I was just mulling over an idea and thought it might make a cool CC map. what if the USA collapsed in the early 1990s and broke up into different regions while the mighty red empire stood strong in Asia. As a result, the rest of the world and Japan react and try to form alliances to support themselves in the face of a sole Soviet Superpower.
The USA breaks into 3 regions:
The United States of America - the nuclear successor to the former continental superpower, it's territory is from the Rockies to the Atlantic, with most of the South now part of the new resurgent Confederacy. So from Maryland to Maine and New York to Colorado the USA still stands with its new capital at Philadelphia led by a dying Ronald Reagan (George HW is pretty much running things by the 90s, but Reagan holds the office for appearances), now in his third term, looking at a fourth term.
The Confederate States of America - In the 1080s violent uprisings of black Americans crippled the South and as Washington DC's power was fading due to being embroiled in a Vietnam-esque quagmire in central America against communist uprisings, supported by the Cuban led Central American Socialist cooperative union. The governors of the southern states found themselves without military support in quelling the riots. Since Washington had essentially left the southern states to their own devices, the governors formed a new Union of states with the intent of retaining the social status quo in the South and maintaining order in the absence of the Washington government. The new confederacy is born.
The Pacific States of America - With it's capital at Sacramento, the PSA takes up the entire Pacific coast from Washington to southern California with most of Nevada and parts of Idaho and Arizona. With it's more liberal leaning and a resurgant Japan in the Pacific, the PSA joins a revamped Warsaw Pact as it tries to protect it's territory from it's envious neighbors, the USA, Japan and Canada.
Canada - as it's southern neighbor began to implode Ottawa took a course of action to try and limit the damage to it's most important trade partner. As refugees flooded across the border, Canada decides it has to interfere in the United States and sends in peace-keeping troops to limit rioting and maintain order. However crisis erupts between Philadelphia and Ottawa erupts when Michigan secedes from the USA an begs to be annexed as Canada's newest province to try and prevent the collapse of the American economy from ravishing the state like it had done to the rest of the former USA. As American troops are still embroiled in a vicious war in Nicaragua and Reagan refusing to quit, Michigan's secession goes largely unpunished and the whole of Michigan, along with parts of Ohio and Indiana are taken over by the Canadian government.
The rest of the world:
Europe - with the USA no longer able to continue their security comittments in Western Europe, the EU initiates a European military to protect itself in the event of a Soviet attack. With both the UK and France already Nuclear, the threat of nuclear war ensures that the Iron curtain never falls and Europe remains divided on Cold War lines. Without the US to interfere, Berlin is reunited under East German rule on the condition that the remainder of West Germany is left alone.
Middle East - Saddam Hussein's Iraq launches a series of war to unite the Arab people under Bahgdad's leadership. tired of Middle eastern politics and post-colonial divisions, Moscow lends it's support to Hussein despite weak American protests in the UN. The new pan-arab state now stretches from Egypt to the Turkish and Iranian borders. Israel stands as a tiny enclave at pre-1967 borders working closely with it's new larger neighbor.
Japan and the far East - Without the American security umbrella, the nations of the Far East scramble to form a replacement security umbrella. INitially, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea agree to form a defense union under Japanese leadership, However after the new union proves ineffective in preventing North Korea from absorbing South Korea, many of the nations decide to pursue their own defense goals, Ultimately Australia and New Zealand turn to India and the EU for support in developing their own nuclear deterrent. Japan in turn, also develops nuclear weapons and experiences an interest in a second empire to counter increasing Soviet influence in the world. By 1998, Japan is threatening war with the PSA with hopes of taking Hawaii and most of Alaska, which leads the PSA to turn to the USSR for support, but Japan continues it's policy of expansion by invading Communist Vietnam and formally annexing Taiwan in its East Asian Co-prosperity sphere. Taiwan joins Japan to keep from being absorbed by China but largely remains autonomous. While Asia watches as the resurgent Japan appears to be much stronger than it was in the 1990-94 Korean crisis, Australia, New Zealand and India enter into alliance with Japan without formally joining the co-prosperity union.
China - While officially Communist, Beijing has no love for the Soviet Union, but when faced with a dangerously strong Japan to the East and the world's only superpower to the North, China finds itself in a difficult situation. A strong ally seems to be China's only option, but many of the party's leaders are at odds over who China should partner with, the USSR or Japan. Meanwhile, new trade agreements with the USA, the CSA, Canada and the EU begin to have positive effects on China's economy.
The Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries - With the USA demolished, the Soviet Union emerges as the sole super-power in the world. Without an alternative trade partner many nations of the world agree to favorable trade conditions with the Soviet Union in exchange for gas and oil from Russia and ally, the new Pan Arab state under Saddam Hussein. Standard of living rises dramatically within the Soviet Union and Moscow now enjoys strong support from the people. With the USA on the decline through the 80s and ultimately collapsing, the underfunded Mujahideen of Afghanistan loses against the might of Soviet Union and the Afghan Soviet Socialist Republic is absorbed into the USSR. Once west Berlin is left undefended, East Germany, supported by the USSR absorbs the remaining half of its capital city. In the interest of peace, the Soviet Union promises no further incursions into it's neighbors territory. However, with no power to challenge Soviet supremacy, most of the world is on favorable terms, both economically and diplomatically, with the Soviet Union, some Marxists are claiming by 2010, the whole world will have adopted Communism and Marx's predicted world revolution would be reality.
South America - Without the USA to interfere in South American politics, many South American states follow Cuba's example and enact communist reforms so they might to get a share of the favorable trade agreements with the more economically powerful Soviet Union. Beginning in 1990 with communist revolutions in Chile against the Pinochet regime, the Latin revolutions spread like wildfire across the continent with Argentina and Brazil following, ultimately, only Colombia remains non-communist, preferring to ally itself with the remnant USA and eventually the CSA as well, so that it might continue the premise of annexing the rest of central America under the guise of liberating the small nations from communism. By 1995, Colombia extends from the southern Mexican border through to the northern corner of South America. After the guerras centralamericanas, Colombia looks to be the new emergent power in South America as Bogota speaks of a new Gran Colombia with intent to re-conquer Venezuela and Ecuador if they will not renounce communism and join the new union peacefully. In Venezuela, communist leader Chavez watches Colombia's expansion with unease and begins to seek out nearby allies in Cuba and Peru to help defend Venezuela in the event Bogota makes a move on Venezuelan territory. But with Japan endorsing anti-communist Colombia, victory against an increasingly powerful Colombia seems doubtful. But hope for Venezuela comes in the form of a New Latin American Socialist alliance formed in Peru to ally the communist nations against Colombia.
Africa - With the USA now lacking the power it once had, the Soviet Union proclaims a new era for Africa free of capitalist monopolies and wars. The Lagos Pact is signed by 25 central African states to form an economic socialist union closely tied with the Soviet Union. each state is independent but works in cooperation with the others to bring equal wealth to the long suffering people of Africa, only the expanding anti-communist South Africa refuses to join. The Maghreb nations, led by Muammar Gaddafi form their own union to slow the Iraq Empire's advance west and maintain independence, but much like the rest of the world, the Magreb develops close ties to the Soviet Union. With the Central African Union also favorable to Moscow, only South Africa remains anti-communist on the continent. In the 1980s and on to 1995, South Africa had succeeded in annexing Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and parts of Mozambique. The parallels between South Africa and Colombia are obvious and it was no surprise when the two entered into a new economic alliance with each other and the CSA is expected to join them by 2015. However, South Africa is militarily weaker than Colombia and it suffers habitual problems with its rebellious black population. Many in Moscow think it is but a matter of time before South Africa collapses and it's pieces join the African Union.
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran- after failing to repel the USSR from Afghanistan, Political Islam looks for a new leader, with Saddam and most of the middle East firmly in the Soviet corner, Tehran emerges as a new spokesperson for the dissatisfied Muslims of the world. Tehran fears continued Soviet occupation of Muslim territory. With Afghanistan conquered, it seems as if the Soviet Union might reach for the Indian Ocean by absorbing Pakistan next. One thing deters them, Pakistans growing nuclear arsenal, no longer aimed at India but its expanding neighbor to the north. Pakistan knows it can not succeed in defeating the Soviet Union, so it seeks allies and finds them in Japan and Iran, with whom it signs agreements with to develop nuclear weapons. By 1996, Iran is fully Nuclear and engaging in dangerous rhetoric with the Soviet Union, such as referring to the USSR as the Great Satan. Meanwhile in 1993, Islamic terrorists strike Leningrad with a car bomb and Moscow responds with crackdowns on its traditionally Muslim peoples and also suspects Iran to be harboring a previously little known terrorist by the name of Usama bin Laden. The Soviet Union is unsuccessful in quashing the new wave of Islam based hostility to the USSR and in 2001 jetliners crash into the Moscow Kremlin and the Kudrinskaya Square Building, thus launching a Moscow led attempt to bring Iran and Pakistan into line with Soviet communism. However, with a nuclear Iran, Moscow is hesitant to outright invade it's Caspian neighbor. But by 2010, after continued bombings in Leningrad, Moscow and several Warsaw Pact countries, it is becoming apparent that Iran must be taken down as a friend to terrorists, However in September of 2010, Iran surprises the world by announcing it has signed a mutual defense agreement with Japan.
So the Soviet world is nearly entirely communist, only Japan, Iran-Pakistan, South Africa, Colombia, the CSA and the USA remain in opposition to the USSR. Japan is considered the leader of anti-Soviet politics and the EU, while not communist has made peace with the Soviets and adopted partial Communism. Without the USA, the world belongs to the USSR, which is improving each year as its economy expands. However with the disappearence of the USA, the fear of nuclear war did not also disappear, In 2012, it was estimated that Japan could destroy the world 5 times over with its nuclear arsenal alone. Nearly every enemy of the Soviet Union is armed with nuclear weapons. There are also many fears that the former USA could end up in war with it's former pieces because territorial arguments over places like Kentucky and Maryland are common in talks between Richmond and Philadelphia. Canada continues to be viewed by Philadelphia as hostile as many bad feelings over the Michigan incident remain. In Philadelphia, there is growing fear of the New England states seceding and forming a communist state. The New York Occupy riots of 20111-12 are still fresh in the mind of Americans, many recall the rioters raising the red flag over the New York stock exchange and demanding communism in place of American failed capitalism. Still even more recall American soldiers firing upon the crowds in New York because the new Bush administration feared communist revolution in New England. Meanwhile in the CSA riots over black civil rights are nearly constant. After the civil rights bill failed to pass in 1963 under the Nixon administration. Many blacks feel the only psth to equality is through violent revolution with the support of Moscow. Meanwhile the PSA continues to grow as the dominant economic force in North America. Western states of the USA are anticipating the day when they can apply to join the new successful PSA.
While the "American problem" is perpetually ongoing, Moscow keeps a watchful eye on the various hotspots of the world. Japan, with their absurd adherence to capitalism continuesto be a majpr problem for the USSR, many in Moscow fear that if Australia and Indochina fall under Japanese influence, a New Cold War will likely emerge. However, with all the money and weapons Moscow and Beijing pour into the communist resistance in Indochina, Japanese victory seems unlikely, they hope. Many books in the USSR criticize Stalin harshly for not invading the Japanese home Islands during the Great Patriotic War for without a unified Japan, the Soviet Union might be unchallenged after winning the first Cold War.
Colombia, however is a major problem. Bogota has made no secret that it wants to reinstate the former borders of Gran Colombia that were disolved in 1830. But Venezuela is allied to the Latin alliance, which is allied to the Soviet Union, if Bogota could be so foolish as to advance on Venezuela, it would drag the Soviet Union and its allies into war in South America. This might prompt Japan to join in and World War 3 could mean disaster for worldwide Socialism.
