Probably natural borders and strategic objectives would make the most sense. Like the borders should probably be rivers/mountain ranges etc, unless there's something a region desperately needs (e.g. California and a reliable water supply).
Maybe population density can be used as a rough measurement of natural borders, so that taking over a statelet with a low population density is harder than taking one with a high?
Probably natural borders and strategic objectives would make the most sense. Like the borders should probably be rivers/mountain ranges etc, unless there's something a region desperately needs (e.g. California and a reliable water supply).
Sorting regions by needs is a very good idea.
Maybe population density can be used as a rough measurement of natural borders, so that taking over a statelet with a low population density is harder than taking one with a high?
Many people may move during a balkanization, so that could end up throwing numbers off.