China, Russia and Iran Are Rebuilding Empires to Defeat US, Europe – Bloomberg

The ghosts of empire are haunting Eurasia. President Xi Jinpings China is seeking to reclaim the power and privileges of the great dynasties that once bestrode Asia. President Vladimir Putin is channeling the memory, and the methods, of famous conquerors from Russias imperial past. Iran is using proxies, missiles and other means to build a sphere of influence encompassing parts of the old Persian Empire. Not so long ago, much of the world was ruled by empires. If todays revisionist states have their way, the future could resemble the past.

Empires take many forms, but the term generally refers to a multinational collection of peoples and territories, in which power flows outward from a dominant center. For centuries, global order and disorder were shaped by the clash of rival empires. The big story of 20th century geopolitics was the decline or destruction of the great, formal empires of Europe and Asia, and their replacement by a still-greater, informal empire led by the US. Yet dreams of empire die hard, and the story of 21st century geopolitics so far is the quest for imperial restoration by a host of ambitious autocracies that chafe at the liberal international order Washington runs.

Read the original post:

China, Russia and Iran Are Rebuilding Empires to Defeat US, Europe - Bloomberg