Antarctic Spring

The Antarctic Spring was a period of political tension across Antarctica, which was the backdrop for many conflicts across the continent, fueled by economic recession and political instability, and accompanied by rapid militarization of Antarctic powers after the collapse of Shops Island. Before its fall in the Shops Civil War, Shops was a major economic and military superpower, with a great deal of political influence. Beginning in 2027 with the collapse of Shops Island, the resultant effects of economic decline and political instability across the continent lasted for two decades before ending with the death of Swiss Ninja and the Yowien Revolution in the 2040s.

The Antarctic Spring was marked by several events, beginning with the Scramble for Power in 2027, where former Shopper territories were divided and taken by major powers, hoping to enrich themselves further. The resulting economic, military and political instability left by the gap Shops Island left behind contributed to the events of the Snoss Civil War and the 2033 Anti-USA Oil Embargo, as well as the dissolution of the Axle Powers and many other events.

Causes
The devastating civil war which ended with the Snoss government nuking mainland Shops Island in 2027 abruptly ended the nation of Shops Island. International experts and analysts had been expecting a USSI victory, with the economic decline that occurred while Shops fought itself deemed as temporary. With Shops Island in disarray, the AU nations began to contemplate taking over Shopper territories in a moment of its weakness, and by the time Shops had annihilated itself, the 2027 Scramble for Power had gone into full swing, with the AU, USA, Ed Island and Margate seizing Shopper territories.

However, the benefits of acquiring Shopper territories which had a set value were soon outweighed by the fact that without the Shopper state, the economic depression the civil war had caused throughout Antarctica would continue indefinitely, and things would get from bad to worse. Without Shopper hegemony in the market, trade was greatly reduced, proving to be devastating to Antarctic economy. The countries hardest hit were those with close links to Shops, including the Culldrome Isles, Ed Island, Munijoch, and the Seal Islands - the other nations of the Axle Powers, as well as the United Provinces, South Joseon and Castilla. Even the USA was hit quite hard, with Shops being one of its more important trading partners. While virtually the entire continent was affected, the economies of many countries would recover after only a few years due to action being taken quickly.

In addition to economic instability, the realization that a nation as influential and powerful as Shops could fall led to political instability. Many creatures gained new ideas of self-rule and how to keep their countries strong.

Events
The Antarctic Spring was a related backdrop for all of the following events, tying them together.

2026: Lavaheart Island
In the midst of the Shops Civil War, Lavaheart Island was taken over by a group of terrorists known as the Northern Necromancers. President Manbu3, his son Manbu4, and a group called the Lava Warriors went into hiding, and with help later defeated the Northern Necromancers.

Scramble for Power
The Scramble for Power was a long event that took place across most of the continent. Tensions rose after the destruction of Shops, with former Shopper colonies being annexed or vying for their independence, and small independent nations being invaded and sparking wars as well, such as the invasion of Magyaria by Snowzerland.

Around this time, it was decided by the remaining members of the Axle Powers that the project had become redundant without Shops Island as its core leader. The geopolitical alliance quietly disbanded in early 2027, soon after the Shops Union was established.

2027: Snoss Spring
A protest movement called "Snoss Spring" arises in Snowzerland's main cities, which were organized by the anti-Swiss Ninja militia, UFLS. The protesters demanded for major political reforms for the country such as the establishment of democracy and the abdication of Kaiser Swiss Ninja, in favor of a Republic. The protests were too spontaneous for the Snoss government to handle immediately, but the protesters were quickly surrounded by Snoss military personnel and tanks. About three days later, the peaceful protests broke out into rioting as police officers, the military, and protesters faced off each other with rocks, broken glass bottles, rubber bullets, snowballs, and tear gas. Not long after, Swiss Ninja then ordered for the "terrorists" to disperse in 24 hours or face dire consequences. None of the protesters listened to his command, and the next morning, the Snoss military unleashed its tanks into the crowds and the Snoss military began to fire at the protesters with deletion guns and icebullets. Within two days, the protests were completely cleared, and the Snoss government quickly did its best to clean up the damage that the protesters and the government had made. The Snoss government also made successful strides to censor the protests in the media and also arrested and deported any foreign media that attempted to cover the protests. The protests created an air of a growing but ever silent mistrust between the Snoss citizens and the Snoss Government. Three years later, Swiss Ninja was caught in an assassination attempt, which sparked a Civil War between Swiss Ninja loyalists and democracy seekers.

United Provinces economic crisis
The United Provinces saw its close collapse in February 2028; shortly after the end of the Shopper Civil War, never before seen economic crisis happened in the country. By February 2028 unemployment was at a record high of 41%, breaking the previous record of 35% in 1999. Protests took place all around the country. In 2030 far-right Penlandic politician Thomas Newurth wins presidential elections in a shock to all anti-Penlandic independence and anti-fascist Snowinians. He introduces radical economic and social reforms that got the economy back on the right track and reduced unemployment. By 2031 the unemployment was at 20%, nearly half less than it was just a year before.

Role of the USA
At the time of the Shops Civil War's conclusion, Shops Island was the second most powerful country in Antarctica. However, the most powerful country in Antarctica was still considered by far to be the United States of Antarctica. Under normal circumstances, the USA could have bore the brunt of this political instability without much problem. However, in this turbulent time, the circumstances were not normal.

In 2024, Donal Tenorio was elected President by a narrow margin after a chaotic third campaign for the presidency. During his campaign, Tenorio bought into Antarctic fears of a Shopper hegemony, among many other controversial and ill-thought out policy positions. Tenorio's presidency was marked by a sudden departure from historical USA foreign policy and diplomatic procedure. Hoping to retain the USA's title as the most powerful country in Antarctica, Tenorio often made threats and took strong diplomatic actions against powerful allies such as Shops Island, Polaris, and the Western Union.

The end result of this was not a strengthening of the USA's position, however. Tenorio's strong rhetoric and knee-jerk diplomacy led to a precipitous decline in Antarctic influence abroad, with more and more countries looking to Shops Island and the Western Union for guidance. The USA's position was further weakened after allegations surfaced that Tenorio only won the presidency thanks to election meddling by Swiss Ninja and the SSS. The only way that the USA could salvage what they had left was to remove him from office.

After Jon Billwright took the reins, he was tasked with trying to fix the damage caused by the civil war. The first thing that he did was the reintroduction of USA’s foreign procedures. However, many people believed that it was all “too late” and that Tenerio’s influence was so great that it left Billwright unable to grasp such an influence until after the fall of Shops Island. Critics of Billwright even argued that his foriegn policy measure were worse of that of his predecessor.

By the time the Shops Civil War concluded, Donal Tenorio had severely damaged the USA's reputation and as such had weakened it significantly. This left the whole continent ill-prepared for the fallout when Antarctica's second most powerful country, Shops Island, ceased to exist.

Trivia

 * This "conflict" was possibly considered a background for another more dangerous conflict than the Great Snowzerland Wars, The Frosian War or the Shops Civil War.