History

2020s
The 2020s were marked by increased economic globalization, the first critical impacts of climate change, massive political instability in the developing world and the rise of civil unrest in many Western countries. While the world economy partly recovered in 2013-2015 from the financial crisis of the previous decade, the political situation in India, central Africa and many other underdeveloped nations spiralled out of control. This culminated in the Central African War of 2016-2028, the Nigerian Civil War in 2017-2024, and the hugely influential war between India and Pakistan in 2018-2020. As a result, the world economy went in another, much deeper recession in 2018. The Chinese economy stalled, prompting social and political reforms throughout the country in 2016 and 2017. Other Asian economies experienced similar problems.

Due to economic pressure, scientific effort was directed more and more towards researching of sustainable solutions for economic problems. The need for subsidized scientific research in the fields of ecology, green energy, sustainability and agricultural research started to cease. In 2018, the GENMOR-deficiency in genetically engineered maize caused mass hysteria and thousands of deaths related to exposure to thions. Genetically engineered food was outlawed by the Sydney Agreement in 2019. Similar reforms were the increase of green energy production in many developing nations (in particular China, India and Brazil) and invention of the cold-fusion injector battery, an early prototype of the PSI used nowadays. Discoveries in the field of cold fusion prompted the first tests with generating power using Schultz-Hagemeijer cold fusion techniques in 2020.

Throughout the latter half of the decade, civilian awareness of the problems facing global society  on Terra grew immensely. Demographical changes in the composition of the American population caused the voting population to vote more and more for Democrat and Independent candidates. From 2008 onwards, no Republican candidates were elected (ultimately causing the end of the Republican Party in the late 2050s). The Green movement reappeared again in many countries. Belgium elected a representative of a green party in 2019, followed by Ukraine, Denmark, Slovakia and Iceland in 2020, and several countries throughout the world in the following years.

Famine in the Sahel, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe tightened the grip on the African political situation imposed by the Central African War. The Kivu Campaign by Rwanda in 2018, a result of the rapidly escalating Central African War, caused widespread panic and an enormous, near-constant stream of refugees in West and South Africa. The Sahel Famine, combined with radical islamic insurgency, affected the region since 2011 and -starting in 2013- the United Nations, France and the United States launched a

Central and South America
Starting in 2013, Mexican vigilante groups, consisting of civilians and ex-soldiers began infiltrating and systematically killing cartel members. In 2015, the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels took severe hits when hundreds of cartel members were beheaded near the US-Mexico border. From 2016 onwards, the Mexican army unofficially took over the tasks of the Guadalajara and Chihuahua vigilante groups that eradicated the Sinaloa cartel. During the latter half of the the 2010s, the Mexican cartels were one by one eradicated. Important factors that influenced the civilian/military victory in the Mexican drug war were the legalization of cannabis in the US and Mexico, the decriminalization of drug use in 2016, and the unofficial end of the war on drug in 2017-2018. In 2020, the Mexican drug war was considered over.

Guatemala settled its territorial dispute with Belize in 2015. Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador acted as mediator in the settlement and resultant treaty, which also secured the future of political cooperation in the area. Due to the end of the Mexican drug war and the demise of the associated cartels, the economic and political situation in Central America greatly improved. As early as 2014, the first positive results were felt in the region. Human trafficking nosedived and an array of socio-economical problems were partly eradicated. This positive spiral stood in sharp contrast with the escalating situation in Colombia, where the drug cartels and local rebel movements waged a full-scale war on the government. A controversial US intervention led to an instable armistice and a partly improved situation.