NOTE: This is not meant to be realistic and while the premise might make it sound like a double-blind scenario, it is not based on any other alternate timeline and is not a discussion question. This is more like a "100 ways to skin a cat" rhetoric on an American victory in the Cold War. I am not even sure if this would even be called "Alternate History", but I made this to spark a unique idea inspired by the dormant HOI4 mod "Blue World: Rising Eagle". This timeline will explore technological, political, and military developments revolving around the Cold War and the Modern Day Era. If you would like to make contributions or form a discussion, feel free to contact me. This timeline explores a different way that the United States could have won the Cold War. I will update these events and change them as time goes on. There will be more technological and corporate events near the Modern Day which serves as a result of a butterfly effect following the Cold War. I will move this article over to Shared Worlds if prompted to if it does count as a double-blind what-if scenario. Thank you and happy reading!
Introduction
The Torch and the Eagle is an alternate history scenario revolving around a different American victory in the Cold War. The Soviet Union lies in disrepair, China is democratic, South Africa tries a new method of socialism, and Korea?Argentina devolve in corporationist oligarchies. Despite the victory of the United States, a new movement begins to take hold in the 21st century, a movement that combines the liberty of that of Americans and the radical ideas of equality sparked by the IWW. The world triumphs over communism, but it is also soon destined to triumph over even the old capitalist ideals as well.1950s
- The Korean War begins in 1950 and ends in a division of Korea alongside the 38th parallel with a communist North and a democratic South in 1955
- The United States launched the first satellite into space called the Explorer 1 in 1958 which has brought marked the beginning of the Space Race. The Soviet Union, with technical issues delaying Sputnik 1, has launched the second satellite into space in 1959.
- John McCarthy died in the Second World War in the Marines, which led to William Proxmire to be elected to the Wisconsin senate office. He is less erratic about containing communism and have instead promoted the ideas of freedom across the globe and to also invest into more espionage and infiltrating Soviet media to be more pro-American. There was no "Red Scare" as many historians theorized what would have happened had McCarthy survived Second World War.
- The IWW began to grow in popularity in the late 1950s due to a lack of McCarthyism hunting down left-wing movements, which in turn helped the stability and morale of the United States and led to nations being more trusting of American influence and democracy.
1960s
- The Sino Soviet split has occurred, weakening both the Soviet Union and the PRC
- President John F. Kennedy gets elected in the 1960 election and takes presidency in 1961
- The United States has executed the Bay of Pigs invasion with the Cuban Revolutionary Democratic Front which ultimately led to a victory on the American side due to choosing a better landing spot to invade which prevented a potential way for the Soviets to threaten the United States.
- Niel Armstrong dies in a car accident in 1963
- Mao Zedong gets assassinated in 1958 by Chinese nationalists which leads to Zhou Enlai to take charge. China became less militarily prepared and was more incompetent.
- The Vietnam War breaks out in 1961 after France withdraws and the North and South Vietnamese declare war. The Soviet Union used traditional techniques while the United States resorted to adapting a high-tech version of guerilla warfare alongside the South Vietnamese version of guerilla warfare to cripple the Soviet and North Vietnamese army. A rising defense contractor called Kingship which specializes in new military doctrines promoted these new ideas of guerilla warfare.
- The United States, having swallowed their pride during the Space Race in the 1960s, has instead invested into making the space industry more accessible through satellite technology and economic development on manned orbiters rather than devising a plan to reach the moon before the Soviets.
- The Soviet Union started a program in the 1960s to send a man on the moon to showcase the victory of communism over capitalism.
- The Vietnam War ended in a Southern victory in 1969 when and even took a few states from China, leading to a peace treaty between Vietnam and China.
1970s
- In 1971, the Soviet Union landed their first man on the moon with the cosmonaut being Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. The American people watched with awe and fear but were also too occupied with the civil rights movement and were celebrating their military victories in Vietnam
- In 1973, China ignited the Second Korean War without the help of the Soviet Union and led the United States into the war. This resulted in a South Korean victory in 1975 and also the Korean invasion of Manchuria which led to another white peace much like the Vietnam War.
- The United States tests a hydrogen bomb called the Jefferson which outperformed the Tsar Bomba in 1974
- A Libertarian socialist movement in South Africa begins in the late 1970s on the basis of anti-apartheid and communalism which led to the abolition of apartheid and also socialization of the economy. The movement was led by Steve Biko who was left unscathed in a police beating in 1977.
- Ronald Reagan continued his acting career as he didn't want to "burden himself with the responsibility of a Presidency or a candidate" and never ran for President. This has led to Harold Stassens, not George H.W Bush or Reagan to win the primaries.
- In 1979, the United States used a well-organized CIA to counteract any resistance to the monarchy, which secured the oil economy with Iran leading to an economic boom for the United States while the Soviet Union struggled with staging a coup against the Iranian monarchy. Coupled with a strict economic policy of Georgy Malenkov, the Soviet Union had less oil and was economically struggling.
1980s:
- In 1981, without Ronald Reagan or George Bush to run, Harold Stassen was elected President in the 1980 against Jimmy Carter due to an eager population for intervensionism at the time. This has led to a new foreign policy which seeks to stir civil discontent in the Soviet Union in a pro-Western insurgency.
- Elon Musk has remained in the South African military due to the abolition of apartheid in 1981.
- In 1982, many third parties began to gain seats within the governers, senate and representatives ending an era of the "two-party" system. This has in turn actually boosted stability as there is less reasons for civil disobendience or unrest surrounding the two-party system. Libertarians and Independents gained seats in Congress as well.
- A Libertarian socialist movement in South Africa begins on the basis of anti-apartheid and communalism which called for a radical change in South African politics
- The United States began to develop a radio-based network system between computers called the “Wavenet” which would give universal access for the military and the civilian population to communicate with each other in 1986. This was based on the University of Hawaii’s ALOHAnet and also the existing ARPANET which linked computers together.
- IBM begins to develop a personal computer operating system called “Moore” in 1984 which outcompeted Apple leading to the failure of Macintosh and the failure of Apple
- Microsoft releases “Windows” which is a GUI based operating system in 1985
- The Tiananmen Square Protests led to many reforms by Hu Yaobang, who won the power struggle against Deng Xiaoping. This led to a liberal framework in a command economy as the protesters never explicitly protested for capitalism.
- Mikhail Gorbechev came to power in 1985 but was shortly after assassinated by a hardline, leading to Eduard Shevardenadze to take power. Due to his unpopular nature in the Soviet Union, he was never a target for the hardlines or the military but is also struggling to fight against Stassen's staging of insurgencies.
- In the late 1980s, many different computer manufacturers such as Atari and the Commodore begins to grow and develop their own GUI operating systems and hardware, which leads to a diverse set of software being used and more compatability issues. The newly founded Wavenet becomes a universal medium for these computers to communicate
1990s
- The Soviet Union begins to deal with separatist and liberal/nationalists moving to eventually overthrow the Soviet government in the early 1990s
- There was a power struggle between Eduard Shavardenazde and Georgy Malenkov, which led to the Politburo being divided, inevitably leading to a collapse and a civil war in the near future.
- Linus Torvard innovates software by coming up with an operating system named Linux in 1991 which was open source that was termed as an advancement in computing and software due to it's later universal application to many different sets of hardware. This also leads to the disappearance of hardware specific operating systems.
- Microsoft and IBM becomes bankrupt while other computer manufacturing companies grew due to the application of the Linux operating system in 1992. Linux also became a cultural icon of freedom and choice in computing in the late 1990s.
- The Soviet Civil War is between the Russian State(nationalist), the Moscow Soviet State(hardline communist), the Union of Sovereign States(reformist), and the Russian Democratic Federative Republic(democratic) starting in 1993.
- The Soviet Union loses most of its SSRs to independence movements and is now engulfed in a multi-sided civil war between ultranationalists, hardline communists, reformists and the democratic front. The Cold War ended in 1994 in an American victory. The United States is now the world’s sole global superpower.
- The Polish People's Republic becomes the leader of the Warsaw Pact after the Soviet Union collapses into a civil war in 1994 which is a smaller bloc of remaining communist nations in Europe.
- The “Wavenet” in the early 1990s became global with the use of specialized satellites launched by NASA which linked the Western world together.
- Google, having been launched in 1996 on the Wavenet, goes bankrupt in 1998 and loses to Yahoo.
- With the widespread networks on Wavenet leading to more instant communication and civillian oversight, a movement calls for the end of the two party system in the mid 1990s which eventually led to many political parties to adhere to the demands.
2000s
- The United States elects their first Libertarian President Harry Browne into office in 2000 and was also re-elected in the 2004 election.
- A Wavenet network called Showbiz, developed by Yahoo, has been released as a video-sharing platform for the everyday user where people can share short videos
- Due to the end of the War on Drugs in 2001, Mexican cartels were freer to sell drugs to Americans which led them to a higher position of power, rendering the Mexican government a "paper tiger" leading to a higher dominance of cartels and illegal activities. This also leads to more immigration and labor from Mexico which led to a rise of an American informal economy due to the Libertarian Party's principles of small government. This also contributed to the independent Pro-Union movement from left-wing Mexican immigrants.
- In 2007, a bombing occured at a Colorado High School called Mesa Ridge High School with three pereptrators called the "Freedom Fighters". This has further politically divided the Democrats and the Libertarians over gun control. The perpetrators ideologies where corporatist integralism, which is basically a right wing ideology that doesn't discriminate on race but rather nationality. This event "inspired" people who were "control freak outcasts".
- In 2002, the Warsaw Pact collapses into many separatist movements and paleoconservative movements which transformed the Warsaw Pact into a loose confederation of East European countries called the "Eastern Commonwealth" states that would rival the European Economic Community in the Western nations.
- Android, which is a Linux-based company, works with Motorola and Sonyto release their first Wavenet based phones(or pocket computer) which features touch screens, Wavenet applications, and dual screen.
- In 2005, came a "double economic crash" with one being the Wavenet bubble and the other being the housing bubble which was caused by banks lowering their requirements to buy a mortgage in an unregulated economy.
- A Pro-Union movement begins to form in the late 2000s led by Noam Chomsky which is isolationist, libertarian, and economically left-wing. This consist of upset blue-collar workers who were affected heavily by the 2005 recession and were also inspired by the likes of South Africa.
- Redbox began to host a Wavenet network in 2006 which served as a catalogue of movies and TV shows for a low price while the DVD rental company Netflix lost to Redbox in the video industry
- Due to the cultural division within the two Germanies, Bavaria secedes from Germany under a left-wing government in 2007
- A subculture called "Rangerpop" is a subculture that combines country and pop that upholds the values of freedom and even Darwinist competition due to a surge in American Libertarianism. Pop music became dominated by country-like elements from the late 2000s to the early 2010s
- The 2008 election was contested between Gary Johnson(Libertarian), John Kerry(Democrat), Ron Paul(Republican), and an unnamed Pro-Union independent. The election ended in a Democrat victory with John Kerry. She has put in many economic reforms and regulations as to recover from the 2005 recession. His efforts proved success.
- In 2009, many Islamic nationalists and fundamentalists overtaken many Middle Eastern nations due to a lack of defense against them
- The Soviet Civil War ends in a stalemate in 2010 which led to the establishment of the "Butchered Russian Bear" schematic by many political scientists.
- Trade unions peacefully take control of industries due to many Pro-Union governors and local overseers neglecting to enforce protection against business interests in the early 2010s
- The IWW has become more prominent as Libertarian policies have been pro-employer. There are also a few subcultures that criticize the capitalistic and communistic sentiment across the world in the early 2010s
- The 2012 election was between Jo Jorgenson(Libertarian), the incumbent John Kerry(Democrat), Mitt Romney(Republican), and Osorio Lindsay(Independent) with a Libertarian victory of Jo Jorgenson.
- Wavenet has become socialized by the growing IWW and is now a free and copyright-free service in 2014. This has led to a new era of the Wavenet which used to be controlled by major corporations. This has also led to more social and technological progress with increased access to information.
- A new Soviet successor state declared secession from the Russian Democratic Federative Republic that is called the Siberian Federation which are IWW-aligned in 2015. This is due to a murder of Pro-Union protesters in Siberian cities.
- The 2016 election was between the incumbent Jo Jorgenson(Libertarian), Ron DeSantis(Republican), Kamala Harris(Democratic), and Noam Chomsky(Pro-Union Independent). The election was won by a skin of the teeth of Noam Chomsky who had Pro-Union and Libertarian socialist values that led to the Second Progressive Era in the late 2010s and early 2020s. The United States also plans to form an alliance with the South African Republic
- The 2020 Presidental election was between the incumbent Noam Chomsky(Pro-Union Independent), Barack Obama(Democratic), Rocky de Fuente(Republican), and Jacob Hornberger(Libertarian). The election was won in a landslide with Noam Chomsky.
- The Russian State takes both the Russian Democratic Federative Republic and the Moscow Soviet State in 2020 and unifies the European portion of Russia. Although the Pro-Union Siberian Federation seized Siberia and are in a small scale cold war with the Russian State.
- The United States increased relations with the South African Republic in 2021 and eventually formed an economic alliance called the "SAUSBR" between the British Republic, the United States, and the Republic of South Africa ran by labor unions.
- The "Great Strike", which occurred in 2022, was an economic restructuring of the United States where many industries are socialized by labor unions which has led to an economic downfall of the remaining market economies of the world.
Context of Map:
NATO/PTO - Two alliances that used to be led by the United States before isolationist policies and are now manned by France and China
East European Commonwealth - A pragmatic alliance of Eastern European countries that do not align with the Western states
United States - Pursued an isolationist policy due to Libertarian influence and the principles of self-determination
Moscow Soviet State - A rump state of the Soviet Union
Russian State - An ultranationalist faction within the collapsed Soviet Union
Russian Federative Democratic Republic - A liberal democratic and NATO/PTO aligned successor state of the Soviet Union
Republic of Korea and Argentina - Democracies de jure that devolved into corporationist oligarchies
Chinese SARs - Semi-autonomous regions of the Federal Republic of China
South African Republic - A nation of democratic socialists who formed their own bloc to defend and expand their unique ideology in Africa and abroad. (They will be important later in the timeline)
Post-Soviet SSR breakaways - Former SSRs that broke away from the Soviet Union in 1994
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