The fate of the republic hangs in the balance, but there’s nothing I can do about it today. So let’s have a bit of escapism, econogeek style.

I suspect that long-time readers won’t be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of the TV series “The Expanse,” which was on Syfy for three seasons, canceled, but picked up by Amazon. Actually, the series seems to be a favorite of many social scientists, like international relations expert turned part time pundit Dan Drezner. Linguists love the carefully designed creole spoken by the Belters, who live on various asteroids.

Warning: I’m most of the way through the fourth season, and what follows will include slight spoilers, although probably not enough to matter.

Anyway, Drezner is enjoying the show’s take on interplanetary diplomacy, with the three-cornered cold war among Earth (which seems somehow to have acquired a world government, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations the most powerful person on the planet), the Martian Congressional Republic, and the Belters.