Chapter 1651 European Propaganda Front
Compared to Germany, the Kingdom of Dalmatia preferred to establish a foothold in East Africa first, so after Charles I and Prime Minister Yulitian reached an agreement...
Prime Minister Yulitian went to the East African Embassy in Split and discussed the matter with the East African Ambassador to the Kingdom of Dalmatia.
The Kingdom of Dalmatia wanted East Africa to reduce its troop presence in Dalmatia, which was clearly not a decision the ambassador to Dalmatia could easily make. He reported the situation to East Africa.
...
April 8, 1937.
East Africa, Rhine City.
Crown Prince Frederick learned of the Dalmatian Kingdom's demands from the telegram sent by the Dalmatian embassy.
He said to Foreign Minister Alfred, "Alfred, what is your opinion on the request from the Kingdom of Dalmatia?"
Alfred said, “Your Majesty, I think this matter can be agreed to. Our garrison in the Kingdom of Dalmatia is only symbolic.”
"Previously, considering that the Kingdom of Dalmatia had just gained independence, the number of personnel was somewhat excessive. Now, we can reduce the number of personnel."
Crown Prince Frederick nodded and said, "I have also considered this."
"In the Mediterranean direction, unless it is a strategically important location that is very important to us, it is not worth our excessive investment."
"Now that the Kingdom of Dalmatia has stabilized, there is no need to pay attention to the issue of stationing troops there, unless we break ties with Germany."
The value of the Dalmatian Kingdom lies primarily in its economy, and East Africa has never hoped to control the Dalmatian Kingdom in order to change the regional landscape.
Crown Prince Frederick said, "Dalmatia's intended role as a transit hub was not fulfilled because of Yugoslavia."
“Without proper handling of relations between the two countries, Dalmatia will hardly be able to play a role.”
One of the main reasons East Africa supported Dalmatia was to prevent Germany from blocking East African goods from entering the Central and Eastern European market after annexing Austria-Hungary.
However, the likelihood of such an extreme scenario is very low. Unless Germany's relationship with East Africa becomes completely hostile, it is unlikely that Germany will completely ban trade between East Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.
Moreover, even in hostile relations, trade may not be completely severed. Just like Germany and the Soviet Union today, Germany still needs to import commodities such as crude oil and food from the Soviet Union.
Alfred said, "It's very difficult for us to trade with European countries now, especially as European markets become increasingly closed."
"However, the costs of trading with Europe are still within our affordability range."
East African commodities continue to decline in market share in Europe, but the decline is not too significant. This is mainly due to the rise of high-end manufacturing in East Africa. While the total volume of commodity exports has decreased, exports of high-end goods have boosted the total export value.
"The formation of a bloc of extreme nationalist countries led by Germany is also one of the reasons why it has become more difficult for us to export to Europe."
"Within this camp of extreme nationalist countries, Germany has a strong voice, which allows German industry to gain a larger market share in the competition through political means."
"Germany's industrial development level is no less than that of East Africa, and it still maintains an advantage over us in some areas. Therefore, in the export of mid-to-high-end goods, Germany is our main competitor in Europe."
Even though East Africa's industrial development quality has now caught up with Germany's, Germany still has a clear advantage over East Africa in terms of reputation and brand image in Europe.
Besides Germany's high level of industrial development, there are also historical reasons and deliberate actions by various European countries.
In the 19th century, Britain and France were undoubtedly the representatives of European industry, with Britain being the "workshop of the world" and France being the "ambassador" of Europe.
From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Germany transformed into the epitome of European industry, surpassing Britain and France in both the scale of industrial production and the quality of its industrial products.
Specifically, from the late 1890s to the 1920s, Germany's industry had almost no weaknesses; in terms of industrial scale, it was the United States and East Africa that emerged as two "oddities" outside of Europe.
However, when it comes to the quality of industrial products, Germany has become the "crown jewel" of the world's industry during this period, representing the highest quality and top standards.
The United States and East Africa are not yet able to compete with Germany in the high-end manufacturing sector, nor challenge Germany's position in the mid-to-high-end industrial sector.
The turning point began in the 1920s, when East Africa's economy began to transform. After more than a decade of high-quality development, East Africa has firmly established itself in the field of high-end manufacturing and is now on par with Germany.
However, the perception of East African goods as "high-end products" mainly extends to regions outside of Europe and North America. Even outside these two regions, Germany has a strong competitive advantage in terms of reputation and influence.
If we look at it by industry, East Africa and Germany are neck and neck in the field of high-end manufacturing, each with its own advantages. Germany focuses on traditional industries, while East Africa has a more obvious advantage in emerging manufacturing sectors.
However, there is no doubt that East Africa is not very satisfied with the current industrial landscape of the two countries on a global scale, especially in Europe and North America, where East African goods are clearly treated differently.
For industrial products of equal quality, consumers in Europe and North America generally consider German-made products to be superior to those made in East Africa.
There are many reasons for this situation, but two of the most important are that German companies have a higher profile than those in East Africa, and that European and American countries have a higher sense of "identity" with Germany, at least compared to East Africa.
Alfred said with some helplessness, "Germany's history has many advantages over a very young country like ours. Some of their companies can trace their history back to a century ago, so they have a cultural advantage."
"Consumers naturally prefer industrial products that have a story and cultural significance."
"Furthermore, it is only in recent years that we have caught up with Germany in high-end manufacturing. Therefore, in Europe and North America, the high-quality image of German industrial products has a certain inertia, which is also an advantage for Germany."
"However, I personally believe that racism has also played a significant role in the competition between East Africa and German manufacturing, as well as in Europe and North America, which is the most infuriating aspect."
European and North American countries generally view East Africa with prejudice, after all, before the emergence of East Africa, the African continent was arguably one of the least civilized regions among the major continents of human activity.
Despite its history of colonization, Africa was the last continent to be colonized, aside from the uninhabited Antarctic region.
In the eyes of Europeans and Americans, Africa is the last place to be "civilized," and as an African country, East Africa inevitably gets this label from Europe and America.
In addition, the obvious racial differences between East Africa and Europe and the United States are also a reason why European and American racism does not recognize East Africa, especially against the backdrop of the current global expansion of extreme nationalism, which makes East Africa a target of attacks from European and American public opinion.
Even in the United States, a country with Black people, they do not enjoy the same treatment as those in East Africa.
This is because although there are many Black people in the United States, the United States has a strict racial system, and at least for now, the United States is still a country that strictly enforces "white supremacy".
Therefore, as the lowest social class, Black people or other non-white, Western ethnic groups, even if they have formed social classes and groups in the United States, they cannot represent the United States in the eyes of other countries.
Therefore, Western countries, including the United States, generally believe that white leadership and governance are the fundamental reasons why the United States has become the world's second-largest industrial power and the world's largest "democratic and free" country.
East Africa is completely different. In East Africa, white and yellow people have completely equal status. The achievements of mixed-race East Africa are largely due to the fact that the brilliant achievements of East Africa cannot be separated from the yellow people.
For this very reason, Europe and North America find it difficult to accept the fact that East Africa has become the world's leading industrial power, which to some extent breaks down the "white supremacy theory" and "Eurocentrism".
Therefore, most people in Europe and America were eager to find a competitor that could rival East Africa in industry, and Germany became the best choice.
Although the United States' industrial strength is not to be underestimated, and it is the world's second-largest industrial power, it does not have an advantage over East Africa in a comprehensive comparison. In terms of industrial scale, the United States cannot compare with East Africa, which has a population of 200 million, and in terms of industrial development level, the United States is also slightly behind East Africa and Germany.
Germany can compete with East Africa in terms of industrial quality, and as for the difference in scale, people in Europe and America believe that this can be made up for, especially after Germany annexed Austria-Hungary.
Germany's domestic market is now a huge consumer market with a population of over 100 million, and the gap with the United States is not that large. Moreover, as Germany digests and integrates the resources of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there is still room for further progress.
Made in Germany has become a source of superiority and a source of comfort for Europeans.
Alfred said, "If our high-end manufacturing industry in East Africa wants to close this gap, it will probably take more than ten, or even twenty or thirty years to convince the European and American countries if it develops at the normal pace."
This is somewhat similar to the Far Eastern Empire in the 2020s of my previous life. At that time, the Far Eastern Empire's industry had completely lost its association with low-end and inferior products, but European and American countries still found it difficult to accept the rise of the Far Eastern Empire's industry.
Of course, it is worth noting that Alfred specifically mentioned normal circumstances. Under abnormal circumstances, East Africa would certainly have ways to break down European prejudices in a shorter time.
As for what method to use, it would be to make Germany disappear from the world, or to bring German industry to a standstill.
For example, if Germany had been defeated, its current global trade system and industrial advantages would most likely have disappeared.
Just like in the previous life, after World War II, Germany's talent and technology were drained by the Soviet Union and the United States, leaving it burdened with the heavy responsibility of economic recovery and postwar reconstruction, and its industry was destroyed by the war...
If it weren't for the outbreak of the Cold War, the "miracle" of the revival of German industry would have been almost impossible.
Crown Prince Frederick said, "Industrial exports are tied to politics, and we have no way to deal with that right now."
"After all, we cannot rashly start a war against other countries and overturn the existing international order just because we have encountered bottlenecks in economic development."
"Therefore, in industrial competition, we can only pay more attention to improving technology and product quality. However, this is slow to show results. We are making progress, and other countries are also making progress."
"Secondly, we need to intensify our propaganda efforts, using cultural means such as film, music, novels, and news to break down the prejudices of European and American markets against East African goods."
"We are doing very well in South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia right now. We need to continue to consolidate our comprehensive advantages in these regions, in all areas of economy, industry, military, politics and culture, and strengthen our leading or even dominant position in the international arena in the South."
“In countries and regions such as Europe and America, we can only treat it as a tough nut to crack and gradually spread East African culture and brands.”
"To be honest, we haven't done enough in the field of cultural communication."
"It's difficult to compete with Europe and the United States in traditional sectors, so supporting new media is the key to our success."
"A newer, more open lifestyle, more advanced media communication technology, and some distinctive cultural innovations are the best ways to open up more markets in Europe and America."
In the realm of traditional culture, East Africa finds it difficult to compete with Western countries, such as in literature, music, and art. After all, the systems and standards in these cultural fields were established and manipulated by the West, or rather, by European countries.
Undeniably, Europe and America are not lacking in outstanding artists, but their control over the system and complete discourse power is what is most frightening.
As a result, even if East African cultural workers can create excellent works that are no less impressive than those in Europe and America, they will find it difficult to compete with the European and American countries, who are also the judges, in the process of selection and dissemination.
Therefore, if East Africa wants to break the cultural dominance of Europe and America, it must establish more new tracks and systems to seize cultural discourse power and break the cultural hegemony of Europe and America.
This also lays the foundation for East African manufacturing to enter Europe at the conceptual level.
Crown Prince Frederick said, "It is just right that the Kingdom of Dalmatia is now finding it difficult to help us in other areas, so let it become a demonstration and dissemination platform for us in Europe in the economic and cultural spheres."
"So we can help Dalmatia build some radio stations and newspapers to expand its influence in the European cultural sphere."
“In this respect, Dalmatia is also in a good position, as it can radiate to the entire Balkan Peninsula, as well as regions such as Germany and Italy.”
"With the addition of economic aid, the Kingdom of Dalmatia will be transformed into a modern civilization benchmark for cooperation with East Africa."
The Kingdom of Dalmatia aspires to become a hub for East African cultural exchange in Europe, but this will be difficult to achieve if its economy falters.
With its low level of economic development, this country not only fails to serve its propaganda purpose, but may also become a burden on East Africa's external propaganda efforts.
Therefore, the East African government certainly does not want the Kingdom of Dalmatia to become an incapable ruler. At present, East Africa has no other choice in Europe, and Dalmatia is the only sphere of influence of East Africa in Europe.
(End of this chapter)
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