I've recently started playing Victoria II as the Netherlands (home country represent, yo) and am so far doing relatively well.

However, when I tried to colonize new territories in the East Indies I was informed that only Great Powers and Secondary Powers are allowed to colonize, and I'd somehow slipped to "Civilized Nation" status while I wasn't looking.

What's the quickest way to climb back up that sociopolitical ladder? I have a thriving economy and a pretty big budget.

2 Answers

Secondary powers are countries from 9th to 16th place. To improve your status, you just need to increase your points. If you have a big budget, invest in new factories and recruit soldiers. It would waste money if compared to regular development but if you really need points, that's the easy way.

1

The easiest way to get prestige points is to participate in wars. Unfortunately, this is also a pretty easy way to lose prestige points, so make sure you can actually win before you declare war.