THE CONCERT OF SOL: AN INTRODUCTION TO EARTH'S POLITICAL AFFAIRS
By: Lessa T'Feris, Armali University Press, Armali, 2071

CHAPTER ONE: SINO-AMERICAN COMPETITION IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE GREAT RECESSION AND THE GREAT LOCKDOWN.

What defines humanity as we know in our galaxy can be traced back to the beginning of the currently century. The former great adversary of the Americans in the global arena had fallen ten years prior to the century's beginning. With the dissolutions of the Soviet Union (nowadays Russia and several other countries) Fukuyama (1992) coined the term "the end of history", to symbolize an era where the United States and what it represented – neoliberal capitalist was to be the final stop of human adventures. From a series of reforms in countries most distant from this ideal, every country would, in the end, operate as everyone else: democracies, rule of law, free trade and free markets. And nowhere did the americans saw this prediction more than in China. After the reforms of Mr. Deng Xiaoping, China appeared to be in the process of becoming a free market, open economy. Some expert's cautions with Beijing's increasingly authoritarian measures at home were brushed aside, as the dying spasms of a dying order.

And nowhere did the "End of history" failed as a political science concept than with, again, China. From the ashes of the Great Depression, China consistently became the engine of growth for Earth. During the depths of the Corona Crisis, which many were ready to attribute to China as it "Chernobyl Moment" (Tooze, 2021), the country once again proven resilient. When the last aftershocks of the pandemic finally died down, China was in a much better condition than her rival, the United States. And it led to a complete shift in American's foreign police grand-strategy. If in the past the great battlefield was Central Europe, now the battlefield of the Second Cold War was the Pacific. It led to reinforcement of alliances with local players: Japan, South Korea, India, Vietnam etc. The Russians would keep mattering for the Chinese as long as they had gas and weapons. But China wanted to phase out gas, and they were developing better weapons from the blueprints of the Russian.

This movement of strategic shifting led Europe alone in dealing with Russia. Sensing the peril of being left alone to face the old fool of western societies, the Europeans began a process of unification. The United Kingdom, after the disastrous period known as "Brexit", rejoined the EU in 2029, and entered the monetary union now known as "Sterling Euro". More countries joined: the remnants of Yugoslavia who hadn't yet joined the Union now did. A unified army was formed, and Brussels started taking a more centralized approach to foreign policy. During the 2930's, while China and the US were competing in places far away as Africa and Latin America, the Old Continent was once again regaining its place In the Sun. A settlement with Russia, suffering harsh economics sanctions, and seeing its main sources of revenue: oil, gas and weapons drying out, came in 2036: the complete neutrality of Ukraine and Belarus were guaranteed, as recognition of Russia's claims in the Crimea. With that, relations between Moscow and Brussels remained cordial, if a little frost. This coup de grâce by the Union conquered the hearts and minds of almost every European and, in 2039, the Declaration of Prague was signed, unifying Europe as the European Federation.

This third block of power, using Russia as a corridor directly to China, had the potential to destabilize completely the Second Cold War. But the leaders of Europe decided that stability and security for Europe were of paramount importance: if neither the Americans nor the Chinese gained the upper hand, Europe could exist as the moderation others would seek. And it worked, countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, New Zeeland, and Australia, while much smaller than the Great Powers vying for influence over them, could hold the off just enough to avoid being swallowed hole. In Europe they found the perfect bargain chip.

So, it's in these conditions that the Age of Space Exploration begins: A new Cold War between the United States and China, a superpower in the middle, trying to stabilize a system too complex to fail, and the small nations, trying to survive the maelstrom of geopolitics coming their way.

Sources:

FUKUYAMA, F. (1992). The end of history and the last man

TOOZE, A. (2021). Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy

Breaking News: Prime Minister Jacques Casteaux to step down for "health reasons"

EBC Brussels

The Prime Minister Jacques Casteaux has announced today, March 13, 2070, that he will be "stepping down from the government for health reasons." No more details had been given as to the nature of said "health reasons" but it has been speculated for a time that the former PM was suffering from some form of cancer. His family has asked for privacy in this delicate moment. The new Prime Minister is therefore Ms. Giovanna Bianchi, Vice-Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Europe. She said that "with the coming elections in 2072, I will make no grand changes to the compositions of the ministries, nor with key personnel elsewhere. We will continue working as a Casteaux government. Nothing has fundamentally changed". Mrs. Bianchi also said that she will not be running for another term as PM come the elections, and that the leadership role can be decided by party members. Jacques Casteaux is better known as the prime minister of First Contact. Not only was in his government that proof of intelligent life was discovered, but he also managed to introduce Europe, and Humanity, to the civilizations of the galaxy. His work is also responsible for the close relationship Europe enjoys with the Asari Republics. As for the next leader, sources say that the most likely names are those from Mr. Casteaux inner cabinet. Special attention has been given to Ms. Julia Koopmans, 45, for her meteoric rise trough the diplomatic ranks, currently serving as the European Ambassador on the Citadel.

Dear Miss Liara T'Soni,

We have reviewed your credentials and your resumé and we had found it most impressive, certainly impressive enough for you to be admitted into one of our top programs. Given your previous achievements such as a BA in Archeology with full honors and a master's at the same subject, we found it interesting that you decided to pursue a Doctorate in Political Science and International Relations. Although as we are aware, with the new Exchange program in place, young maidens like yourself are most invited to discover new areas of interest here on Earth. I'm happy to inform you that you have been accepted for our 4-year program in Political Science and International Relations here at King's College, London.

Best Regards,

Prof. Dr. Matteo Farine, head of Post Grad admissions.

AN/: Here we go guys, a filler chapter while I wrestle with my brain how I want the story to continue. Just some more lore, and setting some things for the future, aka the next jump in time. Casteaux is retiring, Koopmans is being courted to be a leader and Liara, after much insistence from Benezia and Aethyta, decided to take a "sabbatical" and go study something else on Earth.

Also, the citations from the first part 100% exist, I highly recommend Tooze's Shutdown if you want to understand how China managed to outdo the west in every single thing covid-related.

Once again, thanks for the reviews, I'll be answering some over here!

A Lover of Nature Thanks dude!I must confess that my background is not in military, but in political science, so that's the part I tend to focus more on in the fic. It's hard for me to write a good battle scene, although I'm reading some good examples to see how people who know what they're doing do. For the chinese turian engagement in specific, I tried to show how unprepared the Turians were, like, they sent what they believed to be a force overwhelming any "primitive", not a primitive locked in a 3-way Cold War for decades, and the chinese did mobilize almost half of their fleets. I may give this part a rewrite on the future, because I agree it sounded too OP

Edit: Some grammar and un-messing this site's formatting