Caliphate Defense Forces (CDF) are the IDF but 10x their size and greatness. Over all, the SEU is a winner in an offense, but the Sunayyad Caliphate is a winner in defense.
World map updated. Changelog: Removed Federation Added Italian Empire Accounted for UBR annexation of Denmark SEU is sending their most advertised ship and pride of their WW2 Navy, Yi Sun-Shinon tour. She will be carrying humanitarian supplies to assist victims of natural disasters. Her only real use at this point is shore bombardment with High Explosive shells, but SEU has made deals with some nations to use this to make makeshift Helicopter landing pads, which in turn allows SEU to send more supplies. The Mi-8 will come in handy. In any case, after this tour SEU will reconstruct her a third time; this time to add Nuclear Propulsion (she gobbled up so much fuel that it was decided that it would be more economical to use Nuclear Propulsion instead.). Nuclear Propulsion has never been tested on a ship of this scale. However, SEU believes that the benefits outweigh the risks, and that an old WW2 era Battleship which has only 1 real use is kind of draining. They are also adding the Bofors 40mm 70-Caliber Cannon because the 60-Caliber Bofors has grown... less than optimal. Lastly, SEU is adding antisubmarine torpedoes to deal with this new threat.
World* Energy Statistics - SEU: 42% clean energy, of which 24% is renewable**- UBR: Overall, ~73% renewable- Estonia: 100% renewable energy- Latvia: 95% renewable energy- Lithuania + Kaliningrad: 80% renewable energy- Poland: 30% renewable energy- Denmark: 75% renewable energy- Sweden: 85% renewable energy- Finland: 45% renewable energy- Caliphate: 80% clean energy, of which 70% is renewable**- DRC: 90% clean energy, of which 85% is renewable- SSE, SNE, Brazil, ISU, Italy, NAE: Data unavailable (requesting data)*World as in 4 countries, but these 4 are really the ones that matter the most.**For clarity, nuclear energy is clean, but not renewable.(please correct me if needed, these numbers [except UBR] are arbitrary)
