China and Russia face their historic opportunity to overthrow US hegemony. The two powers, which have imposed autocratic rule over most of Eurasia, are likely to see the moment as ripe to challenge the American order.
The post-1945 world order—embodied in international law, ratified by the United Nations, and sustained by the balance of nuclear terror among major powers—hangs in the balance. Not even with a defense budget double that of its rivals can it remain on a war footing on so many fronts.