World political regions

I’m thinking about why I focus so much on Europe, since there are so many other parts of the world to explore, but I always come back to reading about the politics of Europe. But why? Why not Africa? Why not South America?

Let’s explore the world by looking at regions. I will use the 9 regions of the world as defined by the fantastic website Objective Lists, which, as a nerdy political scientist turned data scientist, is one of my favorite websites. The regions can be grouped as follows:

• The World
  • East Asia
  • Everywhere else
    • Abrahamic World
      • Muslim World
        • Middle East & North Africa
        • Central Asia
      • The West
        • The North & Australasia
        • Central & South America
    • Everywhere Else:
      • Southeast Asia and Oceania
        • South Pacific
        • Buddhist World
          • South Asia
          • Southeast Asia
      • Africa
        • Sub-Saharan Africa
        • Southeast Asia

The North & Australasia

This is the region of the world I live in. It is divided into three regions.

• Anglo World: British Isles, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
• Europe
• North Eurasia: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia

I’m not sure why Georgia and Armenia are put in with North Eurasia even though they are closer to Bulgaria than Russia.

I focus on this region because I live here, simple as that. The foreign relations of the European Union are truly fascinating. Given how the Anglo World is grouped with Europe in one category, it makes sense to look first at the region we are part of compared to others. It intrigues me that the US and especially Canada share most of the attributes of the European Union, so an expansion of the European Economic Area and Schengen Area to include North America is not out of the question.

This is not just my opinion, it’s based on fact. If you look at the world from the perspective of the Arctic, Canada is a natural extension of the European political system and the United States through Canada. Australia and New Zealand are on the other side of the world, but merging the Trans-Tasman agreement and the Schengen Area seems like a good idea.

Regarding North Eurasia, I find it interesting that Ukraine is listed in the top ten similar countries to Georgia but not Russia. I believe the gap between Ukraine and Russia will widen over time.

The expansion of democracy in Eastern Europe and expansion of European institutions has been gradual over the last 25 years, with something exciting happening almost every year. It is the region in the world which is most likely to change over the next few years. The economic power of Europe makes it important for everyone on Earth. This is why I follow European politics closely.

Central & South America

Latin America is the most similar region to the North based on the calculations I have made with this dataset. Most of these countries are democratic. They are so similar that most of them are grouped under one subcategory. Venezuela and Nicaraguan democracy are under threat, but the rest of them are democratically strong. Brazil is separate because it speaks Portuguese instead of Spanish, but it is definitely a Latin American country.

With democratic systems, the main distinguishing factor between Latin America and the North is their economic well-being. They have a lower average years of schooling compared to countries in the North, and this reverberates across their economy. In time, as their mean years of schooling increase and corruption is rooted out, expect the line between Latin America and the North to become very small. They will probably be statistically one region within 50 years.

Latin America is fascinating politically. Several free trade and free movement agreements exist in the region with the Andean Community, Mercosur, and CA4. I predict Mercosur and the Andean Community will merge into one free movement organization. Chile will be the last to join since it is the wealthiest country in Latin America.

Foreign relations are very stable in Latin America. Bolivia is the only country that joined Mercosur since it was formed and has stayed a member. It joined in 2024. The Andean Community has not changed since 1969. So once you understand the relationship there isn’t too much to follow. The region will continue to develop economically and corruption will continue to be reduced over the next few decades. It is an exciting time for the region, and the biggest change that is likely to happen is a full merger of the Andean Community and Mercosur into one free travel bloc.

In the rplot of the world, Latin America is the region most similar to the North.

Middle East & North Africa

I find this region to be the least interesting. These countries suffer from institutional rot. They are not democracies. The problems are myriad and complex, with systems rooted in corruption and exploitation. The countries that are moving towards democracy have undergone serious conflicts, which have destroyed their economies. Terrorism is widespread and uncontrolled, further undermining institutions. Oil has been a plague to the region, increasing corruption and graft. The rich have gotten richer and use their riches to cement their authoritarian power. Ethnic conflicts exist in every country in the region. Even when Tunisia started to break out, its current president has consolidated power, with extreme democratic backsliding.

There is not much else to say from a political angle. It’s a depressing region. It will take over a century for the tyrants of the region to be finally be fully defeated. The democratization of the Middle East will not happen in my lifetime.

Syria is the country right now with the best shot at developing. I hope they succeed.

The Middle East is the region of the world which is most similar to the North and Latin America.

Sub-Saharan Africa

This is a very diverse region. Some countries are extremely poor, some are moving in the right direction. Ghana is a standout on the Gold Coast with the least corrupt most democratic system, and the most prosperous economy in the Gold Coast. There is hope for the Gold Coast.

The Congos suffer from extreme poverty, low levels of education, and extreme corruption. Rwanda has suffered from extreme backsliding. Without removing their dictators, they can’t develop. The same can be said about many other countries.

The former British colonies in East Africa have the cleanest governments and most democratic systems, along with South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, and Botswana. Their economies are the most developed, and regional integration is growing. Angola, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini stand out as they struggle with extreme poverty and institutional rot.

Mauritius is so developed and unique that it is calculated not to be part of Africa, but instead Latin America.

Southern Africa can be viewed as two distinct regions.

Some are democratic and moving in the right direction.

Some are extremely poor, extremely corrupt, and this corruption goes back before the colonial era. These countries were ruled by the kings who sold slaves to European slave traders, taking the wealth from the Europeans to further enrich their authoritarian rule. This created extreme rot which was continued through the colonial era, and even into the post-colonial era. It did not start with colonialism, the colonial powers just took advantage of the already existing political situation which continues to this day. Slavery systems are very difficult to undo. But as we saw with Europe and the development of capitalism, it is not impossible.

I do not believe Sub-Saharan Africa is doomed to poverty. Many countries in the region prove my point. But the ones which have not developed yet need to change their ancient institutions in order to improve their quality of life. Other regions have done this very thing and have benefited.

I don’t study this region much because I find it depressing, the lessons are pretty much the same once you learn them, and things don’t change frequently. Studying developmental economics showed the answers countries have used to develop can be applied elsewhere, but they threaten the powers in charge of the region, leaving only revolution as a way for many countries in the region to change. Revolution is never a guarantee.

Sub-Saharan Africa is closest to Oceania and South East Asia. These three regions form a sibling branch with the North, Latin America, and the Middle East.

South Asia

South Asia is fascinating to me. Comprising of only 5 democracies, it is stable. Corruption is rife which keeps the countries in the region poor. Education is lacking, and child labor remains a problem. But they are democratic so there is hope and I believe every country in this region will develop over my lifetime. India shares an open border with Bhutan and Nepal.

South Asia is most similar to Southeast Asia. These two branches form what I call the Buddhist World.

Central Asia

Turkey is an American ally and quickly developing. They are a member of the European Customs Union. If they can keep their democracy and implement necessary reforms they will join the European Union in my lifetime.

Mongolia is a sparsely populated democracy squeezed between the two most powerful authoritarian regimes in the world. If they were invaded there would be next to nothing they can do.

The remaining countries are authoritarian to various levels. Kyrgyzstan is experiencing democratic backsliding and the remaining countries are depressing dictatorships.

I don’t study this region much, things don’t change a lot and most of them are depressing.

Unsurprisingly, Central Asia is a sibling branch to the Middle East.

East Asia

PRC, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are stable democracies. They are highly developed and their first world problems can be solved.

The People’s Republic of China is in a period of transition. The question remains… can a dictatorship become wealthy on manufacturing without a change of government? It’s never happened before. We will see.

North Korea is the worst country in the world.

Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are the most likely region outside of the North to form a free travel agreement given their clean governments, well educated populations, and prosperous economies. The 5th most similar country to Japan according to Objective Lists is Italy. If the Schengen Area were to expand outside of the region known as the North, it would expand to these three countries in East Asia first. The only major differences are demographic and culture.

In the rplot of the world provided by Objective Lists East Asia stands separate from all other regions of the world. I find that interesting.

Southeast Asia

I want to travel to Southeast Asia. Burma, Laos, and Vietnam are dictatorships, but the remaining countries are very interesting politically and economically. Corruption is an issue which harms their economies and education levels are lower than they should be… but I believe if they make the right investments they will develop into high income countries over the next few decades. They are all members of ASEAN, which is unnikely to grow.

I have a lot of hope for the region.

Southeast Asia is a sibling branch to South Asia, forming the Buddhist World.

Oceania

Most countries in Oceania are very small, but they are all democratic. The biggest issue facing these countries is the size of their population and their extreme isolation, but this is not insurmountable. Many people in Papua New Guinea remain uncontacted to this day.

They tend to have lower incomes, but they are all free. This is the least populated region defined by Objective Lists.

Oceania is a sibling branch to the Buddhist World.

Comparing regions to Europe

When analyzing all the regions of the world, Europe stands out with several main characteristics.

• All but two countries in Europe are democratic.
• Most countries in Europe have strong economies.
• Europe has the largest economy in the world, regardless if the country in question had colonies or not.
• You can travel by land to most countries in the region.

There is no larger bloc of developed democracies which share land borders with each other than the European Union.

When analyzing countries which struggle with issues, whether they are from education systems, economics, or just plain old corruption, its pretty easy to find good answers on how to solve these problems.

Europe is different because it is unique in how it is highly developed, highly democratic, and highly integrated. It is the only place in the world with these three characteristics, and there is no other region in the world which is going to be like Europe in the next 30 years. The one place which I believe could be similar to the European Union in the next 50 years is Latin America.

Every other region has clear issues which distinguish them from Europe.

• Latin America: Middle income, low mean years of schooling.
• Middle East: corruption and authoritarianism.
• Sub-Saharan Africa: corruption, authoritarianism, and poverty.
• South Asia: corruption and poverty.
• Central Asia: Corruption, authoritarianism, and poverty.
• East Asia: Very democratic and wealthy in some, very authoritarian in others. Only a few countries.
• Southeast Asia: Corruption remains an issue, but democracy exists and economies are developing.
• Oceania: Very small population, very poor, but democratic.

So that’s how I am viewing the world right now.

World Governance Indicators

I have been frequently using the World Governance Indicators in a way to filter out countries to study. They are very useful because they include every UN member state except the Vatican with indicators which allows an efficient and accurate way to understand how a country is doing on social issues.

If we filter out all countries which score positively on these six indicators outside of the North, Latin America, and Oceania, along with a GDP per capita of at least $10,000, we end up with only Japan, Seychelles, South Korea, and Taiwan. Every other country misses at least one of these indicators.

If we remove our $10,000 indicator we find Botswana, Malaysia, and the Seychelles. The Seychelles is not included in Objective Lists. Malaysia will surpass my arbitrary GDP per capita mark soon.

Many countries in the Americas and most countries in Europe pass these 6 indicators from WGI.

Conclusion

That’s basically why I write more about Europe than other regions. I like development economics but as I said earlier, many of the issues faced by the other regions have solutions which are basically solved problems. Honestly, writing one article after another about countries facing the same issues gets boring.

It’s important, but when writing and doing analysis on an issue I like to be at the cutting edge.

I like to look at more cutting edge and more rapidly changing situations and Europe is very much at the cutting edge of diplomacy and changes more often than other regions of the world.

That is why I write more about Europe than any other topic on my blog.