Gone Wrong (pt 2)

The world at the dawn of the 2030's was an uncertain place, over the course of the last two decades the old world order had violently collapsed, leaving in it's place a new international order. Following the fall of the United States the strife in the western sphere had culminated in the formation of the Transcontinental Federation, a military, economic, and political union between the newly formed North American Union, and the reinvented European Union. Since it's genesis in 2028 the Federation has expanded it's reach into Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, granting "associate state" statues to it's heavily Balkanized puppet states in the Middle East, as well as creating a strong sphere of influence in Africa and South America.

Not all were willing to bend the knee to the Federation however, a long drawn-out diplomatic crisis would unfold over Japan when controversy over the nation's remilitarization came to head in 2031, leading to various embassies being closed on both sides. As communication between Japan and the Federation broke down the crisis would heighten and eventually the NAU-UE dominated United Nations would vote to impose heavy sanctions on the island nation, Australia, who's economy had come to be heavily intertwined with Japan following both countries' recovery from the global economic crisis, loudly voiced opposition to the sanctions. By 2033 the Asian Diplomatic Crisis, as it was now being called, had expanded to encompass both Japan and Australia, the shift away from western hegemony in Asia would culminate in the formation of the Asia-Pacific Alliance in 2034 as an economic association as well as a mutual defence initiative.

A year after it's formation the Asia-Pacific Alliance would formally merge with ASEAN and except the membership of both mainland China and the now officially independent Taiwan, drastically changing the geopolitical landscape of Asia. In 2036 the long and meticulously planned out Korean unification would conclude almost seamlessly after the last remnants of North Korea's government were either dissolved or incorporated into the Seventh Republic, who's economy had long ago taken over the North. Despite the new status of the Korean Peninsula the nation refused it's invitation into the Asia-Pacific Alliance, both the Federation and the Alliance respected this neutrality, if only because of their respective elites' use of the country has a tax haven.

The 2030's, particularly it's latter half, saw a large tech boom as various new technologies became available to civilians in wake of improving economic circumstances, chief among these new technologies were quantum computers and genetic engineering techniques, the latter would see it's first socially transformative use in Australia as a limited number of couples and individuals commissioned the first generation of designer babies. In the Federation heavy restrictions on reproduction and child custody lead many to consider state-mandated artificial reproduction facilities a viable and necessary option for the coming decades. A crisis long bubbling below the surface of the NAU would erupt in 2038 when a series of protests in the American South and Midwest lead to a series of state level referendums being held in the aforementioned regions, the result of said referendums made it apparent that a handful of states stretching from Wyoming to Florida want to leave both the NAU and the Federation. After years of negotiations and stalling the Republic of America seceded from the NAU in 2041.

After the secession of the dissident states the new Republic began to strengthen ties with both Russia and the A-P Alliance, leading the Federation into a massive arms build up it prepared for an international confrontation, by the end of the decade Earth's orbit was clustered with thousands of orbiting kinetic and nuclear weapons belonging to the respective power-blocs. The long anticipated confrontation came on August 1st 2049 when a malfunctioning kinetic missile was fired from orbit at the Russian Far East, the WMD exchange between Russia and the Federation would last less then a full day, and eventually give way to a conventional invasion of European Russia by Federation forces. Unlike the earlier attempts to invade Russia made by Hitler and Napoleon this invasion would prove to be brutally effective at accomplishing it's goals completely dismembering and defeating the former Russian Federation by 2051.

After the cataclysmic Russo-Federation War the global economy and geopolitical scene would once again be massively destabilized, from 2053 to 2055 the violent and tense Siberian Secession would occur and see the formation of a far-right populist Russian rump-state, that quickly sought refuge with the Asia-Pacific Alliance. As the decades went on a new status-quo would be established and the world fall into a new Cold War, the expansive Federation on one side representing what it calls social democracy, and the Asia-Pacific Alliance and it's allies on the other side, advocating free market principles and laissez faire government in some cases and authoritarian populism in other cases. As civilization advances onwards it's becoming clear to many that Earth's rivalries may inevitably spill into the stars.