Decades of geopolitical tension and diplomatic futility between NATO and Russia have come to a head in the form of the war in Ukraine. Simultaneously, the rise of China as a global economic power and the expansion of non-dollar denominated currency networks has threatened to transition the global economic order from a unipolar model to a bipolar one. Volume XLVI staffer Peter Bonenfant argues the war and the resulting sanctions may pressure Russia and other non-NATO countries to accelerate development of these alternative currency and payment networks to facilitate trade and avoid sanctions with the ultimate effect of decreasing the influence of an already economically vulnerable United States. Thus, further expansion of NATO may be unwise and fear of non-Western countries growing in strength may prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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