Contested Territories
Contested territories are areas or territories that are claimed by multiple factions or civilizations as their own lands. These factions may be in open conflict and these contested territories may be a battleground or a no man’s land. If hostilities have calmed to a degree and a stalemate has been reached, both sides may lay claim to these contested lands but with neither side willing to act for risk of reigniting a war. Contested territories may be rife with crime as no country may be willing to risk the political fallout from establishing a law presence.
| Synonyms: disputed lands |
| Example Mythonyms: the Divided Regions, the Splitlands |
| Territories |
Designing Fictional Contested Territories
Overview
Contested territories are an opportunity to explore heightened tensions between the fictional powers of a world. Worldbuilders may wish to design sublocations within these territories, such as fictional towns, cities, planets, or other locations to better examine what life may be like under these conditions or create exciting narratives. Contested territories may possess their own unique factions, perhaps working at the behest of one of the greater powers, perhaps not.
If the claimant countries are politically hostile but not in open conflict, contested territories (and any event that occurs within them) could be a flashpoint for open war.
Reasons for Conflict
Contested regions are likely important to the major powers that vie for their control. They may possess rare fictional materials, they may be a revered holy site, they may be strategically important, or they may be historically or culturally important places. Worldbuilders should consider the reasons why these lands are contested as these reasons can provide additional avenues to explore.
