[quote=@Mihndar]The OP has established that you can either pick one of the few remaining map empty spaces or take one of the people's territories that haven't posted in a month.
[/quote]Ironically that'd soon include me.
Perhaps a better idea could be to warn these "inactive" people again to see if they are still in.
And then declare NPC or abolish the nations by inactive players.
Sure, it's a tiny bit work-intensive but this is the most fair method, IMO.