The World Exhaled at Sarajevo



We all know the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Saravejo in 1914 was the immedate trigger of World War I. But imagine a world were Ferdinand survived the assassination, and rather then invading Serbia, Austria-Hungary embargoed Serbia. The Serbians, wanting to avoid a pan-European conflict, cooperated, and the embargo was lifted in 1918, ending a 4 year time period where it seemed like a huge war was closer then ever. The world exhaled at Saravejo.

This universe is totally different. Because two world wars never weakend it, European states remain powerfull and Europe's grasp on the world remains strong. Meanwhile, without two world wars to beef up it's global influence, the United States is weak, has a corrupt government, often plagued with civil unrest, has constant regime change, and fights wars with it's neighbors often. What we call Third World nations are still mostly colonies of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. Britain is the world's sole superpower for now, but the powerfull rising states of the Arabian Federation and the People's Republic of China may overshadow Europe within the 21st century. The Eurasian Union is also an important player in world politics, which was established following the Allie's victory in the Global War. Currently, the UK is fighting wars to keep Iraq and Afghanistan as British colonies. Britain is also involved in a severe economic recession, which is spreading around the world to Britain's colonies and puppet nations.

Point of Divergence
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was nearly killed during an assassination attempt while touring Saravejo, Bosnia. Bosnia had been under Austro-Hungarian control since the 1870s, and the assasin was a member of a Serbian national group called the "Black Hand" that promoted the idea of a pan-slavic nation uniting Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, and, Slovenia.

The First Great Crisis (1914-1918)
Following the assassination attempt, Austria-Hungary embargoed Serbia. Wanting to avoid a war with Russia, Austria-Hungary did not shut down the Serbian-Romanian border, which Russia used to trade with Serbia. The Russian Csar said what Austria-Hungary did was "disgusting", but after weeks of consideration, Csar Nicolahs II decided not to attack or make agressive diplomatic demands against Austria-Hungary. Serbia, wanting to avoid war just like the other two states, complied with Austria-Hungary's strict terms.

At 11:00 AM on November 11th, 1918, Austria-Hungary officially lifted the embargo on Serbia. The Great Crisis, a four-year period of high tensions between European powers, had finally ended. War had been avoided. Relations between the Entente nations (the UK, France, Russia) actually improved with the Central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey). What made the First Great Crisis so tensefull was that several other wars were occuring douring that time so the world was closer then ever to an enourmous, global war.

Theses wars includes:
 * 12th Russo-Turkish War (1915-1917)
 * Mexican Civil War (1909-1920)
 * Third Balkan War (1916-1920)
 * German-Japanese War (1915-1916)
 * Armenian Independence War (1914-1918)
 * Irish Revoultion/Civil War (1917-1922)
 * Polish Independence War (1917-1918)
 * Chinese Civil War (1917-1922)

1920s
The 1920s was the decade that started on January 1, 1920 and ended on December 31, 1929. It is sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age, when speaking about the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. In Europe the decade is sometimes referred to as the "Peacefull Twenties" because of the fact that no wars occured during the decade, with the Chinese Civil War ending in 1922 as the only exception.

Since the end of the 20th century, the feelings of peace in Europe during the 1920s has drawn close comparison with the 1960s and 1990s. These three decades are regarded as periods of international stability, which lasted throughout nearly each entire decade. Each of the three decades followed a tremendous event that occurred in the previous decade (First Great Crisis in the 1910s, the Global War in the 1940s, and the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s).

However, not all countries enjoyed this prosperity. Russia, like many other European countries, had to face a severe economic downturn in the opening years of the decade. Additionally, the decade was characterized by the rise of radical political movements, especially in regions that were once part of empires. Populism (in this timeline a combination of fascism and communism) began attracting large numbers of followers following the success of the 1916 Revolution and the Populists determination to win the subsequent Chinese Civil War. The Populists would eventually adopt a policy of mixed economics, from 1921 to 1928, and also give birth to the People's Union, at the end of 1922. The 1920s marked the first time in the United States that the population in the cities surpassed the population of rural areas. This was due to rapid urbanization starting in the 1920s.

1930s
The 1930s, compared to the optimistic age of the 1920s, was dark and tensefull. In 1929, the American Stock Market crashed, which would have a severe effect on the rest of world politics. The People's Union (a populist, centralized state including China and it's surrounding nations of Mongolia, Manchuria, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan) slowly went from a democratic republic to an authotarian dicatorship