More or less countries in future?

[Miles Teg]

I'm pretty much in line with allot of the people here. More nations overall, but with nations becoming more like American states, administrative and cultural divisions instead of sovereign power. Some of the great powers have effectively already gone through this, and are far more unified than these new unions will be, which is an edge. I'm talking the US, China, India, and probably a few midling powers as well (GB? France? Iran?) I don't see these states as falling apart like some people do. Even if there is an ecological crisis, that unites people, not divides them.

 

[Tee Kay]

On a related note, what do we do about the Pacific Islands? A Pacific Island Union?

Don't think they're going to have enough time to unite.

 

[Jan H]

Predictions of the breakup of Canada and Belgium, for example, have been on going for some time, and yet they remain. It's probably because not enough really want to go through, and that staying together is less problematic than remaining united. I am not saying that in future Quebec and Flanders will never become independent, but that Canada and Belgium are far more stable than is often appreciated.

Of course, just as there are forces that want to separate the country, there are also forces that want to keep it together. But have you been following the mess that is Belgian politics in the last two years? I don't see how this can go one for much longer. The current federal government hasn't made any important decisions, except throwing billions of Euros at our three "big banks" to keep them alive (and selling one of them to the French). I'm very curious how things will go after the regional elections of next month...
The two main reasons in my opinion why Belgium hasn't split yet are:
- A lot of government powers are already devolved to the regional governments (much more than in other federal countries). The last mayor federal powers are social security and the pensions. If these were to be split as well, the Belgian federal governement would almost be an obsolete level of government between the EU and the Belgian regions...
- Brussels. Nobody knows what to do with it. (I almost added "and nobody wants it" )

 

[civ_king]

Don't think they're going to have enough time to unite.

I agree, if your island is underwater, politics is irrelevant

oh and a US/Canada Union you could replace stars with maple leafs and vertical bars to represent the Canadian states/provinces

 

[Winner]

While I agreed with your earlier post, I would like to point out that Westphalia didn't really "reshape international relations". It destroyed the Holy Roman Empire as a political force in Germany for another hundred years and made it open to foreign interventions, but it set no real international precedent and was irrelevant to particularist forces outside that Empire.

Well, in international relations PoW is seen as the turning point - since PoW the idea of sovereign nation states has been dominant.

 

[Kerozine]

E pluribus unum. (Indeterminate time span).

Possible new countries in the foreseeable

Kurdistan
Fractured Somalia, maybe 3 new countries
Ditto Sudan
Belgium to split?
Transnistria
Pakistan to fall apart?
Republic of Scotland

Scotland by default is already a country.

 

[PiMan]

They aren't a country unless then send their own team to the Olympics.

 

[Tee Kay]

They aren't a country unless then send their own team to the Olympics.

So, what about Bermuda, Aruba, Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico?

 

[PiMan]

I refuse to accept your perfectly valid evidence because it invalidates my position.

 

[civ_king]

I refuse to accept your perfectly valid evidence because it invalidates my position.

QFT, all perfectly valid evidence has a liberal bias(this is conjecture)

 

[Kraznaya]

I refuse to accept your perfectly valid evidence because it invalidates my position.

No it does not, while your post claims that it follows that all countries must send teams to the Olympics, it doesn't claim that non-countries can't do so as well.

 

[PiMan]

Well if we combine it with places that are certainly countries that don't send Olympic teams (eg Vatican), then I think my position is certainly invalidated.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Fewer countries, definitely! We need to have a Third Imperial period... not to mention, it's time to drive a stake through the heart of this "nationalism" nonsense... Of course, given the stupidity of most human leaders(i.e. the Israel-Palestine conflict), chances are it'll be a while before any serious attempts at unification are made. But I'll always be in support! To go off the American deep end, I'd support even an expanded Russia or China.

@ theLastOne:

Well... to consummate our Union in the future, I propose the USA and Australia partition the Pacific! Though as everyone mentions... if they're still there. It's time for giant cities floating on rafts, children!