The West’s junior partners are drifting into dangerous territory

... triggering something serious. This confidence may prove unfounded. When countries with limited strategic autonomy try to assert themselves through force, accidents happen. And others, including Russia and China, cannot simply ignore them. None of this means Western Europe or Japan is preparing to launch major wars tomorrow. Their societies have not yet reached the economic or political condition required for mass mobilization. But their leaders’ behavior is increasingly erratic, and the scale of their military spending ...