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Description
Posting from a relative's computer, so sorry for any jank.
This is my cover of the EEUSG entry, the Divine People’s Republic of Ghana by Kerguelen. I also used QuantumBranching “embiggen ” entries for Tanzania and Libya .

The PoD is the early death of Mao in 1955. After Mao’s death, the People’s Republic of China avoided the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Instead, reformers took control and gradually moved China in a more liberal, Western-friendly direction, particularly as hostility with the Soviet Union grew[1]. China opened up to the Western world by 1965, and by 1975 was on track to become the world’s factory. By the 21st century, China surpassed the Soviet Union and has become the second global superpower, managing the Eastern world as the United States managed the West. China is deeply enmeshed with global institutions that were predominantly built by America and the European powers, and is a respected member of them all. Although considerably more liberal than it was in the Maoist era, the People’s Republic of China is still a one party state that cracks down on perceived attempts to change the system. Its autonomous regions have varying degrees of autonomy: Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are practically independent, but Tibet and Xinjiang are very tightly controlled to get rid of “separatist elements.”

The 1970s and the 1980s were not a good time for the Western world. America was humiliated during the Indochina Wars, which encompassed Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Two major recessions hit the entire Western world, with recovery only really happening by the mid-1980s. The assassinations of two presidents, three presidential candidates, and three civil rights leaders over the course of the 1960s and 1970s did not help matters. The Civil Rights Movement was ultimately successful, but far more violent. Europe was also hit with waves of protests, particularly relating to economic hardship, continued American presence on the continent and issues regarding European colonial wars. NATO was in danger of crumbling a few times, and the European Union was almost a non-starter. But, despite it all, the West never lost its position at first place, even if it had to contend with being first among equals by the time the 2000s rolled around.

If the 1980s were bad for the West, they were worse for the Soviets. Although initially cushioned against the Western economic crisis, the collapse of Western markets and generally greater hostility to Moscow from a Western world looking for external enemies led to trade between the Eastern and Western blocs slowing to a trickle. Essential raw materials, foodstuffs, and manufactured goods were not getting into the Soviet bloc from the West, and the hostile Chinese were eager to kick the Soviets while they were down by also cutting Moscow off. Russian communism collapsed bloodily in the Warsaw Pact, but persisted and reformed in the parts of the USSR which did not secede. The hardliners which kept the USSR together were sidelined in favor of Chinese-style reformers, and now the Soviet Union is another manufacturing powerhouse. Unlike the Chinese, which have geared their economy towards consumer goods, the Soviets focus their efforts on heavy industry for Western consumers. The Soviets also provide oil and natural gas to much of Europe, even the generally anti-Soviet Eastern Europeans. However, relations with Beijing have improved immensely, and the two “communist” superpowers are friends once again.

In the portions of the Warsaw Pact which did remove their pro-Soviet governments, hopes for a flourishing of liberal democracy were crushed when kleptocrats took power. These regimes were nevertheless supported by the Western powers, eager to keep the Soviets out while they had the chance. However, these governments were deemed too poor and corrupt for EU or NATO membership, and so they formed their own organization: the Three Seas Union.

Gaddafi took control of Libya in 1965, and through the decades transformed the country into an African powerhouse. Initially hailed in the West as a bulwark against Egyptian pan-Arabism and Tanzanian socialism, and a man who was truly turning Libya around, Gaddafi eventually had a falling out with the Western world after the Fourth Arab-Israeli War. The war led to Gaddafi becoming top dog in the Middle East and North Africa, even inspiring a revolution in longtime US ally, Iran. While the US invasion stopped Gaddafi’s influence from advancing further into the Middle East, Libya continues to be a major force in Africa, though the Chadian quagmire may have been one bite Gaddafi cannot chew.

The African People’s Socialist Union[2] is Africa’s other big success story. Starting from Tanzania, the APSU grew larger and more powerful, following China’s lead. Though “Afro-Socialism” is far more autarkic[3] than its Chinese counterpart, the APSU nevertheless found foreign investment from non-Western sources, predominantly the Chinese.[4] Though the Union is likely to stop expanding territorially, it has successfully become an regional economic powerhouse, with average standards of living now comparable to non-Soviet Eastern Europe.

The world is generally more peaceful than OTL, although it is also poorer. The Cold War is technically over, as America, China and the Soviet Union have cordial relations and have even scaled back their militaries. Africa and the Middle East are hot messes, but at the very least they also have local great powers that are doing well in their own right. Technologically, the Soviets were the first to the Moon, but this did not spark a lengthened Space Race. Instead, America - beset with its own issues - simply conceded that Moscow won. There are three major Internets - the global “Western,” system, the Chinese, and the Soviet - and each are incompatible with the others.[5] Computer technology is comparable to the early 2000s, and concepts such as social media and smartphones are still science fiction.

[1] While the rivalry had an ideological tinge (“I’m the real communist!” “No, I am!”), the real conflict was motivated by geopolitical rivalry and Soviet misgivings about their Chinese “little brother” surpassing them.
[2] Still known colloquially as “Tanzania.”
[3] The APSU is only open to trade with the Global South, as part of its solidarity with the other "colonized peoples of the world." Considering that their definition of Global South includes China and the Arab world, this is not that bad a sacrifice.
[4] The other major source of investment were Arab rivals of the Gaddafi regime, who wanted a source of cheap labor while also sticking it to the Libyans.
[5] Libya also has its own Internet, though even Libyans typically use the Western one.

(I know they drank Flavor Aid, and not Kool-Aid, at Jonestown. But the phrase isn’t “Drinking the Flavor Aid,” is it?)

Description
Posting from a relative's computer, so sorry for any jank.
This is my cover of the EEUSG entry, the Divine People’s Republic of Ghana by Kerguelen. I also used QuantumBranching “embiggen ” entries for Tanzania and Libya .

The PoD is the early death of Mao in 1955. After Mao’s death, the People’s Republic of China avoided the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Instead, reformers took control and gradually moved China in a more liberal, Western-friendly direction, particularly as hostility with the Soviet Union grew[1]. China opened up to the Western world by 1965, and by 1975 was on track to become the world’s factory. By the 21st century, China surpassed the Soviet Union and has become the second global superpower, managing the Eastern world as the United States managed the West. China is deeply enmeshed with global institutions that were predominantly built by America and the European powers, and is a respected member of them all. Although considerably more liberal than it was in the Maoist era, the People’s Republic of China is still a one party state that cracks down on perceived attempts to change the system. Its autonomous regions have varying degrees of autonomy: Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are practically independent, but Tibet and Xinjiang are very tightly controlled to get rid of “separatist elements.”

The 1970s and the 1980s were not a good time for the Western world. America was humiliated during the Indochina Wars, which encompassed Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Two major recessions hit the entire Western world, with recovery only really happening by the mid-1980s. The assassinations of two presidents, three presidential candidates, and three civil rights leaders over the course of the 1960s and 1970s did not help matters. The Civil Rights Movement was ultimately successful, but far more violent. Europe was also hit with waves of protests, particularly relating to economic hardship, continued American presence on the continent and issues regarding European colonial wars. NATO was in danger of crumbling a few times, and the European Union was almost a non-starter. But, despite it all, the West never lost its position at first place, even if it had to contend with being first among equals by the time the 2000s rolled around.

If the 1980s were bad for the West, they were worse for the Soviets. Although initially cushioned against the Western economic crisis, the collapse of Western markets and generally greater hostility to Moscow from a Western world looking for external enemies led to trade between the Eastern and Western blocs slowing to a trickle. Essential raw materials, foodstuffs, and manufactured goods were not getting into the Soviet bloc from the West, and the hostile Chinese were eager to kick the Soviets while they were down by also cutting Moscow off. Russian communism collapsed bloodily in the Warsaw Pact, but persisted and reformed in the parts of the USSR which did not secede. The hardliners which kept the USSR together were sidelined in favor of Chinese-style reformers, and now the Soviet Union is another manufacturing powerhouse. Unlike the Chinese, which have geared their economy towards consumer goods, the Soviets focus their efforts on heavy industry for Western consumers. The Soviets also provide oil and natural gas to much of Europe, even the generally anti-Soviet Eastern Europeans. However, relations with Beijing have improved immensely, and the two “communist” superpowers are friends once again.

In the portions of the Warsaw Pact which did remove their pro-Soviet governments, hopes for a flourishing of liberal democracy were crushed when kleptocrats took power. These regimes were nevertheless supported by the Western powers, eager to keep the Soviets out while they had the chance. However, these governments were deemed too poor and corrupt for EU or NATO membership, and so they formed their own organization: the Three Seas Union.

Gaddafi took control of Libya in 1965, and through the decades transformed the country into an African powerhouse. Initially hailed in the West as a bulwark against Egyptian pan-Arabism and Tanzanian socialism, and a man who was truly turning Libya around, Gaddafi eventually had a falling out with the Western world after the Fourth Arab-Israeli War. The war led to Gaddafi becoming top dog in the Middle East and North Africa, even inspiring a revolution in longtime US ally, Iran. While the US invasion stopped Gaddafi’s influence from advancing further into the Middle East, Libya continues to be a major force in Africa, though the Chadian quagmire may have been one bite Gaddafi cannot chew.

The African People’s Socialist Union[2] is Africa’s other big success story. Starting from Tanzania, the APSU grew larger and more powerful, following China’s lead. Though “Afro-Socialism” is far more autarkic[3] than its Chinese counterpart, the APSU nevertheless found foreign investment from non-Western sources, predominantly the Chinese.[4] Though the Union is likely to stop expanding territorially, it has successfully become an regional economic powerhouse, with average standards of living now comparable to non-Soviet Eastern Europe.

The world is generally more peaceful than OTL, although it is also poorer. The Cold War is technically over, as America, China and the Soviet Union have cordial relations and have even scaled back their militaries. Africa and the Middle East are hot messes, but at the very least they also have local great powers that are doing well in their own right. Technologically, the Soviets were the first to the Moon, but this did not spark a lengthened Space Race. Instead, America - beset with its own issues - simply conceded that Moscow won. There are three major Internets - the global “Western,” system, the Chinese, and the Soviet - and each are incompatible with the others.[5] Computer technology is comparable to the early 2000s, and concepts such as social media and smartphones are still science fiction.

[1] While the rivalry had an ideological tinge (“I’m the real communist!” “No, I am!”), the real conflict was motivated by geopolitical rivalry and Soviet misgivings about their Chinese “little brother” surpassing them.
[2] Still known colloquially as “Tanzania.”
[3] The APSU is only open to trade with the Global South, as part of its solidarity with the other "colonized peoples of the world." Considering that their definition of Global South includes China and the Arab world, this is not that bad a sacrifice.
[4] The other major source of investment were Arab rivals of the Gaddafi regime, who wanted a source of cheap labor while also sticking it to the Libyans.
[5] Libya also has its own Internet, though even Libyans typically use the Western one.

(I know they drank Flavor Aid, and not Kool-Aid, at Jonestown. But the phrase isn’t “Drinking the Flavor Aid,” is it?)