A New Millenium: A Modern-Day Nation RP [CLOSED]

[joshuadim]

"I think there's every reason this 21st century will be much happier." - Dalai Lama
​

The clock has struck midnight, signifying the end of a millennium and the beginning of a new one as the 21st century begins with celebration and jubilation around the world. In these ever changing times, technology advances far more rapidly than one could have expected a mere decade ago, the internet has grown to become an ever increasing part of a person's life, and the world has seen a stability and global peace that has been maintained since the end of the Second World War. Economies boom, fortunes are made, and the world's standards are rising. Yet, through all these accomplishments in human civilization, there will always be something to threaten it. With the Y2K Bug being debunked now, only time will tell what the next crisis will be in the global stage and if the world can answer the call to maintain its global prosperity as a result.

Welcome to A New Millenium, a Nation RP starting in the year 2000 and going beyond that. The difference being is that 13 players will impact the respective countries they play in many different aspects and change the future to be either eerily similar or vastly different to what we have now. Played on a GM's post-by-post basis, players will send turns to the GM as well as deliberate on international politics through a Model UN to discuss world policies, interactions, and crises that may arise.

Player List:
Griff - United States of America
Amfleet - India
Malos - France
Zillamaster55 - Iraq
Native Hunter - Pakistan
mausedpotatos - Colombia
RayPurchase - United Kingdom of Great Britain
Sobotnik - Ukraine
Doomevil - Japan
Gnomical - China
Emperor Scorpious - Russia
hatknight - Germany
Rictus - North Korea

Turn Format:
Turns will be delivered via RPNation PMs or by Discord DMs. 12 line limit + 1 technology line. No more than two sentences for a line. Each turn is 6 months in length.

Diplomacy: Interactions with player countries, including war declarations.

External: Interactions with NPC countries, including war declarations.

Domestic: Actions involving domestic stuff goes here (i.e. economy, social stuff, etc.)

Military: Actions involving the military, excluding declaring war, go here.

Technology: Three technologies you wish to research go here. One is chosen randomly.

Espionage: Covert activities your nation does goes here.

OOC: Additional information you want to include in your turn such as to clarify certain actions and whatnot. DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS LINE LIMIT.

General Rules:
1. Standard forum/FPRP rules applies. Don't be dicks to each other.
2. No metagaming. As GM, I reserve the right to severely punish players in-game who metagame.
3. Have fun!


Interested?
Join the FPRP discord for discussions on this RP!

Discord - A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities

Discord is the easiest way to communicate over voice, video, and text. Chat, hang out, and stay close with your friends and communities.

discord.gg

 

[joshuadim]

Map of Player Countries (marked in green):

​

 

[joshuadim]

Pre-Turn Supplemental 1: Election Year

With the turn of the millennium also comes several major elections that can change the course of nations forever. As people flock to the voting booths to cast their votes, they choose the leader they wish to carry them forward in these new times.

The United States
It's no surprise that the upcoming United States General Election will perhaps be the most closely watched out of any election in the world, considering that citizens of the United States will be choosing to elect who would be the de-facto leader of the free world for the next four years. Yet, the General Election is still a ways off as the primaries for both the Democratic and Republican parties go into full swing within the first few months of the year. Surprisingly, in both contests its a sweep for their respective winners as both parties find a clear candidate to push for the election. For the Democrats, Bill Clinton's Vice President Al Gore manages to sweep the primaries across the country and selects his running mate to be Joe Lieberman, a Democratic senator from Connecticut.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side it is also a sweep although surprisingly it goes the way of George W. Bush who manages to defeat Republican heavyweight John McCain in a near total sweep of Super Tuesday, thus bringing Bush as the frontrunner and the official candidate for the Republican party. However, his running mate is a different matter as originally Bush wanted Dick Cheney to be his running mate. And after refusing and recommending John Danforth instead, Bush ultimately agrees to bring on Danforth and his running mate for the official ballot. By late June, the lines are drawn as both sides prepare to duke it out to not only obtain the presidency, but also to win seats in the House and the Senate.

​

Russia
The Russian Federation holds its own election on March 31 for its presidency after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin in which Yeltsin's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, easily wins the election with 53.4% of the vote, defeating Gennady Zyuganov of the Communist Party as well as Grigory Yavlinsky of the Russian United Democratic Party. Despite not running almost any campaign events or even campaigning at all, Putin's popularity stemmed from his and Yeltsin's dealings with the Second Chechen War, and with the war having moved forward to a soon to come rapid resolution in favor of Russia it would serve to boost Putin's popularity among the Russian electorate and win him the election.

​

Japan

After Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi suffered a stroke on 2 April and was deemed incapable of continuing to serve as Prime Minister, an emergency meeting of the LDP party was held to replace him with Yoshirō Mori in a unanimous vote from his party and the conservative coalition in order to maintain positivity for the LDP government as well as to prepare for the upcoming general election. However, a series of blunders and public gaffs by Yoshirō Mori led to not only his approval rating, but the approval rating of the government as a whole to drop to nearly 20%, with some areas having in the 10s. In an effort to recover, Mori dissolved the House on June 2 with the Divine Nation Dissolution but the damage had already been done.

Energized by the negative attitude towards the LDP and its coalition, the Democratic Party spearheaded a campaign headed by Yukio Hatoyama in an effort to make large gains in the House of Representatives with the ultimate goal of unseating the conservative coalition. As the election neared, both sides held their breath as they continued to campaign as much as they could to win as many votes as possible. And when the results arrived, they were shocking: The Democratic Party had won 189 seats, and thus secured a coalition government along with the Liberal Party, Communist Party and Social Democratic Party for a total of 244 seats to secure a majority in the House. Almost immediately, a vote of no-confidence was held in the LDP to replace Yoshirō Mori with Junichiro Koizumi to head the opposition as the LDP as Yukio Hatoyama now takes up the reigns of Prime Minister in late June and leads Japan for the next three years.

 

[joshuadim]

Pre-Turn supplemental 2: The Dot Com Bubble


​

10 March 2000 - NASDAQ peaks at an index of 5048.62, the largest in its history after a massive spike over the past few months of growth. Yet, all is not well as analysts warn of market volatility and instability. Yet no one listens.

13 March 2000 - A massive sell off ensues when news arrives of Japan entering a new recession, disproportionately impacting technology stocks as a panic selloff occurs.

20 March 2000 - MicroStrategy announces a loss of 62% in its stock value in nearly a single day.

3 April 2000 - Microsoft is found guilty of monopolization and tying in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. A 15% decline in Microsoft shares as well as an 8% drop in the NASDAQ follows shortly after.

14 April 2000 - NASDAQ falls a total of 25% by the end of the week. Massive losses are reported by dot com companies, and the bankruptcies start to roll in afterwards.

By late June, it is rapidly approaching that nearly $1 trillion USD in market value is slated to be wiped out of the market, with internet stocks tanking across the board. Is this the start of a new recession? Or can disaster to the global economy be avoided?

 

[joshuadim]

Turn 1: January 1, 2000 - June 30, 2000


​

World Events

-The Eritrean-Ethiopian War ends with an Ethiopian victory, and peace settles in the region as minor gains of disputed territory are taken by the victor.
-America Online purchases Time Warner for $162 billion USD, making it the single largest corporate merger in history.
-The Playstation 2 is released by Sony, marking a new era in video gaming.
-Pope John Paul II apologizes for the wrongdoings by members of the Catholic Church throughout the ages, including the persecution of Galileo Galilei, involvement in slavery, stake burnings, the institution’s silence through the Holocaust, and violations of women’s rights.
-India’s billionth person is born, thus bringing India to become the second country to reach the population of 1 billion.
-The Pyrenean Ibex is declared officially extinct much to the sorrow of environmentalist and conservation groups.
-The Dot Com Bubble bursts, leading to global financial panic as global technology and dot com stocks plummet.

-France’s president Jacques Chirac and the United Kingdom’s prime minister Tony Blair get together in 10 Downing Street to sign the Lancaster House Treaties, in with two treaties are agreed upon by both countries for mutual defence and security cooperation along with mutual use of each other’s military bases as well as cooperation in military research. The two shake hands and both countries walk away pleased to continue tying themselves together politically and militarily along with the economics of the European Union.

-Continuing the UK’s economic policies and standing with the European Union, Tony Blair goes out of his way to personally advocate the benefits of EU membership as well as what has been accomplished during this time through a series of televised ads to the general public. While the conservative owned tabloids continue to put stress on the Labour government through their headlines, Blair’s approach is to appeal to the masses in order to both secure Britain’s economic future as well as that of the Labour government’s.

-As the head of the Commonwealth, but currently unable to mandate its own independent trade agreements, the Labour government instead pushes for free trade agreements between the European Union and Commonwealth nations, taking to the floor in the European Parliament to make the case for such a proposal. Countries such as Canada, Australia, and India would be an overall boon to have as strong trade partners and would serve to benefit all sides. Yet any comprehensive trade agreements have yet to be drafted and would be entirely up to the EU as a whole to establish such relations.

-With the border of Northern Ireland having always been a point of contention due to IRA attacks, in accordance with the Good Friday Agreements it is decided by the Blair government to withdraw what soldiers remain from the region. Along with this, a lasting peace process is started through the efforts of reconciliation committees to try to ease tensions as well as to try to keep the peace. The Republic of Ireland also does its part to try to maintain the Good Friday Agreements, and thus both sides work together to bring about the end of The Troubles for good.

-Seeking to secure Britain’s energy supply and independence, the Labour government passes a “North Sea Development Fund” in order to expand offshore drilling from the North Sea with the added caveat of a percentage of the profits being put forth towards public works and infrastructure projects within the country. Along with this, nuclear power is put at the forefront in a surprising turn of policy as the Labour government passes funding for the construction of three new nuclear power plants, with one in Wales, one in Scotland, and one in England itself. However, these measures do not come without resistance, as environmental groups such as Greenpeace denounce both these policies and conservative MPs question the amount of spending on reactors.

-Additional fiscal security measures are introduced by the Bank of England, along with simulated “stress tests”, in order to ensure financial institutions within the country are able to weather economic downturns in the global economy as well as preventing shutdowns of said institutions. These measures, while restrictive for large multinational corporations who protest against such ‘unneeded moves’, are lauded by economists and in general help boost the public’s faith in the government’s capability of managing the economy.

-The Type 45 destroyer is given the greenlight for development, construction, and commissioning by BAE Systems in order to spruce up British naval power with newer and more powerful destroyers within its fleets. Not only does this provide a boon for the British navy by the planned date of 2007, but it also provides an economic stimulus through job creation in Scotland’s shipyards. BAE Systems also receives a boon as it receives official government investing, making the company now partially government owned as a result, in order to continue development and construction of new ships, weapons, and systems for the country’s armed forces.

-The RAF’s two bases on Cyprus receive additional funding for refurbishment as well as additional radar and communications equipment. These bases allow the RAF to hold a presence in the Mediterranean as well as a closer presence to the Middle East as a whole in order to keep an eye out on Iraq in the post-Gulf War status quo of the area.

-Plans to replace the Landrover Snatch as a patrol vehicle as put into motion with designs for a replacement being drawn up. As the Snatch currently lacks in armor as well as having certain maintenance issues, the armed forces require a new vehicle for use in service that would rectify these issues. One of the designs to come up is the Ocelot, with theoretically improved protection against improvised bombs and explosives as well as improved reliability in its materials and parts. The design is still theoretical however, and would require years of testing, building, and general development to ensure that its fit for service.

-Moving forward into the 21st century and off the heels of recovering after a devastating famine, the Hermit Kingdom moves to secure its food supply by securing a food purchasing agreement from its neighbor, China, at low costs. Both countries are easily able to come to a mutual understanding as both are allies and food shipments flow into North Korea as a result.

-A free trade agreement is established between China and Pakistan in a bid to improve relations between the two countries even if there is a contested border between the two. Goods begin the flow into both countries ports as the two tie themselves closer economically.

-Special Economic Zones such as Shenzhen and Zhuhai receive special treatment from the government in the additional development of industrial infrastructure, with power plants and factories being constructed in these regions to proliferate economic growth as well as job creation for the people living in these regions.

-Along with this, a large scale internet infrastructure project is put into place in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing in which the Chinese government wishes to see an internet connection available to all citizens in these cities. Large amounts of broadband cables are required for such an operation and thus many large roads in these cities are closed temporarily to start establishing these cables, it is estimated to take a few years for internet infrastructure to reach full coverage in these cities if the Chinese government continues its pace of development.

-The CPC places an increase emphasis on university research programs in order to cultivate scientific advancements and output from the nation’s top research universities. A large government program under the name of “Progress China” is instituted to achieve such a goal by having the state deliver nearly ¥50 billion yuan in funding handed out. Research programs in many universities immediately put the funds to use in increasing team sizes as well as in buying newer scientific equipment for use in their studies.

-The CPC does an internal review of the country’s healthcare system in order to determine pitfalls, roadblocks, and inefficiencies that currently plague it. For a system that has to guarantee coverage to over a billion citizens, it is found that many regions are sorely lacking in medical infrastructure as well as in general lacking physician coverage. Along with this, it is found that many people get sick with easily preventable diseases due to a general lack of hygiene knowledge in both cities and the countryside and thus overburdens the system more often than not.

-An expansion of the PLA Navy is put forth by the party for a surface naval task force. Seeing that the US Navy’s carrier groups project regional dominance wherever they are stationed, the Chinese Navy pushes to have its own aircraft carrier to be operational. With this in mind, the PLA Navy has the incomplete Vayrag (now renamed to the Liaoning) transferred over to its control from the shell company that had previously owned it and pushes to have it completed by the year 2008 as many parts of its hull need to be replaced and outfitted with newer armor to compete with American carriers.

-Along with this new aircraft carrier, an expansion in the number of escorts, destroyers, and missile cruisers is ordered to be laid down and constructed in various drydocks. The ultimate fate of these will be to join the Liaoning in creating the first carrier group for China by the end of the decade.

-Several Chinese destroyers are sent through international waters through the South China Sea and into the Indian Ocean to determine the Chinese navy’s capabilities for operations outside of its territorial waters. Although the move raises eyebrows in Malaysia as they get nervous over Chinese military movements, the Chinese government reassures the Malaysian government that it is simply an exercise. Results are generally positive as nothing seems to go wrong with any of the vessels and the journeys are quite uneventful for the most part.

-An aircraft base for the PLA Air Force begins construction in the Qinghai region, as both a research facility for aircraft as well as for potentially keeping an eye on Tibet and the Xinjiang region. The facility is scheduled to finish construction by 2005 in order to properly house testing facilities and aircraft.

-An improvement is made to nuclear power plants, in which a more efficient breeder reactor process is found to reuse nuclear waste to overall reduce the amount of nuclear products produced by fission reactions. The new process is immediately put to use in the under construction Qinshan nuclear power plant’s reactors.

-At the start of the year, Plan Colombia is passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton to deliver $1 billion USD in aid to the Republic of Colombia to help the country combat its current left-wing insurgency from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia; FARC). Almost immediately, President Arango moves to increase the capabilities of the Colombian military in order to push back against the rebels as well as to cut down the cocaine production capabilities of FARC.

-Along with this, Colombia manages to secure an agreement with its neighbor, Ecuador, to patrol their border with Colombia in search for any FARC movements or rebels in or out of the region. With both countries at work, a few small shipments of raw coca leaves is captured moving across the border. Only time will tell if the mutual border agreement with Ecuador will bear any more fruit for Colombia's war on FARC.

-Looking to boost the country's economic exports, President Arango approves measures that he and his party believe will create economic growth and create jobs at the same time. Starting with removing regulatory statutes from one of its major industrial companies: HACEB. As one of the largest employers of workers and manufacturers of kitchen appliances in the country, HACEB's importance cannot be diminished by roadblocks that would stand in its way.

-Next, President Arango pushes for Plantains to be a major source of export and income for the country as he pushes for increased planting and growth of this popular starchy fruit for sale within and outside the country. By May, it is expected that the total amount of plantains to be grown will be increased by a modest 13%.

-Oil is important to Colombia's energy sector as it has been one of the country's main exports since 1986, yet the production and exports have been declining rapidly for nearly two years now due to a recession brought about by the Russian and Asian economic crises of a few years earlier. Seeking to jump-start the economy again, President Arango pushes for an increase in refinery capabilities of its state owned company Ecopetrol to push oil production and export back to its pre-recession numbers once more. With petroleum prices currently showing strong numbers, it will take by the end of the year to see if this oil push has been successful or not.

-Bogota and Cartagena both receive an increase in state funding to promote the enhancement of its public transportation through the use of more buses and trains as well as a more streamlined route map for use in both cities. Through this, TransMilenio is established to service Bogota as a government pushed transportation system. Starting with a small but consistent two lines with 30 kilometers of route, the riders that take TransMilenio describe it as a burgeoning "subway but with buses".

-In a controversial move protested by liberals and left-wing elements within the country, the Colombian government legalizes penal labor from prisons in order to generate revenue for the prison institutions around the country through the production and sale of whatever if produced. While conservative elements applaud the move as "rehabilitory" for "criminal elements and the government pushes the move as a "positive" benefit for society, the facade is quickly struck back as a New York Times exposé reveals that prisoners are paid little to nothing for their work while all the profits go to prisons as a result.

-In an effort to reduce gun crime, the government introduces a voluntary gun buyback program in which a person’s firearm can be turned in to the government for a cash reward. While it gets a few thousand people who sell their weapons for money they desperately need, gun violence still continues as shootings are near daily in many large cities and towns over gang and cartel violence.

-An expansion in witness protection is instituted in order to better ensure the safety of those willing to strike a deal with the government against either gangs or cartels through the increase in manpower as well as a reforming of certain security protocols. However, under its first major test it falls apart as corruption shows its fangs. A high value asset in testifying against FARC is killed in his holding cell after the guards were seemingly bribed to “take a break”, thus leading to embarrassment on behalf of the government.

-With Plan Colombia having been delivered from the United States, the Arango administration pushes for a wider war on drugs within the country as it puts its military and police to use in searching for both FARC as well as drug labs and operations within the country. Within months, a few cocaine labs as well as a major coca plantation are busted by the Colombian military and dozens of arrests of cartel and FARC members are made around the country, signaling a good start for Colombia’s efforts.

-Funding is increased for the police with money obtained from Plan Colombia, as a few APCs and bomb defusal robots are purchased from the United States to help with their efforts. Both are a boon to anti-cartel and anti-FARC operations but in another embarrassment to the Colombian government, two armored personnel carriers go ‘missing’ and are presumed to have been sold off rather than going to the police.

-An minor improvement in hydroelectric dam turbines is made as an improvement in the general design of the wicket gates allow for better flow of water to push along the turbines for a slight increase in energy production, serving as a boon to many regions in Colombia that rely on hydroelectricity as a result.

-An agreement between France and India is struck through the purchase of the French aircraft carrier Foch as well its air groups (sans the Crusaders) for a total of $34 million USD. Now renamed the INS Vikramaditya, the new aircraft carrier for the Indian navy will have to undergo equipment overhauls as well as renovations to many of its systems in order to modernize it and bring it up to speed for the next year or so.

-France’s president Jacques Chirac and the United Kingdom’s prime minister Tony Blair get together in 10 Downing Street to sign the Lancaster House Treaties, in with two treaties are agreed upon by both countries for mutual defence and security cooperation along with mutual use of each other’s military bases as well as cooperation in military research. The two shake hands and both countries walk away pleased to continue tying themselves together politically and militarily along with the economics of the European Union.

-With the region of Nepal suffering from a guerilla insurgency from Maoist communists in the country, France enters its hat in the ring with its support of the Nepalese government alongside the United Kingdom, the United States, and Belgium. France sends $4 million USD in a relief package to the Nepalese government as well as in sending some phased out rifles for use by the small country’s armed forces. The gesture is greatly appreciated by the King of Nepal, who praises France as a “friend of the nation”.

-A labour reform law is adopted for the creation of the 35 hour work week in France as Aubry 2 is adopted in January. The reform fully comes into place in February as it now considers all work past the 35 hour mark to be considered as overtime with a premium paid at 25% for the first eight hours and 50% premium for every additional hour past that.

-Along with this left wing reform, another major reform is done to the country’s healthcare system in which ’Couverture maladie universelle’ is introduced, from which all citizens of France are guaranteed health coverage by law in a system paid for by the government. The move is celebrated by both workers and socialists, who applaud the move in as in favor of workers rights as well as in general rights for the working and middle classes. Private insurance and health care providers protest over these changes, but are overall stamped out by the general public sentiment of approval.

-While the French Navy has adopted the newer FAMAS G2 for active service, the French army had refused before the newer model in favor of using the older F1 model for active service. As the French government attempts to make an appeal for the newer service weapon to be used in its armed forces, citing the improvements towards quality and reliability with the G2 as well as its compliance with NATO standards of 5.56x45mm cartridges. The army is hesitant to take such a move immediately, but do let the government know that it is something they are willing to consider in the future.

-The French military starts the FÉLIN in an effort to both prepare its combat soldiers for the future of warfare as well as to upgrade many standards currently employed by the armed forces. While still in development and prototyping stages and will take years before any substantial results are made, the French government is hopeful in the possibility of staying ahead of the curve in the theater of war in the event that France should ever need to defend itself.

-After years of theory and development, France makes a medical breakthrough in which Dr. Jacques Marescaux performs a cholecystectomy on a 68 year old patient… from across the ocean. Utilizing new pioneering technology in both robotics as well as telecommunications, the operation was a success and truly demonstrated to the world the feasibility of telesurgery as a means to help patients from long distances.

-Seeking to not only help the post-Soviet economies to its east recover from years of economic stagnation and downturn but also to improve trade and EU relations with said countries, Germany commits to a series of trade agreements with Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic States in a bid to help bolster their economies. With all parties eager to participate in the global economy as well as to grow their own, trade agreements are easily agreed to and Germany finds itself with new trading partners right next door.

-Germany develops a free trade agreement with Ukraine as well as delivers large investments in the latter’s agricultural sector as well to import products from said sector at a cheap rate. With Ukraine’s agricultural sector being one of its largest economics boons, as well as being one of the largest producers of wheat and corn, the country seeks to increase its economic strength from one of its most reliable means of profit.

-Within the European Parliament, Germany’s legislative representatives push for a more intertwined economy among EU members in order to promote unified economy prosperity and growth. Although it’s not exactly said how this is to be accomplished, the sentiment is generally met with positivity from most of the EU apart from elements in governments that are eurosceptic who claim that Germany is trying to “remove national identities”.

-With support for the EU being relatively high in Germany, Chancellor Schröder and the SPD have a relatively easy time in continuing their public support for the European Union as well as promoting it to their voter block. Although eurosceptic elements from both the far-right and far-left continue to promote a breakaway from the EU, their voices are generally drowned out by a larger popular support that exists in the country.

-With the world of technology continually expanding and computers become an increasingly important part of everyday life, the German government recognizes the importance of this industry and pushes for an increase of both private and public investment in its technology industry. Medion AG, a technology company based in Essen, along with a few other smaller manufacturers see a shift in production away from kitchen electronics as they try to break into the desktop and laptop industry. Medion AG officially announces a prototype laptop based similarly on designs from Lenovo and Compaq. However, issues with production arise due to heat throttling as well as general inexperience in creating computers and an official product launch/announcement is held off until at least late 2001.

-Germany has its military drill in wargames with an emphasis on “irregular forces” such as non-state actors and terrorist groups. Considering the recent rise of Islamic terrorism and the proliferation of al-Qaeda, German leadership agrees that should the need arise in the future, Germany would be prepared to combat terrorism.

-Being a member of NATO, Germany pushes within the organization for the standard use of a common NATO rifle with 5.56x45mm rounds. As there are dozens of rifles in active service between all NATO members, Germany pushes for the G36 to be used as a standard among all countries although the reception is rather lukewarm without much to go off of. Countries like the United States would most likely never budge from their standard of the M4 carbine while others prefer to use either American weapons or weapons from their own country.

-The German Bundeswehr takes stock of its equipment and armaments and begins to sell surplus equipment to Poland at a discount rate. The Polish government is grateful for such a sale and immediately puts the equipment and armaments to use within its own military to start phasing out old Soviet designs.

-With the industrial process becoming ever more complicated as technology grows ever more powerful, the need to find a fast way to produce complex items grows ever larger. To this the German company KUKA manages to develop an industrial assembly arm that could do precise, programmed movements to ensure an ear 100% success rate in assembly. The new device quickly catches on in German factories as it begins its proliferation in assembly lines, however it also comes with an economic dark-side in replacing human work positions with that of the machine, thus causing a loss of employment to factory workers.

-Starting the year off with a landmark agreement with its neighbor and regional rival, Pakistan signs the Lahore Agreement with India to secure a bilateral move towards ending nuclear testing between the two. The signing is overseen by the IAEA as well as diplomats and representatives from both countries as both presidents sign the agreement and shake hands on camera. The treaty helps soften relations between the two somewhat, but tensions remain over the question of the region of Kashmir as both countries continue to dispute their claims over it.

-An arms deal is negotiated with the United States in which phased out M16A2 rifles are purchased by the Indian government in order to phase out the INSAS rifle from active service gradually, the reason cited due to poor performances in recent combat history for the country. Thousands of M16A2 rifles make their way to the Indian military and into the hands of military personnel for use as the INSAS slowly starts to take a backseat.

-An agreement between France and India is also struck through the purchase of the French aircraft carrier Foch as well its air groups (sans the Crusaders) for a total of $34 million USD. Now renamed the INS Vikramaditya, the new aircraft carrier for the Indian navy will have to undergo equipment overhauls as well as renovations to many of its systems in order to modernize it and bring it up to speed for the next year or so.

-Inviting delegations from many of South Asia’s countries, including Pakistan, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, India proposes a trade agreement similar to what was created between the United States and its two immediate neighbors to be named as the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). While most of the countries are receptive to the idea, a general consensus is yet to be decided in Pakistan while Sri Lanka declines for the time being as it focuses on fighting in its current civil war against the Tamil Tigers.

-With the new Lahore Agreement having been signed, India focuses its efforts on nuclear energy rather than nuclear weapons in a new initiative the government dubs as “Atoms for Peace”. The plan is to expand nuclear energy coverage on the electric grid across the country in order to service the country’s massive populace as well as to reduce its reliance on coal over a period of 10 years. With an expansive $1 billion USD being committed to the initiative by the Indian government, it plans to open a series of nuclear reactors to power its largest cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

-With India being a massive market of potential in the global economy, the government pushes for an increase in business parks through subsidies granted generously to the construction of them. As large clusters of office buildings begin construction, many floors and spaces in these buildings are immediately bought out for reservation by upstart telecommunications companies who seek to use these spaces for their own companies once the buildings finish construction by early next year.

-Another initiative is created by the government known as the “Rural Roads Scheme” in order to better roads and travel infrastructure between villages and rural areas around the country. This initiative is to work alongside the National Highways Initiative from two years ago in bettering road infrastructure across the country as a whole. While progress starts well, there is a near overwhelming amount of work to be done due to the sheer amount of roads that need to be constructed as well as the problems with geography hindering certain regions from having fast construction go about.

-Continuing on its stance to better is environmental output, the government introduces a series of new laws that would fine businesses and building owners that pollute the Ganges river excessively, with repeated offenders to be delivered jail time as a result. Pollution currently remains a major problem for the river that services nearly 400 million people in two countries, as high levels of toxic chemicals and metals plague the waters and have been known to cause sickness among people who ritually bathe and drink the waters. The hope is to generally reduce the amount of pollution being sent into the holy Ganges overall in a gradual manner, but infrastructure to deal with these sewage and chemicals still remain a problem as well as general enforcement of said laws as only a very minor decrease is seen within the first few months.

-The Indian military moves to construct a long series of barbed wire fences along the Line of Control in Kashmir as well as to reinforce current border checkpoint in an effort to maintain its presence in the region as well as to secure its current holdings against Pakistan. The continued reinforcement and militarization of the Kashmir zone puzzles both international journalists and Pakistan as the two had recently signed the Lahore Agreement, and Pakistan responds in kind with its own fencing and border checkpoint spruce-ups. Fortunately, no exchanges take place as both sides essentially stare each other down in the region.

-The Research and Analysis Wing obtains an increase in funding from the government specifically to create an anti-terrorism division to combat the rise of terrorism around the world. With terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda having successfully caused terror attacks over the past decade in many regions around the world, the Indian government is determined to prevent such horrible events from occuring on its own soil, considering its tense relations with Pakistan and its own Muslim minority within the country.

-The Indian Air Force receives a boon with the successful testing of the HAL Tejas, the country’s first indigenously engineered and produced multirole fighter craft, at the Shore Based Test Facility. The success of the aircraft further bolsters the program and thus is now requested by the both the air force and the navy for active service within the next few years to replace the ageing MiG-21 fighters currently used.

-With the country sorely in need of both friends and economic stimulus, President Saddam Hussein implements several measures to try to both reinvigorate the Iraqi economy as well as to built relations abroad, starting with opening the Iraqi oil fields for foreign use. Primarily, China is to reap the benefits the most from this with a 25% reduction in oil prices, giving one of the worlds’ largest economies ready access to large amounts of cheap oil for use. Similarly, western nations are also brought in to buy from Iraqi oil. Albeit, countries and companies associated with NATO receive heavy tariffs and fees as a result.

-With Saddam’s situation currently somewhat unstable after the Gulf War, he and his regime attempt to return faith in both his leadership as well as that of the government through a series of propaganda campaigns. In them, Saddam’s speeches broadcast to the Iraqi public on “subversive elements” within the country as the reason for the failure of the Gulf War as a whole in an effort to deflect blame from his own actions. The masses, seeing no other recourse than Saddam as a whole, readily accept these ideas more often than not, with only a few elements in the country continuing to denounce Saddam’s rule, most notably being the government of Iraqi Kurdistan.

-Seeing as the country currently finds itself not at war, nor in any real capability to wage it, Saddam orders a “New Initiative”, in which military spending is to be cut down in order to invest into the country’s roadways and infrastructure, most notably in Baghdad. Redundant division are disbanded with its troops sent back home, old equipment such as SCUD launchers are sold off, and the army slowly demobilizes for peacetime. The strain on the economy for maintaining a large military force slowly starts to wane as these measures are put into effect.

-A purge of military leadership, mainly targeting generals and high ranking officers who failed in both the Gulf War and the Iran-Iraq War. General Ali Hassan al-Majid is forced into retirement while other high ranking generals, such as Salah Aboud Mahmoud and others who are promptly imprisoned without trial. The military leadership void is filled with Maher Abd al-Rashid and Ra’ad Majid Rashid al Hamdani as the two most prominent generals in the Iraqi military, who ironically both have a distaste for one another.

-As the internet becomes more and more pronounced within the modern world, Iraq begins to see a small but growing backbone of internet cafes reach Baghdad, as a small amount of internet line is laid down within the city. What few personal computers that exist in the city are also able to take advantage of connecting to the rest of the world as well and thus starting Iraq’s ascent to the digital realm.

-In the first few months of the year, Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi makes a series of visits to several countries starting with Egypt, in which both countries mutually agree to free trade between the two as well as generally friendly relations to one another. Next, Obuchi visit Nigeria in an effort to establish a trade agreement with the increasingly modernizing African nation. The meeting goes well as Nigeria is eager to establish strong trade relations and to build up its own economy while Japan seeks to jump-start its economy out of stagnation, and both countries mutually agree on a trade agreement of their own.

-The animation industry receives a boon as the government throws its support behind this rapidly growing entertainment in an effort to not only create more jobs but also to bring in new talent and artists to create more media for consumption both at home and abroad. As a result, animation studios expand their staffs as well as their offices and dozens of newer animation studios are established in major cities across the country. New shows and mangas are created almost monthly as a result, and the number of otakus in the country continues its steady rise.

-In a surprise move from a generally conservative government, the government passes two laws in which the minimum wage is raised as well as a large cut in the tax on gasoline. Both serve as a boon to low income workers as the reduction in paying for gas as well as an increase in overall pay helps to bring in more money to their households.

-The Special Measures Unit is established within the Japanese Navy from a law that was passed, in which the Unit would be tasked with countering illegal arms trafficking and drug smuggling from entering Japanese waters and soil. As the Yakuza maintains a strong presence in the criminal underground of Japan, this Unit is basically on the frontlines of targeting this criminal organization’s sources of income apart from the many illegitimate businesses that dot Japan’s urban centers.

-Several pilots and aircraft are sent to the United Nations with the purpose of serving in peacekeeping missions around the world. The gesture is greatly appreciated by the United Nations Secretary General and sends a positive letter to the Japanese Prime Minister as a result.

-Prime Minister Obuchi makes a visit to Canada in early April for the purpose of promoting human rights and cooperation between countries with various other countries in attendance as well. Although the meeting goes well, a few human rights groups protest outside of Parliament in Ottawa over the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Canadian government against First Nations Native Americans and thus steals the spotlight from the talks as a whole.

-As Obuchi returns home, he suffers a stroke just a few weeks later and is rendered comatose. Due to his inability to continue serving as prime minister, his cabinet resigns and the Prime Minister is replaced with Yoshirō Mori. It quickly becomes clear however that Mori is incompetent at holding his position, as a series of public gaffs tank not only his approval rating, but the approval rating of the government in many regions and leads to the Democratic Party of Japan to win the General Election in late June. Yoshirō Mori is quickly sacked in a vote of no confidence by his own party and replaced by Junichiro Koizumi as the new liberal government takes the reigns with the new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as its head.

-One of the first acts of the new liberal government is to lift the ban for women to become fighter jet and aircraft pilots within the Air Self-Defence Force. Conservative elements are taken aback by the move and lash out on media outlets while more liberal and progressive elements in the country applaud the move in reducing gender inequality. Although there has yet to be a woman to qualify for piloting military aircraft, there is hope that one day it will come soon.

-An improvement is made in the body armor for military personnel, in which kevlar body armor is made more somewhat more lightweight while retaining its durability and protection against bullets through the use of better manufacturing techniques in the weaving of kevlar. This new more efficient weave is immediately ordered for service in use in the Self Defence Force and will slowly start to phase out older body armor models in use.

-Moving forward into the 21st century and off the heels of recovering after a devastating famine, the Hermit Kingdom moves to secure its food supply by securing a food purchasing agreement from its neighbor, China, at low costs. Both countries are easily able to come to a mutual understanding as both are allies and food shipments flow into North Korea as a result.

-As relations have been gradually improving with South Korea for years now, both countries take steps to continue mutual cooperation and trust building laid out in the Sunshine Policy as both countries hold the first Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang, a landmark step in which both countries representatives have met together since the original division of the peninsula. After two days of talks, a joint declaration is made to reduce “military antagonization” between one another as well as to allow for family reunion meetings in both Pyongyang and Seoul.

-State propaganda continues its usual bolstering of national identity and pride as it presents to its populace the wonders and triumphs of the Juche system as well as the glory of the Kim family while at the same time demonizing the ‘imperialists’ from the west. Reception is the same as usual as people continue to believe their government over anything else.

-Up in the leadership however, it is decided that it is necessary to expedite economic and agricultural recovery, and thus several actions are taken. The first includes a slight reduction in the military budget of around 5% in which the freed up funds will be placed into updating the farming machinery for agriculture as well as in purchasing fertilizers and irrigation equipment for use in expanding farming ouputs.

-The second action taken is the hiring of agricultural experts from China to aid in helping the country’s farms become a constant reliable source of food and to decrease dependence on foreign imports while at the same time building a strong enough food base to prevent another major famine from occurring in the future. Almost immediately these experts begin working by touring the farmlands and countryside of the Hermit Kingdom, both analyzing the land and farming techniques of North Korean farmers in order to fully determine what measures the state should take.

-Along with this, chinese scientists are also hired by Pyongyang to determine the feasibility of plant-based meat products and its mass production. While the idea has existed for some time, the technology and means to create such a product are still years away as it is hard to determine consistency, flavor, texture, and everything else that would go into a normal portion of meat.

-Along with the reduction in military spending, outdated equipment and hardware is planned for a slow phase-out to be replaced with more modern equipment and weaponry. Although there is yet to be any replacements for most of the aforementioned equipment, the North Korean leadership places an emphasis on modernizing its military to maintain its relative position.

-Starting the year off with a landmark agreement with its neighbor and regional rival, Pakistan signs the Lahore Agreement with India to secure a bilateral move towards ending nuclear testing between the two. The signing is overseen by the IAEA as well as diplomats and representatives from both countries as both presidents sign the agreement and shake hands on camera. The treaty helps soften relations between the two somewhat, but tensions remain over the question of the region of Kashmir as both countries continue to dispute their claims over it.

-A free trade agreement is established between China and Pakistan in a bid to improve relations between the two countries even if there is a contested border between the two. Goods begin the flow into both countries ports as the two tie themselves closer economically.

-Coming off the heels of a massive economic recession that very nearly tanked the Russian economy, Russia finds itself in a strange position in this ever changing world as its former allies turn to the west while the country as a whole has yet to move past its Soviet legacy. With this in mind, Russia seeks to make friends by selling old weapons and arms to those that would buy it: mainly, Pakistan. Both governments agree to a massive arms deal as both Pakistan needs the weapons in its seemingly eternal border standoff against both India and China while Russia is sorely in need of economic funds.

-With civil war wracking Afghanistan and the suffering it brings with such a conflict bringing suffering to the doorstep of Pakistan, the Pakistani government makes a move to send humanitarian aid to their neighbors in the regions most affected by the fighting, mainly Kabul and Kandahar, with medical supplies and food being brought over the border. Along with general humanitarian aid, engineers and construction crews are sent to help rebuild infrastructure that had been damaged in the fighting as well, such as bridges, roads, and hospitals mainly. The Taliban government welcomes the gesture of help as they continue to fight against the Northern Alliance in the Hindu Kush in a seemingly endless conflict, and deliver a personal thanks to the Pakistani government.

-An infrastructure budget is put in place to create a deep water port at Gwadar in order to accomodate for the influx of imports and exports being sent to and received from China as well as to improve the country’s overall trade capabilities should any more trade agreements be established in the future. Construction begins underway in April and is scheduled to finish by mid-2003 at the latest.

-A plan to reinvigorate Pakistan’s education system is put into place in which a series of new primary and secondary schools are to be built across the country in regions that do not have any to service their children, as well as to provide renovations and expansions to existing ones in urban areas such as Karachi and Islamabad over a period of five years. While the idea is the increase enrollment all around, the big question remains over the education of girls and women as current cultural and socio-economic barriers either hinder or outright prevent many girls and women from receiving an education above a grade school level.

-While still a developing country, many of Pakistan’s roads are sub-par in quality as well as with many in need of repairs or expansions. As such, the government pushes for an increase in cycling among its populace in order to make up for a lack of public transportation and infrastructure. Bicycles were already common in many cities, and more so now that the government has pushed for it as more and more people cycle to move around their area.

-The Pakistani military conducts military exercises within its borders of the Hindu Kush in an effort to train both its armed forces as well as its officers in regards to asymmetrical fighting and mountain combat. The exercises go well for the most part as officers learn to strategize about the tactical advantages of certain geographical positions as well as in general leading troops through mountainous regions. However there is still quite a ways to go before the Pakistani armed forces can consider themselves to be adept at such things.

-With the proliferation of solar panels becoming more a thing around the world, Pakistan sees a sudden increase of rooftop solar panels as it manages to develop its own brand of solar panels for public use. The panels, while not as energy efficient as many of its foreign counterparts, provide a boon in local power as people are able to create and store energy from the arid climate the country finds itself in mostly.

-Coming off the heels of a massive economic recession that very nearly tanked the Russian economy, Russia finds itself in a strange position in this ever changing world as its former allies turn to the west while the country as a whole has yet to move past its Soviet legacy. With this in mind, Russia seeks to make friends by selling old weapons and arms to those that would buy it: mainly, Pakistan. Both governments agree to a massive arms deal as both Pakistan needs the weapons in its eternal standoff against both India and China while Russia is sorely in need of economic funds.

-The Russian Federation makes a move to improve economic relations with its neighbor, as both it and Ukraine agree to a free trade agreement as well as for the access of Russian merchant and military ships in Crimean ports to push for an easier flow of goods between the two countries. Along with this, the Russian Federation jointly invests with Ukraine for an infrastructure expansion between the two countries.

-Continuing its trend of looking for friends, Russia proposes a series of interconnected oil and gas pipelines that would run through Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. As both sources of energy are critically important to most of these countries economies, the deal is swiftly agreed upon and soon enough the development of such pipelines begin.

-In a landmark conference, Russia meets with Latvia and Estonia where Putin hints at potentially the return of land that had been annexed by the Russian SFSR after World War II in a bid to improve regional relations. The Baltic states are immediately receptive to such an idea and both sides walk away feeling good and with a second conference on their minds to take place at some point in the future.

-Vladimir Putin is elected to the Presidency in a sweeping election that sees him win by practically a landslide against his opponents and thus securing his position of power that he had arisen to after President Yeltsin’s resignation.

-Now with the reigns of the country in his hands, Putin takes the logical step in pushing to end the Chechen War decisively as Russian forces break through and decisively defeat Chechyan forces, leading to Russian annexation of Chechnya and its subsequent integration into the Federation. Remaining Chechen forces flee into hiding and form their own resistance and terrorist cells to combat what they see as Russian occupation of their country.

-With the region pacified now, Russia pushes for rebuilding of whatever infrastructure was damaged in the region in an effort to win over the populace as well as to build up the local economy in the area. Russian construction companies move in to help with reconstruction as well as demolishment of whatever needs to be replaced with more “modern” architecture. WIth the region open to exploitation, several real-estate and construction oligarchs are slated to make exorbitant amounts of wealth from their projects in the area.

-Subsidies to the iron mining industry are expanded in order to keep both the mines open as well as to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for use in Russian industries. As the economy still struggles, the move is greatly appreciated by mining operation owners as they had been struggling financially before to maintain their operations.

-The Russian government also pushes for a steady modernization of the Russian military, as much of its equipment and weaponry are Soviet era and frankly outdated when compared to most western nations. Many of these Soviet weapons, vehicles, and equipment are scheduled to be sold to Pakistan while the Russian military looks for newer alternatives through the establishment of the Ratnik program. Development begins at a steady pace as the military hires both internal researchers and external contractors for technologies and developments for use in the Russian Armed Forces as well as in the Spetsnaz.

-One of the first major developments from the Ratnik program comes with the development of a new infantry rifle with the AK-103, improving upon the design of the somewhat older AK-101. Using more composite and plastic materials than metal or wood, the new weapon is more lightweight while retaining its durability on the field and fields attachment slides that can hold a variety of sights and attachments.

-Years of economic recession prior to the turn of the millennium saw Ukraine struggle financially, however with seven straight years of economic growth, the Ukrainian government is keen on continuing its economic recovery through the use of trade deals and investments as money is borrowed from loans from the European Union and more specifically the United States as the latter provides a $1 billion USD loan at a high 15% interest rate.

-Germany develops a free trade agreement with Ukraine as well as delivers large investments in the latter’s agricultural sector as well to import products from said sector at a cheap rate. With Ukraine’s agricultural sector being one of its largest economics boons, as well as being one of the largest producers of wheat and corn, the country seeks to increase its economic strength from one of its most reliable means of profit.

-The Russian Federation makes a move to improve economic relations with its neighbor, as both it and Ukraine agree to a free trade agreement as well as for the access of Russian merchant and military ships in Crimean ports to push for an easier flow of goods between the two countries. Along with this, the Russian Federation jointly invests with Ukraine for an infrastructure expansion between the two countries.

-Ukraine also approaches and manages to secure a free-trade agreement with Poland, and goods begin to flow between the two as both seek to reap the benefits of such an agreement.

-A diplomatic envoy is sent to Transnistria in order to determine how the idea of an annexation referendum would go for the Transnistrian government. They are greeted accordingly at first, but as soon as the intention is made clear they are sent home and an angry President Smirnov declares that “Transnistria will always remain an independent state”.

-The Ukrainian government officially makes Russian the co-language of the country to go alongside Ukrainian, with Russian speakers in the east of the country celebrating the move as a result. Along with this, the Ukrainian government gives official minority status to Romanians and to the Rusyn people that reside within the country.

-Continuing its trend of recognizing minorities within the country, several regions including Crimea and Zakarpattia are given autonomy which brings about celebration from the Tartars and Rusyns that reside in both respectively. The increase in autonomy allows for both regions minorities to self-govern mostly while under the Ukrainian state as a whole, and serves as a boost in unity in both regions.

-The Odessa Oblast is split into two in order to allow the mixed-ethnic populace of Budjak to have their own representation in the newly formed Budjak Oblast. The Odessa Oblast remains, but now only covers the region that includes the city its named after now.

-An expansion of hydroelectric and wind power is announced by the Ukrainian government in order to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, as well as to increase energy production in the country as a whole. As efforts start with engineers sent by the government to look for improvements to be made to the country’s current hydroelectric network, engineers are also sent to look for suitable locations for wind turbines along the the southern shores and lands of Ukraine. Existing fossil fuel energy production is also looked at, with coal scrubbing methods being slowly introduced into the country’s coal plants in an effort to reduce pollution as well as the reduction of particulates released into the atmosphere.

-A new program is instituted in which farmers are allowed to lease state owned lands on the condition that they plant trees on their property. This comes off the back of a government issued goal to increase forest cover in the country from 13% to 15%, as most of the forests were destroyed during the Five Year Plans under the Soviet Union as well as during World War II. Hundreds of new trees are planted by farmers seeking to increase their farmland acres as they lease out new plots from the government.

-The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is declared by the Ukrainian government to be a natural wildlife reserve, as much of the land in the area has been under the process of being reclaimed by nature for years now and wildlife has begun to move back in. Due to a lack of human activity, the region has played host to a variety of species, including the endangered Przewalski's horse, and the government maintains its current policy of disallowed human settlement to prevent any interference in the wildlife that lives there.

-The “Rich Food” project is initiated by the government in an effort to encourage farmers to practice traditional integrated farming over that standard practice of monoculture. The idea is to diversify a farmer’s crop yield to promote a multitude of plants being cultivated as well as to maintain forestry and the production of additional foods on site such as dairy and wine. The idea is to also insulate farmer from the ever fluctuating market prices of singular crops and to protect their livelihoods should a crop drop in price. As a result of this policy, many farmers have now started to develop their own on-site secondary sales for products such as wine most notably in the south-west of the country.

-Taking influence from the past, the Ukrainian government institutes the creation of Zemstvos in rural villages and towns throughout Ukraine in order to allow self-governance for these isolated populations to provide services to the people as well as for local economic guidance. Along with this, the government uses these new Zemstvos to start on a small-scale for an anti-corruption campaign in order to start from the bottom in squeezing out elements that would seek to take advantage of the system for personal gain. For a start, several cases of embezzlement and fraud are found throughout the country’s rural regions and arrests are made as a result.

-The Ukrainian military is cut back, with its armed forces being reduced to 250 thousand men total and outdated equipment and weaponry being phased out of service in favor of sales to other countries that would buy them. Along with this, a push for mechanization of the armed forces is passed for the military’s budget as tanks, armored personnel carriers, and armored trucks are bought from the Russian Federation. The general goal is for Ukraine to have a small, but well trained and mechanized military that could serve for defence. 1000 Ukrainian officers are also sent to serve in UN Peacekeeping forces in an effort to obtain experience for them before having them return home for service.

-Crime is particularly an issue in the post-Soviet state of Ukraine, and law enforcement in the country is not ideally equipped to deal with it more often than not. As a result, the Ukrainian government orders for a thermal-cycler to be created and imported from overseas to aid law enforcement with forensics. Along with this, the new C1000 Thermal Cycler introduced from the United States can also have benefits in research of genetics, more specifically in the field of agriculture as GMO crops have proliferated into the mainstream.