Stephen Blank
Iran's escalation shows America must bolster ailing Europe to prevail in the global ideological showdown. With Iran now on the brink of war with Israel, the situation could rapidly evolve into a global power struggle. In that case, the involvement of Iran, a close ally of China and Russia, highlights a geopolitical shift, as these nations have formed an ‘Axis of Upheaval’ to overthrow the century of American dominance. In response, America has just reaffirmed its ‘ironclad’ support for Israel. Even Europe, despite its reservations about how Netanyahu wages war, stands behind Israel in confronting the mullahs in Tehran. Therefore as the battle lines are drawn, the Middle East could quickly become the next superpower battlefield. China says it will defend Iranian sovereignty, neither will Russia stand idly by as one of its major drone suppliers buckles under Israeli airstrikes.
This polarization has thus also triggered a diplomatic push to win over regional powers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Whatever happens here could shape the course of global confrontations, where the West faces Russia’s advances in Ukraine, seeks to limit its destabilising influence in Africa, and confronts China’s imperial ambitions over Taiwan the South China Sea. Yet, this showdown is more than a struggle for power. Despite what the moral relativists in academia say, this is a battle of values between two global systems: the established liberal order, empowered by globalization, and a rising authoritarian model, characterized by closed economies and centralized power structures.
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