Mead says Russia and China chose Wilhelm II's adversarial path
Walter Russell Mead · Why the World Order Is Collapsing and American Power Is Rising · Sep 8, 2026 · at 19:42
Walter Russell Mead evaluates post-Cold War foreign policy and the trajectory of Russia and China relative to the American-led global order.
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“So after the end of the Cold War, what do we say to Russia and China? Come on in, and just as we said to Germany and Japan in 1945, benefit from the system. Actually, we waited to about 47 to do that, but in any case come on in, benefit, and now both Germany and Japan are principal pillars of the world system. We sort of hoped that Russia and China would do that too. They've taken more of the Wilhelm II path than the Konrad Adenauer path”
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