Okay, so I was inspired by a similar thread, about borders. This one isn't about borders, and has far less limitations. You can change everything(short of ASB), to wank your own country, as long as your POD is after 1900. But here's the thing; don't just focus on borders, but also try to improve your country's economy, society, politics, etc.
I'll go first, with what I think is a bit extreme yet applicable nonetheless:
An earlier Army Coup & Goudi Movement in Greece mean that Eleftherios Venizelos manages to become Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Greece at some point between 1902-1908. Apart from internal reforms, he intensifies changes in the army & navy, basically copying the structures and tactics of the successful militaries of the day, and giving more and more influence to the military while at the same time stocking up on equipment, armaments, etc. That, combined with the aforementioned internal reforms, mean that by the early 1910s, Greece is in a slightly better position than it was in our timeline. Also, the Greek King, George I, manages to narrowly avoid assasination, and manages to stagger on until the 1920s, and Greece does not get a pro-German King until then.
Now, let's assume that Italy, instead of trying to take on the Ottoman Empure alone for Libya, instead conspiring with governments in the Balkans and beyond. In an agreement between Italy and the Balkan League, it is agreed that they would attack at the same time, Italy in Libya and the Balkan League in the Balkans. They do that at some point in the early 1910s, and a better prepared Greece, with its allies as well as an Ottoman Empire that has to fight on more fronts at the same time, mean that Greece manages to make more gains, better gains, and is more powerful. That means that Bulgaria has to think twice before trying to challenge her allies to get what she thinks is rightfully hers, and an alternate London Conference actually succeeds in preventing a Second Balkan War, while at the same time, Greece manages to get more bits and border adjustments in her favor, more islands, etc.
All that does not change the fundamental situation in the Balkans, and while Britain might be more irritated with Italy, and Austria quite furious, the underlying causes and eventual alliances of World War One. On schedule, the conflict begins, and Britain makes the same offer to Greece as she did in our timeline: join the war and get Cyprus. This time, with a more firmly entrenched Venizelos, as well as a king that isn't pro-German, Grece accepts, and plays a part in helping organize a much more successful Dardanelles Campaign, which, while not knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, does deal some heavy damage; among the dead is one Mustafa Kemal.
That means that the Ottoman war effort is more seriously damaged, Germany has to prop them up more. Other factors offset this however and the war largely goes on like it did in our timeline, with an eventual Entente Victory. That victory brings forth the Peace Treaties; a more powerful Greece is able to make even more favourable border adjustments with Bulgaria, manages to bite a chunk of Southern Albania(or Northern Epirus, as some nationalists call it even today), and gains a large sphere of influence in Anatolia, with many coast cities and more territory. Turkey is even more outraged than it would be, but without a unifying figure like Kemal, it is much harder for them to actually coalesce and beat the invading powers. They plunge into Civil War, and many pogroms are carried out. Some of them against Greeks, and the latter are used as a pretext so that Greece can invade a rump Turkey, to get even more of Anatolia; the war grinds into a stalemate, and after outside interference, it ends in a status quo ante bellum, bar some border adjustments. Turkey at the same time is ready to collapse at any minute, either by communists, republicans, or foreign interference. That permanently damages their ability to project power. In the Interwar Period, Greece makes a deal with now Fascist Italy, and for concessions in Anatolia, gains the Dodecanese. Now, Greece owns Today's Greece+Cyprus+Eastern Thrace+Ismir and the surrounding areas+Southern Albania+bits and pieces of North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Venizelos continues to dominate Greek politics until, in a power struggle with the new King in the late 1920s, he is forced out Bismarck-style. He retires from politics, and becomes a national hero. At some point in the 1930s, a referendum is held in the -until then- Free City of Istanbul, and after some... creative vote counting, it remains a Free City, with a small margin of votes over the option to join a resurgent, fascist Turkey. That Turkey later joins the Pact of Steel, and is, right from the start, and throughout the War, an Axis power. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Turkey invades Istanbul, and captures it, prompting Greece to enter the war on the Allied side. That promptly leads to invasion by Turkey, Italy and Germany, and Greece eventually gives way.
After a liberation where the British army plays a pivotal role, and it isn't the resistance leading the fight but the British Army, order is restored, and Greece starts to rebuild, his time with a communist Turkey on the other shore. In the height of the Cold War, a richer, more democratic Greece, ditches its King, is proclaimed a Republic, and within 10 years becomes part of the inner core of the members of NATO and the European Communities. An influx of foreign money, investments and expertise mean that the Greek economy flourishes, and with economists from abroad being hired, to help direct financial policy and economic focus, Greece manages to follow an "Israel Path" to economic prosperity, with a high emphasis being placed on innovation, new technologies, and Defence industries.
At the same time, education, science and research manage to get ahead; new universities, more money being directed to them, mean that Greece is an important part of the world's of science and higher education. A student protest movement and shifts in society mean that Greece faces a tumultuous 1960s, and at the end, a new government, for the first time a socialist/social democratic government in Greece, lays the foundations of the modern welfare state of the country, taking bits and pieces from elsewhere; a health system like the British, a cradle-to-grave model from Scandinavia, and a social market economy elsewhere, as in Germany. This socialist government, ruling over a Greece more powerful, more secure and more confident, makes the first moves towards recognizing minority rights, those of the Turkish minorities and the Slavic minorities, which until then have been ostracized. Eventually, by the 1980s, the process of integration and acceptance has sped up, and Greece manages to pull it off spectacularly.
Economy-wise, more conservative-liberal governments mean that the state's purse strings are sealed tight, and even the welfare state of the aforementioned socialist governments, which would be more few and far between, isn't that expensive. At the same time, more involvement with the West and more firm commitment to it means that economic advisers are pouring in, and, given that Greece IOTL was under international economic control until the 1960s, have even more f a say in directing expenses. That leads to less clientelism and less corruption, and lower government debt.
Given that Turkey fought against the USSR in the War, it was harder for the Soviets to push back the Germans with the same speed; the iron curtain does include a smaller East Germany, Poland, Hingary and Romania, but Czechoslovakia , and a Yugoslavia including Bulgaria are firmly western aligned, as is Greece. They are weaker, and thus, when Solidarity, in 1981, launches a large protest movement against the government, that leads to a chain reaction, and popular revolutions overthrow the communist regimes; by 1984, and after a large nuclear warhead scare, Eastern Europe has started to move away from communism, with Poland, Hungary, Romania, a United Baltic Country and a reunified Germany being firmly capitalist, and joined in treaty with NATO. Russia however holds on to its Central Asian former SSRs, which are now part of a new, Union of Sovereign Republics. At this point, Turkey, has seen three regime changes and has lost three wars over the course of the 20th Century; it descends into chaos and anarchy, being a hotbed for terrorism, and experiencing something of its own warlord era.
By the 2000s, Greece is effectively a powerhouse on par with Israel or the Netherlands, with a population to match, that has seen a 20th Century that knows no failure. It is more powerful, more wealthy, larger, more educated, and just, better. I am quite sad though, because in this absolute wank, it would appear as if one has to completely, utterly screw everyone else. But isn't that the way with wanks?
I'll go first, with what I think is a bit extreme yet applicable nonetheless:
An earlier Army Coup & Goudi Movement in Greece mean that Eleftherios Venizelos manages to become Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Greece at some point between 1902-1908. Apart from internal reforms, he intensifies changes in the army & navy, basically copying the structures and tactics of the successful militaries of the day, and giving more and more influence to the military while at the same time stocking up on equipment, armaments, etc. That, combined with the aforementioned internal reforms, mean that by the early 1910s, Greece is in a slightly better position than it was in our timeline. Also, the Greek King, George I, manages to narrowly avoid assasination, and manages to stagger on until the 1920s, and Greece does not get a pro-German King until then.
Now, let's assume that Italy, instead of trying to take on the Ottoman Empure alone for Libya, instead conspiring with governments in the Balkans and beyond. In an agreement between Italy and the Balkan League, it is agreed that they would attack at the same time, Italy in Libya and the Balkan League in the Balkans. They do that at some point in the early 1910s, and a better prepared Greece, with its allies as well as an Ottoman Empire that has to fight on more fronts at the same time, mean that Greece manages to make more gains, better gains, and is more powerful. That means that Bulgaria has to think twice before trying to challenge her allies to get what she thinks is rightfully hers, and an alternate London Conference actually succeeds in preventing a Second Balkan War, while at the same time, Greece manages to get more bits and border adjustments in her favor, more islands, etc.
All that does not change the fundamental situation in the Balkans, and while Britain might be more irritated with Italy, and Austria quite furious, the underlying causes and eventual alliances of World War One. On schedule, the conflict begins, and Britain makes the same offer to Greece as she did in our timeline: join the war and get Cyprus. This time, with a more firmly entrenched Venizelos, as well as a king that isn't pro-German, Grece accepts, and plays a part in helping organize a much more successful Dardanelles Campaign, which, while not knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, does deal some heavy damage; among the dead is one Mustafa Kemal.
That means that the Ottoman war effort is more seriously damaged, Germany has to prop them up more. Other factors offset this however and the war largely goes on like it did in our timeline, with an eventual Entente Victory. That victory brings forth the Peace Treaties; a more powerful Greece is able to make even more favourable border adjustments with Bulgaria, manages to bite a chunk of Southern Albania(or Northern Epirus, as some nationalists call it even today), and gains a large sphere of influence in Anatolia, with many coast cities and more territory. Turkey is even more outraged than it would be, but without a unifying figure like Kemal, it is much harder for them to actually coalesce and beat the invading powers. They plunge into Civil War, and many pogroms are carried out. Some of them against Greeks, and the latter are used as a pretext so that Greece can invade a rump Turkey, to get even more of Anatolia; the war grinds into a stalemate, and after outside interference, it ends in a status quo ante bellum, bar some border adjustments. Turkey at the same time is ready to collapse at any minute, either by communists, republicans, or foreign interference. That permanently damages their ability to project power. In the Interwar Period, Greece makes a deal with now Fascist Italy, and for concessions in Anatolia, gains the Dodecanese. Now, Greece owns Today's Greece+Cyprus+Eastern Thrace+Ismir and the surrounding areas+Southern Albania+bits and pieces of North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Venizelos continues to dominate Greek politics until, in a power struggle with the new King in the late 1920s, he is forced out Bismarck-style. He retires from politics, and becomes a national hero. At some point in the 1930s, a referendum is held in the -until then- Free City of Istanbul, and after some... creative vote counting, it remains a Free City, with a small margin of votes over the option to join a resurgent, fascist Turkey. That Turkey later joins the Pact of Steel, and is, right from the start, and throughout the War, an Axis power. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Turkey invades Istanbul, and captures it, prompting Greece to enter the war on the Allied side. That promptly leads to invasion by Turkey, Italy and Germany, and Greece eventually gives way.
After a liberation where the British army plays a pivotal role, and it isn't the resistance leading the fight but the British Army, order is restored, and Greece starts to rebuild, his time with a communist Turkey on the other shore. In the height of the Cold War, a richer, more democratic Greece, ditches its King, is proclaimed a Republic, and within 10 years becomes part of the inner core of the members of NATO and the European Communities. An influx of foreign money, investments and expertise mean that the Greek economy flourishes, and with economists from abroad being hired, to help direct financial policy and economic focus, Greece manages to follow an "Israel Path" to economic prosperity, with a high emphasis being placed on innovation, new technologies, and Defence industries.
At the same time, education, science and research manage to get ahead; new universities, more money being directed to them, mean that Greece is an important part of the world's of science and higher education. A student protest movement and shifts in society mean that Greece faces a tumultuous 1960s, and at the end, a new government, for the first time a socialist/social democratic government in Greece, lays the foundations of the modern welfare state of the country, taking bits and pieces from elsewhere; a health system like the British, a cradle-to-grave model from Scandinavia, and a social market economy elsewhere, as in Germany. This socialist government, ruling over a Greece more powerful, more secure and more confident, makes the first moves towards recognizing minority rights, those of the Turkish minorities and the Slavic minorities, which until then have been ostracized. Eventually, by the 1980s, the process of integration and acceptance has sped up, and Greece manages to pull it off spectacularly.
Economy-wise, more conservative-liberal governments mean that the state's purse strings are sealed tight, and even the welfare state of the aforementioned socialist governments, which would be more few and far between, isn't that expensive. At the same time, more involvement with the West and more firm commitment to it means that economic advisers are pouring in, and, given that Greece IOTL was under international economic control until the 1960s, have even more f a say in directing expenses. That leads to less clientelism and less corruption, and lower government debt.
Given that Turkey fought against the USSR in the War, it was harder for the Soviets to push back the Germans with the same speed; the iron curtain does include a smaller East Germany, Poland, Hingary and Romania, but Czechoslovakia , and a Yugoslavia including Bulgaria are firmly western aligned, as is Greece. They are weaker, and thus, when Solidarity, in 1981, launches a large protest movement against the government, that leads to a chain reaction, and popular revolutions overthrow the communist regimes; by 1984, and after a large nuclear warhead scare, Eastern Europe has started to move away from communism, with Poland, Hungary, Romania, a United Baltic Country and a reunified Germany being firmly capitalist, and joined in treaty with NATO. Russia however holds on to its Central Asian former SSRs, which are now part of a new, Union of Sovereign Republics. At this point, Turkey, has seen three regime changes and has lost three wars over the course of the 20th Century; it descends into chaos and anarchy, being a hotbed for terrorism, and experiencing something of its own warlord era.
By the 2000s, Greece is effectively a powerhouse on par with Israel or the Netherlands, with a population to match, that has seen a 20th Century that knows no failure. It is more powerful, more wealthy, larger, more educated, and just, better. I am quite sad though, because in this absolute wank, it would appear as if one has to completely, utterly screw everyone else. But isn't that the way with wanks?
