With 2017 coming closer to an end and America still reeling from the most unpopular presidential election in history just a year ago a certain word is still on the lips of many Americans: secession.
With California,
In this 50 part series, we explore each state in terms of it that state could survive as a Nation by looking at how that state currently fairs and could hypothetically fair in the terms of three categories:'
Economics-This looks at how much money that state is making compared to how much it spends, what it exports and imports and how it would impact the world on an Economic scale.
Sociocultural- What would the society and culture of this country look like based off of the state it is formed from? The social and cultural ideologies of a country ultimately can decide not only the role it will play in the world but also how long it will last.
Unlike its 49 brother and sister states, the 50th and as of the creation of this article the last to ever be admitted to the Union is not even a part of the North American continent. In this article, we look at the famed archipelago and land of Aloha that is the State of Hawaii.
Hawaii As A State
The best word to describe Hawaii would definitely be different. The archipelago of Hawaii actually encompasses hundreds of islands with most of them being formed from volcanic activity but when most people think of the State they are thinking of the 8 large and habitable islands of the chain. While it may have become a State in 1959, Hawaii has been a Territory of the United States since 1898 when it was claimed after the overthrowing of Queen Liliuokalani, the last of the Hawaiian monarchs. Since then it Hawaii has played an important part in American history as a staging area for the states' involvement in the Spanish-American War and World War II and with it now serving as a center of commerce with its huge tourism and agriculture industries. Due to its unique position as a halfway point in the Pacific, Hawaii combines the cultures of America, the Philippines, and other Asian nations, and Polynesian natives. With it being so unique in comparison to its 49 union siblings, is it really too hard to imagine Hawaii as its own thing?
Economics
Hawaii has both huge advantages and huge disadvantages when it comes to its economy. On the advantage side, it has location as a benefit. Hawaii is one of the few places where tropical crops can be harvested consistently all year long with pineapples, coffee and oddly enough honey bees being among its commodities. The lush jungles, unspoiled beaches and stretches of beautiful Pacific ocean that are so commonly put on postcards of the area truly do show the potential Hawaii has for tourism. Tourism accounts for nearly 25% of its total GDP and certainly is not a market soon to disappear. As long as Hawaii continued to gear itself to welcome visitors, it could subsist off of this market. Hawaii also is able to successfully manufacture clothing and textiles, though not as heavy as it can produce agricultural goods. The greatest thing working against Hawaii is its size. As it is restricted to the resources contained on a few islands and so far from any mainland, Hawaii can not grow exponentially. It would have to wisely allocate the resources it could produce and rely on its trade partners to supply it with others.
Politically
There are two huge factors that will play a part in the formation of Hawaii's government. The first of these will be its native population. Since the 1880's Native Hawaiians have been fighting to be recognized as a sovereign force and with a suddenly independent Hawaii, the already fairly likely chance of this becomes almost inevitable. This means that we can go ahead and assume that at least one of the major islands would be set aside to be its own Native Hawaiian Federation. This would take away, even more, land and potential resources from the other main national force that connects the other islands. The other major force impacting these two Hawaii's would be international forces. As Hawaii is the gateway between Oceania, Asia, and North America it is a key military and economic area for multiple countries including what is left of the United States in this scenario, China, Japan, the Philippines, Australia and the Samoas. These foreign forces would put huge pressure on the islands. The Native Hawaiian territory would likely side with the Samoans while the islands with high Asian populations would wish to aid their home nations and the same could be assumed for the Americans. We could potentially see Hawaii being divided into several sub-nations with the largest of the islands, Hawaii, the namesake of the archipelago, joining with the islands of Maui and Oahu being the Hawaiian Republic modeled off of America and being a similar country. Kauai and Molokai would be the two islands united under the Native Hawaiian Federation. The three smaller and relatively uninhabited but potentially useful islands of Lanai, Niihau, and Kahoolawe would be purchased by outside powers.
Sociocultural
The lives of Hawaiians would be dramatically changed based on which islands and new federations they found themselves living in. Those with the least to adjust to would be those who live on Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu as their country would be the closest to that of America's with it retaining a similar culture and government. Those living in Kauai and Molokai would likely be native Hawaiians or at least those identity with that culture and would go there to embrace this lifestyle and their customs in a Nation geared towards their traditional values, similarly to Native American Reservations but on a larger scale. Those living on the remaining islands would essentially be employees of the state for the Nations that had purchased these islands. There would likely be strong initial distaste between the three different groups as people would likely be forced to move if they discovered they did not like the direction they lived on was taking. The cultural and political rifts between the three would take some time to digress before the three could begin to truly cooperate as a more unified, but still separated Hawaii archipelago.
Could Hawaii Be A Country?
To put it simply, the chances of Hawaii surviving in the current form that we know is exceptionally unlikely. The archipelago would inevitably either break apart, become a territory to a more powerful country or a combination of both as I have personally presented. While Hawaii may be at the top of the race to be the most beautiful and desirable of the states, it simply does not have the resources or stability to compete with the other major powers that would be eyeing its spot in the Pacific.
