Factions
Clanker: Countries that use steam-driven iron machines are referred to as Clanker nations. The machines themselves and their users are also referred to as Clankers. The main Clanker nations are Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Central Powers. Though officially neutral, the Ottoman Empire is considered a Clanker nation as they believe Darwinist creations are against God. Characters who are part of this faction include Alek, Otto Klopp, and Wildcount Volger. The name may be a spoof of Central, the name for the alliance of these countries.
Darwinist: The Darwinist countries currently consist of Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Algeria (a colony of France), Serbia, and Japan (Note: has Clanker technology as well). These factions employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. An example is the Leviathan, a whale airship of the British fleet. Characters who are part of this faction include Deryn Sharp and Dr. Nora Barlow. Named after Charles Darwin, who help develop the theory of evolution and, in the universe of the book series, discovered DNA, called Life Threads in their world.
Neutral: The Ottoman Empire, despite being a society with a Clanker-oriented economy, has yet to enter the war.
Switzerland can be considered politically neutral as it is mentioned in the book several times that it is the last place for fugitives and that just by being there, the British are breaking the terms of its neutrality. Their economy seems to be Clanker-based.
America is mentioned as neutral in Behemoth, with a fusion of Clanker and Darwinist technologies. The country is split between the two, Clankers in the North (Based on its industry), Darwinist in the south (Based on its agriculture). The country joins the war by the end of Goliath on the Darwinist side, three years earlier than in our world's history.
Portugal, Spain and Italy appear to be Darwinist nations that have yet to join in the war.
Read more about this topic: Leviathan (Westerfeld Novel)