But the crux of my view is that the EU Commission as well as Member State governments have too many people that both fear the emergence of a new hegemon aka China and in the process assume that this next hegemon will emerge by default once the US collapses as a geopolitical actor. But..

...but my view is that global chaos is the default state and the last 80 or so years of a global system (more or less) was the exception not the rule. If you think surviving global disorder is the challenge, that then requires different preparation than what you'd do to handle a future hegemon

One thing that is horrifyingly obvious is the amount of people who assume whatever they do, the world will continue to be a place governed by rules A quick glance of history tells you just how unusual that is, and we should be fighting tooth and nail to keep it

The longer this order functions the less people are connected to the underlying system and how it works.