Whether they will be a part or not, it will go down in history how Europe forgot world history. This is exactly how colonialism worked in the 18th century. Put fights between brothers and then make deals with the one that is desperate for help. The great strategy was called divide and rule.
There's a quote... I think it was Kissinger, but I can't find it now. "Don't issue an order unless you're prepared to back it up with force."<p>See also: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43059411">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43059411</a>
An old adage about politicians is is to observe what they do, not what they say. This is more true with Trump as he follows, what is called the <i>Mad Man</i> strategy -<p><pre><code> The madman theory posits that a leader who behaves as if he could do just about anything has a better chance of persuading other global actors to make concessions they otherwise would not make.
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- <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/07/madman-theory-international-relations-unpredictability/" rel="nofollow">https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/07/madman-theory-internati...</a><p>Whether the leader of a superpower should be adopting such a strategy is a different debate ...