The first text in my university’s introduction to international relations was the History of the Peloponnesian War, in which Thucydides writes: the strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must. It means that new battle lines are being drawn all over the globe; and while it is perfectly reasonable to maintain a policy of trying to be friends with everyone equally, we are very, very quickly reaching a stage where geopolitical imperatives may result in a world where some friends are going to be more equal than others. Indeed, the very survival of all small and medium powers around the globe may pivot on one factor, and one factor alone: the ability to put old differences aside, and build the right kind of strategic alliances to counterbalance a new era of imperialism.
Author: Nathaniel Tan
Published at: 2026-01-10 23:00:00
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