Map of the former United States

[FarCenter]

11. The US is anomalously large, both by area and by population - it is ripe for breakup

Only Russia and Canada are larger by area. But both are relatively empty given the sparsely populated Siberia and northern Canada.

Only China and India are larger by population. But China is dominated by an ethnically homogeneous Han population with centuries of uniform culture behind it. India is highly diverse, but relatively more decentralized with New Delhi not having much control over the affairs of the many ethno-linguistic populations.

In 1900, most of the world was controlled by the British, French, German, Russian, Ottoman, Chinese and Japanese empires. The largest number of independent countries were in Latin America, but they were sheltered under the "protection" of the US and the Monroe doctrine.

The twentieth century was one of imperial disintegration with the breakup of large multi-ethnic empires.

It ls probable that the US will break up in the future.