Suggestion: Balkanize Me

How about the break-up of the Former Yugoslavia◊?

Opened.

It's a start.

That's probably the best one, especially as it's the Trope Namer, too.

Being the trope namer doesn't make it a better image. In some cases it's worse.

Enough for now, but a non-Balkan image would be better.

Actually, it seems that we're looking for scenarios where this happens as a result of Alternate History or Speculative Fiction, so we'd do best with an image that a) didn't happen historically (like the Balkans) and b) isn't the United States (which has its own trope). The Trope Namer itself surprisingly isn't an example, while almost every entry in the real life folder is shoehorning.

edited 30th Jul '15 9:54:24 AM by Morgenthaler

The tropes seems focused on alternate and speculative settings, but if anything it specifically includes real life examples.

In that case I'll offer the break-up of the Soviet Union for consideration as an alternative to the OP:

I'd support the Soviet example too. Nice, big empire.

Perhaps the First Republic/Chinese Civil War would be better, though, not least for introducing neglected periods of history.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Nationalist_China_1929_-_1937.PNG&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War&h=688&w=888&tbnid=SsGuhyBzEWfUUM:&docid=vpf5kT2loj3ZnM&ei=-Q3EVd2VBKWNmwXN6aDAAQ&tbm=isch&ved=0CCYQMygKMApqFQoTCJ321vHslccCFaXGpgodzTQIGA

Question, though: why would a non-balkan example be better? Surely Yugoslavia or, say, the Ottomans would be best given that they fit the name.

I think what makes the image of Soviet a little less illustrative is that it looks like a big honking empire that turns into a big honking empire and some change.

^^The trope is not specific about the Balkans. Some experience indicates that literal trope names discourage non-literal trope usage.

I think 9 demonstrates the trope well enough.

The dissolution of Charlemagne's empire◊, then? For one thing it's a fairly equal division that emphasizes the fragmentation more clearly than the Soviet case. Suggested caption: "This is what you get when all three brothers want their share."

edited 21st Aug '15 9:47:50 AM by Morgenthaler

Or possibly the Roman Empire splitting in two◊? A bit less fragmentary than the Carolingian case, but the legend helps.

Real world examples don't illustrate this trope, since it is about hypothetical balkanizations that happen in Alternate History.

edited 28th Aug '15 3:30:09 AM by Rjinswand

For an explicitly alternative history scenario that isn't the Balkans or the Divided States of America, here's a fractured Italy◊.

That's not bad. Where's it from?

Found that one on this forum. It's unlicensed, so that should be good.

The Italy pic is pretty good.

The Italy image is a pretty good example.

I like the Italy image.

If we choose it, though, I'd suggest that the caption should explain that it's an AU, since not many people know much about the history of early 20th century Italy.

^ I don't think that's strictly necessary. Even if people don't know the specifics of Italian history, they will generally know that it became one country at some point. Coupled with the trope destription, it should suggest "alternate history" clearly enough.

Here's a crowner for the options we have so far.

edited 30th Aug '15 8:49:57 AM by Morgenthaler