10 SPAIN:
This may come as a surprise to some, but Spain has been teetering on the verge of collapse since 2008.This may come as a surprise to some, but Spain has been teetering on the verge of collapse since 2008.Spain is currently in an economic crisis .Spain’s National Debt to GDP ratio is at a dangerous 94%.Meanwhile, 24% of Spain citizens were unemployed in January 2015.However, Spain’s economy in only half of the country’s worries .Two regions of Spain could very easily break free of the country within the next 20 years .In western Spain, a region called Catalonia has a thriving independence movement, with strong popular support .The people of Catalonia have few cultural ties to the rest of Spain, and to prove their desire for independence. In 2013 they formed a 300 miles human chain around the country, to cut it off from the rest of Spain. At the same time, many of the Basque region of Northern Spain long for independence the people of Basque, not Spanish. And several violent terrorist groups are currently fighting for independence.
9 NORTH KOREA:
It’s no secret that technological advancement is leaving
NORTH KOREA far behind the rest of the world. Despite NORTH KOREA’S policy of
total self reliance, NORH KOREA simply does not have enough resources within its
borders to survive the 21st century .At some point, North Korea will
need to leave behind its isolation, and expand trade and cooperative ties with
other countries. When North Korea finally does open up its Borders to the rest
of the world, it’s probable that the Kim regime won’t be able to survive. There
is a chance that KIM JONG Un will attempt Chinese style reforms, in an attempt
to copy China. But that may only speed up North Korea’s demise. North Korea’s
government holds on to power very tightly and one mistake or internal power
struggle could end Kim JONG Un’s grip on power.
8 BELGIUM:
Belgium citizens are deeply divided along ethnic lines. In
fact the two halves of Belgium: Flanders and Wallonia have little in common
with each other. In the south of Belgium lies Wallonia, a nearly autonomous
region dominated by French speaking people. Many French speakers want either an
independent Wallonia or a union with France. The north Belgium is known as
Flanders and the people of the region are ethnically Flemish and want an
independent Flanders. In the next 20 years Belgium may fracture. Creating two
new countries in Europe : Flanders and Wallonia.
7 CHINA:
Perhaps the most surprising entry on the list is China
Despite having the largest military in the world and one of the most powerful
economies. China has deep seated problem they must address in order to survive
the 21st century Even though the
Chinese Communist party harshly cracks down on anyone who opposes them. China
is on a collision course with disaster. Many of China’s problem stem from the
outright destruction of the country’s environment. Half of China’s rivers and
reservoirs are polluted beyond what is considered safe for any form of human
consumption. Also, according to the Chinese government, by 2030 China will have
used all of its drinkable water and according
to the World Bank, every year 250,000 Chinese people die prematurely
because of pollution. The Chinese Government tried to block the release of this
report, fearing that it would cause massive social unrest. Disaster may just be
around the corner for China.
6 IRAQ:
The rise of the Islamic State has brought international
attention to the deeply rooted divisions in Iraq. Iraq’s borders were
originally created by British colonial authorities in the 20th
century with absolutely no regard for the cultural divided of the region.
Saddam Hussein was able to keep Iraq together by oppression and brute force but
now, the country is quickly falling apart at the seams three groups dominate
Iraq, the Kurds in the North the Sunnis in the west and the Shiites in the
south. In order for Iraq to be once again be unified the Kurds will have to
surrender their newfound control of Iraq’s north. The Islamic State will have
to be defeated and the Sunnis, Kurd, and Shiites will have to agree to live
under one nation again.
However, it’s more likely that these groups will choose to
be separate, each under their own flags.
5 LIBYA:
Similar to Iraq, Libya is also an artificial creation of a
colonial era. Libya was an Italian colony until 1951, and the country was later
held together by Colonel Gaddafi until his defeat in the Libyan Civil War of
2011 Now after Gaddafi’s fall , the country is fracturing. Before the Italian
occupation, Libya did not exist and the area is divided into three regions: 1
Tripolitania, 2 Cyrenaica and Fezzan the people of these regions are more loyal
to their tribal routes, than any artificial notions of statehood. The second
Libyan civil War is currently ongoing, but it is likely a unified Libya will
not survive the conflict.
4 THE ISLAMIC STATE:
The Islamic State saw a rapid rise to power in early 2014
seizing a third of Iraq and Syria in a stunning military takeover however since
then, the Islamic State embroiled in conflict against an increasingly long list
of enemies. In order for The Islamic State to survive it must either defeat or
make peace with:
Iraq, Kurdistan, The Syrian Government, The Free Syrian
Army, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the US lead coalition currently engaged in combat
against The Islamic State until then, The Islamic State’s survival will be
under constant threat.
3 THE UNITED KINGDOM:
Scotland may have failed to gain independence in their 2014
referendum, but the Scots won’t give up their quest for independence so easily.
Also, there’s simmering movement in Wales and Northern Ireland that seeks
autonomy and possibly independence for these regions if any of these regions
were gain autonomy from the United Kingdom it’s possible that the union may
fall apart.
2 THE UNITED STATES:
Many divisions that caused the United States’ Civil War
still exist to this day, if these deep rooted political and cultural
differences within the United States aren’t rectified, it’s possible that some
states could break free within the next 20 years as recently as 2012, 50 states
submitted petitions with hundreds of thousands of signature asking to secede
from the Union the two most likely states to leave the Union are Alaska, and
Texas.
1 THE MALDIVES:
Located between India and Africa, the island nation of
Maldives is in extreme danger of sinking due to rising sea levels. The former
President of the Maldives looked into buying land in South Asia to transplant
all the residents of the Maldives before the islands are submerged.
