Big Lesson of the Ukraine War: There’s Only One Superpower
The effort against Russia has illustrated what a world without American power would look like — and what it looks like when America uses its unmatched power well.
War leaders.
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images
It feels ghoulish to look for good news in Russia’s war in Ukraine, given how much misery that conflict has inflicted. But geopolitical tragedies can serve pedagogical purposes. If nothing else, this war has illustrated what a world without American power would look like — and what it looks like when America uses that unmatched power well.
My day job involves teaching Johns Hopkins University undergrads and grad students about international relations. I periodically have to remind myself that one can forgive millennials and members of Gen Z for having a jaded view of America’s global role.