Introduction to the Balkanized North American trope

All this week, Korsgaard and I will be writing themed articles involving the the common alternate history trope: the balkanized North America .  What am I taking about?  See below:


The map from Matthew White's Balkanized North America TL.

The name for the trope derives from the geopolitical term "balkanization" used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative.  Though the term originally referred to the break-up of Ottoman Europe, but it came into widespread use after the break-up of Austria-Hungary and Russia following World War I.  Alternate historians generally use the term balkanization when they are breaking up an OTL state into smaller components.  For more info on the trope, go to TV Tropes.

So stay tuned for reviews, showcases and profiles on alternate nations...and the OTL people who wish to balkanize North America!