History Main / RisingEmpire

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* Back in TheEighties Japan would have been on the above list stemming from its dramatic post-war economic rebound, so much so [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld it got its own trope]] in popular media, especially in CyberPunk works. The real estate bubble burst in 1991 and the subsequent two "Lost Decades" of relative economic stagnation have largely discredited both tropes for the country since then.

* After TheGreatPoliticsMessUp and the end of the Soviet Union, the idea of a "second superpower" that could rise up enough to challenge the hegemony of the United States has been a popular academic topic, sometimes spilling over into popular media. [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld China is probably the most discussed potential superpower]] of the candidates; others include [[UnitedEurope the European Union]], India, Brazil, and UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia.

** The Tau Empire, a relative newcomer to the galactic stage. The Tau were a stone-age species the first time an already ancient Imperium learned of their existence, but have over the centuries risen to developing spacefilight and funding a burgeoning space-based empire uniting several other species. They have rapidly expanded into the surrounding galaxy since they first showed up, colonizing several planets and taking several others from the Imperium, and their youth and expansionist vigor serves as a thematic counterpoint to the ancient, crumbling and overextended might of the Imperium.
** The Imperium of Man was a Rising Empire in roughly the year 30,000, coming out of a pan-species Dark Age with the God-Emperor at the helm of an immense, well-maintained, and fairly egalitarian nation. [[ForegoneConclusion Naturally]], [[VestigialEmpire it didn't last]].