World of 2026 PART 4

FRANCE: has stabilized economically but its political clout has long destabilized. But it does not act
like it, since it remains highly
outspoken on all issues, seeing itself as the carrier
of Western civilization, France relies entirely on its
allies to achieve its objectives. It has lost stature as
German power has grown.
France tends to support its neighbor,
Germany although attempts to unite with the
United States and United Kingdom have been
considered in the past..
France worked with Germany in developing
its nuclear program in return for economic
assistance. France is interested in attempting to limit
the power of Russia and the United States. It is
worried about Brazilian pressure on French Guiana.
It remains committed, as always, to friendly ties
with Germany, and is concerned about increasing
unrest in Africa.

RUSSIAN
FEDERATION:
Home to the world’s greatest
nuclear arsenal, Russia relies on
regular threats, although it has
launched only conventional wars on its neighbors.
The aging Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev
swapped the posts of President and Prime Minister
for two decades, before illness forced them to
surrender power to Orthodox Church and obscure
business leaders. The Russians maintain effective
political control over Central Asia and the Balkans.
Russian leaders are eager to limit German
influence in Africa, South America and Eastern
Europe. Often cooperating with China, Russia has
become a protector of new radical Islamic
governments of the Middle East, providing
economic development aid, although it fights Islamic
assertiveness in Moscow and Petersburg. Russia has
tolerated rising Chinese control over its own Far
East, and they often collaborate for influence in
Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.


UNITED
STATES
OF
AMERICA: While President Thoma J.Krauss would defeat Senator
Sarah Palin in the 2020 election, Palin was victorious
in 2024 and won reelection in 2028.
As always, the now great-grandmother
remained a polarizing figure, revered as a patriotic
icon by admirers, detested as a war prophet
elsewhere. Refusing to hold her ambitions in the
face of a declining American power, President Palin
sought to expand the United States’ influence in the
tri-polar world. Even though Germany’s nuclear program was given support initially, its greater influence in the early 2020’s political scenario led to thaw in this stance. She worked hard to improve relations in
Latin America with a $500 billion aid proposal in
2027. Her major foreign policy objective has been
to restore declining United States influence by
building relations with emerging powers. She helped
found the Anglo-American Atlantic-Pacific Union
(AAAPU). Her second best known initiative was the
Palin Pact, which calls for the sharing of green
technology, economic aid, and military
technology to any country “that has a need,
promotes democratic values, and supports
common security interests.” So far, Australia,
Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Canada, Estonia, Myanmar,
Lithuania, Latvia, Tonga, Myanmar, Portugal, the
Republic of (South) Korea and Somalia have joined.
Other countries led by China and Russia insist the
Palin Pact is a thin disguise for rebuilding the useless
American alliance system, a conspiracy for conflict
and possibly war.

SPECIAL PERMANENT MEMBER-


UNITED KINGDOM: Greatly
weakened by the oil crisis, the
United Kingdom has returned to
stress its long-forgotten special
relationship with the United States.
The loss of Scotland, which declared
independence in 2017 (after previous unsuccessful
efforts), was made possible by support from the
European Union and the huge outcry in the international community over the proved use of biological weapons to suppress the revolt. Its space program remains the only saving grace, even though it is currently falling back even in the space race. Concerned with such actions and rising German domination of the European Union, the UK withdrew from the EU in 2023.
It convinced Washington of the need for a new organization to replace the EU and NATO, and the Anglo-American Atlantic-Pacific Union
(AAAPU) was born, joining the, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States in economic free trade and collective
security. Critics believe the arrangement a romantic appeal to lost power and influence.

MEMBERS WITH COLLECTIVE VETO
POWERS: These countries have the right to a
VETO vote, only if they all agree to do so. This
means that if they all vote “NO” to a resolution
this automatically fails.
PERMANENT MEMBERS: These countries have a
permanent seat in the Security Council but no
individual “VETO” vote.

BRAZIL: After managing to
weather the 2020 oil crisis by
switching from petroleum based
energy economy to a sugar-ethanol
one, Brazil is the preeminent Latin American power
and the sixth largest economy in the world.
It considers itself the leading proponent of
Latin American interests without being too much in
Latin American problems, although it now has small
military based in other countries of the region.
Brazil is a large contributor of personnel to UN
peace-keeping operations. The country is suspected
of reopening its nuclear weapons program and
withdrawing from the NPT, which would put great
pressure on its historical antagonist, Argentina.
The United States is suspected of
encouraging Brazil to go nuclear, as are China,
Germany and Russia, all courting the favor of the
Latin American leader, with varying success. Brazil
has dramatically raised its regional profile, fighting a
quasi-war with Spain over humanitarian assistance
to Uruguay, and challenging Venezuela for
dominance of Guyana, which houses extreme right-wing dissidents of the government.