The idea that the Dark Ages were properly dark is of course suspect, after all we still have most of the works of Aristotle and many of Plato's, and a great deal of technology did survive until the renaissance. In other words, the Dark Age was a wimpy Dark Age. I want a proper Dark Ages, I...
I've seen estimates that a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan would cause a nuclear winter, so I don't doubt that the climactic effects of any war would be devastating. However the US would be able to survive it far better than the USSR would, not only because they would be hit less...
They would be a great power, able to draw on their vassals across Europe not much else, they have no friends. Their best case scenario is great power, they're about as likely to collapse.
Liberation Theology isn't the only game in town for Christian communism, it isn't even close to the first. Look as far back as Leo Tolstoy, an Orthodox Christian iirc, who cooperated with protestants in the new world to spread the message of anarcho-pascifism.
Ribbentrop and Goebbels both strongly supported a Axis-Soviet Bloc, so did Italy and Japan. It would at least give some breathing room for dealing with Britain if their empire is crumbling.
Not supporting a Pan-Evil Axis that included the USSR. Stalin was totally ready to do that so they could carve out an empire in southern Asia and the Mid-East. Keeps Russia busy and might even provide a source of oil which was in high demand.
Aside from that, everything involving the...
Obviously the Treaty of Versailles was a big disappointment for Italy, not having gotten the colonial possessions they were looking for or more importantly much of their desired gains in Croatia, Slovenia, etc.
What is the most realistic scenario if we're looking for a bit of an Italy wank?
I wonder if that changes the course of the Carnation Revolution somewhat, perhaps Portugal remains a slightly more centrist military dictatorship for longer with the eyes of the US focused on aiding Portugal.
In terms of culture, there's been at least one Nobel Prize for Literature winning...
WW1 still exists in this TL, just not WW2 on a truly global scale. The Frankfurt School would likely still exist in a very unrecognizable form so critical theory would at least exist though it is unlikely to have the same following.
I might end of doing this TL later, turns out my philosophy prof loves history of philosophy and even a little alternate history. So I have an expert consultant. :D
Let's say Fascism didn't appear, Mussolini just blew it really early on or is otherwise put down, the major left and centre-left parties are able to beat whichever far right groups emerge in Germany into submission, Spain may or may not be a military dictatorship. You can have a major war if...
In the fall of 1940 there were talks of the Soviets joining the Axis, many seemed to be fairly optimistic about the possibility, however Hitler had already decided in the summer of 1940 that he would eventually end up invading the USSR and had start some small preparations. If Hitler had died...