An obvious POD would be Jimmy K. Polk having a few screws loose and pushing to annex Mexico. If we assume nothing goes agains this- like a guerrilla war against the american oppressors- happens, then we're looking at a greatly expanded sense of "Manifest Destiny" halfway through the 19th...
What if the 3 most indebted countries in the 1980s- Brazil, Mexico and Argentina- defaulted at the same time? It doesn't even need to be a conspiracy, say one defaults, then the banks have to increase interests, and the other two say "to hell with it" and default.
Let's say the default happens...
In the last few years, both Chile and Haiti were hit by earthquakes. Both earthquakes caused damage, but whereas the number of victims in Chile numbered in the hundreds and the nation quickly bounced back from the disaster, Haiti's earthquake caused thousand upon thousands of deaths and worsened...
Very interesting points raised by everybody! This one made me think:
What if the anti-globalization movement did gain steam, and became an issue in US elections by, say, 2004 and 2006? A representative or two elected to "fight against globalization", and not just NAFTA?
Good point, but the mini-recession was already basically under way when 9/11 happened. If I'm not mistaken, 9/11 did worsen it, but it began sometime in Spring 2000 when the Dot-Com Bubble burst.
With that in mind, I can't quite see why it would happen earlier than it did in OTL. The haphazard...
There is indeed a large chance that without the popularity boost provided by the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcer would have lost reelection. I only wonder to who, because Michael Foot was pretty much unelectable.
If Foot and his party wins, oh my... It would be a very different Britain indeed...
I've always wondered whether the film Fight Club was set in what was then the near-future, or what now would be an ATL where 9/11 didn't happen.
A lot of cultural commentators seem to note that American culture seemed to be sort of directionless by the late 90s, that the "End of History" was...