JesterBL
Gastronaut
- Location
- Flyover Country, USA
- Pronouns
- he/him
I personally think that an Axis-Allies Cold War will be structured in such a way that there won't be a clear anti-colonial side in that struggle between Washington-London and Berlin-Tokyo.
We know Japan used anti-colonialist rhetoric and that, with defeat, their use of it was viewed as hypocritical and self-serving, but it isn't like there weren't sincere nationalists who did view the Japanese as potential liberators and with victory, perhaps their reputation could be softened. There is the example of Taiwan where the strictures of war actually reversed years of progress in relations with locals (a similar dynamic happened in some of the occupied islands, thinking specifically of Guam here) so perhaps a negotiated peace gives them the room to move beyond the Yamato Race as Nucleus in their East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.
Meanwhile the economic lessons of Nazi Germany could very well be twisted into 'how to develop an economy quickly' even as we understand Nazi Germany's economic development to be built on shaky foundations and literal plunder and pillage. The thing is that the Soviets were surprised to find themselves greeted as anti-colonialists- they had in Europe and the Americas tried to exercise significant control over socialist parties and found themselves suddenly being praised by non-Marxists in much of the recently decolonized world and actually had to adapt to their new allies of convenience. One can see that happen to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, just as a consequence of London and the Free French holding down decolonization for longer than IOTL. Maybe we see a lot more Honorary Aryans in the German Embassies.
Or maybe the messy politics of both sides just results in a bigger Non-Aligned Movement than IOTL.
We know Japan used anti-colonialist rhetoric and that, with defeat, their use of it was viewed as hypocritical and self-serving, but it isn't like there weren't sincere nationalists who did view the Japanese as potential liberators and with victory, perhaps their reputation could be softened. There is the example of Taiwan where the strictures of war actually reversed years of progress in relations with locals (a similar dynamic happened in some of the occupied islands, thinking specifically of Guam here) so perhaps a negotiated peace gives them the room to move beyond the Yamato Race as Nucleus in their East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.
Meanwhile the economic lessons of Nazi Germany could very well be twisted into 'how to develop an economy quickly' even as we understand Nazi Germany's economic development to be built on shaky foundations and literal plunder and pillage. The thing is that the Soviets were surprised to find themselves greeted as anti-colonialists- they had in Europe and the Americas tried to exercise significant control over socialist parties and found themselves suddenly being praised by non-Marxists in much of the recently decolonized world and actually had to adapt to their new allies of convenience. One can see that happen to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, just as a consequence of London and the Free French holding down decolonization for longer than IOTL. Maybe we see a lot more Honorary Aryans in the German Embassies.
Or maybe the messy politics of both sides just results in a bigger Non-Aligned Movement than IOTL.