Join the new world

Resources affect everything on Earth. Countries go to war for them, people starve without them. Same goes for this game, although without the terrible implications of lack of resources, or the consequences of wars over said resources.

Geo-politics in eRepublik is greatly affected by the resources a country has. Therefore, these new resources have thrown a variable into the carefully planned and complicated equation that is international politics. Let's look at the changes these new resources will bring:

Let's start off with the smaller countries:


eIsrael:
A country I spent most of my time in, eIsrael has two eternal enemies to the North of it, Turkey and Greece. Both countries, locked in war for a great deal of time, are bitter enemies, and eIsrael, being EDEN-sided, has allied with Greece time and time again. This careful, delicate formula was disrupted a month ago when Cyprus and eFYROM were added, however, it seemed that for eIsrael, things would remain the same. Turkey invaded eIsrael multiple times ( During two of them, I was Minister of Defense), however eIsrael became a less and less appealing target compared to the growing superpower that was eGreece. The reason for this was simple;eIsrael only had medium grain, and that was it. However, eIsrael now has the rare, and supposedly quite valuable, saltpeter. This will throw eIsrael's political standing out of synchrony, as they just became a riper target for Phoenix. Being poorer than most countries, eIsrael will have to fight for it's MPPs. Maybe EDEN will now see the worth in eIsrael, if only for it's saltpeter.


eMexico:
Perhaps in an even more dire situation then eIsrael, Mexico has been gifted two regions of saltpeter, and no way to defend it. With their low population, and neighboring the much stronger country of eUS, Mexico finds itself in a compromising position, jokes aside. Mexico might find itself under occupation from the United States or EDEN, and even possibly Phoenix countries. As Phoenix tries block EDEN and the eUS from entering a zone that was previously weak and sided much with Phoenix, battles could erupt in Mexico between the two alliances, perhaps even causing headaches for the United States and Canada themselves. The Americas, with the exception of World War 3, have been left untouched for the most part during the more visceral European Wars. But, as the focus shifts, and alliances try to one up each other, the Americas could see combat again, especially with the new "No Gold To Attack" rule.


South Africa:
Nothing's changed for poor South Africa. SA has been a battleground for a longtime, and has also been PTOed by Phoenix. With the introduction of Saltpeter and Aluminum, they have more than made up for the titanium that the alliances fought for so savagely in V2. As South Africa moved further into it's PTO, or farther out, is yet to be seen, however the battles that once ravaged the land will, perhaps, come again, with the right spark, and intention.


eAustralia

eAustralia, which has recently thrown off the grips of PTO, is still under partial occupation from Indonesia, which control Western Australia, which was High Titanium, and now is Saltpeter. On top of that, Northern Territory is also saltpeter rich. Now, if Indonesia didn't have incentive to attack before, it does now. An aluminum, grain, and rubber region might sweeten the deal for one of the most powerful Phoenix nations. The Pacific Ocean might see war again, if the correct people wish it to be so. All this puts Australia into a very volatile position. Facing threat from PTO and attacks on their own homeland, eAus will have to pull out all the stops to defend their region from the powerful nation to the North,

Now, onto the rest of the countries:


EDEN

Spain: Besides for their mess of food regions, Spain also has Saltpeter in Andalucia, as well as Iron in Asturias and Castilla y Leon.These regions further solidify Spain's hold on that part of the world. Aluminum, which is a rare material only found in some parts of the world,is absent from Spain's repertoire of resources. However, Portugal, a country recently thrown into disarray after an unsuccessful attack on the United States and the resulting counterattack on their own soil, has an aluminum region, making them an even riper target for attack from the superpowers currently bordering it. Spain might make the most of Portugal's weakness, taking the aluminum.

Canada With the exception of fruits, grain, oil, and rubber, Canada has a nice collection of resources. Canada is a strong country, however, and even though it makes for a riper target, it can defend itself. As well, with the recent invasion of the United Kingdom, Canada can make use of the British's resources, and make up for the one's it lacks. Also, the Broilliance, I predict, will grow much stronger in the coming months, as Canada and the United States form an economic powerhouse of epic proportions.

eUSA: Although not technically in EDEN, eUSA is EDEN-aligned and therefore is put here. eUSA, if you'll excuse my language, has a sh*tload of Aluminum. Located in New England, the United States has a serious stockpiles of Aluminum. Together with Canada, it is the one place in the world with the most concentrated supply of the rare resource of Aluminum. Though it's use is yet unknown, hopefully the value of this resource will be revealed in the coming months. The United States, as in real life, has a fantastic supply of resources, ones that will spearhead US growth and prosperity, not to mention eUS also has the power to make up for what it lacks, via it's ally to the north, or it's farm to the south.

Poland: Although it recently lost it's holdings in Russia, Poland is still a strong country, Coupled with the fact that it has access to saltpeter, and a good supply of food regions, Poland still has the time and the resources to make a comeback, capturing the resources it does not have. However, Phoenix might exploit this lack of resources, but only time will tell.


Greece: Of the three main Mediterranean countries, Greece has not been blessed with Saltpeter. However, they have been blessed with the only supply of Iron, and the most concentrated supply of Aluminum, in the Mediterranean. Turkey, however, has most of the same food regions as eGreece, as well as Saltpeter. Turkey, and emerging power, will no doubt unleash it's power onto eGreece. As it begins it's war with Cyprus, and maybe a war with eIsrael, Turkey might wish to restore the empire it lost long ago, way back during Operation Turkish Delight. eGreece will have to fight with all it's might to drive back the Turks. And, if they can, their rivals, eFYROM, have an aluminum region. No doubt eGreece will take advantage of this.

eChina: China,while having formidable cattle supplies, has remained mostly the same. Hello Kitty and Lion King will still be highly contested amongst the two alliances. However, China has found itself with a saltpeter region. eChina, an emerging power in Asia, will use this to its advantage to extend its power, and inevitable use to EDEN itself, as an alliance.


Italy: Italy won big. With a combination of great food regions, oil, saltpeter, and a collection of Aluminum in central Europe, Italy, if it had the population, can make their county into a prosperous one. The war in Europe in stagnant, unrefreshed. The idea of an Italian, Roman empire, I'm sure excites everyone, and can bring on a great boom of babies for Italy. Italy needs competent leaders to take advantage of the this situation, because if they don't, another country will take advantage of them...metaphorically, of course.


Phoenix:

France:

France has been conquered and liberated, downtrodden and powerful. As these new resources expose themselves, we find that France has found itself with a hefty blend of food regions, as well as Iron and a crapload of grain. On top of that, France has the only store of Rubber in the entire European continent as well as much of Asia. Let me repeat that. France has one of the largest concentrations of Rubber to be found outside of South America. We don't know the value of Rubber in the new module, but we know for sure that either France will use it to its advantage, of EDEN will exploit it for their own.


eGermany: Germany, on top of having a good supply of food regions, has also gained a great stockpile of Aluminum, and one of the top concentrations of Iron in Europe. However, eGermany is not a country of serious military power, and Poland can and will exploit this. Poland, lacking some of the powerful regions of it's neighbors, specifically Germany, may try and use their superior firepower to destroy Germany again, and this time, with a heftier prize; resources, and maybe even a babyboom.

eHungary The recent (almost?) wipe of Ukraine gave Hungary more than just surface area. It gave them a high concentration of Iron, as well as a well defended saltpeter territory. All that remains is the resistance wars. If Hungary can keep control of Ukraine, they can become even more powerful. Hungary has always been powerful, and in this module, doubly so. However, unlike other countries, before they make use of these new resources, they must clamp down on resistance, and forge themselves a country worthy of its bounty.

Russia😃espite suffering a an attempted PTO of their congress and total annihilation, Russia managed to rebound from that, although they are still struggling. Besides for an oil and Iron region, Russia does not have much, not as they once had. This could be detrimental to them. Phoenix, however, would never abandon them, but the few regions they have just give more incentive to EDEN countries to finish what they started. As the time of this writing, a valuable Russian Iron region is under the control of China. This might mark the beginning of a new end for Russia, or the spark of a resistance to the restoration of their country. Only time will tell...

And that marks the end of this article. Any questions or comments? Feel free to post.

inb4 complains: I understand I left out prominent EDEN countries like Romania and Croatia. Don't need to mention it. I had my reasons. Maybe I'll include them in my next installment.

For now, signing off,
Aeroner