Reprinted from John’s Substack:
On 4 May 2026, I was on Glenn Diesen’s popular podcast talking with Glenn about how the US and Europe ended up in so much trouble today. We spent little time talking about the specifics of the Iran war — which is highly unusual these days — and instead concentrated on talking about the principal driving forces that have produced the chaotic and dangerous world we live in today. I emphasized that I believe the two main factors are: 1) the fundamental structural changes that have taken place in the international system since 2017 — the coming of multipolarity, the rise of China to great-power status, and the US pivot to Asia — and 2) the Trump wrecking ball, which was kept under wraps in his first term, but has been unleashed with a vengeance since he moved back into the White House in January 2025.
