I thing two parties can be assertive and allies.
Plenty of countries don't think the same things and are not at war, and they're not even allies...
If you're assertive and the other party keeps pushing you, what is the outcome?
Trump has made it clear he will use US power to humiliate Europe while respecting their adversaries.
If Europe becomes more assertive, a confrontation,probably a bloody one, will happen.
>If you're assertive and the other party keeps pushing you, what is the outcome?
Disagreement?
People do that all the time.
And people who only honor power usually solve these disagreements using violence.
To avoid this outcome being common, we created a monopoly on violence inside states so disagreements have to be solved via courts and not violence.
We don't have this in geo politics.
{"deleted":true,"id":42772857,"parent":42772281,"time":1737405941,"type":"comment"}
This is exactly the Kremlin's rhetoric behind invading Ukraine. "Oh, the Evil West made us go to war!" As if you couldn't just, you know, not go to war.
Yes,but Putin can hardly be described as non confrontational. His whole image is based on power.
European leaders and voters on the other hand are less so. (They're getting there though)
What I'm saying is that if you'll have Europe embrace a more putinistic style AND try to dominate them, you'll get a war.
Russia is already in that position, so you are already dealing with an assertive opponent who only believe in power. And you got war.
So I'm not saying that Putin's rhetoric is correct. but it is a fact that it causes war. In Europe's case it's avoidable if you don't go that route.
The war is already here. We just have a choice: dissuade Putin by imposing costs or let him escalate his aggression.
loading story #42774298