Racist

The modern Western concept of race and racism as a structured system of discrimination, oppression, and supremacy based on physical and ethnic characteristics is not a feature of this alternate timeline. While conflicts, prejudices, and unequal treatment between different cultural, linguistic, and national groups do exist to some degree, these dynamics do not coalesce into a coherent racial ideology or hierarchy.

Origins of Cultural Identities

The origins of distinct cultural, ethnic, and linguistic identities in this world can be traced back centuries, if not millennia, as various peoples and civilizations developed in relative geographic isolation. However, the notion of hard, immutable racial categorizations only began to emerge in the early modern period as global exploration and trade increased contact between disparate populations.

Even then, the lines were often blurred, with fluid boundaries, intermarriage, and cultural exchange happening frequently between neighboring groups. Prejudices and hostilities tended to be rooted more in perceived cultural differences, religious affiliations, and territorial disputes than in rigid racial divisions. Discrimination and violence often manifested along these lines, but a comprehensive racial ideology never fully materialized.

Lack of Racial Framework

Without the development of pseudoscientific racial theories, the social and political landscape of this world has evolved quite differently. There are no historically-entrenched systems of white supremacy, segregation, or genocide justified by racial ideologies. The horrors of slavery, colonialism, and Eugenics perpetrated under the banner of racial superiority in our timeline never fully materialized here.

That is not to say, however, that intergroup tensions, xenophobia, and discrimination do not exist. Conflicts and unequal treatment between ethnic groups, linguistic communities, and nation-states are still common, often rooted in competing claims to territory, resources, and cultural dominance. But these dynamics play out through the lenses of nationalism, religious affiliation, and cultural identity rather than a overarching racial framework.

Impacts on Society and Politics

The lack of a racial worldview has significantly shaped the social, political, and international relations of this alternate timeline. Without the racial dogmas that have fueled so much violence and oppression in our world, these societies have often found different, perhaps less violently exclusionary ways to navigate cultural differences and disputes.

At the same time, the absence of a racial hierarchy has presented its own challenges. Ethnic, linguistic, and nationalist tensions can still lead to marginalization, oppression, and even violent conflict between groups. And the lack of a unifying racial identity has made it more difficult for oppressed or disadvantaged populations to find common cause and mobilize for social change.

Internationally, geopolitical alliances and rivalries are more often based on factors like shared language, colonial history, trade partnerships, and ideological affiliation rather than crude racial calculations. While this has prevented the rise of global racist empires, it has also arguably hindered the development of robust international institutions and norms to address cross-border human rights abuses.

Ultimately, the contours of prejudice, discrimination, and identity politics in this alternate reality have been substantially reshaped by the lack of a racial ideological framework. The consequences, both positive and negative, continue to reverberate through these societies in complex and often unpredictable ways.