hrm. The human races, two mer, and one beast race have the potential out of the races currently IN Tamriel.
Well, Imperials ARE the obvious choice, since they have conquered the world a couple of times :P. But, since they are so split now (Lord of Souls) between east and west, they are a defunct force without a strong leader who can unite them.
The Nords are awesome in their own rights, but don't have the all round traits to win a total war. Their outlook on magic and mages is their real letdown.
The Bretons COULD do it I suppose, since they are much less divided then they were in the past (pre Warp in the West) as I understood that bit of lore. Balanced enough as a race to possible win a war.
Redguards have a real calling here, seeing as their whole province was gained by an invasion :P. good balance in their armed forces, can be sneaky or just blunt in warriors, good mage potential. They could if they wanted, and had the planning and opprotunities
The Bosmer can't. They just suck.
Dunmer could I suppose, but have the whole numbers/breeding thing against them. They are balanced enough as a society, just don't have the numbers for protracted war.
The Altmer have tried, but have the whole racist agenda against them. could never hold anything permanently. Not like that's their goal, but.... meh. Plus the numbers game again
the Orismer definently could if they could get their people to agree not to kill each other and act as a nation, not scattered tribes. Their lack of magic is offset by their tremendous warrior potential and smithing/enchanting skills.
The Khajiit have great potential, with the different breeds, but don't have the will to. They don't mind just being the shady traders.
The Argonians.... Emer will like this one. The argonians were the only race to completely destroy the invading daedric forces during the oblivion crisis without a hero, ect. IF the Hist can exert enough control over them, and inspire them to start rick rolling over the other provinces, they could possibly conquer everything. Main problem with this is the lack of Hist trees outside of Black Marsh, which are the reason, if I read it right, the argonians knew the Daedra were going to invade. However, if the Hist do not want to go to war, I doubt the argonians will.
None of these races, however, could conquer the others with the rest allied against them. there is just no physical or magical way to, sheer numbers and fronts would destroy and crush them..
The one race to defy this would be the Dwemer, but they are gone from this plane of existence. But if they were to return, and get their cities and factories back in working order quickly, they have the means to, with their automaton armies.
every time I see your avatar I think of this.......
My opinion on the argonians was mostly based upon their performance during the oblivion crisis. Before that, I know they were horrible in pitched battle, but things can change.
And the redguards, well, meh. I wouldn't be surprised if they would have one set up before the next great war rocks tamriel.
I give it to the Imperials, because they historically demonstrated the ability to do so. They're weak and splintered because of the Aldmeri Dominion, but even so they managed to drive them off. They have a track record of hundreds of years, not to mention been in charge in all of the TES games.
Theorize all you want, nothing beats a proven track record. Sure the Empire has had it's problems over the years, but it's pretty damned impressive that things have been relatively unified and stable
I feel Like if the Dunmer could get their crap together and form one army (Which probably will never happen. Considering it would be far too out of character for them.)
But if you look at it they have all they would need, Skilled warriors, Powerful sorcerers, and Brilliant assassins, not to mention the hybrid classes they can become. They also have an instinct to dominate as seen with their use of slavery. The fact they would probably have the Deadra assisting them at times. That and Morrowind is full of mysteries, and I feel we don't quite know all their secrets just yet.
But like I said I cant imagine that will happen anytime soon as the Dunmer are known to stab each other in the back. anyone agree, or have a reason they wont? (aside from Dunmer suck)
The Redguards or Imperials seem the most adaptable to the different environments of Tamriel, able to confront other races on their home turf and capitalize on the disadvantages others would face if they invaded. I'd probably expect the Bretons to lump in with the Imperials, but they're close enough to the Redguards that an alliance there might work. But that would be more like two races than a Breton/Imperial alliance.