The West is decoupling from the rest of the world (Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

For the past year, Nato countries, led by the US, have strived to nudge the rest of the world into providing military aid for Ukraine and sanctioning Russia, in the hope of isolating the latter. They have, by and large, failed on both counts. Western officials might point out that 141 of 193 countries supported a recent UN resolution demanding Russia withdraw from Ukraine, but the 32 abstaining countries included China, India, Pakistan and South Africa — which alone account for around 40% of the global population.
Despite the West’s attempts to “globalise” the conflict, only 33 nations — representing just over one-eighth of the global population — have imposed sanctions on Russia and sent military aid to Ukraine: the UK, US, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan and the EU — in other words, those countries that are directly under the US sphere of influence, which in many cases involves a significant US military presence. The remaining nations, comprising close to 90% of the world’s population, have refused to follow suit. If anything, the war has actually strengthened Russian relations with a number of major non-Western countries, including China and India, and accelerated the rise of a new international order in which it is the West that looks increasingly isolated, not Russia.
Since the invasion, China has hugely increased its purchases of Russian oil, gas and coal, while exporting far more machinery, manufactured products and high-end electronics in the other direction; they have boosted their bilateral trade by more than 30%. The two countries have also committed to significant investment and infrastructure projects through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the world’s largest regional grouping in terms of geographic scope and population, which also includes India, Pakistan, Iran and all the major Central Asian republics. Moreover, as a result of Western sanctions, they have been forced to rely on rouble-yuan trade instead of using the dollar, which has enhanced the yuan’s reserve currency status.
On last month’s anniversary of the Russian invasion, Wang Yi, Beijing’s most senior diplomat, said that China was committed to “strengthen[ing] and deepen[ing] the Sino-Russian friendship” and “promot[ing] mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas”. Even more significantly, the two countries have increasingly been speaking with one voice about the need for a more balanced international order, explicitly framing their collaboration as one aimed at weakening the West’s dominance in global affairs. China, in particular, has implicitly embraced Russia’s view, espoused by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, that “this is not about Ukraine at all… It reflects the battle over what the world order will look like”. In this context, it should come as no surprise that Beijing and Moscow have maintained the steady pace of their joint military exercises, nor that Xi is due to meet Putin in Moscow today.
America’s increasingly aggressive posture towards China has only fuelled the perception, among Beijing’s elites, that they are united with Russia against the West in an existential fight for survival. Xi recently issued an unusually blunt rebuke of US policy, in which he accused Washington of being engaged in a campaign to suppress China: “Western countries — led by the US — have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, bringing unprecedentedly severe challenges to our country’s development,” he was quoted as saying by state media. This represents a significant departure from China’s traditionally measured approach. It followed the publication, by China’s foreign ministry, of an unusually critical document titled US Hegemony and Its Perils, which claimed that America has “acted… to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, pursue, maintain and abuse hegemony, advance subversion and infiltration, and willfully wage wars, bringing harm to the international community”.
The problem for the US, and for the West, is that this message is starting to resonate around the world. Many non-Westerners feel that the US is in no position to lecture other countries about the sanctity of sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law and the so-called rules-based order. They recognise that the US has violated these principles before — most recently with the disastrous invasions and bombing campaigns against Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. This is why the West’s attempt to frame the conflict in Ukraine as a moral struggle of “good versus evil” elicits unease among many non-Westerners, especially in those countries that have been on the receiving end of Western colonial endeavours.
For instance, The Washington Post marked last month’s anniversary by publishing a series of interviews with people in South Africa, India and Kenya; it concluded that they hold “a deeply ambivalent view of the conflict, informed less by the question of whether Russia was wrong to invade than by current and historical grievances against the West”. It is one of several African countries that have refused to side with Kyiv.
For several countries, it’s not just that they’re unwilling to sacrifice their own interests for Ukraine; it’s partly about taking a stand against the West. As Clement Manyathela, a popular South African radio host, explained: “When America went into Iraq, when America went into Libya, they had their own justifications that we didn’t believe, and now they’re trying to turn the world against Russia…. I still don’t see any justification for invading a country, but we cannot be dictated to about the Russian moves on Ukraine. I honestly feel the US was trying to bully us.”
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that South Africa is among those countries which have chosen to strengthen ties with Russia. During a visit by Lavrov in January, the South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor referred to the two nations as “friends” and hailed their “growing economic bilateral relationship”, along with their “political, economic, social, defence and security cooperation”. Most conspicuously, South Africa joined last month’s military exercises with Russia and China.
India has also openly defied the West on Ukraine. It recently announced that its trade with Russia had grown 400% since the invasion, mostly due to a 700% increase in its import of petroleum-related products — a result of its refusal to abide by the Western-imposed Russian oil price cap. Russia also remains India’s largest arms supplier. In an effort to justify these decisions, India’s government has assumed an explicit narrative about the historic significance of its break with Western foreign policy diktats. As Venkatesh Varma, India’s former ambassador to Russia, wrote last month: “In not accepting the Western framing of the Ukraine conflict… India stood its ground and that ground raised India’s global stature.”
How long will this last? Recent developments certainly aren’t tipping the global balance in favour of the West. On the one hand, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Nato’s strategy in Ukraine isn’t working: not only is Ukraine facing heavy losses, while the West unable to keep up with Ukrainian demands for ammunition and equipment, but the sanctions have hurt Western countries, as well as developing ones. On the other, the financial crisis triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is yet another reminder of the intrinsic instability of the West’s hyper-financialised brand of capitalism.
Only last week, America’s global standing took another hit with the signing of a historic agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered by China (while, it should be noted, the Saudi foreign minister was in Moscow). As part of the deal, Iran has agreed to stop arming Houthis in Yemen, potentially paving the way to a resolution to the nine-year-long Yemeni war. Writing in Newsweek, David H. Rundell, a former chief of mission at the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia explained that the deal will be seen as “a watershed moment for Chinese influence in the Middle East”, while further eroding America’s already poor reputation in the region.
All these developments suggest a radical geopolitical realignment is underway which is hastening the demise of American global supremacy. This is confirmed in a recent global study carried out by the EU-funded European Council on Foreign Relations — tellingly titled “United West, divided from the rest”. It found that, while the US and Europe are growing closer, they are increasingly politically alienated from the rest of the world. The proxy war in Ukraine “marks both the consolidation of the West and the emergence of the long-heralded post-Western international order”, characterised by a strong desire for a more even distribution of global power among multiple countries — namely, multipolarity. It concludes that, even if Ukraine somehow managed to win the war, “it is highly unlikely” that a US-led liberal world order will be restored. Instead, “the West will have to live as one pole of a multipolar world”.
It confirmed the findings of a second study, carried out by the University of Cambridge’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy last October which was based on data from 137 countries that represent 97% of world population. While some upper-income countries in South America, the Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe have become more pro-American, it concluded that “across a vast span of countries stretching from continental Eurasia to the north and west of Africa, we find the opposite — societies that have moved closer to China and Russia over the course of the last decade”. For the first time, China and Russia are now narrowly ahead of the US in their popularity among developing countries — that is, among the overwhelming majority of the world’s population.
Today, as Xi and Putin sit down to discuss the future of Ukraine, the implication of this is clear. China and Russia are not decoupling from the West; rather, the West is decoupling from the rest of the world.
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SubscribeThe author appears to be drawing some incredibly long bows here. Suggesting that because all those (largely poorer) countries haven’t joined in with the western sanctions means that they must therefore be aligned with Putin seems to be clutching at straws. Likewise that India is abandoning the west simply because they’ve taken advantage of buying cheap oil from Russia again seems far fetched.
He fails to mention Chinas demographic time bomb due to its one child policy, whereby it’s getting old before it’s hard chance to get rich. There’s no mention of Chinas 20%+ youth unemployment or it’s colossal asset bubble. Most of Chinas high value trade is still with western nations. Despite the tension it isn’t going to give that up and replace it with the Russians or the South Africans, a basket case of a country that can barely feed its population or keep the lights on.
As has been mentioned, whilst the countries sanctioning Putin make up a a fraction of the world’s population, they’re a majority of the worlds economy which is much more important in the context of the article than sheer numbers.
All in all the article seems to have cherry picked a few stats in order to fit a predetermined narrative rather than being an objective look at the geopolitical situation arising from the conflict
That’s what he does, I’m afraid, yet for some reason he gets a lot of column inches on this website.
You get this on UnHerd about 5 times a weeks. The authors look at some stats, copy a couple of graphs and, ‘Bob’s your Aunty,’ an article appears.
(This particular Bob sees their self more as a woman.)
Then why would you read the stories and comment? It seems like a waste of your time if you think they’re rubbish.There’s plenty of other publications.
Because you have to read something to know whether it’s worth reading or not. If you give up reading you give up life.
ok, maybe you have to read some of but why waste your precious time responding if it isn’t worthy in the first place. Nah, doesn’t wash.. sounds more like you’re in denial!
ok, maybe you have to read some of but why waste your precious time responding if it isn’t worthy in the first place. Nah, doesn’t wash.. sounds more like you’re in denial!
there are, not there’s iz badd ingishh
Because you have to read something to know whether it’s worth reading or not. If you give up reading you give up life.
there are, not there’s iz badd ingishh
Then why would you read the stories and comment? It seems like a waste of your time if you think they’re rubbish.There’s plenty of other publications.
And that, it would seem, is his real objective. But then, everybody has to eat.
You get this on UnHerd about 5 times a weeks. The authors look at some stats, copy a couple of graphs and, ‘Bob’s your Aunty,’ an article appears.
(This particular Bob sees their self more as a woman.)
And that, it would seem, is his real objective. But then, everybody has to eat.
The countries sanctioning are now barely a majority of the global economy in dollar terms, and in purchasing parity terms they are a minority. They are, collectively, growing far, far more slowly than the rest. And they are, collectively, running a huge current account deficit that is draining away their global investment position from which their economic clout comes.
The US and UK depend on selling their assets to fund consumption. They are literally selling their futures to pay for stuff today. Short of capital to fix problems, they are also now well down the road of repeatedly relying on the monetising of debt to finance balance sheet problems. This is end of empires type desperation.
This is a major reversal of economic strength in just 30 years, and one that has accelerated in the last decade. It looks exactly like the decline of Britain did and as we know Britain’s global power ebbed away slowly, then suddenly almost immediately after WW2.
I’m not saying that the west doesn’t have its own problems to deal with, but I’m still of the opinion that they pale in comparison to those facing the likes of China and Russia. There’s no doubt that the western share of the economy will diminish as the Asian nations especially become more established, but I can’t see any realistic scenario whereby China or Russia will become dominant powers
It’s not so much China and Russia will become stronger, its that we become far, far weaker. They can dominate if we collapse. What stops us becoming basket cases like South Africa?
The USA and its client states are economically weakening and wasting their remaining strategic power by not recognising their weakness, let alone trying to reverse that weakness. Using the international dollar system as a weapon was really stupid and only hastened the already slow decline of the dollar. One of just many really poor decisions that point to a bleak future for everyone. Can you think of any good trends in the West today?
Demographics is a small problem relative to our wilful destruction from within and the increasingly parastic relationship between the state and vested interests.
I totally agree with your analysis here. At a micro level, in a week when a former US President dreaming of a comeback may be indicted for paying off a porn star, and a former UK Prime Minister dreaming of a comeback is defending himself from a charge of lying to Parliament about parties it’s not entirely surprising that non aligned nations don’t take us entirely seriously any more. It’s also worth noting that the likeliest Republican challengers in 2024 are busily signalling a complete reversal on Ukraine if elected, so why commit now to a policy, in opposition to China and Russia, that may completely change.
I would vote for Lady Stormington Daniels every time….
I would vote for Lady Stormington Daniels every time….
Democracy is what stops the West becoming basket cases.
“Democracy” just means rule by the deep state.
stupid nonsense.
We don’t have real democracy. We vote for parties and the parties tell us to shut up. This is democracy from De Toqueville’s theory, not real democracy.
Actually, the reason the parties tell us to shut up is because they can. A very small number of people run the parties while the rest of the partisans phone it in rather than participate. I learned this over the last 10 years. Have you ever been to a legislative district meeting? Have you ever been elected to be a Precinct Committee Officer for your neighborhood? These are the smallest grain of party participation in our system and people generally stopped participating. In my 36th legislative district in Washington State (this district is in Seattle) most of the elected positions go unfilled. Nobody runs. Both parties suffer this. The work gets done by the folks who show up and in this case, they’ve driven the parties to extremes. Sensible moderates could fix this, but they stopped participating. What could go wrong? Well, just look around.
Actually, the reason the parties tell us to shut up is because they can. A very small number of people run the parties while the rest of the partisans phone it in rather than participate. I learned this over the last 10 years. Have you ever been to a legislative district meeting? Have you ever been elected to be a Precinct Committee Officer for your neighborhood? These are the smallest grain of party participation in our system and people generally stopped participating. In my 36th legislative district in Washington State (this district is in Seattle) most of the elected positions go unfilled. Nobody runs. Both parties suffer this. The work gets done by the folks who show up and in this case, they’ve driven the parties to extremes. Sensible moderates could fix this, but they stopped participating. What could go wrong? Well, just look around.
stupid nonsense.
We don’t have real democracy. We vote for parties and the parties tell us to shut up. This is democracy from De Toqueville’s theory, not real democracy.
You’re right, but democracy is now dead in all but superficial appearance and has been for a long time.. the oligarch puppet masters have been in control for a long time.
“Democracy” just means rule by the deep state.
You’re right, but democracy is now dead in all but superficial appearance and has been for a long time.. the oligarch puppet masters have been in control for a long time.
Spot on. All the signs are there, plain to be seen by all except the willfully blind.
I totally agree with your analysis here. At a micro level, in a week when a former US President dreaming of a comeback may be indicted for paying off a porn star, and a former UK Prime Minister dreaming of a comeback is defending himself from a charge of lying to Parliament about parties it’s not entirely surprising that non aligned nations don’t take us entirely seriously any more. It’s also worth noting that the likeliest Republican challengers in 2024 are busily signalling a complete reversal on Ukraine if elected, so why commit now to a policy, in opposition to China and Russia, that may completely change.
Democracy is what stops the West becoming basket cases.
Spot on. All the signs are there, plain to be seen by all except the willfully blind.
The erosion of freedoms in the West, in my opinion, is a far greater problem than any that the Russians and Chinese face.
That would be because we still have some whilst the denizens of those two tyrannies have virtually none to lose
A gross exaggeration.. there is little to chose these days..
A gross exaggeration.. there is little to chose these days..
That’s ridiculous, since Russian and Chinese freedoms aren’t just eroded, they’re nonexistent.
Have you ever spent time in these countries? Or are you believing what you have been conditioned to believe?
Do I really need to spend time in Putin’s Russia or Xi’s China to know that these are dictatorships with severely limited personal freedoms, esp. compared to those we have in the West? Are you really so deluded and brainwashed?
Eh, you do! You’ll be amazed if you do! I absolutly guarantee it!
No, I think YOU do.
No, I think YOU do.
Amazing how many brainwashed and ignorant people are reading this silly article and support Putin and Xi. Quite the eye-opener.
Eh, you do! You’ll be amazed if you do! I absolutly guarantee it!
Amazing how many brainwashed and ignorant people are reading this silly article and support Putin and Xi. Quite the eye-opener.
I have, and I certainly saw signs of disgruntlement with the Chinese govt even years ago.
Wow, disgruntlement with the government.. let’s hope we never see that is the West! ha ha ha ..you have got to be kidding!
You’re an ignorant moron. There’s really no other conclusion.
You’re an ignorant moron. There’s really no other conclusion.
Wow, disgruntlement with the government.. let’s hope we never see that is the West! ha ha ha ..you have got to be kidding!
I have spent 10 years in Russia and support Harry’s statement, discounted for hyperbole.
I have spent 6 months living in Moscow…and unfreedom is built into the DNA
Do I really need to spend time in Putin’s Russia or Xi’s China to know that these are dictatorships with severely limited personal freedoms, esp. compared to those we have in the West? Are you really so deluded and brainwashed?
I have, and I certainly saw signs of disgruntlement with the Chinese govt even years ago.
I have spent 10 years in Russia and support Harry’s statement, discounted for hyperbole.
I have spent 6 months living in Moscow…and unfreedom is built into the DNA
Rubbish.. if that were the case Putin and Xi would be very unpopular. The opposite is the case..
It means nothing to say that Putin and Xi are “popular”. Hitler was popular too, wasn’t he? The Russians culturally like strong leaders, and we like beating our leaders up and getting rid of them when they fail. The underated beauty of our system is that we can get rid of them, or they decide to go themselves when it all gets too much. Putin and Xi don’t have that option because the sheer brutality of their political cultures.
You make Dumb and Dumber sound like Einstein.
They don’t have to be popular, they just have to be powerful
True! Their election landslides were incredible
It means nothing to say that Putin and Xi are “popular”. Hitler was popular too, wasn’t he? The Russians culturally like strong leaders, and we like beating our leaders up and getting rid of them when they fail. The underated beauty of our system is that we can get rid of them, or they decide to go themselves when it all gets too much. Putin and Xi don’t have that option because the sheer brutality of their political cultures.
You make Dumb and Dumber sound like Einstein.
They don’t have to be popular, they just have to be powerful
True! Their election landslides were incredible
Have you ever spent time in these countries? Or are you believing what you have been conditioned to believe?
Rubbish.. if that were the case Putin and Xi would be very unpopular. The opposite is the case..
Absolutely. But we are brainwashed :
America = good, China = bad, Russia = bad, etc
El stupido.
..run out of arguments have you?
It’s pointless when the argument is with ignorant morons.
It’s pointless when the argument is with ignorant morons.
..run out of arguments have you?
El stupido.
Perhaps because tyhey have very limited freedoms to erode ?
“Greater”? By what metric? Maybe eroding faster? I would tend to say that freedom is equally important everywhere, but some places serve as examples, “A City upon a Hill”. Also, if the global cop gets corrupted, there’s no one able to control him. So I could argue for your point, but it’s pretty silly in the context of the immediate threat of the Russo-Ukraine war.
Russians and Chinese live under brutal dictatorships. If you think the minor (relative to dictatorship) erosions to our freedoms are a bigger problem, it can only be because you are ignorant of life under dictatorship. Just ask any refugee from China or the former Eastern bloc. They’ll educate you.
I grew up in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe’s rule. There is nothing a person in your shoes can tell me about oppression.
I grew up in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe’s rule. There is nothing a person in your shoes can tell me about oppression.
That would be because we still have some whilst the denizens of those two tyrannies have virtually none to lose
That’s ridiculous, since Russian and Chinese freedoms aren’t just eroded, they’re nonexistent.
Absolutely. But we are brainwashed :
America = good, China = bad, Russia = bad, etc
Perhaps because tyhey have very limited freedoms to erode ?
“Greater”? By what metric? Maybe eroding faster? I would tend to say that freedom is equally important everywhere, but some places serve as examples, “A City upon a Hill”. Also, if the global cop gets corrupted, there’s no one able to control him. So I could argue for your point, but it’s pretty silly in the context of the immediate threat of the Russo-Ukraine war.
Russians and Chinese live under brutal dictatorships. If you think the minor (relative to dictatorship) erosions to our freedoms are a bigger problem, it can only be because you are ignorant of life under dictatorship. Just ask any refugee from China or the former Eastern bloc. They’ll educate you.
The biggest difference between the West and China/Russia is the West spends £billions on the welfare of its Citizens and China/Russia uses them as Cannon fodder as can be seen in the Ukraine war and the Chinese lockdowns that literally starved its Citizens.
Then you are seriously shortsighted I’m afraid.. if you took away US military might it would be an emperor with no clothes.. and it looks like the Ukraine war is making serious inroads into depleting US ammunition and land war weapons. Unless the dollar holds up (unlikely – look at the bank failures/debt) the US is finished.. smart Western nations should look to the future and stop riding a dying horse..
It’s not so much China and Russia will become stronger, its that we become far, far weaker. They can dominate if we collapse. What stops us becoming basket cases like South Africa?
The USA and its client states are economically weakening and wasting their remaining strategic power by not recognising their weakness, let alone trying to reverse that weakness. Using the international dollar system as a weapon was really stupid and only hastened the already slow decline of the dollar. One of just many really poor decisions that point to a bleak future for everyone. Can you think of any good trends in the West today?
Demographics is a small problem relative to our wilful destruction from within and the increasingly parastic relationship between the state and vested interests.
The erosion of freedoms in the West, in my opinion, is a far greater problem than any that the Russians and Chinese face.
The biggest difference between the West and China/Russia is the West spends £billions on the welfare of its Citizens and China/Russia uses them as Cannon fodder as can be seen in the Ukraine war and the Chinese lockdowns that literally starved its Citizens.
Then you are seriously shortsighted I’m afraid.. if you took away US military might it would be an emperor with no clothes.. and it looks like the Ukraine war is making serious inroads into depleting US ammunition and land war weapons. Unless the dollar holds up (unlikely – look at the bank failures/debt) the US is finished.. smart Western nations should look to the future and stop riding a dying horse..
Utter BS. What “assets” are being sold off. I can’t believe 48 people upvoted this nonsense. Ridiculous.
Have you read any business news today? The federal reserve is in quite a flap. They are just selling, bailing, writing stuff off left right and centre right now.
Sure. I just looked at news about the federal reserve. Apparently the Fed is considering a rate hike and there some uncertainty about some banks. Not exactly end days yet, it would seem.
OK. That is very simplistic and optimistic. I can’t help you. Back to your blissful existence.
Yu do realize a Marxist would have been saying the same thing in the 1930s?
…yep, the Chinese probably would; that’ll the the same Chinese that pulled a billion people out of dire poverty while wages in the West stagnated and are now at starvation levels? Bear in mind the Chinese had to start from situations of having bern looted for centuries while the West had that loot to start with, over the same period. It just took a bit longer for socialism and it succeeded despite savage sanctions.
The west is at starvation levels….. perhaps on planet zog, where you seem to come from.
The west is at starvation levels….. perhaps on planet zog, where you seem to come from.
I imagine most people in the 1930s realised the stock market was puking. I think it was big news.
And pretty much ever since. The lunatics have taken over this asylum.
…yep, the Chinese probably would; that’ll the the same Chinese that pulled a billion people out of dire poverty while wages in the West stagnated and are now at starvation levels? Bear in mind the Chinese had to start from situations of having bern looted for centuries while the West had that loot to start with, over the same period. It just took a bit longer for socialism and it succeeded despite savage sanctions.
I imagine most people in the 1930s realised the stock market was puking. I think it was big news.
And pretty much ever since. The lunatics have taken over this asylum.
Yu do realize a Marxist would have been saying the same thing in the 1930s?
OK. That is very simplistic and optimistic. I can’t help you. Back to your blissful existence.
Sure. I just looked at news about the federal reserve. Apparently the Fed is considering a rate hike and there some uncertainty about some banks. Not exactly end days yet, it would seem.
They’ll be the 48 that are aware of massive and numerous Chinese takeover of US and EU assets.. check it out!
Have you read any business news today? The federal reserve is in quite a flap. They are just selling, bailing, writing stuff off left right and centre right now.
They’ll be the 48 that are aware of massive and numerous Chinese takeover of US and EU assets.. check it out!
Now that makes sense, as indeed the article itself makes perfect sense.
And that’s why Russia and China are unable to defend their borders against unending hordes of immigrants seeking asylum, while nobody would risk their life to gain entry to the USA or Western Europe anymore, as they are fading failed empires.
logic and common sense are useless against the brain-dead and deluded.
logic and common sense are useless against the brain-dead and deluded.
I’m not saying that the west doesn’t have its own problems to deal with, but I’m still of the opinion that they pale in comparison to those facing the likes of China and Russia. There’s no doubt that the western share of the economy will diminish as the Asian nations especially become more established, but I can’t see any realistic scenario whereby China or Russia will become dominant powers
Utter BS. What “assets” are being sold off. I can’t believe 48 people upvoted this nonsense. Ridiculous.
Now that makes sense, as indeed the article itself makes perfect sense.
And that’s why Russia and China are unable to defend their borders against unending hordes of immigrants seeking asylum, while nobody would risk their life to gain entry to the USA or Western Europe anymore, as they are fading failed empires.
I agree. I also think (these ideas have been doing the rounds) what seems to be overlooked is this was and would happen anyway regardless of the war. The war just accelerated it and brought such divisions into a starker light. China and Russia signed a general agreement before the war even started. The real question is how the “west” is going to react and play its cards because as you say that’s where the money is and hence the real power.
You forget the rate at which that is changing, and has changed. The US is flat broke and in fatal decline politically, socially, culturally, industrially and economically.. The ‘wealth’ is largely funny money and the power is not quite what you think either.
You forget the rate at which that is changing, and has changed. The US is flat broke and in fatal decline politically, socially, culturally, industrially and economically.. The ‘wealth’ is largely funny money and the power is not quite what you think either.
It seems to me that most of the world is ambivalent about the conflict they are certainly not prepared to sacrifice their own interests to support Ukraine.
Any reservations they have are no do doubt assuaged by Western exploits in Iraq and Libya
There are no “western exploits” in Ukraine. There is Ukraine defending itself, and getting aid from neighbouring countries who get it far better than commenters like you. Supporting Ukraine against a voracious Russian dictator may not seem to be in other countries interests, until the bear comes for them. That this sort of short-termism — and short-term memoryism — is being promoted reveals a profound historical ignorance.
Was Bush a dictator when he decided to invade Iraq? You would say not. Why? Because he supports your theories.
No, I would say not because he was elected twice and stepped down when his term was up. What planet do you inhabit?
But the invasion of Iraq was illegal, ie not sanctioned by the UN: and it was on the pretext of WMD which never existed, and Bush and Blair both knew that but lied to Congress via Colin Powell .. the chief weapons inspector Blix has called them both war criminals and so do I. What crazy planet do you live on? Is it called Blind Denial?
I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of moving goalposts, even though that’s exactly what you’ve done. I showed Bush was no dictator and explained why. His invasion of Iraq doesn’t make him one, though I don’t expect you to understand that simple concept.
I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of moving goalposts, even though that’s exactly what you’ve done. I showed Bush was no dictator and explained why. His invasion of Iraq doesn’t make him one, though I don’t expect you to understand that simple concept.
But the invasion of Iraq was illegal, ie not sanctioned by the UN: and it was on the pretext of WMD which never existed, and Bush and Blair both knew that but lied to Congress via Colin Powell .. the chief weapons inspector Blix has called them both war criminals and so do I. What crazy planet do you live on? Is it called Blind Denial?
No, I would say not because he was elected twice and stepped down when his term was up. What planet do you inhabit?
Mr Storm I do not suppose my historical ignorance is nearly as profound as your own.
Indeed you seem to have forgotten all about Iraq and Libya, not to mention Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua and so on.
Why should countries in that do not boarder Russia, or have no reason to fear Russia, let the invasion of Ukraine get in the way if there is a financial incentive for them in continuing to trade with Russia.
For all the posturing, Russia and the US/the West potato potato
Then you suppose incorrectly.
Then you suppose incorrectly.
Can you be a little more simplistic please.. your take on the situation is so nuanced it’s confusing the 5 year olds.
Thete is one voracious country that invades other sovereign nations at will, kills millions of its peoples, murders democratically elected leaders, and steals it’s oil and other resources ..but that’s not Russia and it’s not China either!
This is the sort of predictable, boilerplate drivel Marxist-Leninist drone on about.
This is the sort of predictable, boilerplate drivel Marxist-Leninist drone on about.
Was Bush a dictator when he decided to invade Iraq? You would say not. Why? Because he supports your theories.
Mr Storm I do not suppose my historical ignorance is nearly as profound as your own.
Indeed you seem to have forgotten all about Iraq and Libya, not to mention Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua and so on.
Why should countries in that do not boarder Russia, or have no reason to fear Russia, let the invasion of Ukraine get in the way if there is a financial incentive for them in continuing to trade with Russia.
For all the posturing, Russia and the US/the West potato potato
Can you be a little more simplistic please.. your take on the situation is so nuanced it’s confusing the 5 year olds.
Thete is one voracious country that invades other sovereign nations at will, kills millions of its peoples, murders democratically elected leaders, and steals it’s oil and other resources ..but that’s not Russia and it’s not China either!
There are no “western exploits” in Ukraine. There is Ukraine defending itself, and getting aid from neighbouring countries who get it far better than commenters like you. Supporting Ukraine against a voracious Russian dictator may not seem to be in other countries interests, until the bear comes for them. That this sort of short-termism — and short-term memoryism — is being promoted reveals a profound historical ignorance.
Have you been watching Peter Zeihan videos on youtube, he seems have made a career out of the idea that China and Russia are doomed due to demographic problems. Selling BS to right thinking people is a great business idea
Of course the West has great demographics, just take a stroll around London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels ect
Right now in California, which has great demographics BTW, the smart set want to build a kind of high speed rail line connecting the large cities, well they just can’t seem to get it done. In bad demographics China they went from no high speed rail to more high speed rail than the rest of the World combined in a bout 10 years. And in Japan which has terrible demographics, they are now building a Maglev line running the length of the country
Zeihan and some others, like George Friedman, have made a lucrative business of pronouncing perilous prophecies to open-mouthed audiences. They are as likely to be proven right as are the doomsayers of the Climate Change Cult; but it’s a good racket while it lasts. Friedman, I just discovered, was in 1991 was warning of an impending war between the US and … Japan! With well over 400 pages he wrote quite a fat book, full of supposedly persuasive data — and as wrong as could be. But that has not induced Friedman to get out of the prophesy business.
As to building high-speed rail, if that’s taken as proof of advanced development, China wins, as does Russia with its trans-Siberian railroad, even though it’s slower. But anyone studying American geography should conclude that, except for a small part of the northeast and the DC corridor, the economic feasibility of such showy projects doesn’t exist.
Its not really about high speed rail, I just used that as an example
I could have used crime, look at Chicago and its wonderful demographics, how many people will be shot this year in Chicago, how many will be shot in a Chinese city of the same size ?
According to Zeihan and co, Chad should be a fantastic place to live, due to its superior demographics. But its clearly not. Why is that ?
Are you kidding? There is no street crime in China because the criminals run the country and do as they wish. Far more people in China are killed each year than in America; the difference is that they are killed by their own government.
Are you kidding? There is no street crime in China because the criminals run the country and do as they wish. Far more people in China are killed each year than in America; the difference is that they are killed by their own government.
Its not really about high speed rail, I just used that as an example
I could have used crime, look at Chicago and its wonderful demographics, how many people will be shot this year in Chicago, how many will be shot in a Chinese city of the same size ?
According to Zeihan and co, Chad should be a fantastic place to live, due to its superior demographics. But its clearly not. Why is that ?
I don’t know what to think of Zeihan but I do know, having watched his videos, that his predictions about Russia and China are based on a lot lot more than just demographic projections.
Zeihan and some others, like George Friedman, have made a lucrative business of pronouncing perilous prophecies to open-mouthed audiences. They are as likely to be proven right as are the doomsayers of the Climate Change Cult; but it’s a good racket while it lasts. Friedman, I just discovered, was in 1991 was warning of an impending war between the US and … Japan! With well over 400 pages he wrote quite a fat book, full of supposedly persuasive data — and as wrong as could be. But that has not induced Friedman to get out of the prophesy business.
As to building high-speed rail, if that’s taken as proof of advanced development, China wins, as does Russia with its trans-Siberian railroad, even though it’s slower. But anyone studying American geography should conclude that, except for a small part of the northeast and the DC corridor, the economic feasibility of such showy projects doesn’t exist.
I don’t know what to think of Zeihan but I do know, having watched his videos, that his predictions about Russia and China are based on a lot lot more than just demographic projections.
It comes as no surprise to me that the leaders of many countries choose to side with a couple of leaders who have changed to change their constitutions in order to remain in power indefinitely.
Whether that is what the citizens of those countries want is a different matter. But I don’t think they will get any choice.
Now that’s an intelligent comment.
Now that’s an intelligent comment.
Have a look at the paper which is his main source, it’s a bit more than a few stats Billy Bob:
https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/publications/a-world-divided/
You couldn’t be more wrong if you set out to be. I guess you simply cannot accept that the world is changing. The British Empire is long gone (although its neocolonialism abides) and the US+ Empire is now crumbling. All the signs are there from near civil war, bank failures, unsustainable debt, dedollarisation, mad leaders, endless lies, double standards, huge corruption and a suicidal military industrial complex..
It was only a matter of time before the victims got sick of US hegemony and Anglo American neocolonialism.. It’s squeaky bum time for the white supremacist West.
Not only do I agree with you on these points, but Russia is being hollowed out and exhausted by its war. China’s demographic problem is now echoed by Russia, which has lost a significant proportion of its young, brightest and best to the West – a huge gain for the latter going forward that barely gets mentioned. The idea that this shaky Axis of Dictators is taking over the world is laughable – Russia is a drowning man throwing sweets to children on the shore for help that they cannot possibly provide. China is standing by seeing what it can extract before helping, but terrified of being dragged in alongside in the process. Emerging economies have enormous problems of their own, and most can’t afford to fall out with anyone right now, so they stay low, stay neutral – and that’s best for their citizens. The west needs to reach out to them and compete using development aid, not try to bully them with morality-based appeals – given the US’s shabby record in that respect that’s pure arrogance.
Simon is right. Demography is destiny in the case and China and Russia are fucked
Simon is right. Demography is destiny in the case and China and Russia are fucked
The US has far bigger housing bubbles and asset bubbles. It also has an aging population and a fentanyl crisis.
What is your point?? Odd post, this is the kind of flawed logic that turns off international audiences.
Not nearly aging as fast as Russia and China and in fact America fares quite well especially linked with Mexico
Not nearly aging as fast as Russia and China and in fact America fares quite well especially linked with Mexico
Completely cogent analysis.
None of these writers seem to have noticed that there is a planet-sized elephant in the room: AI.
Economic competitiveness will increasingly depend on wide public access to the new tools derived from these technologies, a development that poses huge, perhaps insurmountable, problems for authoritarian regimes – as the CCP has already learnt.
I don’t understand the relevance of population size in this article – “The remaining nations, comprising close to 90% of the world’s population, have refused to follow suit” – when many of these governments don’t reflect opinion in their country in any way
That’s what he does, I’m afraid, yet for some reason he gets a lot of column inches on this website.
The countries sanctioning are now barely a majority of the global economy in dollar terms, and in purchasing parity terms they are a minority. They are, collectively, growing far, far more slowly than the rest. And they are, collectively, running a huge current account deficit that is draining away their global investment position from which their economic clout comes.
The US and UK depend on selling their assets to fund consumption. They are literally selling their futures to pay for stuff today. Short of capital to fix problems, they are also now well down the road of repeatedly relying on the monetising of debt to finance balance sheet problems. This is end of empires type desperation.
This is a major reversal of economic strength in just 30 years, and one that has accelerated in the last decade. It looks exactly like the decline of Britain did and as we know Britain’s global power ebbed away slowly, then suddenly almost immediately after WW2.
I agree. I also think (these ideas have been doing the rounds) what seems to be overlooked is this was and would happen anyway regardless of the war. The war just accelerated it and brought such divisions into a starker light. China and Russia signed a general agreement before the war even started. The real question is how the “west” is going to react and play its cards because as you say that’s where the money is and hence the real power.
It seems to me that most of the world is ambivalent about the conflict they are certainly not prepared to sacrifice their own interests to support Ukraine.
Any reservations they have are no do doubt assuaged by Western exploits in Iraq and Libya
Have you been watching Peter Zeihan videos on youtube, he seems have made a career out of the idea that China and Russia are doomed due to demographic problems. Selling BS to right thinking people is a great business idea
Of course the West has great demographics, just take a stroll around London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels ect
Right now in California, which has great demographics BTW, the smart set want to build a kind of high speed rail line connecting the large cities, well they just can’t seem to get it done. In bad demographics China they went from no high speed rail to more high speed rail than the rest of the World combined in a bout 10 years. And in Japan which has terrible demographics, they are now building a Maglev line running the length of the country
It comes as no surprise to me that the leaders of many countries choose to side with a couple of leaders who have changed to change their constitutions in order to remain in power indefinitely.
Whether that is what the citizens of those countries want is a different matter. But I don’t think they will get any choice.
Have a look at the paper which is his main source, it’s a bit more than a few stats Billy Bob:
https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/publications/a-world-divided/
You couldn’t be more wrong if you set out to be. I guess you simply cannot accept that the world is changing. The British Empire is long gone (although its neocolonialism abides) and the US+ Empire is now crumbling. All the signs are there from near civil war, bank failures, unsustainable debt, dedollarisation, mad leaders, endless lies, double standards, huge corruption and a suicidal military industrial complex..
It was only a matter of time before the victims got sick of US hegemony and Anglo American neocolonialism.. It’s squeaky bum time for the white supremacist West.
Not only do I agree with you on these points, but Russia is being hollowed out and exhausted by its war. China’s demographic problem is now echoed by Russia, which has lost a significant proportion of its young, brightest and best to the West – a huge gain for the latter going forward that barely gets mentioned. The idea that this shaky Axis of Dictators is taking over the world is laughable – Russia is a drowning man throwing sweets to children on the shore for help that they cannot possibly provide. China is standing by seeing what it can extract before helping, but terrified of being dragged in alongside in the process. Emerging economies have enormous problems of their own, and most can’t afford to fall out with anyone right now, so they stay low, stay neutral – and that’s best for their citizens. The west needs to reach out to them and compete using development aid, not try to bully them with morality-based appeals – given the US’s shabby record in that respect that’s pure arrogance.
The US has far bigger housing bubbles and asset bubbles. It also has an aging population and a fentanyl crisis.
What is your point?? Odd post, this is the kind of flawed logic that turns off international audiences.
Completely cogent analysis.
None of these writers seem to have noticed that there is a planet-sized elephant in the room: AI.
Economic competitiveness will increasingly depend on wide public access to the new tools derived from these technologies, a development that poses huge, perhaps insurmountable, problems for authoritarian regimes – as the CCP has already learnt.
I don’t understand the relevance of population size in this article – “The remaining nations, comprising close to 90% of the world’s population, have refused to follow suit” – when many of these governments don’t reflect opinion in their country in any way
The author appears to be drawing some incredibly long bows here. Suggesting that because all those (largely poorer) countries haven’t joined in with the western sanctions means that they must therefore be aligned with Putin seems to be clutching at straws. Likewise that India is abandoning the west simply because they’ve taken advantage of buying cheap oil from Russia again seems far fetched.
He fails to mention Chinas demographic time bomb due to its one child policy, whereby it’s getting old before it’s hard chance to get rich. There’s no mention of Chinas 20%+ youth unemployment or it’s colossal asset bubble. Most of Chinas high value trade is still with western nations. Despite the tension it isn’t going to give that up and replace it with the Russians or the South Africans, a basket case of a country that can barely feed its population or keep the lights on.
As has been mentioned, whilst the countries sanctioning Putin make up a a fraction of the world’s population, they’re a majority of the worlds economy which is much more important in the context of the article than sheer numbers.
All in all the article seems to have cherry picked a few stats in order to fit a predetermined narrative rather than being an objective look at the geopolitical situation arising from the conflict
China is the big winner of this perpetual proxy war between Russia and the West in Ukraine.
Russia is rapidly destroying both blood and treasure in the war as well as now being a pariah within the financial centers of the West (which, incidentally, froze the country’s and leaders’ assets within various financial institutions). This will ensure Russia’s near-term demotion into a second-tier vassal state that must inevitably do China’s bidding to survive in the short-to-medium term.
The West is slowly depleting both treasure and its stockpiled matériel against Russia in this war which is, most assuredly, in China’s favor.
And the fixation on this proxy war between Russia and the West is allowing China to quietly carry on with their business of collecting countries like trading cards via China’s prized ‘business investments’ in those countries coupled with under-the-table payoff of their government officials to ensure a smooth transition away from the West’s…
…wait a minute…how many millions of dollars did Joe Biden and his family secretly receive from China over the past eight to 10 years according to the newly-released records by the US Treasury Department? Something is rotten in Biden’s $2.7m Delaware Beach House purchased and modified on a civil servant’s and community college teacher’s salary.
Ukraine was widely said to be the Clinton, Obama, and Biden piggy bank.
per person GDP
USA $70,000
UK $45,000
Ukraine $4,500
Ukraine has resources, education, industry, agriculture – is surrounded by wealthy trading partners – but is one of the poorest Nations on Earth! Ever wonder why? Because they are the World’s 14th most corrupt nation! When you back Zelenski you back the Mafia who kept Ukraine dirt poor wile deep in wealth. Hunter ring a bell? Do you wonder where the $113 Billion went? because no one in the Democrat, or Rino, parties do………(remember FTX? Burisma, and you can be sure, SVB…that bail out is pretty odd…)
You conveniently forget to mention that Russia is even more corrupt than Ukraine:
–Ukraine is at 116 down the list
–Russia is at 137 from the top
But you knew that already.
Moreover, Russia has destroyed its own army in Ukraine–the only thing that made it a great power–besides the nuclear weapons it can never use.
But maybe Hunter Biden did all this to Russia?
If so, he seems even more competent than his Dad.
Have you read any Ukrainian history? To answer your question, because it was an ex Communist country like Russia and huge power was seized by oligarchs during the naïve (and likely cynical) botched transition to private rather than state enterprise. The Ukrainians have been painfully and slowly addressing that, improving governance, have reasonably free elections etc. Russia tragically has gone in the opposite direction.
Yanukovych of course was one of its most deeply corrupt presidents – his ousting in 2014 (after a popular uprising) is of course attacked by the pro Putin Right who want it both ways on this issue! Whatever, the fact there is corruption in Ukraine doesn’t give Russia a justification for a full scale invasion. Poland had an undemocratic nationalist government in 1939, less than perfect in its treatment of minorities, which didn’t justify Hitlers’s invasion then.
Unfortunately your interventions are entirely dominated by the US culture war and polarisation, and while interesting enough isn’t the whole of reality – some of us would really like to talk about something else some time. Could you ever try to do so?
Unfortunately, history is prone to interpretation. Any argument based on history misses the real time – now. Look at Northern Ireland. Every day new history appeared. The latest bomb was because of history – that is, yesterday’s bomb.
Of course, corruption in the US is just as bad. Just a different type of corruption. More sophisticated corruption.
Obviously buddy has never experienced the corruption that goes on in a dictatorship. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop him from spewing.
Obviously buddy has never experienced the corruption that goes on in a dictatorship. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop him from spewing.
I’d emphasize the “resource curse”. Very few petrostates (Norway, Canada) keep corruption in check. Russia may simply be doomed. Ukrainians, surrounded by ex-communist states, understandably want Ukraine to be more like Poland and less like Russia.
Unfortunately, history is prone to interpretation. Any argument based on history misses the real time – now. Look at Northern Ireland. Every day new history appeared. The latest bomb was because of history – that is, yesterday’s bomb.
Of course, corruption in the US is just as bad. Just a different type of corruption. More sophisticated corruption.
I’d emphasize the “resource curse”. Very few petrostates (Norway, Canada) keep corruption in check. Russia may simply be doomed. Ukrainians, surrounded by ex-communist states, understandably want Ukraine to be more like Poland and less like Russia.
Oh shut up already. Repeating the same crap over and over again doesn’t make it any more factual or sane.
You do know you sound paranoid, don’t you?
He sounds angry at the world. There can only be one view -his view.
He sounds angry at the world. There can only be one view -his view.
You conveniently forget to mention that Russia is even more corrupt than Ukraine:
–Ukraine is at 116 down the list
–Russia is at 137 from the top
But you knew that already.
Moreover, Russia has destroyed its own army in Ukraine–the only thing that made it a great power–besides the nuclear weapons it can never use.
But maybe Hunter Biden did all this to Russia?
If so, he seems even more competent than his Dad.
Have you read any Ukrainian history? To answer your question, because it was an ex Communist country like Russia and huge power was seized by oligarchs during the naïve (and likely cynical) botched transition to private rather than state enterprise. The Ukrainians have been painfully and slowly addressing that, improving governance, have reasonably free elections etc. Russia tragically has gone in the opposite direction.
Yanukovych of course was one of its most deeply corrupt presidents – his ousting in 2014 (after a popular uprising) is of course attacked by the pro Putin Right who want it both ways on this issue! Whatever, the fact there is corruption in Ukraine doesn’t give Russia a justification for a full scale invasion. Poland had an undemocratic nationalist government in 1939, less than perfect in its treatment of minorities, which didn’t justify Hitlers’s invasion then.
Unfortunately your interventions are entirely dominated by the US culture war and polarisation, and while interesting enough isn’t the whole of reality – some of us would really like to talk about something else some time. Could you ever try to do so?
Oh shut up already. Repeating the same crap over and over again doesn’t make it any more factual or sane.
You do know you sound paranoid, don’t you?
Obsessed with US internal polarisation! What has this to do with whether we allow Vladimir Putin to conquer Ukraine?
How are you planning to stop him? Many generations have grown up with John Wayne riding into the picture just before the heroine meets a fate worse than death.
The ONLY real anti-Putin hope is that Biden puts on his cowboy hat. But he wouldn’t even be able to get on the horse. (And it would probably be stopped because of cruelty to the horse).
The US is in such a state internally that it is powerless. And wait another year until we get the battle between Mr Geriatric and Mr Orange. Then the Ukraine will be forgotten and the conversation will morph into ‘Defund the Police’ or ‘Give the Police bigger guns’.
Er, I think we’ve been stopping him for some 9 months. Indeed, pushing him back quite bit in other places.
Do you have access to things like radio, the internet and television?
Er, I think we’ve been stopping him for some 9 months. Indeed, pushing him back quite bit in other places.
Do you have access to things like radio, the internet and television?
How are you planning to stop him? Many generations have grown up with John Wayne riding into the picture just before the heroine meets a fate worse than death.
The ONLY real anti-Putin hope is that Biden puts on his cowboy hat. But he wouldn’t even be able to get on the horse. (And it would probably be stopped because of cruelty to the horse).
The US is in such a state internally that it is powerless. And wait another year until we get the battle between Mr Geriatric and Mr Orange. Then the Ukraine will be forgotten and the conversation will morph into ‘Defund the Police’ or ‘Give the Police bigger guns’.
Because it has vast natural wealth and has, by far, the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, Russia will never become a vassal state to China in the way that the pathetic obsequious UK is to the USA.
BTW it’s not just the UK.
There are no real sovereign states in Europe now – we are all mere pawns to US hegemony.
We have learnt nothing from the last 60 yrs of ‘Pax’ Americana . As Henry Kissenger said: ‘To be an enemy of the US can be dangerous but to be a friend is fatal’.
Europe will pay an enormous price in blood and treasure for being a ‘friend’ of the USofA.
When I see “U.S. hegemony” I know the commenter is a propagandist without knowledge or insight. I’ve been hearing this “we are all pawns” crap my entire adult life. It was BS then, and remains so.
Why do you think we joined the invasion of Iraq?
Who’s “we”? I’m Canadian, or what you would call a citizen of a client-state. Yet somehow we managed to avoid the Iraq War without getting a spanking from our hegemon across the border.
Who’s “we”? I’m Canadian, or what you would call a citizen of a client-state. Yet somehow we managed to avoid the Iraq War without getting a spanking from our hegemon across the border.
Why do you think we joined the invasion of Iraq?
Yes, Europe has certainly fallen very far since the end of WWII because of its strong connection with, and aid from, the U.S. This could give “dumb and dumber” a run for its money.
When I see “U.S. hegemony” I know the commenter is a propagandist without knowledge or insight. I’ve been hearing this “we are all pawns” crap my entire adult life. It was BS then, and remains so.
Yes, Europe has certainly fallen very far since the end of WWII because of its strong connection with, and aid from, the U.S. This could give “dumb and dumber” a run for its money.
Ukraine was widely said to be the Clinton, Obama, and Biden piggy bank.
per person GDP
USA $70,000
UK $45,000
Ukraine $4,500
Ukraine has resources, education, industry, agriculture – is surrounded by wealthy trading partners – but is one of the poorest Nations on Earth! Ever wonder why? Because they are the World’s 14th most corrupt nation! When you back Zelenski you back the Mafia who kept Ukraine dirt poor wile deep in wealth. Hunter ring a bell? Do you wonder where the $113 Billion went? because no one in the Democrat, or Rino, parties do………(remember FTX? Burisma, and you can be sure, SVB…that bail out is pretty odd…)
Obsessed with US internal polarisation! What has this to do with whether we allow Vladimir Putin to conquer Ukraine?
Because it has vast natural wealth and has, by far, the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, Russia will never become a vassal state to China in the way that the pathetic obsequious UK is to the USA.
BTW it’s not just the UK.
There are no real sovereign states in Europe now – we are all mere pawns to US hegemony.
We have learnt nothing from the last 60 yrs of ‘Pax’ Americana . As Henry Kissenger said: ‘To be an enemy of the US can be dangerous but to be a friend is fatal’.
Europe will pay an enormous price in blood and treasure for being a ‘friend’ of the USofA.
China is the big winner of this perpetual proxy war between Russia and the West in Ukraine.
Russia is rapidly destroying both blood and treasure in the war as well as now being a pariah within the financial centers of the West (which, incidentally, froze the country’s and leaders’ assets within various financial institutions). This will ensure Russia’s near-term demotion into a second-tier vassal state that must inevitably do China’s bidding to survive in the short-to-medium term.
The West is slowly depleting both treasure and its stockpiled matériel against Russia in this war which is, most assuredly, in China’s favor.
And the fixation on this proxy war between Russia and the West is allowing China to quietly carry on with their business of collecting countries like trading cards via China’s prized ‘business investments’ in those countries coupled with under-the-table payoff of their government officials to ensure a smooth transition away from the West’s…
…wait a minute…how many millions of dollars did Joe Biden and his family secretly receive from China over the past eight to 10 years according to the newly-released records by the US Treasury Department? Something is rotten in Biden’s $2.7m Delaware Beach House purchased and modified on a civil servant’s and community college teacher’s salary.
This is a great article to put things in context and Fazi is one of my favourite authors on Unherd. This context is important, without having heard of it, it’s virtually impossible to understand what’s happening in the world for anyone.
There’s something of a starvation of information in the Western world. A great case in example is the invasion of Iraq. Perhaps a day of watching regular Turkish TV could’ve dispelled someone from the notion that Iraq war was about anything but access to oil. Yet it seems it’s taken 20 years for a respectable (yet not mainstream) publishers like Unherd to feel comfortable enough to start discussing it openly.
It’s telling to see how uncomfortable Alastair Campbell looks when talking about Iraq unable to say the things he clearly wants to say but can’t. So why don’t politicians tell it as it is?
I tie it to the idealistic nature of the liberal Western system we live in (in particular American exceptionalism) and its historical baggage. What possible justification can someone give to invading another country? A Communist Russia or China could declare openly they want to export their brand of ideology to rescue workers of other countries. Nationalist Russia today open talks about retaining super-power status and wanting to control its backyard. Going further back Ottoman Empire wanted to expand the world of Islam, the Crusaders wanted to liberate Jerusalem. Yet a liberal West with a (deservedly) much maligned colonial past is hesitant to export anything.
This seems to be creating a cognitive dissonance situation in any Western leader. They need to be upholding pristine ideals when talking publicly, yet conduct business and international relations in the dirty real world. The information is out there, easily accessible, say on Turkish TV, but how does it remain an unrespectable “conspiracy theory” for the general Western public for 20 years? It clearly requires a well developed alignment across publishers of information – aka propaganda you might say.
Then here we are. There’s a generation of young people who have never been told about anything but pristine ideals being raised up on liberal ideological purity. We recognise them as the Woke today. A select few of them are expected to take up cognitive dissonance to conduct the dirty real world business on behalf of others while copiously virtue signalling. A great many are revolting against perceived impurities of the society they live in, burning down city centres tearing down shop fronts when they can in some of the wealthiest parts of the West.
As late as 30 years ago, new legislation in Britain was banning schools from promoting acceptability of homosexuality. Today’s youngters brought up in ideological purity are demonstrating against reaction of Qatar to rainbow flags in the football cup. BBC has been hunting down organisations not sufficiently supporting the Pride events. Putin is quoted as saying the West sank down in morality where the terms “mother and father” are replaced by parent 1 and 2. Saudi Arabia is banning the variety of children’s toys clad in rainbow colours. The contrast is clear, and the list goes on.
This is the context to the decoupling of the American West to the rest of the world as I see it. I don’t see it getting much better as long as there’s no acceptance in the West to see the world as it is instead of how they want to see it.
Fully agreed, with both the article and your comment.
Well said sir !
Fully agreed, with both the article and your comment.
Well said sir !
This is a great article to put things in context and Fazi is one of my favourite authors on Unherd. This context is important, without having heard of it, it’s virtually impossible to understand what’s happening in the world for anyone.
There’s something of a starvation of information in the Western world. A great case in example is the invasion of Iraq. Perhaps a day of watching regular Turkish TV could’ve dispell