The worlds attention may be fixed on Russias challenge to Ukraine, but the Biden administration faces something much larger: an intensifying challenge by China, Russia and opportunists such as Iran and North Korea to the global order that the U.S. inherited from a faltering British Empire in the 1940s. While Vladimir Putintightened his grip on Belarus and stepped up his war of nerves against Ukraine, China signaled its support for Russias Ukraine policy, sent record numbers of fighter jets through Taiwans defense zone, conducted joint naval drills with Russia near Japan, and beefed up its naval presence between Japan and Taiwan. While Chinas ambassador to the U.S. warned of a growing danger of war over the island, Jin Canrong, a leading Chinese academic with extensive contacts in the Chinese Communist Party, predicted that China would carry out an armed unification with Taiwan by 2027.
For some, this crescendo of global crises illustrated the overextension of American power. Why, they ask, does every problem in the world end up in Americas inbox? Why not give the world a rest and turn our attention to urgent problems at home?
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