Note to book recommendation

Martyanov subtly highlighted a very important point about the ‘balance of power’ and how no one in Washington really has a grasp or understanding of it, even though the balance of power is everything in international affairs. The balance of power, which is the name of the game, changes when the material war-making capabilities of a peer power changes. Right before the coronavirus outbreak, Russia jumped two decades ahead of the United States in terms of material war-making capabilities, thus changing the balance of power between America on one hand and Russia and China on the other hand. Add to it all of China’s other significant advances in technology, and the balance of power changes even more drastically. But above all else, we have to suggest a cause for the change in the balance of power between the peer powers, and as Martyanov argued, when your metric for everything in the world is Iraq, you won’t be able to handle Russia and China. Your metric for everything in the world won’t cover Russia and China when your metric for everything in the world is Iraq. It was difficult enough to handle Russia and China during the 20th century Cold War. So imagine now when your metric for everything in the world became Iraq instead of your peer powers and amidst all the rapid advances in globalization and technology.